As we fast approach to 2020, we have highlighted the best architecture books of 2019 for our readers. The list also gives a quick look at the books to be published at the beginning of 2020.

Picked up from WAC Books, World Architecture Community's selection doesn't include only architecture books - ranging from macro-scale to micro-scale, but also contains interior design, history and theory books covering different social and political discourses.

Rainer Zerbst's book Gaudí. The Complete Works gives an in-depth look at Gaudí's projects, unfinished projects and furniture design with brand-new photography, plans and drawings by Gaudí himself. Jane Hall's book Breaking Ground: Architecture By Women, presenting a ground-breaking visual survey of architecture designed by women from the early twentieth century to the present day, a book, entitled, Model City Pyongyang by Cristiano Bianchi, Kristina Drapic, Oliver Wainwright, exploring the urban fabric of Pyongyang, Julia Watson's book Lo―TEK. Design By Radical Indigenism, delving into thousands of years of human wisdom and ingenuity from 20 countries including Peru, the Philippines, Tanzania, Kenya, Iran, Iraq, India, and Indonesia, are among the most captivating stories of 2019.

See our extensive archive on architecture books and pick your favourite book below (in no particular order):

1. Gaudí. The Complete Works by Taschen

Published by Taschen, the 368-page book, exploring Gaudí's projects, unfinished projects and furniture design with brand-new photography, plans and drawings by Gaudí himself, will be available in January 2020. 

"Antoni Gaudí merged Orientalism, natural forms, and new materials into a unique Modernista aesthetic that put Barcelona on the global architecture map. With brand-new photography, plans and drawings by Gaudí himself, as well as an extensive appendix of all his works including furniture and unfinished projects, this XL book takes us through the Catalonian’s fantastical universe like never before."

2. 100 Interiors Around the World by Taschen

Published by Taschen, this 720-page book spans six continents to deliver you the most immaculate abodes from Biarritz to Brazil for ultimate interiors inspiration.

"Pore over pictures by illustrious interior design photographers that profile every style of home you can imagine: from clean line, concrete minimalism to bustling eclecticism, where textures, time periods, and trends clamor for attention."

3. Breaking Ground: Architecture By Women by Jane Hall

Released in October, the 224-page book presents a ground-breaking visual survey of architecture designed by women from the early twentieth century to the present day. The book features 20th century icons such as Julia Morgan, Eileen Gray and Lina Bo Bardi, and the best contemporary talent, from Kazuyo Sejima to Elizabeth Diller and Grafton Architects.This book is, above all else, "a ground-breaking celebration of extraordinary architecture."

"Would they still call me a diva if I were a man?' asked Zaha Hadid, challenging as she did so more than a century of stereotypes about female architects. In the same spirited approach, Breaking Ground is a pioneering visual manifesto of more than 200 incredible buildings designed by women all over the world." 

4. An Enterprising Path To Barrio Chino: A Story Of Barcelona by Peter Cookson Smith

The book is set to be released on January 7, 2020. The 340-page book takes this as a starting point to chart the development of Barcelona over two hundred years using a series of ‘diaries’ and drawn images. 

"These are set around four generations of a fictional Chinese dynasty and their imagined architectural participation in some of the major events in Barcelona’s modern history. As residents of the Barrio from the mid-nineteenth century, they individually document diverse contributions to the city during periods of dynamic growth. This is set against a backdrop of cataclysmic political change and exemplary forms of urban regeneration which have provided Barcelona with its contemporary ‘World City’ status as it plans for the future."

5. Lo―TEK. Design By Radical Indigenism by Julia Watson, W—E studio

Set to be released on January 18, 2020, the 420-page book explores thousands of years of human wisdom and ingenuity from 20 countries including Peru, the Philippines, Tanzania, Kenya, Iran, Iraq, India, and Indonesia. 

"Lo―TEK, derived from Traditional Ecological Knowledge, is a cumulative body of multigenerational knowledge, practices, and beliefs, countering the idea that indigenous innovation is primitive and exists isolated from technology. It is sophisticated and designed to sustainably work with complex ecosystems."

6. Monotown: Urban Dreams Brutal Imperatives by Clayton Strange

The 280-page book examines the post-industrial transformation and transnational legacy of planned single-industry towns that emerged as a distinctive sociopolitical project of urbanization in the Soviet Union during the 1920s.

Written by Clayton Strange, who is an architect, urbanist, and educator. He is currently a Design Critic at the Harvard Graduate School of Design where he holds a Master of Architecture in Urban Design with Distinction, "Monotowns took form through the teleological establishment of industrial enterprises strewn across remote parts of the Siberian hinterland and entailed the relocation of vast populations requiring services, housing, and social and physical infrastructure, all linked to a given town's productive apparatus. [....] By exploring the etymology of the Monotown over time in this expanded field, the work establishes a broader yet more specific dialogue about this model's complex legacy and future.

7. Atlas Of Mid-Century Modern Houses by Dominic Bradbury

Released by Phaidon Press, the 440-page book reveals a groundbreaking global survey of the finest mid-20th-century homes - one of the most popular styles of our time.

"A fascinating collection of more than 400 of the world's most glamorous homes from more than 290 architects, the Atlas of Mid-Century Modern Houses showcases work by such icons as Marcel Breuer, Richard Neutra, Alvar Aalto, and Oscar Niemeyer alongside extraordinary but virtually unknown houses in Australia, Africa, and Asia. A thoroughly researched, comprehensive appraisal, this book is a must-have for all design aficionados, Mid-Century Modern collectors, and readers looking for inspiration for their own homes."

8. Model City Pyongyang by Cristiano Bianchi, Kristina Drapic, Oliver Wainwright 

Published by Thames and Hudson, the 224-page book explores the urban fabric of Pyongyang and displays an extraordinary architectural cohesion and narrative, artfully captured in the pages of this book.

"In recent years, many of Pyongyang’s buildings have been redeveloped to remove interior features or to render façades unrecognizable. From the city’s monumental axes to its symbolic sports halls and experimental housing concepts, this timely book offers comprehensive visual access to Pyongyang’s restricted buildings, which still preserve the DPRK’s original vision for a city designed ‘for the people’. Often kitsch, colourful and dramatic, Pyongyang’s architecture can be reminiscent of the aesthetic of a Wes Anderson film, where it is difficult to distinguish between reality and theatre."

"Reflecting a culture that has carefully crafted its own narrative, the backdrop of each photograph has been replaced with a colour gradient, evoking the idealized pastel skies of the country’s propaganda posters."

9. Midwest Architecture Journeys by Zach Mortice

Released by Belt Publishing, the 256-page book "takes readers on a trip to visit some of the region’s most inventive buildings by architects such as Bertrand Goldberg, Bruce Goff, and Lillian Leenhouts."

"The book also includes stops at less obvious but equally daring and defining sites, such as indigenous mounds, grain silos, parking lots, flea markets, and abandoned warehouses. Through dozens of essays written by architects, critics, and journalists, Midwest Architecture Journeys argues that what might seem flat is actually monumental, and what we assume to be boring is brimming with experimentation."

10. New Nordic Houses by Dominic Bradbury

The 320-page book, overflowing with stunning photography, discovers the best contemporary houses across Scandinavia’s most beautiful and remote locations, designed by both emerging and established architects.

"The book is divided into four chapters―rural cabins, coastal retreats, town houses, and country homes―New Nordic Houses surveys Scandinavia’s finest and most innovative houses, featuring work by a broad spectrum of leading architects. Structured by terrain to show the full diversity of the landscape and its architectural challenges, this book reveals living spaces that are at once universal and distinctly Nordic. From country houses complete with traditional Nordic fireplaces, saunas, window seats, and verandas, to remote cabin hideaways and artist’s studios, there are details and grand ideas that can be applied to residential design anywhere."

All images courtesy of Amazon.