Yasmin Ali

Leave Miller's Construction Series and neuferts'

at the office and cast an eye over some short books

and novellas which may be of interest...

I neglected to write 'Top' as a prefix to the headline,

because, well, tastes vary, and who am I to say what's  best to read?

Good reads I would recommend, however, include the following curated list:

Original cover designed by Yukio Futugawa

5. If you're searching for a design for life, try the Philosophy book 'In Praise of Shadows', by (Philosopher) Jun'ichiro Tanizaki, first published 1933

Considered a modern classic, Tanizaki's essay speaks eloquently through an aesthete's lens which varies its focus on subjects as diverse as food, interiors, the precious mineral jade, pottery and even toilets. In particular, its passages on the ceremonial art of drinking tea, and the lights and darks of the laquerware have some poetic resonance. At a lean 80-pages, it's slimmer than some design blogs, but there's imagery in every line. Worth a read.

4. If you want to know more about Britain's capital with a book you can take on the tube, try the London essay 'London: Bread and Circuses', by (Journalist) Jonathan Glancey, 2001

Glancey, well-known as the Architectural and Design correspondent of the Guardian, has gifted us with a very concise history of London, which references urban policy throughout. An illuminating read, at under 150pages, including many black and white photos, it's an excellent record of the specific and special issues which shaped-and continue to shape-the history of this modern metropolis. Glancey's polemic makes a convincing case that flagship projects around London are privatised 'circuses', setting up the discourse for an interesting read.

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...Progress?

In synchrony with the timeous release of the iPhone 5, along came the update of OS6, also available for fellow iPhone 4 users. What it neglected to mention before the download was that this would replace the pre-loaded Google Maps app with a, sadly, much less well-executed Apple's own brand of Maps, which sees shadows obscure landmarks and whole areas shrouded under cloud, not to mention misnamed-and misplaced- towns. It is enough to make the average technocrat want to go back to paper, as this image from the London Underground aptly shows.

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The Urban Transect is a concept in Urban Design which can be applied at varying

scales. This scalar versatility  is where its success stems from.

The Urban Transect /  Andres Duany DPZ

This is a theory pioneered by New Urbanists. New Urbanists are those who further placemaking based on walkable neighbourhoods and sustainable placemaking.

From a recent book, by Andres Duany and DPZ, published by The Prince's Foundation, entitled 'Theory and Practice of Agrarian Urbanism', this appears to draw links with the Garden Cities Movement, as pioneered by Ebenezer Howard in the fifties.

Image: Ebenezer Howard

The key to its application lies with density. This movement started in Northern America where land is plentiful and development is unabashedly car-centric. Through pages of delicate illustrations this book, the Garden City concept is translated to a distinctly urban scale.

Last week I received a lovely little surprise through the door. From Another Studio, the makers of 'Postcarden', the growable postcard garden, comes 'Matchcarden'. The follow-up product to the bestselling postcard format is a -yes, you've guessed it- a matchbox-sized grow-kit.

Images showing the matchcarden 'My city' range, courtesy of Another Studio

Small, but perfectly formed, each comes complete with a make-your-own facade kit with three possible townhouse styles. The seeds are cress (mustard seed); a fast-growing hardy herb that will give you a mini jungle in no time.

Designed and produced by Another Studio For Design, a London-based company enthusiastic about creating unique gifts for thoughtful givers.  Matchcarden is made in the UK, printed with vegetable based inks on FSC approved paperboard and using locally sourced seeds.

// With Thanks to Aimee Furnival of Another Studio

Erstwhile housed slightly east of town at The Modern Institute as a pop-up, the store became an instant success with orders continuing online while between residences. Having a store in the Merchant City is a good acid test for a shop - if it can survive just shy of the main shopping area, it must be on to a winner. There are also plenty of creative shops and start-ups in the Merchant City/Trongate area worth seeking out.

On the shelves...

GmbH stocks a range of titles - both glossies and zines- some familiar, others more niche. A personal favourite of mine introduced to me via GmbH is UAE-based contemporary design and lifestyle magazine BROWNBOOK. Subtitled 'An urban guide to the Middle East', with clean graphics and sharp commentary, it resembles in many ways, an Arab version of MONOCLE (also stocked here!).

I'm also a fan of film magazine Little White Lies (LWL); a recent addition to the stocklist. Self-published by London creative agency The Church of London, it's film journalism...but not as you know it. Sharp, insightful commentary is matched by creative graphics. Their screenprinted covers, also available as posters, are fast-becoming cult classics in themselves.

PIN-UP is another favourite of mine, billing itself as 'The magazine for architectural entertainment'. The bi-annual New York-based publication is nicely laid-out and and doesn't take itself too seriously. I've only ever seen it in American Apparel, of all places, so it's good to know there's another place that stocks this on its shelves.

Also stocked is grafik, the International magazine for graphic design. The long-running design title recently bounced back from its publishers' having gone bust in mid-2010, and is now back in print, independently produced and with a slick new i-Pad-ready website.

Read on for selected titles

// Interview with shops' founders to follow...

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