1. HIDEOUTS
By Gestalten Editors, Gestalten, R862
The idyllic notion of a cabin speaks to our primal need to return to nature, disconnect from modern life, and recalibrate. This collection of temporary and permanent escapes plays into romantic ideals of humans embracing their wilder sides and getting back to basics.
Stripping away societal norms and conventions and cultivating a peaceful and simple experience that refreshes and revitalises through its proximity to the elements is a captivating notion, encapsulated by this collection of cabins. Located in a variety of places from mountaintop to forest, some are whimsical escapes, others are cosy homes.
In addition to celebrating the charm of the structures themselves, the volume explores the inventive and often sustainable design thinking that led to these unique abodes that are so at one with their environment.
2. LIVING ON WATER
By Phaidon Editors, Phaidon, R995
A collection of 55 contemporary homes where water forms a fundamental part of the whole, this volume explores a physical expression of our relationship with water through diverse designs that incorporate lakes, oceans, ponds, streams, pools and rivers into their makeup.
Divided into houses built to look at the water, houses built on the water, and houses built to be reflected by the water, the book discovers myriad ways to celebrate it through design so that it is an integral feature - framing the natural aquatic landscape or working water into the design itself.
This richly illustrated volume includes iconic projects by a range of renowned architectural firms, among them John Pawson, David Chipperfield Architects and Tadao Ando Architects & Associates, as well as a new generation of younger, vernacular designers creating inspiring spaces in harmony with their surroundings.
3. DRY GARDENS: HIGH STYLE FOR LOW WATER GARDENS
By Daniel Nolan, with Caitlin Atkinson, R916, Rizzoli
Never before has water so directly affected how we consider design. Dry Gardens: High Style for Low Water Gardens illustrates how an ever-growing lack of this precious resource needn't hinder the aesthetic appeal of your garden, and can actually prompt innovative solutions using a new palette of plants and techniques.
From poolsides and pocket gardens to front lawns and living walls, the book offers exciting and contemporary ideas about planting in a waterwise way.
Illustrating a wide array of drought-resistant and -tolerant species, this collaborative effort between landscaper Daniel Nolan, photographer Caitlin Atkinson and plant expert Flora Grubb will open up the landscaping possibilities for an inevitably less water-abundant future.
4. SAFARI STYLE AFRICA
By Dook and Annemarie Meintjes, Quivertree Publications, R579
Safari has its own design language. Whether it's a high-end take on natural materials, or a rough and ready interpretation of the same, there are common threads that run through.
An intimate engagement with the environment is crucial to the experience of lodge living. Likewise, a respect for the surroundings - designs that integrate into the tones and textures of the bush or those that tread lightly on the earth. And then there's a sense of adventure.
In this volume, photographer Dook and design journalist Annemarie Meintjes collate a collection of lodges that acknowledge the landscape. From the Kalahari to the Okavango, each illustrates a reverence for the ecology, community and culture of their locations, highlighting the importance of a symbiotic relationship between people and land...