Between 2010 and 2020, Caruso St John expanded its reputation for sensitive and characterful architecture through a remarkable range of projects. Major buildings in the heart of Swiss, German, and Belgian cities explored the role urban landmarks can play in the present day, while smaller domestic projects provided the opportunity for experiments in restoration, materials, and colour. Transforming buildings for reuse – from beloved public institutions to long-abandoned industrial sites – became a focal point for the practice as it sought to emphasise its work with the existing rather than contribute to the escalating production of new construction. Their designs for memorials, exhibitions, and museums further developed this engagement with memory and an aliveness to the past.
The third volume of Caruso St John’s acclaimed Collected Works series covers this prolific period via a sequence of resonant themes. Projects are presented with extensive drawings, photography, and new commentaries, interleaved with competition entries, contemporary reviews, and material that inspired and informed the architects, including texts by Elizabeth Wilson and Grace Ndiritu and references from Alberti to Roger Diener and Pissarro to the Bechers. As a retrospective, the book is reflective, allusive, and critical, engaging with urgent contemporary questions while offering a close encounter with the mature work of one of the world’s most significant architecture practices.
