Atlas of Never Built Architecture, published by Phaidon, is a compilation of the most spectacular unbuilt projects from the 20th and 21st centuries. Thoughtfully compiled by authors Sam Lubell and Greg Goldin – co-curators of the acclaimed exhibitions Never Built New York and Never Built Los Angeles – this breathtaking volume is informed by years of research and examines an extraordinary range of proposals by more than 300 architects, that never made it off the drawing board.
Organized geographically and spanning nearly 80 countries, this monumental homage to architectural ambition includes projects of all types: museums, art galleries, cemeteries, churches, bridges, skyscrapers, hotels, theme parks, casinos, opera houses, government buildings, and even a floating theatre boat that resembles a UFO. Seen together, the projects conjure a strange and wonderful new world while simultaneously offering insight into how architectural projects have been conceived and developed over the last 100 years. The book also includes previously unpublished prints, paintings, drawings, etchings, preparatory sketches, and images that bring these alternate histories to life.
Across the book’s 368 pages, readers will discover a 1960s plan to bulldoze Westminster’s government headquarters and replace it with a brutalist complex; a 400-foot tall crystal pyramid conceived to add some flair to Toronto’s skyline; a short-lived 1930s blueprint for an airport on an island in the middle of Paris; a never-built skyscraper commissioned by Domino’s Pizza mogul Tom Monaghan dubbed “The Leaning Tower of Pizza”; and Frank Lloyd Wright’s audacious 528-storey tower meant for Chicago, which he designed at the spritely age of 89.
Atlas of Never Built Architecture unearths projects banished to the cutting room floor due to lack of funding, mercurial clients, creative differences, war, or a change of regime, and celebrates the unbridled creativity and architectural imagination required of these unrealized plans. At times impractical but
always imaginative, the designs reveal the incredible diversity of ideas that have emerged from the world’s most influential architects. These unfulfilled masterpieces have been relegated to memories, libraries, and dusty archives – until now. Perfectly suited for architects, students, designers, and dreamers, this unprecedented book seeks a world in which the only limit to city planning is the imagination of the architect.
Book Details:
Title: Atlas of Never Built Architecture
Authors: Sam Lubell and Greg Goldin
Publication Date: May 2024
Publisher: Phaidon Press
Binding: Hardback
Extent: 368 pages
Size: 13 3/8 × 9 1/2 in
ISBN: 9781838666538
Pre-order: Phaidon store / Amazon
