Richard Meier, Architect

Accompanying a major exhibition organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (and traveling throughout the world), this exquisitely designed and produced catalog explores the formal aspects of Richard Meier's architecture. Over his thirty-five-year career, Meier has produced a body of work that is recognized for its unceasing pursuit of the ideals of modernism and its sensitive handling of urban contexts.

This volume, illustrated with exceptional duotone photographs and Meier's own drawings, is the first to cover his entire career. Included are twenty-four of the architect's masterworks, including the Smith House in Darien, Connecticut; the Douglas House, on the shores of Lake Michigan; the Museum for Decorative Arts in Frankfurt; the Canal+ Headquarters in Paris; the Museum of Contemporary Art in Barcelona; and the Getty Center in Los Angeles. Current projects -- the Federal Courthouse in Phoenix, Arizona, and the Church of the Year 2000 in Rome -- are also presented.

Dozens of Meier's original sketches -- most never before published -- illustrate all of the designs. Essays by noted historians and scholars offer readings of the work focused on themes of abstraction, light, and space, and a fully illustrated chronology completes the comprehensive presentation of Meier's buildings and projects.

Richard Koshalek is president of the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena and former director of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. He was co-organizer of the exhibit "Richard Meier: Architect" and other major exhibitions, such as "Arata Isozaki 1960-1990 Architecture," "Louis I. Kahn: In the Realm of Architecture," "Richard Serra," and "At the End of the Century: One Hundred Years of Architecture."

Dana Hutt is the director of architectural documentation and special projects at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena and a former research associate at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. She was co-organizer of the exhibit "Richard Meier: Architect."