By Grace Mitchell Tada, Associate ASLA
According to Pliny, Roman Emperor Tiberius’s doctors instructed their charge to consume a fruit of the Cucurbits family each day. To grow these melon and cucumber fruits year-round on his home island of Capri, Tiberius directed construction of specularia: “[He] had raised beds made in frames upon wheels, by means of which the Cucumis were moved and exposed to the full heat of the sun; while, in winter, they were withdrawn, and placed under the protection of frames glazed with mirror-stone.”
Thus begins
The Conservatory: Gardens Under Glass. Illustrating their text with stunning photography, the authors Alan Stein and Nancy Virts, co-founders of Maryland’s Tanglewood Conservatories, survey the evolution of the conservatory in Europe, North America, and, ultimately, the world. The conservatory, an outgrowth of global trade, imperialism, and innovation, embodies a historical leap in the conjoining of architecture and landscape architect
Bob Eckstein: Creating Laughter in the Toughest of Times
Humorist and cartoonist Bob Eckstein talks about his goal of making people laugh, even in the toughest of times, through two new books.
Author:
Book title:
All’s Fair in Love & War: The Ultimate Cartoon Book by the World’s Greatest Cartoonists (Princeton Architectural Press, October 2020)
The Elements of Stress (Humorist Books, October 2020)
Genre/category: Humor
Elevator pitch for the book:
All’s Fair in Love & War: The best cartoons in the world on the topic of love, marriage, and divorce.
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The Elements of Stress: Invaluable handbook to handling stress in our time things could not get worse but they could get funnier. Written with Michael Shaw.
In Memoriam: Geoffrey Massey
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We are saddened to mark the passing of Geoffrey Massey, age 96, on December 1, 2020.
Massey worked in partnership with architect Arthur Erickson from 1963 to 1972. The duo created projects including the Simon Fraser University campus, the MacMillan Bloedel Building, and the University of Lethbridge’s University Hall, along with an initial plan for Robson Square.
Erickson Family Collection. Arthur Erickson (left) & Geoffrey Massey (right) at Simon Fraser University, 1965
Geoffrey Massey’s father, Raymond, was an academy award-nominated actor. His uncle, Vincent, was Governor General of Canada, and headed a royal commission on the arts that resulted in the influential Massey Report. Geoffrey was a fourth-generation member of the family that founded farm equipment manufacturing company Massey-Harris, later Massey-Ferguson.
Uncommon Goods/Amazon
If you want to get the book lover in your life something more original this year than the same ol paperback, the Mental Floss staff has compiled a list of literature-inspired gifts that go beyond the page. Check out what everyone suggested below for some potential shopping inspiration this holiday season.
1. My Miniature Library; $20
Uncommon Goods
This miniature set of 20 tiny books is perfect for the young bibliophile. Not only does it come with classic titles like
The Owl and the Pussycat and
Beauty and the Beast that readers can assemble themselves, it also has DIY volumes they can fill out personalize and when they ve completed their masterpiece, they can pop it on the included bookshelf. –