Be Seated

"...Be Seated is three books in one: first, the narrative encompassing the history of outdoor seating down to current design practices--Olin's and others; second, almost 50 years' worth of his endearing, squiggly ink and watercolor sketchbook renderings, with handwritten commentary, interleaved between text pages, making his points actively visible. Finally, he includes photographs of contemporary parks, squares, and other public places. The effect is richly cumulative when read or studied in sequence." --Architectural Record
"It's not just the drawings. It's not just the mixture of architectural, sociological, and firm history. It's not just the straightforward stating of design principles and ideas about public space. Rather, the moving quality of the book lies in its recording of a specific concern in the life of a renowned landscape architect, one of the most important of our era." --Landscape Architecture Magazine
We don't think much about public seating: We spy an empty bench in a park or a vacant chair in a town square and we deposit ourselves on its accommodating surface. Renowned landscape architect Laurie Olin, however, has spent a lifetime reflecting on how and where we sit, especially outside. The delightful volume "Be Seated" (Applied Research + Design, 213 pages, $34.95) contains his ruminations on the nature and design of public places for hanging out, the ideas behind his commissions for such spaces as Bryant Park and Columbus Circle in New York City, and a brief history of public seating (until the emergence of the Piazza Signoria in Florence in the 1400s, people mostly plunked themselves on the ground). The book is generously supplemented with Mr. Olin's charming sketches and disarming observations: "An individual approaching a chair will often move it slightly, even if barely an inch or two, as an act of taking possession before sitting on it."--Ann Landi "Wall Street Journal What to Give: Books on Design"