Contemporary Follies

Contemporary Follies showcases outstanding examples of contemporary design that address our place in nature. Emerging from the Enlightenment spirit of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Thomas Jefferson, the English picturesque folly, and the forest retreats of Scandinavian modernists, these projects inspire contemplation and creativity in their spatial energy and alliance with the environment.

The book features fifty structures, including work by internationally recognized firms such as Arata Isozaki & Associates, Heatherwick Studios, Patkau Architects, Steven Ehrlich Architects, TEN Arquitectos as well as innovative young studios in all parts of the world: Norway, United Kingdom, Austria, Chile, Germany, Ecuador, Finland, Taiwan, Spain, Canada, Netherlands, United States, Czech Republic, France, and Switzerland.

International in scope and focused on design excellence, this collection of exquisite buildings will appeal to all who yearn for a place of their own, a retreat in which to regroup and reprioritize. Together these small structures are the contemporary interpretation of the folly, the small building nestled in the landscape, a place apart.

KEITH MOSKOW and ROBERT LINN are principals of Moskow Linn Architects in Boston, a firm committed to sustainable, environmentally sensitive design using the forms and materials of New England architecture. Within a general practice, the firm is particularly known for small-scale interventions within the urban fabric intended to improve the quality of city life. Recent designs include Zip Car Dispenser, based on the famous Pez candy dispenser, and River Genie, a barge to collect waterborne garbage, both of which were premiated by the AIA. Moskow and Linn are the authors of two books on contemporary residential architecture on Martha's Vineyard, where they have completed multiple commissions, and of Small Scale: Creative Solutions for Better City Living (Princeton Architectural Press, 2010).