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For dog-eared pages, desk-side references, and ideas you come back to. Delivered worldwide, with free shipping.
The Buildner bookshop / Ideas worth keeping
For minds
that build.
A new perspective. A spark for your next project. Books that belong on your desk, and in your thinking.
Find your next read01–12Architecture. Design. Possibility.
In print & on screen.
In print & on screen.
↗ Free worldwide print shipping▤ Print, PDF, or both↶ 14-day returns on printed books
The reading room
Your next big idea
starts here.
From a single chair to a different way of living.
Find the perspective you’re looking for.
The printed books
Made to be
held.
Six of the titles come in print, from a 256-page hardcover to a notebook that fits in a pocket. Printed copies ship free, worldwide.
The review
Nine minutes
inside a book.
Show It Better, the YouTube channel on communicating architecture visually, goes through What is Small-Scale Architecture?, from the interviews to the competition designs.
A review by Show It Better, on Buildner’s YouTube channel.
In their words
Two architects,
two questions.
Every ARCHHIVE book asks one question. Ben van Berkel and Kengo Kuma answer two of them.
Ben van BerkelFounder and principal architect, UNStudio, Amsterdam.What is Small-Scale Architecture?“Small scale projects sometimes generate ideas which can later be extended to larger scale projects. They not only perform as a testing ground for geometric, material and construction related considerations, but they are also invaluable when testing ideas on a conceptual level. Or better said, how to combine the two.”
Kengo KumaFounder, Kengo Kuma & Associates, Tokyo.What is Affordable Housing?“In our current era, it’s imperative to reevaluate and alter our understanding of ‘living’ within a home. The key aspect of this evolution is ensuring that all housing we envision and bring to life must be accessible in terms of affordability.”
The MICROHOME collection / Issues 01–04
Less space.
More possibility.
Small homes are a testing ground for big ideas. Explore built projects and competition concepts that rethink how we live.
See all four issuesYour desk. Your device. Your choice.
Keep it close.
A library that goes with you.
Take your reading from the studio to the train. Digital editions for your laptop, tablet, or phone.
The best of both worlds.
The printed edition for your desk and its digital companion for everywhere else. Available on selected titles.
Find your perfect pair ↗From the world of Buildner
Good architecture starts
with an open mind.
For over a decade, Buildner has brought architectural ideas into the world through international competitions. These books bring that spirit to your bookshelf: different voices, unexpected approaches, and possibilities worth exploring.
Discover Buildner ↗- 12
- titles, in print and PDF
- 1,800+
- pages
- 590+
- projects, essays, interviews and poems
- 15
- years of Buildner competitions
A few useful things
Before you
turn the page.
Can I choose between print and digital?
Yes. Each book page shows the editions available for that title. Some are PDF-only, some offer print and PDF, and selected titles also have a print + PDF bundle.
How much does shipping cost?
Nothing. Printed books ship free worldwide, and we email you the tracking details as soon as your order is on its way.
Can I return a printed book?
Yes. You have 14 days from the day it arrives to change your mind: choose Withdraw from contract at the bottom of any page, then send the book back. The bookstore terms have the details.
What format are the digital editions?
Digital books and MICROHOME magazines are supplied as PDFs. A print + PDF bundle includes both editions of the same title.
Inside the book
Take a seat.
Make a statement.
Every year, Buildner asks architects and designers to design their own signature chair. The Architect’s Chair 02 collects 80 of the answers, by more than 100 designers from 37 countries. Each chair gets its own spread: photographs, construction drawings and the designers’ own account of the idea.
- 80
- chairs
- 37
- countries
- 100+
- architects and designers
- 10
- jurors
Turn the pages
Big pictures.
Fine lines.
Real spreads from the printed book: large photographs, construction drawings in yellow and the story of each chair in its designers’ words.
Pages 4–5. The competition. 
Pages 8–9. The jury. 
Pages 42–43. Tangent, Birk Manum Bjerkan, Norway. 
Pages 70–71. Nanban Jin, Openbook Studio, Portugal. 
Pages 106–107. New Hope, Szymon Hanczar and Przemysław Słowik, Poland. 
Pages 142–143. Sfero Chair, Gianluca Frasca, Canada. 
Pages 178–179. Hedgehog Chair, Zigeng Wang, China. 
Pages 200–201. Drift Chair, Aarushi Taluka, India.
The brief
Architecture,
at the scale of the body.
Charles and Ray Eames, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Marcel Breuer and Arne Jacobsen all designed chairs that are still made today. A chair is where an architect’s ideas meet the body directly: every joint, material and angle is visible, and every one of them can be felt.
The Architect’s Chair competition asks for exactly that: one chair that carries its designer’s way of thinking. The book shows what came back, from a lounge chair held together without a single screw to a sphere of air that turns into a seat.
Eight things the jury looks for
- 01Functionality
How well the chair does its job: long sitting, adjusting, moving it around.
- 02Comfort
Real support, from the shape of the seat to the angle of the back.
- 03Aesthetics
Form, colour, texture and proportion, and what the chair does for a room.
- 04Signature style
The themes, materials and moves that make it unmistakably one designer’s.
- 05Material quality
Solid woods, metals and fabrics, chosen to last.
- 06Craftsmanship
Precise joinery, clean finishing, techniques done well.
- 07Versatility
Modular parts, adjustable settings, stacking, a place in many rooms.
- 08Sustainability
Renewable or recycled materials, a smaller footprint, a long life and a recyclable end.
The jury
Judged by designers and architects from Los Angeles to Tokyo.
- Boris BerlinPartner, Boris Berlin Design, Copenhagen
- Anne BrandhøjPartner, Bly Studio, and wood sculptor
- Sarah HossliProduct designer, Lucerne
- Flora LeeAssociate partner, MAD Architects, Los Angeles
- Alexander LervikDesigner, Scandinavia
- Lorenz NoelleProduct designer, Switzerland
- Natalia Sanz LaviñaCo-founder, YSLA Architects, Tokyo
- Harrison StallanArchitect, OMA, Rotterdam
- Philippe StarckDesigner and architect, France
- Takeshi YamamuraCo-founder, YSLA Architects, Tokyo
Case studies
Six chairs,
up close.
Six of the 80, and the thinking behind them. Page numbers are those of the printed book.
01
The chair on the cover
Noodle Chair
Liam de la Bedoyere, the United Kingdom
You have already met this one: its yellow tubes are on the cover. The frame is a hexagon, 3D-printed in recycled polypropylene. Into it slot the “noodles”, tubes of high-density foam wrapped in bouclé.
They go in and come out by hand, without a single tool, so the chair can be rearranged whenever you like. Fewer noodles, more noodles, a new pattern: the same frame becomes a different chair.
- Frame 3D-printed in recycled polypropylene
- Foam noodles wrapped in bouclé
- Rearranged by hand, no tools
Pages 74–77
02
Not a single screw
Brochette
Alexis Giard, Vanessa Michaud, Canada
A cantilevered lounge chair held together by nothing but its joints. There are no screws and no fasteners: precise tenon-mortise joints and curved cross beams carry the whole structure.
The angles of the seat follow the principles of hospital beds, to help circulation and comfort. The Douglas fir is sourced locally and keeps its rosy colour under a non-toxic soap finish.
- Douglas fir, sourced locally
- Tenon-mortise joints, no fasteners
- Soap finish
Pages 10–13
03
A bridge you can sit on
PONTUM
Sára Kele, Hungary
Budapest’s Elisabeth Bridge hangs from cables, and so does the seat of PONTUM: it is suspended on paracord, which gives it flex and comfort.
The collection carries the bridge’s history in its colours. Black charred wood stands for the original bridge, lost in the Second World War; natural white ash for the cable bridge that replaced it.
- Solid ash and charred wood
- Seat suspended on paracord
- Shaped by CNC
Pages 38–41
04
A city’s history, cut into a seat
Placemaking Chair
Theodore Galante, the United States
Each Placemaking Chair is built from four layers of historic maps of one city, drawn and laser-cut, so that sitting down means sitting inside centuries of change: rivers re-routed, cow paths turned into streets.
The book has two cities. Paris is cut into veneer plywood set in a walnut frame. Hong Kong is cut into aluminium, every element bent by hand.
- Four layers of historic city maps
- Laser-cut plywood or aluminium
- Paris and Hong Kong
Pages 152–155
“One simple pencil stroke defines a curve. Adjusting the parameters through iterative steps defines the chair.”
05
A Yoruba weave, from plastic in the gutters
Akérelé Chair
Temilola Anuoluwapo Oyenuga, Ayodele Chiamaka Okotcha, Shola Matthew Ayantokun, Oluwasemilogo Adejoke Adeyemi, Nigeria
Four designers from Nigeria built this chair around Aşọ òkè, the handwoven textile of the Yoruba people of South West Nigeria. Here the cloth is woven from recycled fibre, made of PET plastic collected from gutters and waterways in Nigeria.
The frame is bamboo and recyclable steel, and it comes apart easily, for repair or for recycling at the end of its life.
- Bamboo and recyclable steel
- Aşọ òkè woven from recycled PET
- Comes apart for repair
Pages 48–51
06
A farm, remembered in egg trays
ALM Chair
John Earo Roque, the Philippines
The ALM Chair is a tribute to a grandfather’s poultry farm and the childhood memories that come with it. Its structure is inspired by egg trays: it cradles the body and builds up into modular seats of different heights.
It is made of fully recyclable high-density polyethylene, upholstered with recycled polyester or shredded foam.
- Recyclable high-density polyethylene
- Modular, in different heights
- Recycled upholstery
Pages 90–93
More from the book
Pull up
another chair.
A wider look at the chairs inside, with their designers and the page each one starts on. Choose a thread to follow.
Brochette
Alexis Giard, Vanessa Michaud
Canada, page 10
KARA Chair
Simo Lahtinen
Finland, page 14
DI / Convergent Chair
Maarten Douwe Bredero
the Netherlands, page 18
Curvature
Vincent Peu Duvallon
China, page 22
V–1 Vajr Stool
Mandira Sareen
the United States, page 24
Fusion Flex Chair
Jakub Zajadacz
Poland, page 26
A Seat for Two
Nour Fahmy, Simon Newbigging
Canada, page 28
Sustainable Serenity
Yu Bo Lan
Canada, page 32
Metamorphoses Chair
Ani Hovhannisyan
the United States, page 36
PONTUM
Sára Kele
Hungary, page 38
Tangent
Birk Manum Bjerkan
Norway, page 42
Vault
Alaa Mahmoud
Egypt, page 46
Akérelé Chair
Temilola Anuoluwapo Oyenuga, Ayodele Chiamaka Okotcha, Shola Matthew Ayantokun, Oluwasemilogo Adejoke Adeyemi
Nigeria, page 48
STRATO
Joohyun Shin
the United States, page 52
G2Flat Chair
Jochen Robert
Germany, page 54
IMAGO
Aleksandr Agbunov
Bulgaria, page 56
Horseshoe Chair No 1
Faizan Khan
Canada, page 60
Dalton Chair
Robin Dupuis
Canada, page 62
ZINKA Chair
Vedad Islambegovic
Bosnia, page 64
Turning Point
Mads Nikolaj Nissen
Denmark, page 66
Sedare
Nestor Lopez
Colombia, page 68
Nanban Jin
Openbook Studio
Portugal, page 70
Noodle Chair
Liam de la Bedoyere
the United Kingdom, page 74
MIRAME Chair
Sara Nichota
Macedonia, page 78
YIZI Chair
Yutong Xu
the United Kingdom, page 80
TRÉ
Hannah Technau
Germany, page 82
Barcelona Chair
Carlos Mansilla, Pablo Cárdenas
Spain, page 84
Split Chair
Katherine Burns
Australia, page 86
Opahl Chair
Kacper Arkadiusz Pietrzak
Poland, page 88
ALM Chair
John Earo Roque
the Philippines, page 90
La Chaise Tri-Par-Tie
Simon-Gabriel Pouliot
Canada, page 94
VC2 Steck Chair
Uhlenberg
Germany, page 96
Ingrid Chair
Luca Andreatta
Italy, page 98
Stitch
Saskia Gedin
Sweden, page 100
Lino Scrap Chair
Oliver Gutschy, Florian Blamberger
Austria, page 102
NeoBloc Chair
Nouras Hamdan, Mazen Alameddin, Hazem Mahmoud, Joe Anne Achaiban
France, page 104
New Hope
Szymon Hanczar, Przemysław Słowik
Poland, page 106
PE Chair
Tamta Gotsadze, Nuki Bokuchava
Georgia, page 108
Revive Chair
Razan Abuel Shayeb
Jordan, page 110
HANNAH
Jiansong Yuan, Xiaotong Ni
the United States, page 112
OK
Aleksandra Forystek
the United States, page 114
KEHIKKO Chair
Simo Lahtinen
Finland, page 116
Equilibrium Chair
Arianna Afsari, James Edwards, P M, Xiwen Xu
the United Kingdom, page 118
Landing Chair
Leonardo Cid Pereira H
the United States, page 120
ReShape Chair
Massimo Devino
Italy, page 122
Sedia Zero
Nicholas Anello
the United States, page 124
Leccacù
Dario Costantino, Giuseppe Fallacara, Ilaria Cavaliere
Italy, page 126
Lilly Chair
Caterina Marra, Serena Ferretti, Andres Cardozo, Luca Locatelli
Italy, page 128
Bug Chair
Raphaël Azaïs
France, page 130
Nomadic Armchair
Dohyung Kim
South Korea, page 132
Rattan Splice Chair
Harry Parr-Young
Sweden, page 136
LINO Chair
Franz Münzing, Joshua Haack
Germany, page 138
L’Esquisse
Sofia Sokol
France, page 140
Sfero Chair
Gianluca Frasca
Canada, page 142
Pipedreams Stool
Fergus Laidlaw
the United Kingdom, page 144
TriangleCHAIR
Luca Salecker
Germany, page 146
Aloop
Tommy Cheong, Christophe Gaubert, Willie Tay
Singapore, page 148
Placemaking Chair: Hong Kong
Theodore Galante
the United States, page 152
Placemaking Chair: Paris
Theodore Galante
the United States, page 154
Chair III
Nada Design – Ajin Ryu, Yuan Sun
the United States, page 156
Chair One
Michiel Toelen
Belgium, page 158
Cordula Chair
Julian Gamper
Belgium, page 160
Totem Chair
Juan Ángel Zanin, Carolina Estelles
Argentina, page 164
Square Chair
Robin Clancy
Australia, page 166
Stiletto Chair
Ryosuke Imaeda
Japan, page 168
Benjamin Armchair
Lucas Schwartsburd
Brazil, page 170
Fluito Chair
František Tóth
Slovakia, page 172
Tree Chair
Studio Gunther Pfeffer
Germany, page 174
Ariane 1.1 Chair
Attila Plumet
France, page 176
Hedgehog Chair
Zigeng Wang
China, page 178
Aim Chair
Yusuf Çakar
Turkey, page 180
Archaiq
Patricia Van Overbeke
Belgium, page 182
Materia Luce
Arthur Georges Vincent
France, page 184
Key Note Chair
Arnela Turkanovic
Italy, page 186
PÉTIT NOUNOURS
Uwe Gaertner
Germany, page 188
OSSO
Wongsun Yoo
France, page 190
Inkie Chair
Alexandra Arguelles
Singapore, page 194
RAMA Chair
Berina Ramić, Cromex .d.o.o.
Bosnia, page 196
ESE Chair
Oscar Alberto Cortes-landa, Jorge Jimenez Felix
Mexico, page 198
Drift Chair
Aarushi Taluka
India, page 200
Words and pictures from the book, The Architect’s Chair 02 (Buildner). Every chair and its photographs by the designers named.
