Rizzoli Electa Studio Sofield: Works

An extraordinary work of bookmaking, this is the first and only book from one of the most sought-after architecture and design ateliers in the world. For more than three decades, Studio Sofield has brought unalloyed excitement to the practice of design and architecture, creating spaces that reshape the boundaries between art and craft, reality and fantasy, history and the present moment with exceptional elegance and wit. The Studio’s projects, which range from homes, retail experiences and hospitality to multistory apartment towers, the seating in their lobbies and the hardware on their doors, invite us to connect—not only with each other, but with the places that bring us joy. Studio Sofield Works is the landmark first book from the New York City firm. At 656 pages, this slipcased volume is a visual journey through scores of projects that underline the Studio’s distinctive approach, including thirteen featured chapters illustrated with 730 full-color photographs. The book opens with a chronology of highlights, tracing the culture and mood of past decades with beguiling candor and spotlighting the inspiration that William Sofield and Emma O’Neill have taken from the times. The Studio’s very first office, above a slaughterhouse in the Meatpacking District, gives rise to ideas for Ralph Lauren’s Japanese-inspired estate in Montauk. In Laurel Canyon, the Studio’s West Coast home conjures decorative experiments only a Hollywood dream factory could match. And Sofield’s endless commuting for fashion clients—among them Gucci, Tom Ford, Bottega Veneta, and Yves Saint Laurent—informs a client’s nose-to-tail private plane redesign. Throughout the book, a series of essays—by Jack Bankowsky, Paul Goldberger, A.M. Homes, John Oakes, Tim Rodgers and Joel Silver—celebrates Studio Sofield’s unique gifts for teasing a delectable future out of the past with a touch so light, so deft, you have to see it to believe it. No wonder clients get hooked. As Tom Ford writes in his foreword, “I always imagine that I am not going to sell a house, buy another, and then go through what can be an exhaustive exercise in creating a new home, but I’m afraid that I am addicted to houses. I am also addicted to Bill and Emma.” Studio Sofield has made a book in the same way it makes spaces, with artistry and a meticulous eye for detail. As the first and only book on the firm’s seminal oeuvre, Studio Sofield Works is a volume to cherish and an essential addition to every contemporary design library. A valuable resource and a beautiful object, the book is printed in Italy on the highest quality stock for a sublime statement that defines the Studio’s opus.