#HolidayGiftList #interview w/ Alexandra Lange #Architect #Author #ArchitectureCritic

 

Alexandra Lange




The Design of Childhood by Alexandra Lange





https://suno.com/s/VcvQiyV94XdoEMjA

Today's episode is sponsored by Stone Architect, the natural-stone sourcing company behind the movement Granite Your Planet™ — inspiring cities, architects, and builders to choose materials that truly stand the test of time.
Stone Architect’s mission is simple: build for centuries, not landfills.
While concrete and manufactured products break down every 7 to 20 years — creating massive CO₂ emissions — natural granite is one of the most sustainable building materials on Earth. It’s carbon-light, chemically untouched, and built by nature to last hundreds of years.
From major city streetscapes to public parks, waterfronts, and private developments across North America, Stone Architect helps design teams realize projects that are stronger, cleaner, and dramatically more sustainable for our planet.
If you believe in smarter materials, lower emissions, and public spaces created with intention — join the movement at stonearchitect.org
**Stone Architect — Granite Your Planet™.
Build for the next generation.””


Listen to podcast w/ Alexandra Lange here


Alexandra Lange

Alexandra Lange is a journalist, design critic, and author. Her essays, reviews and profiles have appeared in numerous design publications including ArchitectHarvard Design Magazine, and Metropolis, as well as in The AtlanticNew York MagazineThe New Yorker, and the New York Times. She is a contributing writer for Bloomberg CityLab, and has been a featured writer at Design Observer, an opinion columnist at Dezeen, and the architecture critic for Curbed. In 2025 she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism for a series on how urban design and architecture affect children and families.

Her last name rhymes with “rang.”

Her latest book, Meet Me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall, was published by Bloomsbury USA in 2022. It received positive reviews in the New York Times, the Wall Street JournalThe AtlanticThe Economist, and The Nation, as well as coverage on NPR Marketplace, 99 Percent Invisible, Decoder Ring, and The Brian Lehrer Show.


For this year's Holiday Gift List, I wanted to check back with Alexandra Lange as I had messaged her via a social media site that I no longer use...(You can figure out which one that is because the list is getting longer, lol!) because I wanted to do a podcast with her and combine the Year End Book Review with the Holiday Gift List... 
This pretty much follows the podcast but I have Alexandra's first because I like to promote other Architects and other Wo
men so 
BUY HER BOOKS!!!!!

Alexandra's Three Classic Buildings:
Lever House , New York City, 
Architect: SOM: Natalie de Blois
By Epicgenius - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=177972396



Nakashima Compound
Pennsylvania






Menil Collection Fort Worth, Texas Architect: Renzo Piano


THE HOLIDAY GIFT LIST & BOOK LIST

Michele:


bookshop.org: Meet me by the Fountain by Alexandra Lange

Alexandra:



bookshop.org: 2020 New York


Michele: 

olsonkundig.com: Tom Kundig: Complete Houses

Tom Kundig: Complete Houses
"Residential work is where my architecture practice began and continues to evolve. Each home is a  chance to test an idea, refine a detail, or take a risk. This book is a moment of reflection in my practice, an attempt to capture something that is always in motion."

Alexandra:

bookshop.org: Almost Nothing: Edith Farnsworth

Michele: 

Ok, This one is due out soon..... it is a preview of a book that will be on Houses that is from the firm of Bohlin Cywinski Jackson where my guest, Gregory Mattola, from last year's podcast on the Year End Book Review talked about and now there is a title:
A Long View" by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, ORO Editions
And there is also an upcoming book by the firm that Gregory Mottola is now at, Walker Warner and they also have a book in the works that will be on their houses and it is also with ORO Editions. Check out their website for other great books!


Alexandra:




by Sarah Rovang


Alexandra:



bookshop.org: "The Mitford Sisters and Me" by Mimi Pond


Michele:



I have interviewed my frined architect Kristi Byers twice for the podcast, she has joined the San Diego Legacy architecture firm of Mosher Drew as a partner and this book was co-written by Keith York, who I will get on as a guest one of these days (or I am going to stop promoting his book ;) 
The Coronado Bridge is a source of logistics and iconic identity for the city of San Diego and so I am including this one as a book and hopefully if my "I've never met a woman architect before... with Michele Grace Hottel, Architect" architecture tour is included in the AIA Conference in San Diego (hint, hint) you will be able to see the San Diego Museum of Art Sculpture Garden and Pavilion in Balboa Park which will also include a tour to see another museum that was renovated  by architect Jennifer Luce, the Mingei.


Alexandra:


I have always been a fan of women's clothes from the 30's and 40's, also from the 60's and 70's when my mom would make mine, but it is just so great to see these clothes that were just beautifully designed but also had the real power suit the Lauren Bacall and Katherine Hepburn made famous in the movies but some of their iconic looks were created that would define their "strong women personalities" were created by Claire McCardle





In Memorium:



papress.com: "An Architecture of Craft" by Olle Lundberg







taschen.com Annie Liebowitz: SUMO




And if you have read the list this far..... I would like to make an announcement about a book that I would also like to promote:
The one that I am in the process of doing, I can't really divulge that much information about it, but I am "In Talks" with a publisher(s) and I will hopefully we will be able to take pre-orders soon. And no it is not all about me, but it is about a project that I have been working on for the last several years and I can assure that 100+ people will wantt to order a copy. I look forward to seeing many of you on the Book Tour!!!







Other Gifts and Stocking Stuffers:




The Moth: A Game of Storytelling – The Reader's Catalog

Michele:


The Moth : A Game of Storytelling
If you have ever listened to "The Moth" Radio Hour on NPR, you have wondered how these stories have been made and here is a way that you can create your own. I think this one game I might want to play during the holidays, lol!!!!  
I AM NOT A GAME PLAYER, LOL!!!!!  (In every sense of the word!!)

Gifts for Hosts, Clients and Anyone who shows up with one at your house......
ALCOHOL or NON_ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES in glass bottles

If you want it to seem a little more personal, get these business card lazer cut bottle openers made for a 6 pack of beer or Coke with the person's name on it (I did that once for a person who was drinking a diet coke big gulp when I first met them at 6am....   

https://www.stonewerxpromo.com/

Alexandra:

Anything that doesn't have to be bought new like on Etsy, or something that you can buy for someone that they have have sked for but look for it on Etsy or a smaller business. 

A Caribener for holding things and small useful things like slap bracelets that are reflective for walking at night, useful things.

Etsy Hand-stamped Carabiner


MICHELE:

www.dickblick.com ART SUPPLY STORE


LEGOS from Toypyre


Happy Thanksgiving!!!!


PREVIOUS GIFT LISTS:
https://inmawomanarchitect.blogspot.com/2024/11/interview-podcast-w-nancy-weinman-of.html
"I've never met a woman architect before..." with Michele Grace Hottel, Architect Holiday Gift List 2023
"I've never met a woman architect before... Holiday Gift List 2022
"I've never met a woman architect before... Holiday Gift List 2021
"I've never met a woman architect before... Holiday Gift List 2020

"I;ve never met a woman architect before... Holiday Gift List 2019

"I've never met a woman architect before..." Holiday Gift List 2018

"I've never met a woman architect before..." Holiday Gift List 2017


Outro — Stone Architect | Granite Your Planet™
“And that’s a wrap on today’s episode!
A huge shout-out to our sponsor, Stone Architect, powering the Granite Your Planet™ movement.
If you’re ready to build smarter, cleaner, and way more sustainably, head over to stonearchitect.org and see why designers, cities, and creators worldwide are choosing natural granite to shape the future.
Thanks for listening — stay inspired, stay future-focused, and as always…
Granite Your Planet™ and build for generations!”




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