Today, we’re spotlighting five new photobooks coming to bookshelves this summer. From Refik Anadol’s pioneering digital art, to the architects reinventing the rural cabin, the pages of these publications take readers through the most talked-about parts of contemporary art. They ask: how does our current moment shape design and architecture? What are we looking for in our busy modern world? How does the emergence of artificial intelligence influence how we create? Here, the authors look back at pioneers of art and design, whilst spotlighting the next generation. These top picks are not to be missed.
Millions of people have dreamed about moving into a cabin, away from the hustle and bustle of modern life. In fact, the wooden structures have become a symbol of resistance against contemporary society. Northern Exposure – The New Canadian Cabin features 32 projects built at the “edge of the possible.” The volume documents a shift away from rustic clichés toward an architecture of profound ecological responsiveness and sensory clarity. The book explores a new material language of charred cedar, fieldstone and weathered steel, stripping away digital saturation and unnecessary excess to propose an alternative way of living that is grounded in material honestly and a deep, collective awareness of the natural world.
For renowned artist Refik Anadol, artificial intelligence is not just a tool but a creative partner. Working with massive datasets and live data streams, he creates dynamic works that continually evolve. In the tension between digital and physical space, his art invites audiences to experience data as image, memory and imagination. His new monograph presents a visually striking exploration of his installations, created for the opening of the new BRUSK museum in Bruges. The book takes readers through how Anadol became “a painter of post-digital life,” with works that capture the rhythms of cities, the flow of information and the poetry of a world in motion. This is a volume that traces the future of contemporary art.
As the global landscape grapples with an overwhelming saturation of digital information and physical excess, this new book considers the human necessity for reduction. Authors Sarah Dorweiler and Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen offer a profound investigation into why the human reflex towards simplicity surfaces when the world feels out of balance. Rather than treating reduction as solely a design choice, The Art of Less goes beyond conventional manifestos by framing it as a human drive for clarity. Through five thematic lenses – Balance, Contrast, Materiality, Rhythm and Space – the book profiles 20 designers and architects whose work demonstrates that true restraint can create a heightened sense of presence, rather than absence.
Niall McDiarmid: Colour | RRB Photobooks
Modern life if losing its colour. This is the primary concern of photographer Niall McDiarmid, whose joyful work is an antidote to greyscale tones across architecture, interiors, fashion and cars. For over 15 years, the artist has traversed the length of the UK, documenting the inherent colour of life. In this monograph, subjects’ clothing paired with the shades of the urban environment around them, finding harmony where tones echo one another. The artist says: “I went in search of full colour. Not just accents of colour here and there, but frames that were full edge to edge, corner to corner of the brightest tones I could find. Street corners, shops, cafes, museum, galleries, anything with the most luminous shades, I hunted down.”
Living in Style – Seaside Houses | teNeues
The “blue space effect” is the scientifically documented ability of water-centric environments to lower cortisol and spark creativity. Architects have always seized upon this phenomena, building seasonal escapes by the coast. Seaside Houses explores a new generation of residences that serve as “high-design laboratories for wellbeing.” The Mediterranean remains a focal point for this architectural evolution, exemplified by projects like Villa Sui Generis on the Greek island of Kefalonia, representing a dialogue between heritage and modernity. Futher south, in Cape Town, South Africa, Home Angel by M&B Architects shows how monumentality and environmental awareness can coexist on the rugged cliffs of Sandy Bay.
Words: Emma Jacob
Image Credits:
1. Photo The White Space Co., Northern Exposure, gestalten 2026.
2. Photo Ema Peter Photography, Northern Exposure, gestalten 2026.
3. Image courtesy of Refik Anadol Studio.
4. Photo Sooin Jang, Rahee Yoon, The Art of Less, gestalten 2026.
5. Niall McDiarmid, Colour, 2006-2026.
6. Photo Dolly Films, Le Collectionist, Seaside Houses, teNeues 2026.
