While in Seattle I always visit Peter Miller, my favorite architectural bookstore, where I'm always inspired by everything I pick up. Sometimes the author or subject of the book is unfamiliar to me, and often these purchases sit in a pile for quite a while -- the I'm always meaning to read that pile -- before I'm able to get to them. One day over this holiday break, I picked one up and then absolutely could not put it down. I read it cover to cover in one sitting and regretted not having gotten to it earlier.

The book is divided into four chapters: space (divide, enclose, and connect), light (filter, reflect, and absorb), interaction (approach and withdraw), and form (phenomena and impressions). These headings give you an indication of the extraordinary approach Ando takes with her medium, using textiles to harness light and sculpt space.

If I had to describe this book in a single word, it would be atmospheric. I would recommend it to anyone interested in thinking about fabric as a new application -- as a division of space, as translucent patterns with which to create shadows, or to create moods with color (or the absence of).

'Objects exist regardless of whether there is light, but without light they cannot be seen. Music exists regardless of whether there is air, but without air it cannot be heard. In this sense, light and air are positioned between the things that exist and our sensory organs, and act as media that can convey what we otherwise could neither see nor hear.'

-- Jun Aoki