Travel guides are old school. Who carries these books around with them all the time, only to find the right page at the right moment and read it on the spot? But digital media are not without their problems either: who wants to stare at their mobile phone screen to find out more when they are standing in one of the most beautiful places in Venice?
The Venice Architectural Guide from DOM publishers tries to avoid this dilemma, at least in part. The addresses of the individual buildings in the 288-page book are stored in QR codes on google maps. A start that makes orientation easier. Clemens Kusch and Anabel Gelhaar, the authors of the guide, divide the city area of Venice into individual zones - including Mestre and the Lido. In concise and informative texts, they document the individual buildings together with photos. The guidebook includes Carlo Scarpa's projects as well as Giancarlo De Carlo's sports hall in Mazzorbo and Moses' flood protection structures at the entrance to the lagoon - at the time the book went to press, they were still under construction, but have been in use for several years. If you want to explore Venice's modern architecture, you need this handbook, because it clarifies the basics and makes many discoveries possible: Gino Zucchi, Pier Luigi Nervi, Mario Botta, Boris Podrecca: there are many architectural interventions from the post-war era in Venice, and this book helps you to discover them.
Clemens F. Kusch, Anabel Gelhaar, Architecture Guide Venice. Buildings and Projects After 1950. Paperback, 288 pages, DOM publishers, 3rd edition, Berlin 2018
