The Most Beautiful Swiss Books 2026
Two Park Books titles among the winners!
The Federal Office of Culture has announced the winners of the Most Beautiful Swiss Books 2026 competition, as voted for by a jury of international experts. Two Park Books titles are among the winners! Congratulations to everyone involved in the making of the books–we couldn’t be happier!
Dirty Old River brings together 12 essays penned by British architect Tom Emerson over the past two decades. Written on very different occasions as contributions to books or articles in magazines, they explore a wide range of topics through the lens of architecture. The book’s title is borrowed from the British rock band The Kinks’ cult song Waterloo Sunset to symbolize a journey through the interweaving of culture, imagination, and the built environment.
Emerson’s unique approach to writing is often inspired by sideways glances and disciplines beyond architecture. He offers a new perspective on how things are made, why they take shape the way they do, and what these processes reveal about humanity.
Written by Tom Emerson, edited by Sarah Handelman, book design by John Morgan Studio.
«... a rare piece of readable and engaging writing from a practising architect.»
«... a rare piece of readable and engaging writing from a practising architect.»
Written by distinguished French architectural critic and historian Françoise Fromonot, the second award-winning book —The House of Doctor Koolhaas—is about the Villa dall’Ava, a private residence in Saint-Cloud, a suburb of Paris. Fromonot brilliantly unpicks, explains, and interprets this very first building completed by Rem Koolhaas, who is universally regarded as the world’s most celebrated architect, and his Rotterdam-based firm Office for Metropolitan Architecture. The house is resolutely part of a modern architectural canon, but until now has not been the focus of a dedicated book or analysis.
This book is the first case in the new Gumshoe series of architectural books that introduces an original approach to the writing of architectural history. It returns the focus of architectural discourse back onto buildings in a style and form that is fresh and scholarly but also easy and enjoyable to read.
Written by Françoise Fromonot, edited by Thomas Weaver, book design also by John Morgan Studio.
«Much like a detective, Fromonot questions everything—everything that has been said, written, drawn, and photographed by Koolhaas and his collaborators around the villa. She delves into history, art, cinema, literature, and even cartoons, peeling away the layers and digging beneath the ‹false leads› to discover Villa dall’Ava’s hidden meaning. It’s an enjoyable book that is as much about the journey as the destination.»
«Much like a detective, Fromonot questions everything—everything that has been said, written, drawn, and photographed by Koolhaas and his collaborators around the villa. She delves into history, art, cinema, literature, and even cartoons, peeling away the layers and digging beneath the ‹false leads› to discover Villa dall’Ava’s hidden meaning. It’s an enjoyable book that is as much about the journey as the destination.»
Our sister publishing house Scheidegger & Spiess also received two awards – click here to see the winners!
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