London publisher Visual Editions charted its own course last year with the release of Where You Are, an acclaimed collection of images and essays that challenged the idea of what a map could be, featuring stunning pieces such as a writer’s map of their childhood, or the daily rountine of a homeless woman. Continuing in that same vein, the imprint’s next project, Writers in Residence, seeks to give architecture fans unique access to some of the world’s most private organizations.

Taking a quote from writer Alain de Botton as inspiration—“ There are many places in the modern world that we do not understand because we cannot get inside them”—the series will, in the tradition of great essayists before them, journey into the heart of the modern condition, beginning with Another Great Day at Sea (May 20), which chronicles life aboard the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier. Essayist Geoff Dyer (“among the best on the planet,” wrote The New York Times) and award-winning photographer Chris Steele-Perkins will take readers into the floating fortress, profiling the crew and seeking to wrap their heads around the massive battleship. Future additions to the series include a look inside the International Monetary Fund with Liaquat Ahamed and a tour of the technology firm Alcatel-Lucent with Douglas Coupland. If access is power, these books could be revolutionary.