Postcard Set Tells the Story of Modern Architecture from A to Z
In his recent work, the Italian architect and illustrator Federico Babina has playfully imagined houses for famous artists that mimic their signature style, and he has placed classic film stars in structures from the modernist canon.
Federico Babina's Archibet postcard set reimagines signature modern structures in the form of letters corresponding to the names of their creators.
His latest project, Archibet, illustrates the history of modern architecture from A to Z—or rather from Alvar Aalto to Zaha Hadid—through a collection of postcards that renders the first letter of an architect’s first or last name in a whimsical and instantly recognizable interpretation of that person’s style.
The Le Corbusier card renders the letter "C" in the form of the Villa Savoye.
The 26 postcards include an "F," for Norman Foster, that resembles the Hearst Tower in Manhattan; a "C," for Le Corbusier, that takes the shape of a modified Villa Savoye; and a "P," for Renzo Piano, with exposed duct work that channels the Centre Georges Pompidou. Other architects who made the set include A. Quincy Jones, Walter Gropius, and Toyo Ito.
"E" is for "Eames," as in Charles and Ray and their Case Study House No. 8, better known as the Eames House.
The set, released this month by Laurence King Publishing, sells for $12.95.
The Hearst Tower is recast as an "F" for its creator, Norman Foster.
Walter Gropius is honored with a "G" in the form of his Bauhaus building.
The "I" brings to mind Toyo Ito's Tod's building in Tokyo, with its reinforced concrete shell that references the outlines of Zelkova trees.
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