This image of a skyscraper appears in the surfaces chapter. Peake writes: "Saturated, shiny, soggy, new, ragged, old, scratched, metallic, hot, broken, opaque, cracked, soft, and ripped. Within a small distance, all of these appear side by side."

In this image from In the City, illustrator Nigel Peake deciphers skyscrapers as an amalgam of “tall glass and steel and neon.”

In the City, a new book published by the Princeton Architectural Press, is now available. In the tome, illustrator Nigel Peake presents his musings on cities and abstract drawings that depit his perception of the built environment.

Here, Peake illustrates a glass facade. The book is divided into chapters on surfaces, places, fragments, paths, and changes.

The book features drawings made from pencil, ink, and watercolor. This one appears in the "change" section. "Structures appear, things are repaired and replaced, and some disappear, while new permanent ones are made," writes Peake.

A bird's-eye view of a rooftop from In the City (Princeton Architectural Press, 2013).

"This book of work has been drawn from various visits to places, from the things that I see, the things that I find odd or comfort in. I like to walk in cities, it is the best way to observe, with the pace of the walk you have a rhythm and you have time to see," writes Peake.

The couple’s cats—Chepe and Pacho—doze while Nigel works in another sitting area (below). The chairs are from HK Living.

“The backyard, which was kind of the focus of the project, was overgrown and quite disconnected from the house itself,” said architect Nigel Parish. The glass doors of the addition open onto a patio and lawn where the kids can play.

Milla and Nigel thought the kitchen island should anchor the first floor, and they wanted colors that matched the frescoes. Stone specialist Nick Blok found exactly what they were looking for: a monolithic piece of Italian quartzite with muted pinks and umbers in the veining.

The impending demolition of Kisho Kurokawa’s Capsule Tower strikes a nostalgic nerve in writer Tom Vanderbilt, who travels to Tokyo for a look at a future that never was. Illustration by: Nigel Peake

That’s how Milla Novo and her husband, Nigel Nowotarski, came to live in the top of what was once a chapel. As you step into their apartment, large arched windows hint at its ecclesiastical past, but the couple’s eye-catching textiles and artworks—set against pristine white walls—make the biggest impression.

Openings in a divider wall are filled with vintage umbrellas Nigel picked up at a local secondhand shop.

There are many textures at play in the living room—the board-formed concrete ceiling, the light brick wall, wood paneling, and the terrazzo floors. "The texture of the timber is reflected in the concrete," says Peake. The lightwell adds an additional internal light source and another spot to insert greenery. The Vibia Palma wall sconce from Koda Lighting is affixed to the wall over the sofa.

The curve in the dining room cabinetry was carved out to hug the dining room table. "The clients wanted lots of storage and were initially concerned about the curve, but appreciated that it was needed for the flow of the plan," says architect Ben Peake, "so we managed to fit more storage into the dining room and living room pieces, and now they love the curve just as much as we do."

The wall of the master bathroom is tiled with Ming Green Marble Fan Tiles from Tera Nova, paired with tumbled limestone floor tiles from Tera Nova. A Michael Anastassiades Flos pendant light from Living Edge brightens the space. The bespoke vanity was designed by Carter Williamson and built by House by Hart Joinery. "Again, we used timber half-dowels to tie the look in with the kitchen," says Peake.

Nigel, an accomplished furniture maker, built the oak-and-yew dining table. Reclaimed rimu wood was used for ceilings and floors. The sliding glass doors are by Thermadura.

"We always like to do floor-to-ceiling curtains: we feel it's softer and more intentional," says Peake. The light above the island is a Span Linear Pendant from Living Edge.

"The clients really didn't want the TV to be the main feature of the living room, so we designed the piece with sliding panels to give the flexibility to hide the TV and reveal a bookshelf in the closed position," explains Peake.

Each floor of the tower is about 160 square feet. Prior to the formal renovation, Sheryl added mosaic tile from Fired Earth in the entrance hall. The hanging lights are by Industville and the high-back chair is by Nigel Griffiths.

The kitchen island was handcrafted with 30-millimeter Tasmanian Oak half-round dowels. "The [curved form] became a real feature of the house which was mimicked in details such as the timber island and doorway threshold," explains Peake. The countertop is Carrara marble from Avant Stone.

A staircase lined with earthen walls leads from the entrance to the lower-level living areas and courtyard. “Rammed earth has a beautiful texture,” says Simpson. “If you get oblique light across it, tiny shadows form. It’s quite stunning.” The handrail was designed by Nigel and made by English blacksmith Spencer Larcombe; the pendants are by Bruck.

A curved slot above the living room is designed to grab the northern light and pull it all the way down through the home. The arched shape references the original shape of the hallway walls. "We used this form in a few areas: bathroom enclosures, bathroom windows, and this skylight," explains Ben Peake, an associate at the firm. "The concave [scalloped] form is also seen in the wainscotting, and the dining room table and the coffee table legs."

During the renovation, workers uncovered frescoes painted on the walls, and the couple decided to leave portions of them uncovered.

Cameraman Converse Jacket By Nigel Cabourn

The Reichstag by Norman Foster. Image copyright Nigel Young, courtesy of the Royal Institute of British Architects.

Treana Peake, founder of Obakki and seen here with Amadou, partners with traditional artisans and rural co-ops to create unique, handcrafted goods in small quantities.

One of the great undersung disseminators of modernism was draftsman, illustrator, and renderer Carlos Diniz. This drawing of a home in Monarch Bay by Ladd and Kelsey Architects in Laguna Nigel is classic Diniz and is as good an ad for California at the start of the 1960s as anything.

In addition to providing natural lighting, the reflective windows have other benefits. Deer walk right by the cabin, unaware that they’re providing a free wildlife show for the Molenaars and their Jack Russell terrier, Nigel. After the sun sets, and the interior can be seen from outside, the owners light candles which make the cottage glow like a huge lantern.

When it comes to upholstery fabric, black, white, and tan don't have to be boring. Choose neutral hues in raised patterns and velvety textures for maximum impact. See more details on our fabric picks here, from Dwell's February 2013 issue. Photo by Nigel Cox.

The neon squiggle light is a piece that Williams had owned for many years; everyone on the JHID team was "very adamant about keeping it in its original location." It joins an atmospheric painting by artist Jocelyn Rahm. A Douglas and Bec floor lamp stands behind bentwood rattan armchairs by Nigel Coates, and a circular coffee table by Master Furniture Makers rounds out the space.

The wall of the master bathroom is tiled with Ming Green Marble Fan Tiles from Tera Nova, paired with tumbled limestone floor tiles from Tera Nova. A Michael Anastassiades Flos pendant light from Living Edge brightens the space. The bespoke vanity was designed by Carter Williamson and built by House by Hart Joinery. "Again, we used timber half-dowels to tie the look in with the kitchen," says Peake.