Summer readings: Suggestions from the Vibia team

Marga Pérez, Product Marketing Manager at Vibia, has chosen three very different though complementary reads.

Neuroarquitectura. Aprendiendo a través del espacio by Ana Mombiedro, an architect who has specialised in neuroscience, suggests we become aware of the importance of space for its inhabitants and learn to recognise how our bodies respond to stimuli.

The Interior Design Handbook by Frida Ramstedt, founder of Trendenser.se, is an easy, pleasant reading that provides ‘invaluable clues as to how we can organize our houses to make them more homey for us to live in rather than for others to look at.’

Design Is Storytelling by graphic designer Ellen Lupton, her third proposal, ‘is a guide to resources and strategies for implementing storytelling techniques in product and service design, and user experience.’

Rodrigo Bárcena from Prototyping proposes The Japanese Garden by Sophie Walker, a very complete study of garden design in the Japanese context, that includes short essays relevant to many other fields, ‘with rigorous texts that are pleasant to read, a beautiful edition and exquisite photographs’.

Studio Gang: Architecture by Studio Gang is recommended by Sales Manager Hilary Nelson. Discussing architectural works, urban design and landscaping, this book offers an opportunity to delve into the work of Jeannie Gang, founder of ‘an architecture and urban design practice headquartered in Chicago, with offices in New York, San Francisco and Paris’.

Nico Barboza, our Growth Marketing Manager, immerses himself in the universe of art with What Are You Looking At? The Surprising, Shocking, and Sometimes Strange Story of 150 Years of Modern Art by journalist Will Gompertz, a specialist in modern art. ‘This pleasant and captivating book offers a complete and easy-to-read summary of the artistic movements of the past hundred and fifty years, from pre-Impressionism to Postmodernism, shedding light on the key aspects of each movement and highlighting their contribution to the world of art.’

Mies van der Rohe 1886 – 1969: The Structure of Space by Claire Zimmerman is the choice made by our Lighting Designer Clara Alonso. Alonso emphasises how ‘through the illustrations of the preliminary sketches of projects, the construction process and final images of the completed works, alongside floor plans and freehand drawings, the book covers the life and most outstanding and emblematic buildings by the brilliant architect, a great defender of pure forms, proportionality and Minimalism’.

Johnnie Bosco Flores, our Sales Manager, has selected three books. One on interior design, specifically lights, one on landscape gardening and one on art. He defines 1000 Lights by Charlotte and Peter Fiell as ‘a time capsule of lighting design that covers numerous decades and styles’. Piet Oudolf At Work features the gardens and the greatest collection of drawings by the Dutch designer ever published, while James Turrell: A Retrospective explores the oeuvre of an American artist who works chiefly with light and space.

Last but not least, our People, Talent And Culture Manager Irene Cerdeira has picked María Hesse’s Frida Kahlo. An Illustrated Life. ‘I’m a trained psychologist and I’ve always been fascinated by why people are as they are, do what they do and love what they love’, she confesses. ‘I find Frida Khalo’s story intriguing as regards how feelings like pain, sorrow or love can prove so inspirational for creativity and define an artist’s style.’