Books

Private Views

A High-Rise Panorama of Manhattan

All of us want to see Manhattan from above, but very few can do it from their own living room. Private Views is here to satisfy our incessant curiosity about a hidden elite world that we can only observe from outside, or occasionally, from an overpriced viewing point crowded with tourists.

While posing as an apartment-hunting Hungarian billionaire, Andi Schmied accessed and documented Manhattan’s most exclusive high-rise properties. For the duration of the project, she inhabited a fictional persona: Gabriella, a mother of one whose husband is an antique dealer. Dressing as Gabriella and acting as Gabriella, she prepared for the family’s upcoming move to Manhattan.

Complemented by essays, and fragments of the real estate conversations, the book guides its readers through the sunset from the Trump Tower and dawn over Central Park from the private ballroom of the tallest residential tower on the planet, showcasing samples of the world’s most luxurious materials, such as the Calacatta Tucci marble used in bathrooms overlooking the Empire State Building.

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Shipping times:

USA/CA/UK/ Global Shipping with FedEx Priority: 2-7 business days

EU shipping: 4-6 business days

Shipping to Hungary/Czechia: 2-4 business days

When purchasing multiple copies, you will be asked about your color choices in the confirmation email.

Essays: Sara Emilia Bernat, f-architecture, Irena Lehkoživová, Ava Lynam, Peter Noever, Jack Self, Michael Sorkin, Samuel Stein, Barbora Špičáková, Anthony Vidler, Sharon Zukin.

Editors: Irena Lehkoživová, Barbora Špičáková.

Hardback, Cloth, Perfect binding, Silver Embossed

Dimensions, weight: 31,5 x 23,5 cm, 1,4kg

228 pages, 140 color and 25 b/w illustrations

ISBN 978-80-270-9125-6

Current edition: 2nd edition, 3rd printing

Published by VI PER Gallery, Prague.

Supported by the Future Architecture Platform, the Graham Foundation, Trapéz, and contributors to our crowd funding campaign.

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Private Views: A High-Rise Panorama of Manhattan

BOOK Private Views: A High-rise Panorama of Manhattan

Private Views: A High-Rise Panorama of Manhattan

Private Views: A High-Rise Panorama of Manhattan,

“Private Views: A High-Rise Panorama of Manhattan,”

“Private Views: A High-Rise Panorama of Manhattan,” published in December by vi per, a gallery in Prague.

private views a high-rise panorama of manhattan is a book by andi schmied

Jing Jin City (Volume 1)

A book about a luxury resort town near Beijing that has remained largely unoccupied since construction began in 2002. Produced by artists Andi Schmied and Lawrence Lek, the publication explores the physical structures and psychological undercurrents of the place and its inhabitants.

The city's four thousand mansions exist in various stages of incompletion, set around a Hyatt Regency Resort Spa, horse racing track, and 18-hole golf course. The place is maintained by a small army of caretakers who also make up most of its permanent population. Lacking tasks to complete, they spend their time wandering the streets, occupying the homes they are meant to guard, building constructions in living rooms, and adapting the city to their needs.

Readers are presented with a three-part travelogue through this landscape, exploring the unique way of life that has emerged through the city's lack of use. The book is divided into three contrasting chapters that blend reality and fiction. Each chapter reflects a particular sensibility belonging to the city and its residents: a sense of absence, a sense of ownership, and a sense of time. These states are shown through interwoven sequences of photographs, texts, and renderings. Also included is an appendix containing reproductions of promotional materials from the developers of Jing Jin City.

Jing Jin City (Volume I)

by Andi Schmied & Lawrence Lek

First edition

ISBN 978-963-12-0975-4

Self-Published. Hardcover, cloth bound, 184pp with inserts.

17 x 24cm

Printed in Budapest, 2015

EUR 45 + shipping