Lair: Radical Homes and Hideouts of Movie Villains

Lair: Radical Homes and Hideouts of Movie Villains

I was seven years old when my father popped a copy of The Man with the Golden Gun in the Betamax of our suburban Marlboro, New Jersey, home. It was 1978, and it was my first experience with the intriguing life of British Secret Agent 007. While I was certainly impressed with the accent and the spiraling car jump across a river, my true fascination was with Scaramanga’s lair, carved into the jungle-covered cliffs of a remote island.

—Chad Oppenheim

Like evil itself, the abodes of movie villains are frequently compelling and seductive. The villain’s lair, as popularized in many of our favorite movies, is much more than where the megalomaniac hides—it is a place where evil is plotted and where the hero is tested and must prove him/herself. From a design standpoint, villains’ lairs tend to be stunning, sophisticated, envy-inducing expressions of the warped drives and desires of their occupants. Lair: Radical Homes and Hideouts of Movie Villains, edited by Chad Oppenheim with Andrea Gollin, explores the architecture of famous ‘lairs’ through photographs, renderings, essays, interviews with industry professionals, and critical analysis.

The book, which appreciates and celebrates all things villainous, focuses predominantly on modern homes from fifteen films, including The Spy Who Loved Me, Dr. Strangelove, The Incredibles, Ex Machina, Blade Runner 2049, Star Wars, and Diamonds Are Forever. From futuristic fantasies to deathtrap-laden hives, from dwellings in space to those under the sea, pop culture and architecture join forces in these outlandish homes.

You can find out more about the book and buy a copy at Tra Publishing.

Awards for Lair

50 Books | 50 Covers AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts), Winner, Book Category
Official Selection Award of the 10th Edition of the Festival International du Livre d’Art et du Film

Lair: Radical Homes and Hideouts of Movie Villains

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Spirit of Place

For thousands of years, civilization has constructed its buildings on the land. We prefer to construct our buildings with the land, where architecture recedes and becomes a frame to celebrate the surrounding nature.

—Chad Oppenheim

Spirit of Place, by Oppenheim Architecture, is the first monograph on the firm’s work. It collects works that demonstrate Oppenheim’s philosophy of building with the land, rather than on the land, allowing architecture to recede and the environment to take center stage.

With 120 stunning photographs and minimal text, the book features seven of the firm’s projects, ranging in scale and location from homes in the Bahamas and Aspen to a resort in the Jordanian desert. The images, like the architecture, focus on and celebrate the natural world, illustrating Oppenheim’s design philosophy that “form follows feeling.” The projects are categorized by each site’s predominant natural element: dune, desert, stream, river, sea, canyon, and peninsula. The volume includes text by Chad Oppenheim, Val K. Warke, Antón García-Abril, and Mark Jarzombek.

“Chad Oppenheim’s subtle and powerful architectural sense is deeply rooted in place, in sensitivity towards the natural and built forms that give texture to our lives and our world. The projects and ideas in this book take us on a journey across the world . . . The book’s spare and elegant design . . . brings Chad’s sculptural imagination to life . . . He is to be congratulated on his compelling and contextual architecture.”—Richard Rogers, architect

You can find out more about the book and buy a copy at Tra Publishing.