| Parent company | ActarBirkhäuser |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1994 |
| Country of origin | Spain |
| Headquarters location | Barcelona |
| Publication types | Books |
| Nonfiction topics | architecture, graphic design, and contemporary art |
| Official website | www.actar.com |
ACTAR is part of ActarBirkhäuser is a publisher of books on architecture, graphic design, and contemporary art. It was founded in 1994 and is based in Barcelona.
ACTAR is directed by Ramon Prat. In 2006, ACTAR opened a New York office for North American sales and distribution. In addition to ACTAR's in-house titles, ACTAR D internationally distributes publications by prominent European cultural institutions and publishers.
ACTAR's publishing program is focused on the works of established and emerging architects, designers, artists, and photographers at the forefront of contemporary practice and theory. Actar books feature collaborations with architects including OMA / Rem Koolhaas, Foreign Office Architects / Farshid Moussavi, MVRDV/ Winy Maas, UN Studio, Massimiliano Fuksas, Diller + Scofidio, Toyo Ito, SANAA / Kazuyo Sejima, Sanford Kwinter, Kazys Varnelis, Harvard Graduate School of Design, Vincente Guallart; designers including VASAVA; photographers including Joan Fontcuberta; and chef Ferran Adrià of ElBulli.
Contents |
VERB is ACTAR's trademark series for the investigation of current architectural production. VERB BOOGAZINE is a hybrid, thematic publication that combines the heterogeneity and topicality of a magazine with the referential and comprehensive approach of a book. Previous boogazines include; Crisis, Natures, Conditioning, Connections, Matters, Processing. VERB MONOGRAPH is a user manual that presents an extensive analysis of a compelling building or situation first examined in the boogazine. Previous monographs include From Control to Design, Desert America, Seattle Public Library, Sendai Mediatheque, The Yokohama Project.
FOOD for thought THOUGHT for food, featuring Ferran Adrià and elBulli, edited by Richard Hamilton and Vicente Todoli, (ISBN 9788496954687),
MUTATIONS is Actar's landmark book, written by architect Rem Koolhaas and published in 2000. It has become an international urban classic, reflecting on the phenomenon of rapid urban mutations.
City of Barcelona Prize for Best International Communication (2007), National Design Prize: General of Catalunya (2005), Daniel Gil Design Publisher Prize (2004), ADG-FAD Medal for Best Publishing House (2003), The LAUS Prize for Graphic Design (six consecutive years, 1995-2000) awarded by the FAD.