2. The Ken Adam Archive, AA.VV. (Ed. Taschen, 850 euros)

Considered one of the giants of brutalist scenography, Ken Adam went down in history as the architect of cinematic satire on the Cold War, the inspirer of marvelous technological lairs of the adversaries of James Bond and Stanley Kubrick's Doctor Strangelove, places that contributed to creating the futuristic (and ironic) aesthetics of the struggle between the East and West blocs.

This precious book just published by Taschen traces his work through sketches, concepts and precious photographs from his private archive, now preserved by Deutsche Kinemathek.

3. Alvar Aalto by Philippe Trétiack and Isamu Noguchi by Marion Bley (Johan & Levi, 20 euros each)

The last two new monographs published in the series "The amateur's library", which the publisher Johan & Levi of Milandedicates to the iconic figures of the 20th century, in collaboration with the French publisher Les Arènes.

The volume dedicated to Alvar Aalto, with an unpublished work by the Finnish architect himself and a text by Philippe Trétiack, retraces his human and professional stages, from his studies in Helsinki to his travels in Italy, by Alvar Aalto.

The essay that the journalist Marion Bley dedicated to the Japanese sculptor, designer, architect and landscape architect Isamu Noguchi, however, is a real journey between tradition and modernity. Therefore faithful to the life of Noguchi, a sensitive soul perpetually divided between Japan and the United States.

4. Portable cosmology by Italo Rota and Valentina Ciuffi (Quodlibet, 23 euros)

Co-author (together with Fabio Fornasari) of the “Museo del 900” in Milan and of the Expo pavilions in Milan, Zaragoza and Dubai, “hyper-critical ecologist” and very attentive designer to the possibilities offered by the use of Artificial Intelligence, Italo Rota leaves colleagues, journalists and enthusiasts the testimony of a unique perspective: poetic, artistic and practical at the same time.

Inserting this book, a small journey into the complexity of Italo Rota's lively creative cosmogony, is intended as a small homage to one of the most interesting personalities in architecture and design of the last twenty years.

5. Armando Testa, edited by Gemma De Angelis Testa, Tim Marlow, Elisabetta Barisoni (Silvana Editoriale, 36 euros)

Blue hippos, totems of red lacquer spheres, cone-shaped women, elephants on wheels: it is the "Dadasta" reality seen through the eyes of Armando Testa, the Turin artist and advertiser who shaped the collective imagination of Italians over the last century through figures and slogans that have become iconic.

This book, edited by his wife, finally offers an in-depth look at the multifaceted artistic production that has made him one of the protagonists of contemporary visual culture, creator of famous iconic figures, from advertising messages to promotion cultural.

A volume that gives the reader the value of Armando Testa as a painter, sculptor, designer and creator of infinite suggestions condensed in an unexpected synthesis which, seen all together, become tools that they also tell a little about who we were and who we have become.

Who will like it Who wants to retrace the roots of modern advertising and be inspired by the greatest. The opportunity to discover why the products, passed through the pen of Armando Testa, from simple objects (a cup of coffee, a bitter, a tyre) have transformed into paradigms of mass culture.