Urban Center Books is the Architecture and Design Bookstore of The Municipal Art Society of New York. We specialize in Monographs, Urbanism, New York, Sustainability, Practice, Building Types, imported Magazines and Journals, and much more. We were previously located in the Villard Houses at 457 Madison Avenue. The store is temporarily closed but we expect to reopen in a new location in Midtown Manhattan in the summer or fall of 2010. Visit us online at www.urbancenterbooks.org to order books, or call 212.935.3595 for assistance by phone.
Urban Center Books was picked as "Best Genre Specific Bookstore" in 2008 by New York Magazine. read more...
Become a member of the Municipal Art Society and receive a 10% discount on books purchased at the Urban Center Books store and web site, plus many other benefits. For membership information, click here. For more information about the Municipal Art Society, visit http://www.mas.org
If you don't wish to become a member, but want to receive email of upcoming events and new books, please join our email list using the form in the left column.
"Design is a peculiar world where verbal and visual images cross. Those who labor in its name need constant refreshment and challenge to remain creatively alive. New visual images and ideas interact in ways that feed upon one another and lead to new ways of seeing and doing things. This is part of how the creative process works. Nothing makes that more obvious than Urban Center Books. Everything is there: past and present, together with speculation about the future. And it's all there in ways that make it instantly accessible and endlessly intriguing. How often does one go just to see what's new, thinking of one subject only to discover another! That's the joy of browsing. That's the stimulation of seeing the juxtapositions and contradictions so readily apparent on the shelves, tables (and sometimes the floor)."
–Hugh Hardy, Partner
Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates
"The cooled light from the courtyard washes the room. Madison Avenue noises dim. I can feel like I'm a student again, or maybe at least like I'm twenty-five and hey, I've got time, all the time in the world. I can spend time like water, looking at architecture books in a room with other people who also love architecture books. I think that is what makes Urban Center Books such a special and irreplaceable part of the city. Certainly, there are other bookstores that carry architecture books, but there is no place that loves them so well. It has an independent soul and is quirky, sometimes a little inefficient, but always, always deeply personal. When I walk in someone at the desk always looks up to say hello and if our work has been published in an architectural journal will always offer a sweet congratulation."
– Billie Tsien, Partner
Tod Williams Billie Tsien Associates