Illusion in Design

This magical volume presents the startling world of illusion in design as employed by today’s architects, interior designers, furniture designers, and others at work bending the appearance of reality for purposes of aesthetics or practicality or fun. From a faux bookcase that masks a room or Prohibition-style bar, to the mind-boggling Escher-like effects achieved by Casa Ceramica, whose optical illusion of a floor dips into valleys and rises into mounds (but is in reality flat), the book is a revelation and an inspiration. It offers to us the possibility that nearly anything can be done, if it can be imagined – even in our own homes.

The authors look at residences across the globe, as well as spaces beyond the home, that utilise a myriad of surprising techniques. Included are projects by up-and-coming designers, such as Studio Malka and Vector Architects, as well as more established practitioners, such as Ferguson and Shamamian, G. P. Schafer, Peter Pennoyer, Robert A. M. Stern, and others.