Peter Marino is the go-to architect for luxury clients including Chanel, Dior, and Fendi: Fifth Avenue and Rodeo Drive are dotted with his designs. But in his newly released book Ten Modern Houses, the veteran designer offers a look at a lower-profile side of his practice: private residences.
Spanning the past decade, the book features nine completed homes around the globe as well as a series of projects in progress—contenders for the tenth home. With more than 200 photographs, many never-before-seen, an introduction from veteran architecture editor Pilar Viladas, and accompanying text by author Sam Lubell, Marino presents in-depth case studies of his designs. Each one lifts the curtain on his keen attention to siting, functionality, and, most importantly, materials.
“My world is very much about materials, materials, materials,” Marino says in a statement. “The houses are about new combinations of stones, woods, metals, and glass.” His designs become an extension of the land they live in, from Turks and Caicos to Aspen to Southampton. In Faqra, Lebanon, for example, Marino erected columns made from limestone native to the region, creating what he calls a “geological wonderland.”
While showcasing his long track record of innovation, the Phaidon-published book also looks to the future in the final chapter on unfinished homes. In his current work, Marino is focusing on ease and making spaces that fit an indoor-outdoor lifestyle—a natural disposition for the longtime Hamptons devotee.
