Though the stated goal of the Lower Don Lands project in waterfront Toronto may be to increase flood protection, its immediate appeal is much more aesthetic than practical. The revitalization project, led by New York-based architect Michael Van Valkenburgh, promises to establish a green oasis in an urban setting, something that Van Valkenburgh’s firm has excelled at since its inception over 20 years ago. The whole experience of a Van Valkenburgh design is aimed, as New Yorker architecture critic Paul Goldberger notes, to “make you see everything, city and nature alike, with a striking intensity.”

In Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates: Reconstructing Urban Landscapes, leading critics and historians look at twelve of the firm’s most fascinating and challenging projects. If Van Valkenburgh’s website is enough to whet your appetite for the art of the earth, this exquiste catalog is a feast.

Of course, nothing matches seeing the firm’s work in person. Connecticut residents can enjoy Van Valkenburgh’s at the water treatment plant just miles up the road from YUP. And all architecture enthusiasts should look forward to Goldberger’s Why Architecture Matters, which hits stores this fall.