Description

A visionary carpenter shares meditations on work creativity and design revealing powerful lessons on building a meaningful life through his experience constructing some of New Yorks most iconic spaces

For forty years Mark Ellison has worked in the most beautiful homes youve never seen specializing in rarefied lavish and challenging projects for the most demanding of clients He built a staircase that the architect Santiago Calatrava called a masterpiece He constructed the sculpted core of Sky House which Interior Design named Apartment of the Decade His projects have included the homes of David Bowie Robin Williams and others whose names he cannot reveal He is regarded by many as the best carpenter in New York

Building A Carpenters Notes on Life amp the Art of Good Work tells the story of an unconventional education and how fulfillment can be found in doing something well for decades Ellison takes us on a tour of the lofts penthouses and townhomes of New Yorks elite before theyre cameraready In a singular voice he offers a window into learning to live meaningfully along the way From staircases that would be deadly if built as designed and algaeeating snails boiled to escargot in a penthouse pond to the deceptive complexity of minimalist design Building exposes the tangled wiring scrapped blueprints and outlandish demands that characterize life in the highstakes world of luxury construction

Blending Ellisons musings on work and creativity with immersive storytelling original sketches and illustrations Building is a meditation on crafting a life worth living and a delightful philosophical inquiry beyond the facades that we all live behind

This audiobook includes a downloadable PDF containing selected illustrations from the printed book