Judge this book by its cover

Architect and urban designer William McDonough's new book "Something Lived, Something Dreamed," a treatise on his comprehensive design philosophy, examines the complex relationships between the natural and urban landscapes. Yet McDonough's remarkably clear-sighted and often revelatory ideas account for only part of this book's significance and appeal.

The rest belongs to the art of printing.

"The book was my project," said Victoria Hindley, creative director of the University of Utah's Red Butte Press. "I approached the author."

It was Hindley's feeling that Red Butte needed to not only focus on the extravagant beauty of the natural landscape surrounding us "but also on the urban landscapes in which we live."

Three years ago she announced a national call for essay submissions centering on the dilemma of designing habitats for Western urbanites. "We'd never done this before at the press," said Hindley, and they were thrilled when McDonough responded.

"He said he was very interested in writing about Western landscapes, particularly Western urban landscapes, because he hadn't focused on this region before."

Hindley and McDonough spent a year developing the focus of the essay. "Ultimately — and this is something I couldn't have anticipated — the essay came to represent his comprehensive design philosophy, which had never been published before in one place."

Next came the printing and binding of the book; each component was designed and commissioned specifically for the project:

• Each of the over 3,600 sheets of paper, made by the Magnani Mill in Italy, was dampened by hand for printing.

• The galleys of metal type were newly cast for the project, with more than 35,000 letters and spaces set by hand. Nearly 5,000 pulls on an 1846 Columbian handpress were required to print the edition of 125 books.

• The binding was developed from a single sycamore tree reclaimed from an urban forest as well as post-consumer recycled aluminum, specially produced for the book by Alcoa.

• Completely organic binder's board from Holland was used in making the book's boxes, as well as natural, recyclable fabric.

• Where required, only water-based, reversible, low VOC (volatile organic compound) adhesives and finishes were used in the production.