On the road again with two new monographs focusing on the art and architecture of transit

In 226 Garages and Service Stations, photographer Philip Butler returns to the catalogue-style documentary photography that he demonstrated in his previous book, London Tube Stations 1924–1961. Inspired by the spirit and quotidian style of Ed Ruscha’s seminal 1963 work, Twentysix Gasoline Stations (an influence on both photography and art), Butler has sought out some of the most diverse and different functional roadside attractions from around Britain.

For a typology that is barely a century old, the garage (the UK’s more functional and less glamorous way to describe a regular service station) has evolved through numerous styles. Butler has attempted to capture them all, from the Mock-Tudor structures of the 1920s that aped the new houses and suburbs they served, through to the rare Streamlined Moderne examples that attempted to capture the spirit of the Jazz Age.

Some of these buildings are now recognised historic structures in their own right, and Butler has assembled beautiful imagery of a wide array of buildings, from sculptural purpose-built sites to repurposed churches and cinemas. All forms are here, from the tin-roofed shed to faux Chinese vernacular, alongside some industrial archaeology delving into the evolving form of the petrol pump and the fate of purpose-built garages once they’ve outlived their usefulness.

Arranged typographically, this is a wonderful survey of an overlooked typology, one that might find itself sliding even further into redundancy as the electric era dawns.

The art of the truck in South Asia

Fuel has also published a new monograph from photographer Christopher Herwig. Trucks and Tuks is a travelogue exploring the role vehicles play in shaping identity and culture across a wide swathe of South Asia, from Pakistan to India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Herwig, whose previous books include the Soviet Bus Stops series, spent four years travelling 10,000km to take these images.

Commercial and utility vehicles serve a dual role, as both beasts of burden and artistic expression of the individuality of the driver and their trades. Finding these rich canvases for local artists at every turn, Herwig captures the role of the truck as a mobile billboard or expression of faith, along with the dizzying array of ad-hoc and custom ways of making a tiny Tuk-tuk serve any number of functions.

As the book notes, this rich vernacular tradition of folk art and self-expression is becoming rarer, with mass-produced decorations often replacing the hand-painted originals and legislation banning some of the more outrageous designs. A frozen moment in time, Trucks and Tuks delves into a vibrant aspect of global automotive subculture.

226 Garages and Service Stations, Philip Butler, £26.95, Fuel Publishing, Fuel-Design.com, @FuelPublishing

Trucks and Tuks, Christopher Herwig, Introduction by Riya Raagini, £26.96, Fuel Publishing, Fuel-Design.com, @FuelPublishing