3 comments about A Guide to the Architecture of St. Louis.

1. St. Louis is an architectural treasure, much like many of our other rust-belt cities. Cleveland, Baltimore, and Pittsburgh also fall into this category. These cities retain much of their old classical buildings from a time when the idea of grand public architecture meant something to the eye and was a source of civic pride. St. Louis is a fine example of this idea, and a real treat for American urban architecture lovers. The book itself is quite dated, published in 1989, but the authors do an excellent job of choosing the structures they know we will want to see. All the classics are here, all with at least one photograph and a nice descriptive essay. Also, the authors have taken the time to bring us many of the most interesting old structures from the surrounding towns as well. A new addition would be a real treat.



2. I remember the first time I visited St. Louis, I was expecting a run down, dirty, industrial mess, much like Detroit, so you can imagine my surprise with what I found. I loved the city, it was clean and quite beautiful, especially the area around Forest Park. This book does a fine job of capturing the St. Louis I experienced, I especially appreciated that every entry is accompanied with a requisite photo, that should be de riguer in a book of this sort. This book is divided up and it covers not just the city, but the environs, which is essential. If you have any interest in St. Louis, or quite frankly if you have any appreciation in architecture then you will not be disappointed in this wonderful book.



3. This is one of the best guidebooks for a city's architecture I've seen. The entries cover not only St. Louis proper but also the entire metro area, reaching far into the suburbs in both Missouri and Illinios. Every entry has at least one photograph, a rarity for such books. The maps are clear and concise; a regional map shows where each local map is located. Also includes a number of color photographs in the introduction pages. About the only thing I would fault the book for is skipping a few of downtown's historic towers; however, the book does an excellent job of directing city explorers to St. Louis's most interesting areas.

1 comments about Roman Imperial Architecture (The Yale University Press Pelican History of Art).

1. I found this book to be an excellent, even masterly, coverage of the subject. It is bound by its period, but still gives a sense of the continuity of architectural development from the native Italian, Etruscan, Hellenic and particularly the Hellenistic influences on the growth of Roman architecture into and through the Imperial period. It also covers the continuity of architectural styles, technologies and traditions into the Romanesque period.
   I liked the way in which the author covered the regional influences on architecture in the various parts of the Roman world, especially contrasting the East, with its substantial existing traditions, styles and techniques, with the "frontier" type of situation in the West, where the new introduction of Roman technologies and styles all but eclipsed those which had gone before.
   The author's writing style seemed the relaxed intimations of a man comfortable with his mastery of the material and without the need to prove himself. I found a particular enjoyment in the tone of someone enjoying passing on the details of his favourite subject.
   I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone interested in the way the Romans solved some of the universal challenges of a built environment.

1 comments about The Architecture of Entertainment: LA in the Twenties.

1. The difference about Los Angeles in the 1920's was money. New money for people who previously hadn't had nearly this much. And one of the places they spent the money was on their homes. Commercial buildings likewise grew to reflect the ever increasing incomes of the area. And because of the increased income going to the local governments public buildings received their share as well. Los Angeles in the 1920's was becoming a city. It needed the big buildings of a downtown area.
   
   To fill this need, LA attracted some of the best architects available. This included Bertram Goodhue; Morgan, Walls and Clements; Allison and Allison; and Parkinson and Parkinson in the public sector, as well as Frank Lloyd Wright and Wallace Neff in residential design.
   
   These houses remain as classics of their time, and this book uses stunning photography and insightful writing to describe buildings that remain outstanding to this day. Dr. Winter has spent most of his life in the LA area and is an outstanding authority on the art and culture of the area.
   
   Highly recommended as a classic book of its type.

5 comments about Chicago's Loop (IL) (Then & Now).

1. I just received this book as a gift from a friend who has heard me talk about relocating to Chicago. Well, after reading this book, I really want to visit this city and seriously think about moving there. This book was a nice addition to my library



2. I just found this book at my local bookstore and was excited about reading it cover to cover. I just loved how informative this book was and it is a great tribute to a great mid-western city. Having lived here for the past 20 years, there are many facts that I didn't know until I read this book. I just loved the selection of photographs contained in this book. Thank you for several enjoyable afternoons reading this book.



3. Just purchased this book that really gives you a good feel of Chicago, past and present. The photographs are wonderful and I enjoyed reading about this great midwestern city. A must-have to complete any collection of Chicago History Books.



4. I just purchased the book online and after reading it cover to cover, I now want to visit Chicago. A real nice introduction to a great city. I found the many descriptions of the various historic places in the commercial district extremely fascinating along with the very interesting "old" and "new" photography. I loved the book!!!!



5. Just purchased the book and very much enjoyed reading it. It has great historical and contemporary pictures of the downtown area. Excellent tribute to a city

1 comments about The Presence of the Case Study Houses.

1. I found this latest Case Study book written by two European architects an interesting overview of the thirty-six projects . Anyone familiar with the concept will know that it was a sort of magical mystery tour of house design with Julius Davidson's House 1 in 1945 re-numbered as 11, Kemper Nomland's House 10 was actually the third one built in 1947 and because design and building was running behind by 1950 all the Houses were re-numbered leaving Ralph Soriano's House just as Study 1950 (actually the thirteenth built) and Richard Neutra's House 19 rejected by the Arts & Architecture editor John Entenza. None of this, of course, is any criticism of the wonderful designs sponsored by the magazine.
   
   The authors plunge into this administrative confusion describing each House with a wealth of text detail and illustrated with pages from Arts & Architecture, plans and period ads. What appealed to me though about the book are the color photos they took of seventeen Houses. I've only ever seen these homes through Julius Shulman's brilliant work and now to see them as matured properties surrounded by trees and gardens and the interiors glowing with that lived in look is rather impressive.
   
   Most of the book is, of course, taken up with the Houses but after that there is an interesting series of short sections dealing with the architects drawings, Shulman's photos, how advertisers used the properties, past and current owners and at the back a listing of each House with address, architect, photo (contemporary color or period) and a plan, unfortunately the plans are a bit small and don't have any key. Lastly there is a spread that has a useful timeline from 1945 to 1966 for each House.
   
   Overall I found this a fascinating book and the inclusion of the contemporary photos a real plus. A couple of criticisms: the authors writing style is rather flowery though this might have something to do with the translation from French and (oddly) there is no index. I think the book is a good complement to Elizabeth Smith's quite remarkable Blueprints for Modern Living: History and Legacy of the Case Study Houses published by MIT in 1989.
   
   ***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover

1 comments about The Edifice Complex: How the Rich and Powerful--and Their Architects--Shape the World.

1. It took me some time to figure out what the Edifice Complex meant.
   
   
   I first thought, being an "English Patient" in the realms of
   
   
   English-speaking world, edifice complex meant something like "Sports
   
   
   Complex". Later I found out that it was a derivitive of Oedipus Complex,
   
   
   that there is a psychology in a poweful man, an urge to make a mark, a
   
   
   desire to control, and an ambition to build. To build big and high.
   
   
   
   
   
   I found this book particulary interesting because it focuses on the
   
   
   side of clients, their hidden chambers of obsessions, disguised in
   
   
   the form of political beliefs, orchestrated and realized by the hands
   
   
   of architects. Plenty of different types of influential clients and
   
   
   their episodes are portrayed.
   
   
   
   
   
   Some stories are old (or well known)and some stories are new. To the old
   
   
   stories, like that of Hitler/Mitterrand/Hussein, Sudjic gave a different
   
   
   bent, to the new and lesser knowns, like that of
   
   
   Mao/Rockerfeller/Agnelli/ US Presidents, Sudjic wrote electrifying lines.
   
   
   
   
   
   Another remarkable aspect of the book is the political skills of many
   
   
   past and current star architects. Johnson/ Pei/ Piano/
   
   
   Koolhaas/ Gehry (and many more mentioned in the book) are illustrated as
   
   
   true Machiavellian architects of this century that have tongue and pen to
   
   
   realize the dreams of their Princes.
   
   
   
   
   
   In the conclusion, Sudjic sums up by showing what kind of prevailing
   
   
   architectural garments are out there for different political strategists.
   
   
   The author also kindly guides us to the further readings that pertain to
   
   
   the subject matter of the book.
   
   
   
   
   
   One thing that made my head skew: Why are Blair and Libeskind beaten
   
   
   when, in contrast, following French President and English Architect
   
   
   mentioned in the book are promoted? Does it explain Sudjic's political
   
   
   stance and his allies? Just a thought...

No comments about Nature, Landscape, and Building for Sustainability: A Harvard Design Magazine Reader (Harvard Design Magazine).

1 comments about When Brazil Was Modern: A Guide to Architecture, 1928-1960.

1. Este libro es un catalogo de los mas afamados y no tan afamados arquitectos brasileiros. Como todo catalogo nos deja con el deseo de ver mas, pero de repente para eso sirven los catalogos. Sin embargo, me deja con el vacio de entender el contexto en que se insertan todas estas obras y las practicas profesionales de quienes la producen.

2 comments about Fire and Memory: On Architecture and Energy (Writing Architecture).

1. A very dense and stimulating read. One-third of the book is footnotes & references, so it takes a while to grasp just an entire paragraph. But if you like to be ultimately challenged, pick this book up. From caveman to modern man, this book explains how energy (Fire) has evolved through architecture & influenced the way we perceive & use that space (Memory). Also-using two of the most prominent architects: FLW & Corbu, it compares & contrasts the internal & external energy of architecture. Utilizing the laws of thermodynamics, it speaks about architecture alongside an inevitable process of the universe: entropy.



2. This is a welcomed variant in the MIT series "Writing Architecture" whose other tomes are, for the most part, examples of postmodernistic self-emphatuated drivel! Fernandez-Galiano instead takes up the theme of Energy and Entropy in Architecture and he does so with considerable skill and rare insight. His choice of illustrations alone is worth the price of the book!
   However his grasp of Physics and its History is quite sophomoric and hampered by his reliance on secondary, contentious and dubious sources, such as Morin, Rifkin and Georgescu-Roentgen. His recounting of Thermodynamics as an ideological contest between "mechanistic and organismic" schools mascarades the actual facts of this interesting history which he largely
   mishandles (he should read Maxwell, Helmholtz, Gibbs and Planck instead. And Boltzmann too, of whom he only mentions the suicide)! Much of his references to the interesting ideas of Prigogine is also marginal at best! On the side of architecture proper he misses the very crucial appraisals by authors such as Mumford, Giedion, Tuan and Mitchell which cover much of his territory. Yet this is a book stll makes better reading than about anything on this subject, (mostly because there is so little written on this worthy subject)!

No comments about Sexuality & Space (Princeton Papers on Architecture).