No comments about Chora: Intervals in the Philosophy of Architecture.

No comments about Sense of the City: An Alternate Approach to Urbanism.

No comments about Archigram: Architecture without Architecture.

2 comments about Structure and Architecture, Second Edition.

1. This book describes the different types of structural elements in buildings (steel, wood, reinforced concrete) and how they are constructed for maximum efficiency. A lot of the book deals with spans and how the efficiency of materials must accomodate different spans and weights. The concepts were very well written and easy to understand (the appendices were a little bit more complex) with lots of examples. I would recommend this for anyone who would like to try framing a structure or who is interested in more than just the picture books of architecture and would actually like to know what's inside the walls and how those objects are functioning.



2. Now in an updated and expanded second edition, Angus MacDonald's Structure & Architecture showcases the relationship between architecture and structural engineering using both historical and contemporary examples. This new edition is enhanced with an expanded and re-written chapter dealing with structural criticism and the relationship between structure and architectural style; as well as a new section on the relationships between architects, builders and engineers, and the influence which these relationships have on architectural styles and forms. Structure & Architecture is an invaluable and highly recommended addition to any personal, professional, or academic architectural studies collection.

5 comments about Zaha Hadid: The Complete Buildings and Projects.

1. Some 20 years after she won the Hong Kong Peak Competition, Hadid is still churning out the seductive but unresolved jaggedness that characterizes her work. Unlike more mature artists who's work ripens after they have executed and learned from a few built commissions, Hadid remains stuck in the same, now jaded and predictable rut. Not least, she has never developed as a skilled practitioner. Sticking with the diagrammatic approach to design, Hadid's buildings have the look of cheap, temporary structures, lacking depth or quality of detailing. They lack the sophistication of more capable architects (Foster or Rogers, for example), who understand and appreciate assembly and materials. Hadid's "work" is more about computer graphics than any important architectural concerns. It has the flash sensibility of a catchy pop-tune - the sort of music that gets irritating very quickly because it lacks substance. And lacking substance, it's principal appeal is to the unsophisticated viewer.



2. It must be said that Hadid's office staff are capable graphic artists, but it would be very wrong to make the assumption that these slick images lead to architecture. As her Cinicinatti art center shows, Hadid's built work is typically very unsatisfying. She has not grasped scale or contextual issues at all, largely due to her working in an abstract, purely graphic mode. The Vitra Building likewise is no longer used because it fails so badly as a building. If you are interested in real architectural issues, this book is not the place to start.



3. Hadid was one of those breakthrough architects who achieved early recognition merely for being different. (It is very easy to be different; it is difficult to be good.) Her work has always been insubstantial, little more than crudely assembled buildings that look more like full-size mock-ups than real architecture. Clouding herself in a quasi-intellectual mystique, she has found favor among impressionable youth, but garners little integrity or respect from serious professionals. If you like flash, go ahead, spend your money. But look elsewhere for decent architectural study. Hadid is more about gimmick than anything else



4. This is a fantastic compilation of Hadid's work. It's more comprehensive than the El Croquis, although there is no long interview. There is adequate text for each project, however.

   If you like her work, or are interested in contemporary architecture, I highly recommend it. It's fairly inexpensive and catalogues her exceptional work.




5. I think this book has more to it than technical drawings could ever give. It's an artistic sight of what and how architecture should be thought and viewed like. Colours, shapes and forms seem to spring out the pages of this book. Go out there and see it four yourself, it's not a book about construction, it's a book about ideas.

No comments about Mies Van Der Rohe Award 2007: European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture.

2 comments about Architectural Theory: From the Renaissance to the Present (Klotz).

1. I didn't find this book until the end of the semester, but it covers what we have been discussing in both architectural theory and history. I would recomend this for any architecture students who want a quick overview of prominent figures of architectural thought with illustrations that help to clearly convey their ideas. This book has many of the same pictures/drawings as are featured in much more expensive history books (like Spiro Kostof's "Settings and Rituals"). This book is only an overview, but will be a quite helpful addition to any student's library.



2. Although you can buy full editions of the more prominent works discussed in this volume and enjoy them in full (e. g. On the Art of Building, Towards a New Architecture), the real value of this work is in its illustrations. The bulk of the book consists of illustrations lifted from European architecture books from between 1500 and 1800, and these illustrations from now-obscure books are quite picturesque and excite the imagination. The selections of twentieth-century theory are also well done, providing us with similarly rich views of Classical Modernism, Metabolism, and other trends Aldo Rossi. While the text provides one with just a summary, the illustrations make this book an excellent value.

No comments about Between Landscape Architecture and Land Art.

2 comments about San Francisco Modern: Interiors, Architecture and Design.

1. What a great book packed with pictures. The design is very modern and unconventional (read expensive). This is a very fun book to review. If you can't afford the architecture costs there are many ideas you can incorporate into a more typical home design.



2. Coffee table book showing all the nicest spots in the Bay Area. The spread on the family compound in Sonoma is worth the price alone!

1 comments about The Shingle Style Today: Or The Historian's Revenge.

1. I bought this book a couple of years ago because my husband and I have a recurring fantasy of building a shingle style house and this was one of the few books I could find on the topic at the time. At first, I was a little intimidated by the book because it looks very dry and scholarly. Once I got over my intimidation and actually started reading, I was pleasantly surprised to find that while it is indeed scholarly, it is extremely readable and even witty. Scully manages to weave together a fascinating range of influences and expressions of shingle styles, from Italian palazzos to very modern architecture. The only reason I don't give this book a higher rating is that I wish it had color pictures and more of them, but I am probably just being peevish. The truth is, when I bought the book, I really wanted a glossy picture book but none were available (this was before the 1999 publication of "Shingle Styles"). The book's small black and white photographs will not be satisfying to someone who wants to drool over rich photographs of this gorgeous architectural style, as I did. Nonetheless, the book itself will be quite satisfying to someone who wants to immerse themselves in the history and theory of this unique American style and who is willing to exert a little brain power to do it.