2 comments about Frank Lloyd Wright's Living Space: Architecture's Fourth Dimension.

1. Although "unique"--as one professional reviewer put it--that doesn't necessarily mean a brilliantly conceived book will be enjoyable. I started, but didn't get very far, so far. The style is opaque with trendy deconstructionist jargon that must first be deciphered into plain English (this is serious sociology, after all). Understanding Wright's own words can be difficult, true, but fun. This is not, so far. (Contrast the fresh air quality of the opening Wright passage with Satler's ponderous text.) Although the book title speaks of "Living Space," note that this book focuses on Wright's early WORK spaces (Larkin and Unity Temple) rather than his houses. Nor are the tiny B/W pictures of those buildings either plentiful or good. I hope to come back to this book after enjoying some others (e.g., G. Hildebrand's The Wright Space [Univ. Washington], or Susan Bandes' Affordable Dreams: The Goetsch-Winckler House [Kresge Art Museum, Michigan State Univ]).



2. I am pleased to say that this book's form does follow it's function. It is such a pleasure to read a book ,that really jumps out at the reader, and one feels as if they are walking through a tour of one of Wright's structures. The author seems like she really knows what she is talking about, unlike some authors who just research a subject and throw it together and there is a book. Gail Satler is a phenominal author and I'm, sure she is a great person to know. I look forward to reading more of her work in the near future. Everyone should read this book about one of the most influential architect's in the history of the world.

No comments about L'Architecture (Reprint Series).

No comments about The Interior Dimension: A Theoretical Approach to Enclosed Space.

1 comments about The Havana Project: Architecture Again (Architecture & Design).

1. Do you want to know architects' own thinking and voices? Take this book. It would be the one that can satisfy your wondering about architecture.

No comments about Rethinking Architectural Historiography.

1 comments about From Aztec to High Tech: Architecture and Landscape across the Mexico-United States Border (Creating the North American Landscape).

1. (From Planeta.com Journal) - Subtitled "Architecture and Landscape across the Mexico-United States Border, this book is tour-de-force that gives visual explanations of the great changes at the heart of the US/Mexico Borderlands. The book is expertly illustrated with maps and black-and-white photos, but the majority is space has been crafted by the author. It's a wonderful medley of observations, historical anecdotes and interviews with the architects themselves. Highly recommended.

4 comments about Undesigning the Bath.

1. This is not for the intrepid house remodeler. Instead, it is for contemplation of the act of cleansing and renewal: how preparing for this act affects one's personal space: and how the bath creates and reinforces important social functions.
   
   Reading the book requires some energy. I suggest that you read the footnotes and view the photographs as you read.
   
   You will be exposed to ontology, epistemology, and axiology of the bath for a very reasonable price.
   
   It is likely that your choices about plumbing will be influenced by reading Koren.



2. Amazing photos of inspirational bathing environments. Highly recommended for sublime musings on the ideal bath--to built or take.



3. If you are looking for any kind of practical advice, you won't find it here. The author spends half the book telling us why arhitects can't design baths. The rest of the book is spent potificating on vague notions of the bath experience. The pictures suggest the ulitimate bathing experience comes from various outdoor, earthy, natural baths. If you have a desire to create a mud-pit bath in your backyard, read this book. Otherwise, forget it.



4. When my architect was beginning to design my new bathroom, I gave him a copy of this gem. He said it provided the inspiration for mine and every bath he's designed since. I've given copies to few other friends who were in a similar architectural process. I've received profuse thanks. If you're planning to build an unusual bath, I think this book is a must read.

1 comments about Eisenman/Krier: Two Ideologies.

1. `Two Ideologies' has been a welcome, if long overdue, debate between two of architecture's most disparate architects. I use the term `architect' lightly here, as both Peter Eisenman and Leon Krier tend more towards theory (or, in Eisenman's case, so-called theory), than to the practice of building itself. Although Eisenman has built several works, they cannot rightly be called architecture; rather they are built diagrams - and crude diagrams at that. It is an important distinction to make, and one which, unfortunately, is lost on Eisenman's followers who themselves tend to be susceptible students or young practitioners more impressed by notoriety than by architectural sophistication. Krier too is not without his faults. While he must at least be credited with a respect for history, he is perhaps too inclined to replicate it fastidiously. This has obvious limitations, but evolution of architectural constructs within an overall continuum is at least a framework in which discussion is possible. On the other hand, Eisenman, (in the time-honored, cliched manner of a self-proclaimed avant-gardiste), openly rejects history, notwithstanding that he does not seem to understand it in the first place. Nor does he maintain an effective grasp on philosophy or theory, although he manhandles the vocabulary of both as though he does. This does not matter a jot to his followers because they do not comprehend it either, and thus, an unfortunate and pretentious posturing is allowed to regenerate it self in a pitiable way.
   
   So the promised debate never really materializes. A learned professor encounters a baboon in the academic jungle. But not speaking a common language or sharing a cultural background, meaningful communication is not possible. Krier speaks English but proposes a stage set. Eisenman fumbles with a more unaccountable vocabulary and counters with loutish and alien sculptures. Sheepishly, he wonders if he has fooled anyone in the audience.
   
   The editor, Cynthia Davidson, does her best to mitigate her husband Peter's sillier proclamations. However, her editorial bias (or was it her indoctrination), limits any opportunity for incisive commentary. But in allowing the debate to happen at all enabled us to see what a sham contemporary architectural conjecture really is. We should be thankful to them for that.

No comments about Autonomy and Ideology: Positioning an Avant-Garde in America.

4 comments about Analysing Architecture.

1. In clear, precise diagrams and thoughtful text, author Simon Unwin offers an engaging methodology for the study of architecture and aesthetic systems. Time-tested buildings from classical temples to traditional Japanese homes and early modernist masterpieces, are explored in this wide ranging, but focused study. Unwin demonstrates that while architectural styles change over time, the underlying principles that organize quality designs remain remarkably consistent.
   
   This book is a must for all architectural students interested in acquiring the visual skills needed to understand a wide variety of design methodologies. My only criticism is that proportion and scale were not given enough attention, but there are many other books that cover this important topic separately.
   
   Intelligently considered, and clearly presented, `Analysing Architecture' is a refreshing counterpoint to the sort of pretentious, self-serving rubbish that Eisenman, Libeskind, Hadid, et al try to pass off as design.



2. I used this text for a architecture class I was enrolled in. The figure/ground drawings are useful.



3. This book establishes a systematic method in analyzing architecture. It explains how architectural elements are combined together to form designs that could relate an appropriate sense of 'place' specific to the programme as well as the environment surrounding it. The book is well illustrated with diagrams and examples. An extremely useful introductory guide for those who want to learn more about the basics of architecture.



4. Beginning with the root definition of architecture as its "conceptual organization, its intellectual structures"., the author makes clear its function as "identification of place", goes on to identify the basic elements and concepts, examines the use of natural features of the landscape, analyzes primitive place types, geometry in architecture, space and structure, and other key concepts.
   From the campsites of primitive man to the sophisticated structures of the late twentieth century, architecture as an essential function of human activity is explained clearly, and illustrated with the author's own excellent drawings. Highly recommended as a well-organized and readable introduction.

   (The "score" rating is an unfortunately ineradicable feature of the page. This reviewer does not "score" books.)