No comments about The Art of Southeast Africa (Hic Sunt Leones series).

3 comments about Autodesk Inventor 8 Essentials Plus.

1. Excelent material to start to learn Inventor, is easy to undestend.
   
   Luis Villa



2. An excellent book, yes it may have some info that can be accessed from the help, but it goes far beyond that, and the advanced section of the book does a great job in exploring the details of the features particular to Inventor, don't forget the tutorial CD that comes with the book, it is another complete training manual in itself. I read the whole book and I did all the tutorials, I am including it in the curriculum of my students, and I recommend it to anyone serious about learning Inventor.



3. The main material of this book is a rehash/dryrun and listing of what the Inventor user interface and menus do in each chapter. There is not much content on how to actually use the concepts and techniques of Inventor to do real stuff. The authors have decided to put all that stuff on the CD. They have some kind of a compiled html file that walks you thru the techniques of each chapter with busted exercises. The CD is very poorly made with lots of chapters entirely missing and incomplete exercises in many other chapters. The program constantly crashes. I am surprised that a respected name like Autodesk would put out a book like this. That is my two cents worth.

5 comments about Architectural Design for Tropical Regions.

1. COURTYARDS: Aesthetic, Social, and Thermal Delight; by John Reynolds, published November 2001.

   Courtyards contains a huge amount of valuable information for building in hot humid and hot dry climates. Not only a "pretty picture book," Courtyards takes the reader through width to depth ratios; height and width proportions; comfort zone enhancement through thermal mass, ventilation, and shading; and much more. In fact, although Courtyards is similarly priced as the book above, I thought it contained 10 times as much valuable information - real information that I could put to immediate use for my projects in the Yucatan. Color and B&W photos and line drawings illustrate the many considerations for hot weather design, yet the book is not overly technical. Nor is it over-simplified, which is the main problem with Tropical Regions.

   Tropical Regions remains the only book I've had to return to Amazon - even a year later - with dozens and dozens of books ordered.

   GOOD books about tropical housing design are very hard to come by and I'd like to point searchers in the right direction. Since architecture books in general are usually so expensive, finding a useful selection is very important.

   Also, I have to echo the writer below. Richard Hyde's book CLIMATE RESPONSIVE DESIGN...for Hot Humid Climates is also very helpful. I felt it was a little more technical and not as colorful as COURTYARDS. Either would be a good place to start your research for tropical housing construction.




2. a few months later i would like to add a recomendation for all those searching for information about tropical architecture:

   Richard Hyde, Climate Responsive Design , A study of buildings in moderate and hot humid climates, E&FN Spon, London 2000, ISBN 0-419-20970-0 good examples, up to date research data, good value




3. I have to agree with Rainer Mebus. This book is going to be returned. It is not suited for architects or anyone with even basic concepts of building siting and construction. A hodge-podge of photographs, gathered from various places, do nothing to illustrate examples of the textual concepts. As far as being an "indispensible source," statements such as (p102) "A hat or cool shade is often useful when exposed to sun... as the sun can be very bright when the sky is clear and the sunlight is intense." or (p103) "Vegetation is luxuriant where rainfall is high." & (p105) "The effects of earthquakes are mainly economic, although poorly constructed buildings can result in loss of life." are hardly indispensible and belong more in an elementary school than a volume that claims to be "essential reading for architects and other building professionals."

   Mebus is correct that all of the data here contained is readily found in other, better and cheaper books. I was hoping that the longer and first review was more correct, but was sadly disappointed that newer concepts, techniques and materials were not discussed in a book printed in 1999. Further, all the information contained can be found in basic architectural concepts courses or books and is only slightly tailored to fit the idea of "tropical construction." The author borrows diagrams and descriptions from many other texts.




4. Cleveland Salmon has thought of everything! When dealing with tropical architecture, there is a lot to think about. Salmon energetically lists almost every possible condition found in the built tropics from desert dryness to humid jungle conditions. This book serves the tropical architect like a shopping list or as a reminder of what conditions must not be overlooked when planning to build in the tropics, wherever that may be.

   My only negative comment would be that the chapters are way too brief. Nevertheless, this book is worth its weight in gold for all the topics and subtopics it includes. Once seeing this compendium as an overview, anyone can deepen an interest or concern with other sources. This book on tropical architecture, however, is where you want to start.




5. Having ordered (and returned) the book i have to say, that this book is not at all a helpful handbook for architects planning in hot and humid climates. The book shows a lot of black&white photographs of buildings all over the world that should not be taken as great contemporary examples for tropical architecture. the book shows briefly and only the very basic principles of designing with climate, that are found better and cheaper in other books. in the last years there has been great new architecture in hot and humid climate that uses basic architectural methods as well as high-tech-installations. there's not one single building in this book...

1 comments about Benzin: Young Swiss Graphic Design.

1. One of my favorite books to consult for inspiration, full of varied styles of work but all of very high quality.

1 comments about Designing & Building: Rockhill And Associates.

1. Designing And Building from the collective works of Kansas architectural firm of Rockhill and Associates is a truly incredible and conceptually impressive compendium of writings, photographs, blueprints, along with cogent analysis of many truly remarkable buildings. As awe-inspiring as a book on architecture may be, Designing And Building also offers its readers an artistic approach to the intricacies of what beauty may be presented in modern buildings and their architectural elements. as innate works of art in their own right. A welcome addition to professional and academic library Architectural Studies collections, Designing And Building is an intuitive and informative introduction to progressive and subversive modern design, very strongly recommended to all architectural designers, as well as photographers and students of the visual arts.

No comments about The Customer Centric Enterprise: Advances in Mass Customization and Personalization.

No comments about Imagining the Future of The Museum of Modern Art: Studies in Modern Art 7.

No comments about Getting Started with Pro/ENGINEER: Wildfire (3rd Edition).

5 comments about Green Building Products: The GreenSpec Guide to Residential Building Materials.

1. A must have for any green designer, builder or home owner who wants to do the right thing.



2. this is actually a list of places that sell "green" materials- like a specialized phone book. I think most of this information is on line, and that we will need to buy things within our local area- not from the other side of the county. we returned this book.



3. Housing is probably the second largest consumer of non-renewable resources after the automobile. This book is on building in a way that provides everything you need in a house, but doing so with a minimal impact on the earth.
   
   The first step is building a house that is satisfactory but not so big as has become normal in the US, and designing it for energy efficiency. Well insulated houses are easier to keep warm in the winter, cool in the summer.
   
   After the design is completed, then comes the selection of components and materials to be used in the construction of the house. That's where this book comes in. In going through the book you can find ideas that will help you in the design, but more importantly, you will find components that fall into the general rules of 'reuse/recycle.' Here is lumber recovered from older buildings, lumber made from plastic that from recycled packaging. Here are high performance appliances, insulation made from recycled components.
   
   This book takes the form of a listing of suppliers, broken down by category. I find that by looking at these procucts, many of which I didn't even know existed, the design of the house is changed to fit.
   
   These people have done an excellent job of research as to what's avaialble.



4. Alex Wilson and Mark Piepkorn edit Green Building Products: The Greenspec Guide To Residential Building Materials whether you're a builder or a homeowner, learn the truth about what items are truly 'green' and which are false promises. And get the addresses, phones, and web sites to quickly locate products ranging from cork underlayment for floors to special green paints, finishes, and mechanical and lighting systems. An excellent catalog featuring the latest 'green' residential building material choices.



5. This Book is an excellent reference for any architectural and construction library. The Book contains product information in each of the CSI 16 Divisions. The information listed is "Certifiably Green", but limited in number of manufacturers. As you may know the Green Market is rapidly expanding where new products are develop and old products are receiving the LEED Certification. As an initial guide in the new green world of residential materials, it is a must have in your Library and undoubtedly, there will be new editions out.

No comments about Nomadic Architecture: Human Practicality Serves Human Emotion: Exhibition Design by Edgar Reinhard.