5 comments about Laboratories: A Guide to Planning, Programming, and Design.

1. As an architect who is actively engaged in the planning and design of laboratories I found this book to be an indisposible resource. Mr. Dahan's knowledge of what makes a good lab work comes through on every page.



2. This is a complete and comprehensive handbook which shall be used by all involved in the planning and design of chemical, biochemical, and other laboratories. It is a comprehensive reference covering guidelines for site selection, the design of laboratory rooms and wings as well as of complete facilities. It provides the most up to date criteria for the design of sustainable type of labs. It also give a unique process for the analysis of needs and the determination of what type of building should be acquired for each given set of circumstances, all in the context of strategic master planning. We feel here in our laboratory that it is an excellent tool for architects, engineers, and project managers as well as for those who commission, operate, and manage laboratories at every level from schools to industry.



3. This is a complete and comprehensive handbook which shall be used by all involved in the planning and design of chemical, biochemical, and other laboratories. It is a comprehensive reference covering guidelines for site selection, the design of laboratory rooms and wings as well as of complete facilities. It provide the most up to date criteria for the design of ustainable type of labs. It also give a unique process for the analysis of need and determination of what type of building should be acquired for each given set of circumstances, and that in the context of strategic master planning. We fell here in our laboratory that it is an excellent tool for architects, engineers, and project managers as well as for those who commission, operate, and manage laboratories at every level from schools to industry.



4. This is a complete and comprehensive handbook which shall be used by all involved in the planning and design of chemical, biochemical, and other kinds of laboratories. It is a comprehensive reference covering guidelines for site selection, the design of laboratory rooms and wings as well as of complete facilities. It provides the most up-to-date criteria for the design of sustainable type of labs. It also gives a unique process for the analysis of needs and the determination of what type of building should be acquired for each set of circumstances, in the context of strategic master planning. It is an excellent tool for architects, engineers and project managers, as well as for those who commission, operate and manage laboratories at every level from schools to industry.



5. This book not only provides state-of-the-art technical information related to laboratory design such as layout, mechanical & electrical systems, air quality, instruments, special purpose labs, etc. but it also deals with information useful in the planning process for a new facility which should be valuable to lab users. I know of no other source for this type of information. This book virtually provides a step-by-step guide for providing a laboratory facility.

3 comments about Park and Recreation Structures : Administration and Basic Service Facilities : Recreational and Cultural Facilities : Overnight and Organized Camp.

1. The golden era of handcrafted log construction was 1920's and 30's, and this wonderful book details, in project after project, the structures that had been built in America's National and State parks during that time. Cabins, lodges, visitor centers, even bridges, drinking fountains, fire pits, outhouses, and log benches-they all get photos, drawings, and commentary in this encyclopedic work.
   
   Albert H. Good wrote several books as Architectural Consultant for the National Park Service, and 3 of them are bound into one huge book here--it is the size of a library dictionary. More than 600 pages, and countless photos and drawings, the publisher used high quality paper and library binding. It feels like an expensive book!
   
   For me, the drawings are the gems. B&W photos must be difficult to scan and reproduce from the original, and some of the photos in this book, while generally very good, have suffered just a little. But this is nit picking.
   
   This book is a treasurehouse of handcrafted stone and log structures--these were craftsmen working at the peak of their abilities. And the designs are superb-they have the human scale, the warmth, and the charm that current architects could learn from. Great log homes don't need to be 4000 square feet, or have 20-foot ceilings. This book is proof of that.
   
   Save up and buy this book. Use it when designing your own log home or cabin. Share it with friends. I have been building log homes, and writing about log home construction, for 23 years and each time I browse this book I learn something new.
   
   Robert W. Chambers, author, Log Construction Manual



2. This is a beautiful book and an excellent reference. It is a reprint of the three volume set published in 1938. "Patterns From the Golden Age" is a cheaper reprint of the same thing - but the quality of the photos in this version is well worth the extra money.



3. This is the best source book for the architectural projects and site concepts produced during the 1930's for the Works Projects Administration (WPA)and Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). Albert Good's narrative provides insight into the motivating forces that employed thousands of out of work architects, engineers, skilled craftsmen and laborers to produce projects that now form the core of our national and state park systems.

   Most of the work produced under this program is enjoyed by today's tourist as the premier and most desirable destinations for outdoor experiences. Few new park facilities can duplicate the environments created by these dedicated workers on superbly selected and planned sites during the darkest days of the "Great Depression". The hand crafted, and sometimes intricately decorated, architecture and natural landscape planning evolved from talented designers and often unskilled laborers who lavished their work with love that only the lack of deadlines, the motivation of an empty stomach, a belief in the benefit for their fellow countrymen and the need to build with on site materials can produce. These buildings are truly "green buildings" before the term and recent politically correct notion became fasionable.

   Any architect, engineer, conservation and environmental supporter or depression era historian can benefit from this publication which brings one in contact with a nation faced with financial ruin and the effect on the hopes and spirit of its citizens. It demonstrates that when given a chance, the work ethic that has and hopefully will always exist in this nation produces fantastic results..........that we can roll up our shirt sleeves and pull on our boots to produce marvelous and lasting accomplishments even under great adversity.

   I recommend this book not just for the professionals whose vocations it represents but also for those who wish to understand the mountains that can be moved with a little sweat and perseverance.

2 comments about 124 Distinctive House Designs and Floor Plans, 1929.

1. Originally published as The Fourth Edition of the 1929 Home Builder's Catalog, this 127-page reprint features 124 of the most popular housing styles of that era. Far and away, the predominant style featured is the Tudor Revival, but there are also Craftsman-style bungalows, modest cottages, Cape Cods, Colonial Revivals, Dutch Colonials and more.
   
   Some of these homes are quite grand, such as The Edgewater (p. 16), with more than 2,000 square feet of living area (not counting an optional sunporch). On page 6 is The Elyria, which is another reincarnation of The Sears Mitchell, with room dimensions altered by a few inches, to make it all legal. (So who copied from whom? Did Sears steal the design from Homebuilders or did Homebuilders steal it from Sears, or did they both take it from Aladdin - who also had their own version of this house?)
   
   The descriptions that accompany each home are almost stark, given the traditional puffery and verbosity of that era's advertising styles. The Cullor, on page 42 is described as, "A story and a half home that has a lot of character and living comfort. Shingles, siding and brick combined harmoniously to create a very pleasing exterior."
   
   And that's all they have to say about that.
   
   Good book. Fun read. And the wee tiny print is legible. A good addition to your library on architectural history.



2. Fine examples of a type of photorealistic drawing that you don't see anymore, which are reason enough to buy the book. The majority of homes are Tudor or Old English, like the ones on the cover, with just a few Colonials and Bungalows mixed in. The writing is quaint, with bedrooms called chambers, and mentions of breakfast nooks, servant's quarters, and telephone cabinets.

1 comments about Luxury Airline Design (Luxury Books).

1. Fantastic, luxurious book. Great gift for dad's and boys who like expensive toys!

3 comments about The Finite Element Method and Applications in Engineering Using ANSYS®.

1. In my opinion, this is the best Ansys Tutorial like book I have ever seen.
   I have tried others similar, but this one contains not only basic information, but also really more advanced subjects, like non-linear analysis issues.
   I really recommend it.



2. This book provides a good practical knowledge of the finite element method with ANSYS program. You can find extensive examples from various engineering problems presented step by step. A previous knowledge of FEM would be recommended.



3. This book is far superior to any other ANSYS FE book. It has something like 40 examples and the cd includes the batch input files. Other books on the subject (see Moaeveni) lack the # of example problems or batch file processing tutorials. Great for beginers and intermediate users who want to get the most out of ANSYS.

5 comments about AutoCAD 2002 for Dummies.

1. Too much words with no much information



2. My Husband's professor recommended this book, and my husband loves it. It is very clear, topis are clearly and understandably explained and easy to find. Recommended for anyone taking a cad class or just wanting to learn cad.



3. I'm a newbie to Autocad. I was fooled by the previous reviewer, thinking this might be a good book to start out my Autocad carreer. When I got the book and realized that the content is too little and it mentions NOTHING on the 3D part of AutoCAd. I have to return this book and got "AutoCAD 2002: No Experience Required". Now this is a much better book to get started if you are a newbie. It covers most of the 2d stuff then has some intro to 3d. Then I got AutoCad 2002 Bible, which covers virtually everything a Autocad.



4. Hey, there buddy! If you wanna get rich quick, read this book with your heart and soul and keep on practicing it! The instructions are pretty clear and amazingly understandable... So what are you waiting for. Grab a copy now! And all the best to your career!



5. On the whole a well concieved, organized and written book. The books failings come from the fact that it conforms to the limitations and requirments for humor of thr "for dummies series". I would encourage the author to write a similar, more comprehensive, book outside of these limitations.

No comments about Designing the World's Best Exhibits.

1 comments about Random Seas and Design of Maritime Structures (Advanced Series on Ocean Engineering, Volume 15).

1. Safety and reliability engineers responsible for the design of maritime structures can find in Goda's book all necessary background information for the probabilistic description of loads on those structures. No other book currently exists which gives such a complete overview of all methods to describe random sea waves, with particular attention to the extreme waves. This second edition (2000) contains a number of extensions w.r.t. the first edition (1985) and some sections have been rewritten. The reviewer especially enjoyed studying Goda's outline on correlation models between successive wave heights, marginal probability density functions of wave periods, and joint distributions of wave heights and periods of waves with narrow-band spectra.

5 comments about Morphosis, Vol. 3: Buildings and Projects, 1993-1997.

1. The information presented in the book is good--no doubt about that. But the graphics of the book is too much--it takes away a lot from one's ability to clearly read and understand the drawings. Whoever designed it does too much to overwhelm the senses and as a result, the reader is left confused and thumbing page to page trying to figure out what is going on. Also, the quality of the binding is rather lackluster--after about half way through the book, the binding (which was basically a piece of paper HOT GLUED on to the pages) fell apart. Thom Mayne's work is interesting (and perhaps nothing more than that) but he doesn't much help his case if the quality of the design and the construction of the book is this BAD.



2. I have seen a lot of books on Morphosis out there. Some are more projects' photographs, other are of single projects drawing, philosophy and graphic. This one is a graphic masterpiece. I bought this when I was an architect student and it helped me layout the foundation of my portfolio and presentation. I don't necessary design like Morphosis, but love how they projected their projects to the curious eyes. This is a very thick book, of mostly weird angles FormZ's renderings mixed with CAD drawings. You get tried of looking at rendering pages after pages, but each project is unique in its own. My friends and roommates borrow this book the most of all the books in my architectural library, by far. The cover is very cool, but the pages were cheaply glue or constructed and it break apart, under heavy browsing. I repair this book with zappa-gap many times. So this is my #1 architectual book.



3. One of the few architecture books at the brick and mortor bookstore that isn't sealed shut with shrink wrap. After I flipped through it I immediately bought it through amazon. It is designed by Cranbrook design superstar Lorraine Wild, the design perfectly represents what Morphosis is about. I take it from the other reviewers that they only looked at the images and did not read anything at all because they did not "get it". Their work is delivered as a cyberpunk novel outtake, the setting an industrial dance club with torture devices. There is a wonderful surreal short story that acts as a sort of guide to viewing the work as well. I am not an architect but this is inspirational enough for me to spend half a decade in school to become one. Reminds me of the Jean Tinguely book published in the early 70's (with sketch overlays) and a similar design philosophy as Low/Tek



4. Being an architecture student, I constantly refer to many books, and Morphosis is one of my favourite contemporary architecture firm. This is really a thick and quite a heavy book. Its a compilation of many of Morphosis' work. Their "Best Of.." volume. This marvelous edition is divided into 2 parts. The first part consist of many colourful computer generated views, elevations, plans and 3D computer models etc of their buildings. The 3D models give a good visual understanding of their complicated but exciting buildings. The second part consist of essays by Thom Mayne. The thing about Morphosis is Mayne's writing is clear. He states his intention and theories clearly without getting out of the subject of architecture much. He talks about the difference between a project and a building which is a very good way of looking at architecture today. The graphics and writing provide a very clear understanding of their buildings. The bottom line is, if you like Morphosis, you'll love this book among your collection.



5. neat drawings, but this book is for hard-core fans of Morphosis. the amount of graphic information enclosed is staggering at first, but once you own it you will get bored with it. there is no meat on these bones. the text, tellingly placed in the back like an afterthought,is meaningless. i doubt anyone without prior experience with Morphosis' projects would really understand what he is up to.

4 comments about Mastering AutoCAD 2006 and AutoCAD LT 2006 (Mastering).

1. For someone that just used 3D modeling programs, this bok helped a lot for figuring out how AutoCAD work. I would definitely recommend to anyone who is learning AutoCAD.



2. Good tutorial for first timers. Pace is quick enough. Great laymen explainations. Tutorial CD requires quick a bit of power from computer terminal, unable to use as of yet. Hinders lessons. Still recommend book, much better than what else is available.



3. I found the book to describe a lot of the Acad funtions, but not enough detail in the functions I was looking for.



4. I bought the Mastering AutoCAD 2000 edition of this book few years ago and learned AutoCAD from scratch. This latest edition has continue to become a very good reference both for starter and intermediate user like me. Nevertheless there are few things that can be improved:
   1. "Copying block within file and across files" topic should be added to Chapter 6. Windows user tend to use the "copy&paste" block more than the traditional block insertion. Confusion often arises among rookie when they try to copy a block of same name from one file to another.
   2. The author has chosen to use centrimeter(cm) as the base unit for the metric measurement. Architectural plan in metric always based in either milimeter(mm) and meter(m). Chosing something in between, i.e. cm, may not be a wise choice as cm will result in awkward scale factor. I hope to see the future edition will use mm instead of cm as base unit.
   3. The material in Appendix B, page 1039, needs to be updated. "AGP graphics card with 64MB memory" is almost extint by contemporary standard.