2 comments about The AutoCADET's Guide to Visual LISP.

1. Unlike many technical and programming books, the author of this book shows his love and dedication to programming, and sets down the ground rules with a little bit of history to help understand exactly what it is that you are doing. This book is so full of good information, you almost have to read it one paragraph at a time, yet it is so intriguing that it's hard to put down.



2. I found Bill Kramer's book to be very helpful in really understanding how the lisp language for AutoCad works. I would not say it is for the absolute beginner. It does not contain tons of non-useful, simple code to use as a tutorial. It does, however, contain a lot of truly useful functions and detailed explanations on how the code actually works. From the very start, it discusses how to use AutoCad's Visual Lisp Integrated Design Environment, one of the best tools for helping programmers write functions. This is something other books, inexplicably, leave till the end. I highly recommend this book to anyone. It is one of the better books out there.

No comments about Harnessing AutoCAD 2009.

1 comments about Diller + Scofidio (+ Renfro): The Ciliary Function.

1. Transfixed by a dedication to a range of theatricality that has been answered in their ascension--to a built maturity--by appropriating our physiology into their architecture: the blush, the heartbeat, the ciliary function . . . the gasp. We as the readers and the users have been subsumed into their theatre as actors as well!

5 comments about Community By Design: New Urbanism for Suburbs and Small Communities.

1. I like this book because it suggests ways to make our communities better. I really like books that talk about how we can improve the status quo and/or better alternatives to the status quo.



2. This is an excellent introduction to how the philosophy of New Urbanism can be applied to suburbs. It would be very helpful to people serving on Zoning & Planning Commissions or City Councils.



3. The suburban landscape of the United States is the subject of this book, advertised as "the first practical guide to creating communities that truly are communities-not merely enclaves near off-ramps." Guided by the principles of the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU), the book uses excerpts from that organization's Charter to illuminate its advocacy of more connected development patterns. The book's scope extends beyond the commercial strip to include the major building blocks of towns and suburbs, such as apartment complexes, schools, parks and office campuses.
   
   Hall and Porterfield includes passages of fist-thumping suburbia-bashing similar to James Howard Kunstler's Home From Nowhere (1998, Touchstone Books) or Jane Holtz Kay's Asphalt Nation (1997, Crown). They also include graphic material, much of it adapted their earlier book, A Concise Guide to Community Planning (1994, McGraw-Hill).
   
   Readers knowledgeable about New Urbanism will find few surprises here, other than a few glaring factual errors, like a reference to "Tyson's Corners, Virginia, one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States" (p. 7) and a claim that Edge Cities and urban villages are "two names for essentially the same thing" (p. 210). Good points crop up here and there, but recommendations are so limited in scope that it can be difficult to discern whether the sample site designs are intended to be good or bad examples, which limits the book's usefulness pedagogically. The lack of dimensions on most of the drawings also severely limits the book's utility as a practical reference. Hall and Porterfield contrast "conventional suburban development" and "Traditional Neighborhood Development" options for site plans, but the comparisons sometimes seem forced and nearly always ignore the larger regional issues so critical to the debate.
   
   One ideal audience for this book might suburban planning commissioners, who need guidance from designers in order to understand the differences between conventional suburban development pods and walkable, human-scaled neighborhoods.



4. Community by Design is an introduction to the basics of community design and New Urbanism. It's useful if that's what you're after, but not an interesting read if you're anything but a novice on the the topic. It reads like a texbook for a freshman-level course in urban design. Used for that purpose, I'm certain it would be more than successful. As a source of new, insightful commentary on the subject of New Urbanism it falls more than a little short.



5. I wanted to take the opportunity to recommend this book to anyone who has wondered why every place in America looks like everywhere else. There's a funny line in the Rocky and Bullwinkle movie where "our heros" are traveling by car across America in a race against time to foil the plan of the arch villan. As they pass the same gas station and fast food franchise again and again Bullwinkle says, "Haven't we been here before?" That was the same reaction my seven-year old had this summer when we were on our family vacation. We were in Richmond, Virginia and he said we've been here before because I remember that place over there. I had to explain to him what franchise architecture was and how just about every town in America has one of those types of buildings. This is a sad commentary on the American landscape that we as consumers expect the to see the familiar sign of our favorite business. This is one reason why I wrote this book; to let folks know that there's a better way. In fact, we used to do it better. The types of places that capture our attention and long to live are the places that were built prior to World War II. The small towns that so many families idealize as the place they'd rather raise their kids are the same places that couldn't be built today because of "modern" zoning ordinances. And the sad thing is today's generation is the first to be raised totally in a suburban environment that requires owning an automobile just to survive. If you're intersted in how this could change and what the alternatives are Community by Design is your book! There's 250 illustrations and photos that show you what's possible right now. The book helps you understand why community can and should be designed and lets you see some places where it has been. If you ask me this is a great book. ...

4 comments about Artisan Crafted Timber Frame Homes.

1. We've been thinking about building a post and beam house and this book was an amazing resource. Page after page of beautiful color photos and lots of floor plans. I never knew you could do so much with timber framing. If you're thinking of building a post and beam house or just want some great design ideas don't miss this one.



2. I have been planning on building a timber frame home for several years. I have gathered lots of information over the years and I found this book to be the perfect read for anyone planning to build a timber frame home. It contains photos of hundreds of timber frame homes, along with floor plans for many. The articles are well written and informative. Artisan Crafted Timber Frame Homes really gave me lots of very useful ideas on design, both interior and exterior. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who might be planning on building a timber frame home.



3. Artisan Crafted Timber Frame Homes has been a wonderful tool in helping me plan the ideal living space. Not only does it have a plethora of floor plans already drawn up, but it really helps me think about design in such a way that I can feel comfortable dreaming up my own personal floor plans. For an obsessive planner like myself, it's great to have a tool like this on my book shelf.
   
   Beyond the basic design of homes, the book has some amazing inspirational photographs which offer a lot of interior design ideas. Since a timber frame home is so unique it's very beneficial to see how others are decorating and lighting their timber frame treasures. A delight to read, even for myself, who is still a ways away from building her dream home. It never hurts to get inspired!



4. Over twenty timber frame homes are displayed, inside and out, in a photography guide which considers various options in timber frame construction and design. Examples aren't just your usual home rooms either: they include such but also pack in examples of pool houses, offices, barns, and how to incorporate the post/beam look of timber frame construction into an existing home. An outstanding idea guide results, perfect for architectural libraries and general-interest holdings alike.

1 comments about Unified Design of Steel Structures.

1. This book is well written and is up-to-date with the AISC 13th edition Manual. The explanations given are clear and concise. However the book is too thin to cover the breadth of Steel Design. More topics need to be addressed and each topic needs to be presented with a lot more depth.
   In summary, a better title for this book could have been "Unified Steel Design for Dummies".

3 comments about Barn Style Homes: Design Ideas for Timber Frame Houses (Schiffer Design Book).

1. "Room by Room" is an extraordinary book filled with great pixs and layout ideas. It's helped me with many of my room design considerations. Thank you Skinner and Hanslin for another fine book.



2. What an amazing book. From country style cottages to contemporary homes and everything in between, this book has it all. The pictures give you a real feeling of what it is like to own a Barn Style Home...



3. If you're thinking about building a timber frame home, get this book for inspiration. It's a portfolio of thirty-two of the remarkable homes built by Tony Hanslin's company, Yankee Barn Homes. Each is presented in beautiful color photographs and with floor plans. You'll get ideas for details, finishes, furnishing, decorating and landscaping your new home. You'll learn about the flexibility and durability of this ancient method of construction, and you'll see the great, barn-like soaring spaces that can only be built with timber frames. Timber frame homes are more expensive than most, but this book is a bargain, and dreams are free!

2 comments about Creative Time: The Book: 33 Years of Public Art in New York.

1. This book is an absolutely illuminating look into the history of Creative Time's impact on public art. Beautifully printed images accompany textual explorations into artists' projects with Creative Time over the past few decades. A must-have for anyone interested in the growth of art that is vital for the creation of a more enriching public realm.



2. If you like public art and if you like New York, buy this book. It's a fascinating history of an organization that has, for four decades, been at the forefront of this field. This book is beautifully done by Princeton Architectural Press and the several year effort by director Anne Pasternak and her staff is really quite amazing. The 300 plus projects they have sponsored are chronologically presented with beautiful color photography and interspersed with essays and interviews by some fascinating people. Also, this book is going to be a collector's item because each cover is a distinct numbered print generated by a machine recording the sights and sounds of NYC. You can either skim the surface by focusing on the projects alone, or you can delve deeper into the minds of the people who have created and presented these projects.

1 comments about Broken Screen: Expanding The Image, Breaking The Narrative.

1. As a film editor, this book is particularly amazing to me. I see it as the textbook I couldn't find in school. It really should be in the curriculum for anyone interested in film, art and music...pretty much everyone. Each interview comes across as what I imagine it really was: a casual conversation between artists...artists relevant to most everything we see today. An eclectic collection of people with insight you might not get anywhere else.
   
   Read it and lets expand the conversation.

1 comments about Signage Design Manual.

1. This is a preliminary review, based on a first reading only. But I got so excited that I couldn't wait to tell everybody in the field of wayfinding that this book is a 'must have' one! The book of Edo -lavishly and beautifully illustrated by Edo's wife Huda (a specialist in Arabic typography)- gives a complete overview of the discipline of signage, not only essential for designer but especially for clients and the facility managers among them. It shows the importance of good preparation and not to run to a sign designer and ask for more or/and larger and colorful signs. The book is too thick to read at once, but one must keep it close to all ones other reference 'bibles'.