2 comments about Programming for Design: From Theory to Practice.

1. Edith Cherry provides a very comprehensive overview of a subject that tends to be overlooked or neglected by many individuals in the architectural field. This is a must read for every architectural office regardless of office size or scale of work. Understanding and implementing Programming is an essential component in the architectural process that can not be overlooked.



2. In July 2002, UIA agreed to promote their criteria on Architectural Education, worldwide. Among various criteria, we can clearly find necessity of teaching the architectural programming in school. With understanding this situation, I can recommend this as the BEST TEXT BOOK among others in this field,
   compulsory for students and educator.

1 comments about Fantasy Architecture: 1500-2036.

1. This book is full of houses, buildings, cities and other architectural designs that could have been built, if there had been more money or less common sense. Many of these designs are before there time and some are just ideas that could never be. Tombs, bridges, toys, video games and other items from the past that have shaped and channeled our ideas of modern and future architecture. The book was printed for a touring exhibition but is still worth getting just for itself. Lots of images to look at and dream about.

5 comments about Timberframe: The Art and Craft of the Post-and-Beam Home.

1. I had a great time working on the Guilford, CT home called "on the rocks" in this book. The stress skin panels, now referred most commonly to as SIPS ~ structurally insulated panels ~ are a great technology for efficiency and waste reduction. The boook shows good pictures, some seem a bit dated though.



2. This book is full of stunning photographs of timber frame homes, accompanied by engaging text both technical and philosophical. The book is divided into locations, such as prairie, mountain, and coastal homes. Not a guide to building, this is more like the ultimate coffee-table book.

   I don't know one thing about architecture or homebuilding, but I enjoyed this book for its striking photos of awesome homes.




3. If you love beams, and more beams, lots of braces, and complex joints; then this book is for you.

   If you prefer a more minimalist approach I'd suggest: "The Timber-Frame Home, Design, Construction, Finishing" by the same author. In that book this author wrote: "...frame design should simplify and reduce whenever possible, The best frames are those with the most economical use of timbers and the least-complicated joinery." I was disappointed that this book ignored that concept.

   Most of the houses in this book are above 3500 sq feet with roughly a third at 5000 and up. If you want to see the extremes to which timberframing can be taken, this is the book for you.




4. This colorful survey of the post and beam home examines a construction method which dates to the Middle Ages, and is the first to explore the design potentials of the form. 400 color photos, drawings and floor plans provide excellent architectural reference and design insights in this contemporary exploration of timberframe potentials. Visually powerful and highly recommended.



5. This great book starts off with a short history of timberframes and then showcases dozens of great timberframe homes. The homes cover all styles and price ranges and the picture quality is superb. This is a must buy for all timberframe home lovers!

2 comments about Urban Design: A typology of Procedures and Products. Illustrated with over 50 Case Studies.

1. This is not a comprehensive book on the field of Urban Design. Although this is obvious from the subtitle one is left with dissapointment. Aside from an interesting collection of cases studies you really don't get the complexity and timeless cross-section of this field that is having a renaissance now. None of the current trends are mentioned nor do they get any strong coverage (new urbanism/trasnurbanism/reurbanism/everyday urbanism/splintered urbanism/complexity urbanism) nor does the historical element comes through. Generaly good written book but too much of a sallad bowl without a proper structure and philosophy. Not a good tool for teaching. If you want top of the pops book in this field go to D.Grahame Shane's Recombinant Urbanism. For me it was astonishing how little space was given to new urbanism, the leading urban design theory and practice today.



2. A spectacular book. Lang explains all the design process of the urban environment within USA in this century. What had going wrong and why. See also how a close relationship between designers and its clients can improve design quality and what sort of human needs can be fulfilled by the built environment. A book not only for urban designers but for all people related with the designing process from interiors designers to landscape architects.

2 comments about Modern Construction: Handbook (Modern Construction Series).

1. This particular book is a great reference for architectural students. It shows all types of materials, connections of materials, etc. It is a must have.



2. I have found this book so helpful that it sits immediately adjacent to my copy of Architectural Graphic Standards.

   If you follow architectural publications, you will find this handbook catalogs recent noteworthy works that you are familiar with, and many others that you are not. Specifically, this book is organized according to specific building component types (i.e. curtainwall systems, millwork, stairs.) For each of these types, the book offers a color photograph of a built example, and then several blackline details revealing the technical composition required for such an aesthetic effect. The best thing is, the book offers 3+ examples of each component type.

   I recommend this book for all practicing architects who are involved in all scales of building types.

No comments about AutoCAD 2008 Essential Training.

No comments about Using AutoCAD 2008 Basics.

3 comments about Using CATIA V5.

1. Making the switch over to V5 is a real pain, especially if you're a busy v4 engineer. Honestly, the best thing is to watch a few v5 video tutorials every day so you don't have to go thru the agony of a book. There's a beginner tutorial that I found helpful. Regardless, this book is task-based and spends a helpful bit of time talking about "making the transition." It will give a beginner an overview of the workbenches, so I'd say it's a good starting point. Here's that video tutorial link - CATIA V5 Video Tutorial CD ROM- Quickstart



2. My company is currently working on a major project with the author's company. My department is transitioning over to CATIA V5 from a different design software and we are using this book as our training manual. The graphics are good.



3. Readers of this book will not be prepared to use Catia in a professional environment. Mr. Karam lacks practical knowledge of his subject, and relies on his co-author to write the majority of this work. Mr. Karam has been using a rival CAD program for over a decade, and is a Catia beginner himself. Those looking to learn Catia are better served elsewhere.

4 comments about Exercise Workbook for Advanced Autocad 2006: With 30-day Trial Version on Cd-rom.

1. I wish that this book had been available when I was teaching AutoCad at the Community College.



2. Clear, concise and coherent! Gave me everything I expected. I wish they had another book in the series to expand the 3D topics.



3. This is an excellent book for someone new to this field.
   This book makes learning Autocad so much easier to learn
   then any other book I've seen. I would recommend this book
   to anyone who would like to be more advanced in Autocad.



4. You really shouldn't buy this one unless you also buy or have access to the beginning work book because some of the exercises call for you to use work done in the previous book. OK but not great and not as easy to follow as the first.

1 comments about Gender Space Architecture: An Interdisciplinary Introduction (Architext Series).

1. I am writing because in my opinion the editorial description of this book doesn't give readers a clear enough idea of what makes it different from all the other feminism and architecture anthologies currently on sale.

   Part of the problem is that there now seem to be so many books with titles like "Gender and Space" etc.

   But don't be fooled - this really is the only book out there that tries to give an overview of the impact of feminism on architecture, gathering and reprinting seminal essays from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

   Aside from the convenience of having all of these important essays at hand in one volume, the book also provides readers with an excellent bibliography (almost 25 pages) of related books in the field. While the bibliography doesn't refer to absolutely everything, it is pretty comprehensive - and, if you're interested in further research, this gives you a good starting point.

   The introductions in this book though are perhaps its best feature - in particular, the introduction to "Gender Space Architecture" by Jane Rendell. When people want to know what feminism can do for architecture (or has done for architecture), I refer them to this essay. It's lucidly written and provides a great map to the subject. Particularly useful for students!

   If you're just starting out on this subject, this is the book for you.