2 comments about Brick Pavement and Fence - Walls: Authentic Details for Design and Restoration.

1. Peter Joel Harrison provides a valuable service to architects, designers, preservationists, landscapers and homeowners by researching, recording and presenting the details of historic homes and gardens. His books, full of accurate drawings of period fences, gates, gazebos, trellises, pavement and garden walls, are tools for anyone who's restoring an 18th or 19th century home or landscape and inspiration for anyone who hopes to infuse some of yesterday's charm into a new building. I used Brick Pavement and Fence-Walls for ideas on some new garden walls in Richmond, Virginia. They look almost as elegant as Harrison's examples from James River plantations, and seem just right for their location.



2. At first glance, the book resembles an ancient work by Palladio or other. The drawings are beautifully simple yet a bit coarse for today's standards. The book is made up mostly of patterns and elevations; text is limited to a 13-page index and a some explanations on tools and methods. Overall, the book is quite useful, but missing are the following: pictures, better diagrams, some data about the architect, etc.

   Although the format is absolutely stunning (meant to resemble an old manuscript), this book is not for everyone. It should appeal to the designer, architect or contractor.

5 comments about Charter of The New Urbanism.

1. This book presents urban design ideas which are useful, sustainable, and proven by time. Many of the cities that are so loved, for example, Paris, Budapest, Prague, Rome, etc., are built on principles of design that are similar to those that are presented in this book. While this form of urbansim may now seem new in America, it is found in America's past, throughout Europe, and other areas of the world. I really enjoyed reading this book.



2. The Charter of the New Urbanism not only sets forth a manifesto of what future generations of town planners and residential developers may deem the most significant architectural movement of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, but it does so with clarity, precision, and economy.

   This volume is an essential text in an essential field, and should be considered so by municipal planners, developers, builders, architects, and citizens who care about the quality of life in their cities, towns, suburbs, and hamlets.

   In addition to rendering their own analyses in compelling and thoughtful prose, McCormick and Leccese have displayed the deftness of master cat herders by wrangling a passel of leading New Urbanists -- by no means the most egregiously agreeable of architectural types -- into presenting their thoughts in a thorough-going and satisfying manner.

   The reader who delves into this book and rides it to its conclusion will come away understanding a great deal about how we live today, and how we could -- and perhaps should -- be living.




3. This is a very dry and disjointed work. If you are interested in the topic, have a blast and read Suburban Nation and The Geography of Nowhere. Then if you want more, buy Christopher Alexander's works--and savor them.



4. "An important work that defines the tenets of New Urbanism, this book serves as the group's manifesto. The charter illustrates the 27 principles of New Urbanism, from the scale of regions to neighborhoods and buildings, and pairs each with an essay by a different author. Now followers of the movement can use the charter to define their work and detractors can refer to it when presenting their side of the debate. ... Graphically pleasing, the book reads well ... When defining the problems of today's development patterns, the text is clear and seductive. ... The test of the Charter of New Urbanism will be its timeless quality. ..."



5. The Charter of the New Urbanism is an absolutely fantastic book. It should be required reading for all planners, architects, public officials, engineers, and citizen activists. It brings together in one book essays from some of today's brightest minds. Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, Peter Calthorpe, Walter Kulash, John Norquist and others describe the Congress for the New Urbanism's (CNU) positions on many important issues, such and traffic congestion, regional planning, environmental issues, affordable housing, civic art, and of course, curbing urban sprawl. New Urbanism is a highly organized and diverse branch of the "Smart Growth" family tree. They have brought a broad range of people together in forming this book, which shows that the problems of sprawl, environmental degregation, inner city decay, and increasing separation by race and income are "one interrelated community-building challenge."

2 comments about Building Your Dream House.

1. I thought this book was absolutely fantastic with the loads of information it provided. It is also LOADED with COLOR pictures. What I liked about it is that it taught me how to go about figuring out a layout for my new home and provided me with measurements for everything (i.e. how much space you need to provide in certain areas, etc.). I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is planning on building their own home.



2. This book presents a lot of information that is helpful during the early planning/design stages. Its easy to read layout and good use of pictures/diagrams brings out points that were either missing or hidden in some other books I have used.
   I ended up using this book extensively, both for ideas and as a reference.

   Note that the title of the book is something of a misnomer, less than 1/3 the book
   is on 'building'. However the other 2/3 more than compensates for this.

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.

4 comments about Harnessing AutoCAD Land Development Desktop Release 2.

1. I have 14 years of part time 3rd party ACAD apps. It gets the out of the box program configured for use, teaches you basics. The LDD help is not very good for this (i.e I spent 5 hours going down dead ends, looking for menus not loaded etc). The book guides you through set up and creating lines, lots, surfaces, alignments and grading, tied into surveying. It is not a civil engineering text book, hence be prepared to spend a lot of time working on engineering problems to do small things in the program (yes, your bridge may end up 4 inches above the road alignemnt if you are not on your toes). I really wish LDD had engineering tools built in like terra model. Go get an ACAD class if you have the $1500(I do not work for them either), at least buy the coursware for $60 on amazon.



2. I did not care for the book. I did not feel it was written very well. It does not "read" well and is difficult to understand and follow the examples. I suppose, it is better than nothing and I keep it around as a reference only. Also, hardly and time is spent on the survey module only 1 example is given on runnning traverses.



3. I have more than five years using third party Acad applications for land development and I found this material systematic, well organized and easy to follow. The examples provided ( CD included) are sequential to the lectures which makes it an excellent didactic tool. On the other hand, the text does not cover the possible, or most common, types of reports that can be generated with the program in its differents applications.

   If you are looking for a self-training course in LDD, the price for this book Vs. what you get out of it is worth every penny.




4. The overall organization is quite good..., however, if you have been using LDD for a while and have accessed the online help to learn the program, you may find much similarity in syntax. If you are new to using LDD, then it is worth the price of the book. Keep in mind though, if you need to pick up the overall working mechanism of this LDD software and civil design in general in a rather short period of time, you best bet may be going to an authorized learning center. (No, I don't work for anyone of them.)

2 comments about Introducing and Implementing Revit Architecture 2008.

1. I used this book to do some training at my office. I had hoped it would be a good book and it seemed like it had good potential but in the end I have to give it a poor rating.
   
   The biggest complaint was that it was missing files for Chapters 3 and 5 that were needed to complete the exercise. We tried going to the publisher web site to see if the files were there as missing files are often placed there but found the publisher site to be difficult to navigate or find information. It took several attempts to even find the book on the site. We were unable to find any information about the missing files.
   
   Additional complaints would be that after the first introductory chapter, much of the basics and most used features Revit were only loosely addressed. I would have preferred that there would have been more practice given inserting walls, doors, windows, etc. so that the user could get more practice with those basic functions. Objects such as stairs weren't covered until the very last chapter which I would argue that stairs should have been introduced sooner in the book.
   
   I did like the effort to teach Worksets and other work sharing techniques however this was thrown out early in the book when I feel my users didn't yet have a good grasp of the basics.



2. Worked out great. Service and shipping was excellent. The only obstacle was that were only able to ship it to the billing address, not the mailing address. Aside from that, it was great.

2 comments about Programming ASP.NET for ArcGIS Server.

1. The book is okay. It's a good intro with some good ASP examples for newbies. The sad part is that much of it relates to ArcGIS Server 9.1 and 9.2 is drastically different. It needs to be updated by the authors, to truly be helpful.



2. If you already have *any* experience in programming asp.net then you can disregard over half of this book. Three out of nine chapters deal only with asp.net code that you can pick up from any book and many websites.
   
   Chapter 2: ASP.Net
   Chapter 3: Programming in Visual Basic .NET
   Chapter 5: Web Forms, Web Controls, and Web Templates
   
   As for the ArcGIS Server parts of this book, the only topics they cover are using basic templates that ESRI provides in its Developer's help. One of their examples comes straight from ESRI documentation.
   
   You can teach yourself a ton more just by exploring the forums on ESRI's website, the developer help, and playing with the sample web apps that come with the software.
   
   Don't waste your money on this book. In fact, if you are an EDN subscriber (ESRI Developer's Network) then you will get an electronic copy of a book that is over 700 pages long that will cover everything in this book and tons more.

1 comments about Building Type Basics for Recreational Facilities (Building Type Basics).

1. "Building Type Basics for Recreational Facilities" is an essential guide for anyone contemplating the design and construction of recreation facilities, be they owner, developer or architect. Although, as stated in Stephen Kliment's excellent preface, it is "not a coffee table book", it does have a section containing 26 color plates of some of the more interesting projects.
   
   
   
   It is a utilitarian book --- an architect's contemporary "Graphic Standards" for recreation facilities. It makes easier the programming and planning of every conceivable type of recreation project, plus some this reviewer had never heard of! The majority of projects are complete with sketches, floor plans and photographs. There are numerous charts and design standards. Every area of concern is covered from basic programming through design, engineering systems, interiors, operation and maintenance to costing/financing and sustainability issues.
   
   
   
   "Building Type Basics for Recreational Facilities" is a well designed book, with text that spells out clearly and simply guidelines for the design of a myriad of recreational project types ---a vital tool for the experienced and as well first time owner, developer and architect.

2 comments about The HOME House Project: The Future of Affordable Housing.

1. The book features +-100 designs for affordable and green housing. These homes are a result of a design competition using as program the Habitat for Humanity guidelines: small sq. ft. and low budgets. In addition these homes needed to be environmentally friendly. Among the designs are some very conceptual ones that actually will never be built, but is a good theoretical approach. There are many others that in fact, are 100% buildable and their solutions are very creative and diverse. I believe some of the winning designs are up for construction.
   This is a perfect book for students, professionals, environmentalists and people who appreciate progressive architecture in general.



2. Although interesting, these are designs and concepts that are not practical in the real world. But, if all you want are some pretty pictures...

1 comments about Introducing AutoCAD 2008.

1. I like this book. It is simple and gets to the point. It's like having a teacher or guide by your side.