1 comments about Barns (Norton/Library of Congress Visual Sourcebooks).

1. I highly recommend this book for general readers and researchers interested in relationships between architecture and history. John Vlach has a comprehensive knowledge of architecture, and he insightfully writes about the importance of barns and rural cultural landscapes as resources for studying history. This new volume is an important resource for studies of rural folk culture as it provides studies of a great variety of barns and an array of approaches for learning about vernacular architecture.

2 comments about Light Structures - Structures of Light: The Art and Engineering of Tensile Architecture Illustrated by the Work of Horst Berger.

1. This is a book positioned at exactly the right level for someone interested in the concept of building with tent like features. While there are several such structures in the US and around the world, the best known is the new Denver airport. Here is a building concept that offers considerable advantages to conventional design, not the least of which is an entirely new concept in modern architecture that in turn goes back to the days of tents.
   
   The author has been involved in many, if not most of the dramatic structures built using these new techniques. While this book has somewhat of a missionaries dedication to these roof structures, it rather makes sense.
   
   This is not a book designed for engineers, it is a book designed for the concept phase. This is what an interested buyer might use to talk to an engineering firm to tell him what he wants. This is a book that an engineer might use to understand what the customer wants before he gets deeply into the software and the design.
   
   I really liked the book. I only have one argument with the author. As a very frequent flyer for many years, the new Denver airport may have a very nice roof, but the airport itself sucks. It's the worst airport I habitually used.



2. a wonderful, accessible and personal journey through an understanding of the basis and historical development of tensile membrane structures by a world renowned engineer-designer and teacher. through historic examples and his own contemporary projects, prof. berger allows the reader to grasp a scientific understanding and aesthetic appreciation for these unique structures.
   
   a must book for all architects, engineers and anyone who desires a better comprehension of light weight structures.

No comments about Gothic Sculpture, 1140-1300 (The Yale University Press Pelican Histor).

2 comments about Architecture and Utopia: Design and Capitalist Development.

1. This book is almost as much about the language used to criticize architecture than architecture itself. It is very dense and hard to read.



2. I have placed about 8 orders the same day as this product and this came the fastest. thanks!

2 comments about The Architect's Handbook of Professional Practice, 13th Ed..

1. This book is an impressive accomplishment, admittedly. It is a vast amount of information, very thorough, complete, and seems to cover every aspect of professional practice for an architect. I have other editions of this book back to the 1958 copy, and they are fairly extraordinary records of the changes in the profession.
   
   The failures of this book are to some extent caused by its subject matter. Architectural practice has changed in the last decade for some firms, and this book admirably tries to reflect and analyze that change -- although this probably holds true for a very small number of firms. If you're a partner at Skidmore Owings and Merrill and trying to broadly envision where practice is heading, hey this book is perfect for you. But I imagine many firms are not going to have that much use for re-examining the nature of the "client" or "project," a lot of this material would be better served by smaller (cheaper) specialized books.
   
   It's an ambitious goal to attempt a comprehensive overview of architectural practice but its editing doesn't rise to the occasion. In between interesting insights and clear explanations of practice topics you really can't find elsewhere, you find some seriously clunky essays and information that is comically useless.
   
   For example, consider this gem in an essay on architecture and the web: "Email is a personal, direct connection to the Internet. You can send messages, attach drawings, and communicate instantly across the globe with a few clicks of the mouse. Email is much like regular mail. You send mail to particular addresses, and they write to you at yours..." Okay, this for a book published in 2001. Not 1981, but 2001. Are they also going to explain what a telephone thingy is on my desk, or what I'm supposed to do with this fax machine here? It might have been useful to have a page about email's legal status, or how a firm should set policies about email, but what we've got here is a page long description for someone who's been living under a rock and has no idea what email actually IS. Although this is simply one minor example, it is the kind of thing that makes this book wildly uneven and screaming for a competent editor. For the price of this book I think we deserve more.



2. In addition to the all-new format (thankfully no more binders!), this book really does cover EVERYTHING an architect needs to know to run a business-- from working with clients to developing added-value services-- all in one book. I especially appreciate the new section devoted to understanding client motivation, thinking, processes, and values and the new section summarizing services I can offer to expand my client base. This is definitely the book that every architect needs to keep close at hand!

2 comments about Barcelona: A Guide to Its Modern Architecture.

1. This compact (easily fits in backpack) guide has clear photographs of most every notable building, monument, and structure in Barcelona. Its main sections are divided by timespans, not geographically, but there's an index in the back that displays where each structure is located in the city. The book was essential for touring, to answer the "what was that?" question when some of Barcelona's incredible architecture presented itself. Each entry contains lots of detailed information, such as building name, address, year built, architects, builders, and sculptors, as well as a concise narrative on what is significant about this structure.



2. thats it

No comments about Archigram: Architecture without Architecture.

1 comments about Swatt Architects: Livable Modern (House Design).

1. I was very pleased with this book in every respect.

5 comments about In the Company of Stone: The Art of the Stone Wall.

1. Dan Snows stonework may be some of the best in the world. Of all the stonework I have seen over the years his stands of as the best of the best.
   This book illustrates much of Dans work demonstrating what is possible.
   Most of this work is dry laid stone which is an art in itself. For those who like work utilizing mortar I recommend Lew Frenches book. Buy this book if you love to view stonework that makes you say " WOW!"



2. Over a decade ago, Dan Snow repaired the hundred-year-old dry stone walls that wander across our property in Vermont. The tumbled stone had been evocative, but the symmetry of the reassembled walls has been an irresistible delight. I do not know Snow--he worked while we were away--but I have thanked him a million times for his art. In this book, he has somehow captured with words the sensory pleasure of organizing and reorganizing stones. The art of walling, as evidenced by Peter Mauss's photographs, and the skill of walling, as described by Snow, are compulsively fascinating, an adventure for the armchair dreamer.
   The text and illustrations blend carefully, and the color photographs sparkle. The reproduction of the black and white photographs varies in quality, alas. This is a charming book. An excellent companion book is Gordon Hayward's "Stone in the Garden."



3. If you love stones and stone work you'll appreciate the pictures but a book just can't manage to "show" the art involved in working with stone



4. This is not a "how-to" book - it's better than that. It's a "why" book. The author expresses in his understated manner the "why's" of working with stone and for anyone who feels about stone the way he does (and I do)it is a delight to read - and look at. This book is absolutely inspirational and a joy.



5. Being a native resident of Vermont this book is very precious to me. I lived on a dairy farm with dry stone walls that were very plain. Dan Snow made the process into an art form as well as for practical use. The back of the book gives locations of some of his work here in VT and NH and I look forward to seeing some of it next summer. This book is one that should sit on a coffee table to be picked up and scanned by your guests rather than sitting on a bookcase shelf. The book is not only about the work of Dan Snow but a showcase of the photos by Peter Mauss, in color as well as black & white. It is a book you will treasure.

5 comments about Incredible Light & Texture in Watercolor.

1. I own dozens of watercolor instruction books and this is one of the few I would not give up! It is geared toward an intermediate watercolorist, but has basic information on paints, brushes and paper. In particular, Toogood explains how the properties of watercolor pigment affect a painting and how you might use that color.
   Toogood's style is tight and almost photographic. Some people do not like watercolors painted this way, but the book is helpful even so. He goes into detail on how to create textures of different surfaces which is a universal skill. I personally find Toogood's style impressive and inspiring. I enjoy the book to look at his paintings more than anything else.
   P.S. You cannot tell from the cover, but the book includes a great section on portrait painting in watercolor.



2. This book is by far the best watercolor book for the intermediate artist.
   definately not a beginner book. Toogood is both informative and inspiring.



3. This is a good book for those who want to paint watercolour copies of photographs. Unfortunately, Mr Toogood doesn't show that part of his working method involved in tracing the photographs he copies. If you're looking for more expressive styles, study the work of Winslow Homer or John Singer Sargent. If you want a good instructional book on watercolour, check out Mastering Atmosphere and Mood in Watercolor by Joseph Zbukvic.



4. Initially I bought this book for its beautiful and inspiring watercolors. Is there nothing this man can't paint? Breathtaking clouds, the wettest water I've ever seen in paint. You wouldn't know it from the cover, but the book also contains a chapter on portrait painting, step by step. He is as proficient in portrait painting as he is in landscapes, cityscapes, seascapes. I teach a "portraits in watercolor" class and I recommend this book to every student of the medium who is searching for an artist they can admire, who is willing to part with his "secrets".



5. There are watercolor books with great artwork, and then there are watercolor books with great instruction. This book combines both. Toogood's realistic style is gorgeous. His instructions are very clear and concise. I am a professional artist and own over a hundred books on painting, yet I was able to learn get quite a few tips from this author--expecially about painting water. An alltogether excellent book.