2 comments about 100 Houses for 100 Architects (Special Edition).

1. This book is not as bad as the previous reviewer makes it out to be. It presents a wide selection of architects houses, from William Morris in the Nineteenth Century to Francine Houben at the end of the Twentieth. The documentation of every house is quite decent and gives a good understanding of the spaces, with a good textual explanation, and the photographs are of great quality. Some houses have probably rarely appeared in print, as for instance those of Fernando Tavora, Christian Norberg-Schulz, and Jose Antonio Coderch. Besides, the book gives a great idea about these architects' conception of the 'home', as for instance in Coderch's case, who conceived his house in a vernacular mode quite different from the architecture he is known for.



2. There's nothing terrible about the book. But it is so easily beat out by other architecture books (including others by Taschen publishing) that there's no reason to get this book or waste your time reading much about it.

5 comments about Architects' Data (3rd Edition).

1. An on hand reference for all the immediate details required by Interior Designers and Architects. Quite often a lot of time is wasted searching in numerous texts for information. The Architect's Data has it all-between the covers. User friendly and well illustrated.



2. This has always been a staple reference book for architects since my student days. I haven't bought a copy for many years, so I was pleased to see that it has been revised and updated to include plenty of relevant new data. Unlike a US-published competitor this book is in metric, and is more expansive in its coverage of building types. A really useful reference tool for all building space planners, architects and interior designers.



3. With all the countless references and easy-to-read diagrams illustrating key dimensions for almost any type or category of use, this book is an architect's Bible. It's not only a useful reference, but this one is a joy to read at one's own leisurely time! Must buy!



4. It was in our varsity library where I opened "Neufert" for the first time back in late 70s (they had a two-volume Russian version). Amazingly, then as I studied Architecture I was rather impressed by a broad selection of examples of Western Architecture than by reference data themselves. Now I am more interested in the latter... And the newly edition I have surely provides that! You may blame it for slightly outdated materials or general incompleteness. But, remember, those features are generic for sources like this. Instead the book is useful specifically at preliminary design phases when an architect needs the most general guidelines. You can quickly navigate in a fat volume and can get desired information easily and in full. The only drawback, I think, is that the book is rather based on a continental (mostly German) and British content which can be somewhat inconvenient for, say, an American reader.



5. I have used the previous editions very frequently especially during my time working abroad. This is the only comprehensive source of metric and International standards for design data that I am aware of and is organized in very readable way. In fact, when I introduced the book to my co-workers abroad, everyone bought a copy. It is a great book for rules-of-thumb reference for designing buildings, spaces and layouts for national and especially International standards.

2 comments about Architecture in Japan (Architecture (Taschen)).

1. This book illustrates good new japan architects, togheter with new projects from the oldests. Good Projects, good photos.



2. Enjoyable book, most of the architecture I'd seen before since im an architecture major, but its a nice book for the price.

4 comments about Strawbale Home Plans.

1. I keep this book around on my couch for all my friends to check out and i go back to it, daily, in searching for beautiful ideas for my soon to be breathable abode! The people in the book appear so serene and i know why! what glorious fotos and floorplans this book provided! great work!



2. This product is short on plans but I love it anyway. It provides one diagram, or layout for each ofmany sterling examples of this construction method,
   A good value for that strawbale builder who finds themself somewhere between a dream and the plan coming together...or just wondering where to get started making the dream a reality.



3. i was very impressed, this book is beautiful, the pictures, and floor plans inside give us so many ideas for the home we want to build in the future, i recommed it even if its a coffe table book.



4. I bought this book seeking inspiration, and I was not disappointed. Evident here is the continuing evolvement of strawbale house design and construction. In this book, you can see what can be done with strawbale. Included are comments and suggestions from the owner/builder of each house. For anyone considering building a strawbale structure, these comments would be especially useful. One owner/builder in the desert, for example, says rain gutters should have been installed when the house was first built, not added later on. Photo quality is very nice, and the overall layout and design of the book is quite good. The title of the book is a bit misleading, and I would have liked to see more in the way of actual plans (all you get is a floor plan), but overall this is a nice book, and offers much in the way of ideas.

5 comments about Eric Sloane's An Age of Barns: An Illustrated Review of Classic Barn Styles and Construction.

1. Other reviewers have done a good job of describing this and I agree with them. I'll just add that this wonderfully illustrated book really brought the memories flooding back.



2. Eric Sloane is known to many of us who love traditional country things as the superb and prolific American artist and author who gave us books with good words and even better drawings. Sloane was an accidental historian of that era of American life when agriculture was king. I cherish my copies of his A Museum of Early American Tools and A Reverence For Wood.
   
   The Age of Barns was first published in 1967. I saw this 2001 version lying on a table in a friend's house and begged to borrow it. The sub-title is An Illustrated Review of Classic Barn Styles and Construction. It is more than that as it also shows silos, root cellars, springhouses, sugarhouses, corn cribs and smoke houses. Also shown are tools of barn builders, construction methods, types of ventilation systems and even hinge design.
   
   Sloane shows the evolution of this most important structure with examples large and small and from many places. Medieval, English, German, American barns. Small and large log barns. The Appalachian overhung-loft barn built on two cribs, decorated Pennsylvania barns, a Georgia barn, a Maine barn, a Tennessee saltbox barn. Pent roofs, gambrel roofs, extended bays, threshing bays. Connecting barns, built so the farmer could do a winter day's chores without going outside.
   
   I have known two barns intimately. The barn on our Wisconsin farm was a classic two-story bank barn built of stone on the lower level with hand-hewn posts and beams above, a cupola topping it off. The farmer whose death allowed my parents to buy the farm had been an alfalfa producer so the barn had huge mows that were filled both from the outside using a hay hook and from the inside where teams and wagons were taken straight in and through. The dairy herd was housed in the lower section next to the sixteen-foot silo. I pulled a lot of, um, teats in that barn.
   
   The humble hillbilly barn at Heartwood in Missouri has two sections separated by a drive-through. In barns this design is called double-crib; in houses it is called a dog-trot. The construction is of hewn oak logs with half-dovetail corners. The logs are held off the ground only with loose stones, so early deterioration was inevitable. When the barn was still in pretty good shape we took a family photo one Fourth of July. My cousin and I hung the huge American flag that was hand-sewn by a grandmother for Lincoln's inauguration and we all posed in front of it on the ground.
   
   Born in 1905, Eric Sloane died in 1985, walking to a luncheon in his honor celebrating his memoir, Eighty: An American Souvenir. His fine books will live on long after him, a legacy of focus and craftsmanship.



3. Sloane's books capture the romanticism of the past better than any picture books, and that is certainly true for his An Age of Barns. The beautiful line drawings range from evocative perspectives to working sections, giving you a good idea of how these barns worked. There are Shaker round barns, traditional gambrel barns, Amish barn raisings and a wide variety of outbuildings associated with the early American farmstead. He lovingly focuses on hinge details, stairs and ventilation openings. Sloane's eye never missed a detail, and for anyone who loves old barns this is the book to get.



4. This has some interesting history of early barns, especially those of New England. Drawings are well done, as usual. If you are interested in barns west of the Mississippi look elsewhere.



5. and I understand that barn so much better now that I have read this book. Sloane gives a brief overview of the history of barns, regional types of barns, and even the tools to raise a barn. A lovely book.

1 comments about The Architect's Handbook of Professional Practice.

1. We just received this the other day. At first glance it appears to be *slightly* more condensed than the previous full edition of the "Handbook", which, in my opinion is a good thing. Still very dense and an absolute must-have if you want or need to know anything about "mainstream" architectural practice at a fairly high level.
   
   There is so much good information contained in this tome, I'm surprised the AIA hasn't created a certification program based on it, much like CSI has done with the PRM. It would seem to me such a program would have the potential to help fill a gaping hole in architectural education.
   
   Of particular note regarding this edition: two CD-ROMs are included. The first includes sample 2007 AIA documents -- no surprises here. The second includes the entire text of the Handbook, BUT, in a locked-down proprietary format. You install an application and must activate it online or over the phone before you can use it. You can only install it on one machine at a time. There is no de-activation function; you must uninstall and then call customer support to get a new activation number if you need to change the machine on which it's installed. The electronic version allows searching, but does NOT allow printing or exporting. While the sample AIA documents are PDFs and thus cross-platform, the Handbook reader application is Windows only -- an unfortunate choice. While I understand the publisher's desire to protect their IP, a PDF file would have been so much more user-friendly.
   
   I'll try to remember to post more when I've had a chance to wade through the new edition in its entirety. In the mean time, I thought I'd share what I knew.

2 comments about Lighting Design Basics.

1. If you are looking for a beginner lighting course, this books is just what you need. It goes through lighting applications per room/area, explains how to calculate foot candles, but if you want to read more about lighting plans, layouts, electrical requirements.....I would say - keep looking.
   
   This is a good quick resource with little technical detail.



2. This book is great for designers! It covers everything you need to know and has some great ways for doing calculations for lighting!

5 comments about Phaidon Atlas Of Contemporary World Architecture: Travel Edition.

1. This nice little book lists some architecturally interesting building, but is missing nearly all my favorites. Listing geographically is a good idea, but I prefer online databases.



2. For those of you interested in the praticality of this as a travel companion, trust me, it works. The maps are not enough alone to find buildings in their respective cities but between knowing their general locations and addresses you can easily navigate your way to find them. I carried this book in my pocket around Europe and can say first hand that it was the best travel guide I had. A must for any Architect or student planning on traveling.



3. When the original Phaidon Atlas of Contemporary World Architecture was released in My 2004, several reviews were more enticed with the size of the tome in contrast to its contents. Frankly, I was put off by the price tag (albeit well deserved).
   
   However, the recently released Travel Edition of the tome has become one of the essential resources of my library.
   
   First, don't be put off of the fact that the softcover book is referred to as a Travel Edition as it contains a wealth of projects (subdivided by continents then countries). For each project there is a single project photo, project address, and the project architect. With each building a sentence or two states the significance of the project to 'Contemporary World Architecture' (an overly broad subject in itself).
   
   Second, there is a grand diversity to the projects profiled in the Travel Edition in terms of project types and locations. I haven't come across another book to date that offers such a variety of projects within the covers.
   
   Lastly, the Phaidon Atlas of Contemporary World Architecture Travel Edition provides project insights and narratives that are free of any bias or criticism. The lack of both is something that is rarely found in a subject as subjective as architecture, and is welcomed in this context.
   
   The Atlas suffers from a minor foreseeable problems. The book limits itself to projects that were complete as of the time when the book went to press. Any building completed during its printing or afterwards suffers the fate of being excluded from the Atlas; perhaps it/they will be included in future editions.



4. I think this is a book EVERY architect student should posses as a reference. It contains a large selection of references from all over the world. In comparison to the large version, which is rather costly for a student, this version contains brief descriptions and its a good size. I just wish there was a version on DISK!!!



5. Superb little book. The only problem is how to see all the buildings in it before you die.

1 comments about Taunton's Deck & Patio Idea Book.

1. This book has some good designs, but not what I was expecting. I am looking to build a new deck (my first), and want ideas... This book had some fancy ideas, but not too many practical ideas... So if you are looking at a book like this, you are most likely going to pay someone else to do the job... There is nothing wrong with that though.... ;)

2 comments about Paint Along with Jerry Yarnell Volume Seven - Painting Perspective (Paint Along with Jerry Yarnell).

1. His artwork is good. It is helpful in learning techniques to eventually graduate in doing your own work by just looking a scene or picture. All of his books are great, predictable, but great.



2. A very straght forward and very simple to understand book on perspective. Sure there are more complex and detailed books on this subject on the market, many of which are on my book shelf, but this one is great for beginners and intermediate painters. His video on perspective makes a nice companion to this book.