5 comments about Design with Nature (Wiley Series in Sustainable Design).

1. My husband is a landscape designer and architect. So, he loves this stuff! I bought it for him as one of his birthday gifts. He has been wanting something of high quality and loves McHarg. I would recommend this book. We keep it on the coffee table because the pictures are wonderful and the design shows through. My husband and I love it!



2. As a former colleague of McHarg's at the University of Pennsylvania during the 1960's, and currently working in a planned community he designed (The Woodlands, TX), I decided to buy this book to try to understand the strange idiosyncracies of The Woodlands, TX.
   
   The book is very wordy, but it is well illustrated. McHarg successfully blended community design with natural boundary conditions (watershed management, geology, forestry, slope properties, etc) with the case histories he presented (some of which I remember when serving on an invited basis on jury's in McHarg's academic program). The book's strength is his advocacy of melding human planning needs with nature's boundary conditions.
   
   BUT, does it really work? Only at the expense of the time of people working and living in such a planned community. The inconvenient practices that go with such a planned community require a lot of adjustment that asks a bit much of people who work in such places but don't live there.
   
   But it works fine for the affluent and the unhurried who can afford it.



3. No has estudiado arquitectura si este libro no ha caido en tus manos. Sin Ian Mcharg la arquitectura sostenible no seria posible. Por lo menos la arquitectura sostenible pensada a escala regional."



4. this highly recommended book started out as a compelling read, but became something i had to force myself to finish. it seems to be a series of lectures strung together, which may have been interesting as lectures, but is not cohesive enough to be a book. the good information is lost amidst the rambling style.



5. Anyone studying environmental planning or LA should read this book.

5 comments about Design Research: Methods and Perspectives.

1. A primer for all designers - this book contains many useful case studies that underpin the quintessential need for research before beginning any design process.



2. I enjoy some of her earlier work but this one is misleading, in particular for those wishing to study (methods of) design research. Laurel neither relates nor contributes to the discipline of design research in this book in a direct way. Design postgraduates looking for a good book on design research are better advised looking at Design Research by Peter Downton, which is more difficult to get but worth it and newer.



3. This book is an excellent, comprehensive collection of design-related essays and research studies. It is inspirational and practical (and doesn't hurt that it is well designed)!



4. Brenda's collection is still the most comprehensive collection of diverse design research methods I can find. I use her book to inspire, intrigue, and sometimes perplex students, exposing them to lots of new ideas. I use the book in combination with Kuniavsky's more practical how-to information in Observing the User Experience. He provides too much detail and not enough high concept. The combination ends up working very well.
   
   If I could choose only a single text, I would choose Brenda's design research book. I can fill in specifics about different techniques drawn from many books and web sites, but the creativity of methods and the clear belief in the power of design research conveyed in the book needs to come from real world writers, not just from the professor claiming it is so. Her book makes the case!



5. The varied opinions among the existing reviews suggests this is somehow a strange subject area. I can only report on my own response, and I think this is a cool book. Before thumbing through to the preface you'll encounter a neat symbol of good design - a two page spread of the what's in the book. A true "table of contents," whose rows represent various aspect of design research, and whose columns are the book chapters. Each table cell is marked if that chapter pertains to that aspect. Pleasing to the eye and enormously useful, especially if you wish to use this as a text or part of some focused study.
   
   Many chapters are authored by one or more designers who reflect on their own approach and experience in design. I found this to be a rich source of material for thinking about ways to create new things. I would think that nearly anyone whose job requires creative output will find here some interesting and useful tools to add to their collection.

5 comments about Leisure Architecture of Wayne McAllister, The.

1. If you love the architecture of post-war America, then this is the book for you. I am a huge fan of Wayne McAllister's work and this book gives you the lens with which to view the progression of his buildings which began early on and literally exploded in the 1950's.
   
   We all remember restaurants and hotels and some homes with this man's 'signature' all over them: rock exteriors, large sheets of glass, inset lighting, and brick planters. Some decry this look as cheap and tasteless. But in reality it wed form and function with a certain aesthetic quality that will never be duplicated.
   
   Today, everything from buildings to cars all look alike. That 'certain something' is missing. Still, it is great to look back to a time when restaurants, hotels, motels, and cars looked cool. This book is a walk down memory lane and I return to it often. Well done, Chris Nichols!



2. This book was a delight to read. The illustrations are beautifull and informative. The research that has been put into this book is of great value. This book is of great lasting value for Baja California history as well as California and Nevada.



3. If you are into architecture books, books about Vegas, 1950s car culture, or anything retro, this book will be one you enjoy. I really like it as a coffee table book, because it has great pictures, but it is also a great read and seems well researched.



4. Nichols presents an interesting look at many of the historic landmarks of Los Angeles and Las Vegas, painting the picture of times since forgotten. Being in my 20s, many of the landmarks I knew in name only, although I have seen and been to some, but in both cases, Nichols' book manages to evoke feelings of nostalgia and longing. The book is obviously painstakingly researched, and the sheer number of rare and hard-to-find photographs are enough to make any architecture or food history buff go ga-ga.



5. Nichols gives a nostalgic retrospective on the long live and prodigious output of Wayne McAllister. In no small part, the book walks the reader back through the last 60 years of urban commercial architecture in the southern California region. McAllister lived a very long time, and he was responsible for designing iconic landmarks that at least in the hazy afterglow of memory, epitomise a classic time.
   
   The book is replete with many photos and illustrations, the cover being an example of the latter. The most common image, if not exactly the most enduring, is Bob's Big Boy. I remember in the early 80s, when I arrived in Los Angeles, how these fast food restaurants and their mascots were everywhere. Even getting a cameo role in Terminator. Alas, as the years wore on, the Bob's Big Boys got steadily deprecated. Not many left.
   
   Another type of McAllister's work has also fallen into the tar pits of history. He designed many of the drive-ins that dotted Los Angeles. And which were an indelible part of many teenagers' experiences. Sadly, most are long gone, brought down by the VCR and its successors. At least in the book, you can see several as they once were, at the peak of their glory. Actually, no matter how pretty the architecture, the sound was often bad, the food dreadful, the movies second rate and the nearby cars often had loudmouths.
   
   Great book. But for some readers old enough, there is a certain bittersweet tinge to all this.

4 comments about Architectural Graphic Standards Student Edition: An Abridgement of the 9th Edition.

1. I am a fourth year architecture student and I use this book every semester. I keep it with me at all times. It is the perfect design handbook. If you don't have it, You need it!



2. The book was in great condition as expected. It was delivered during the expected time frame, but it was later rather than sooner. I purchase frequently from amazon and I recieve consistently good service from them.



3. Loaded with tons of reference data all good for Architects.
   Font is a small



4. This book is one of the best reference books an architect will ever use. It contains the necessary information for the beginning and advanced architect. Inside the 568 pages in this book one will find from the most basic to the highly complex architectural graphics. The book provides reference for the various arcchitectural plans such as the floor plan, elevation and perspective drawings. No other reference material can surpass the amount of information provided in this excellent book.

1 comments about Gaudi: Complete Works (Evergreen Series).

1. Very good book, I really got surprised when the courier delivered it to me, I did not know it was so big!
   Very nice pics!

No comments about Architecture Now! 3 (Taschen 25th Anniversary Editions).

2 comments about Julius Shulman, Modernism Rediscovered.

1. These books were my birthday present to myself, and I can't imagine a better gift! They are GORGEOUS and huge, with full-page photos (some in color) on heavy paper, and text for each spread. The architecture is inspired, and, as always, Shulman's photographs capture the spirit, innovation, and excitement of the times. Too bad such individualism has given way to cookie-cutter McMansions and, with few exceptions, lackluster design seen everywhere in today's architecture.
   
   The only criticism I have of these books is that, as with most mid century architectural tomes, most of the photos in the book are from locations in California by architects we've already heard of. I would like to see photos of buildings in other parts of the country by lesser known, but equally inspired, architects.
   
   Finally, I hope that, with the abundance of photos in Shulman's archive, this Modernism Rediscovered series continues with more books in the future. I know that I will be first in line to buy future volumes if they are as well done as the original Modernism Rediscovered book and these three follow-up books.



2. A fittingly huge tribute to the man who captured Modernism in western America and especially in California. I thought the beauty of these three large books (check out the weight and dimensions in the Product Details section) was the way they are organized: historically using Shulman's own job reference numbers. Obviously there is not going to be a photo of every commission because a lot of his time was spent on what he calls 'bread and butter work'. So book 1 starts with #0003 in 1939 with Gregory Ain's Scheyer residence in LA and book 3 ends in 1981 with #5976 Augustin Hernandez's studio in Mexico City. Although Shulman is working again, with German photographer Juergen Nogai, the contents of the three books are based on the 250,000 negatives he presented to the Getty Research Institute upon retiring in 2004.
   
   I get the impression looking through the pages that there maybe more interior photos than exteriors but what a visual treat these interiors are. In photo after photo, there is a sense of spaciousness so typical of most modernist houses and many of the shots show how rooms extend into other living areas.
   
   The interiors from the Forties to the late Seventies also yield a fascinating opportunity to study the furniture and fittings the owners thought would work well in a modern home. Owing to the large page size some of these domestic interior photos are twenty-three inches wide on a spread so the detail is amazing. Another interesting point about a Shulman photo is the addition of people in his work. Apparently frowned upon at the time by architects but he took the view that it was an opportunity to reduce the purity (and possibly elitism) of Modernism in a domestic setting.
   
   Among all the great home photos commercial work covers corporate headquarters of large companies, schools, research facilities, banks, retail units and restaurants. The same sense of space and depth comes across in these images and I think you'll come to the same conclusion as I did about Shulman's photography: that he always managed to frame his compositions to captured the spatial essence of a building.
   
   The production of the three books is exemplary as you would expect from Taschen. The hundreds of photos are printed on quality paper with a 200dpi screen and presented in an elegant but simple layout. Each featured commission has between one and six photos with a short piece of background copy. All of this is a wonderful tribute to a remarkable architectural photographer. I know I'll be enjoying these three books for a long, long time.
   
   ***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

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.

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 Cordwood Building: The State of the Art (Natural Building Series).

1. This book is a great read. Enjoyable and yet it seems to give plenty of info on the different aspects of the cordwood building process. More than half way through I found out that there was a glossary in the back which helps explain some of the terminology. I would highly recommend this book for anyone thinking of building a cordwood home. This book will give you most of the know-how to build it and most importantly it will help you decide if you do want to build cordwood. It worked for me. My wife and I are presently saving up to build a cordwood home. I think it would be a good idea to watch the "Complete Cordwood DVD" before actually building.



2. I have only read a few chapters, but I feel the honest and open discussion of the Author will only enrich me and others as we follow in his footsteps. To build ones own home is always a dream. To be empowered with the knowledge to do so is a gift. Thank you! And If I ever follow my dream...you are always welcome for supper. (dinner, tea...we call it tea...although it is the evening meal...tea does sound funny)



3. I'm from Germany and cordwoord buildings are uncommon here. Horizontal log homes are booming but as expensive as ordinary home building not a choice for people without a lot of money.
   So cordwood may be a solution if we can get a permission with our restrictive rules and regulations here.
   
   The book provides the builder with every detail he must know, it's really great.
   For getting some practice we will start building a small shed with cordwood. ;-)



4. Too much anecdotal fluff - relates boring stories and information about people that I found irrelevant as a reader. It was irritating the way the authors kept obsessively giving compliments and acknowledgements to friends and contributors throughout the book; almost like it were a club writing the book for themselves and not for paying customers. I am instinctively suspicious of people that try to sell me things, and the fact that the authors kept making plugs and product endorsements made me doubt their credibility. Because of all the aforementioned sludge, this was a hard book to get through; I found I couldn't read it; I had to skim through it to get the useful information. Which was there, but like I said, it was to deeply buried. This book should be edited down to half its length. The book is worth checking out of the library, but probably not worth buying: 2.75 out of 5.



5. This is a great book for the alternative housing minded owner builder. Good insight and practical discussion.