2 comments about 50 Great Kitchens by Architects (By Architects).

1. I enjoyed the concept of the book however the level of detail was not what I would have wanted. I wish the pictures were a little bite larger so that you could see the connection details of the tile, wood, and metal.



2. This book presents fabulous photos of awe-inspiring kitchens based on modern architecture. The newest materials and looks are emphasized. What is also great is the functionality of many of them. The ones by CCS-architecture are particularly noteworthy because this firm specializes in modern restaurant design in San Francisco. This volume gave us some great ideas.

2 comments about New Seaside Interiors.

1. In case you've been living in a cave the last ten years, let me introduce you to TASCHEN, the publishers of some of the most beautiful books in the world. Meant to luxuriate over, inspire, and look fabulous on a coffee table, shelf, or next to your bed, these volumes are as much works of art as they are informative- necessities that should play a large part in everyone's décor.
   
   New Seaside Interiors is no exception.
   
   Perhaps because it was edited by a member of the Taschen family, NSI seems to stand above other large-format volumes on "dream homes," inspiring awe, an enormous respect for the architecture and design industry, and (I'm not too proud to say it) indeed a bit of jealousy. From the very first page (the most incredible view- literally- of a perfectly azure sea just over the edge of an infinity pool), you're taken on a journey of luxurious, elegant, and incredibly well designed seaside abodes that are all second to none.
   
   From Mediterranean casual to traditional island, tropical sophistication to mid-century modern, cottage chic to indigenously inspired, every fabulous style you could imagine is represented- and lavishly so. Each of the captivating homes featured is beautifully presented in large photos, including sweeping landscapes as well as lush details (the pillows alone in one house in particular are enough to send me into a design coma). Accompanying information on the home's location, architect and designer, inspiration, and details is both resourceful and interesting.
   
   Ms. Taschen has selected magnificent specimens of design, all based around the common thread of the love of the sea. Homes from diverse locales including Italy, Mexico, Denmark, Capri, Brazil and Martha's Vineyard (among others) come together brilliantly to demonstrate the intense emotional power of design- and extreme inspiration provided by the sea!
   
   A fabulous addition to anyone's collection, New Seaside Interiors scores a perfect '10' among art books.



2. The book is just great. The pictures in this book will take you to bomb-shell destinations around the world.All the pictures are innovative.Since there is side by side translation in French , you can take a free course in French too at no extra cost.
   
   Dr.Jayan Thomas
   Cannanore, Kerala, India.670001

2 comments about Ethics and the Practice of Architecture.

1. I am very pleased to find a book written with such an extreme knowledge of the true meaning and use of ethics in the architectural field. It is an excellent text book for students in this field. It will help to guide anyone on their path to what a real architect should know and practice. I recommend it highly and found that it is a slice of literature which is in a field all it's own.



2. As stipulated in the UNECO-UIA Validation System for Architectural Education in 2002, Berlin Congress, Profession and Ethics in Architecture become requisite for university programs. With this background, I have examined that this book could be the best after reviewing several books for student to learn these field, although pages for profession seemed to be more expanded.

3 comments about Islamic Art and Architecture (The World of Art).

1. Bought this book for my daughters Art class. It had all the information she needed. As alway amazon delivered quickly, with no delays.



2. As a beginner to the world of Islamic Art and architecture, I recently completed reading this book and found it a good introduction. It covers the development and major themes in architecture, ceramics, figure painting and calligraphy (textiles to a smaller extent) of Ummayyad, Abbasid, Fatimid, Saljuq, Atabegs, Mamluks, Islamic Spain and Morrocco, Ilkhanids/Timurids, Safavids and the Ottomans.

   Islamic art and architecture of the Indian Subcontinent (eg Dehli Sultanate or Mughal India) is not covered at all in this book.

   It has a good sampling of pictures in colour of especially major architectural monuments. I think the strength of this book is especially strong as an introduction to Islamic architecture. Its coverage of the other areas is not bad either.




3. This book has an unbilievable combination of detail, broad coverage of various topics, ability to keep attention concentrated due to a great way the book is written. Illustrations were both artistically beautiful and helpful in understanding the topics covered. I am in love with this book and, after library reading it, I am ordering it today!!!

5 comments about Surfaces : Visual Research for Artists, Architects, and Designers (MacIntosh compatible).

1. This is an excellent book for artists fo all kinds. Our company has a library we make available to Production Designers - this is a great addition.



2. A luscious collection of photographs of beautiful colors and textures to inspire any artist/designer and be used as reference again and again.



3. There are nice collection of the samples.You can enjoy to look through them.



4. This book is one of the best references for any designer and painter in the industry. Color Photos are amazing and complete. I have been wanting to purchase it for years now and am very glad to add it to my collection. All of her books are worth having in any artists library.



5. I think I was a little hard on Judy Juracek with reference to the included CD. What Ms. Juracek has done in the way of cataloguing is nothing short of miraculous and one should not expect that every image on the CD would be photographed dead on and shadow-perfect. I was just really irked by the image quality of a CD I had such high hopes for. I purchased this book when it first came out for a Hundred Dollars retail but the price I now see listed online seems almost a steal for the treasure trove contained within.

   In any case, A recent search reveals that even more books in the series have been written by the author and I'm excited to purchase these as well--let's hope the image quality has improved on the included CDs for the new millenium we're in. I guess you could still expect "middlin'" quality for an image CD produced back in the "stoneage" of the 90's. The book is GREAT!

5 comments about Sketching Your Favorite Subjects in Pen & Ink.

1. Claudia Nice always offers wonderfully detailed instruction in how to realistically capture detail and texture. This is a wonderful addition to your art library.



2. I had a couple of books that covered the subject of Pen and Ink drawing, but none were as easy to follow and helpful as this one. The pictures in the book are simply to die for. She shows you exactly how she creates line, shape and form with ink. There is also an explanation of the tools you will need (not much and not expensive really) to do this kind of work. If you are looking for a good instructional book on drawing with pen and ink I highly recommend this book. However, beware, your paints may dry up in their tubes as you get addicted to doing pen and ink. Fun stuff, the author writes in a way that is easy for anyone to follow.



3. Claudia Nice always does a fine job with details and examples. In comparison to her pen & ink with watercolor books, this one is a little boring. If you are really interested in using pen & ink as a medium, then this is a good book. If you are looking for reference material and drawing examples with intructions, then I recommend a different Nice book.



4. I love the step by step instruction and the real life examples. With no formal training I can sketch the way I always wanted to.



5. Very thorough directions for various pen and ink techniques. Really breaks down the process into easily understandable steps.

No comments about Emergence: Morphogenetic Design Strategies (Architectural Design).

3 comments about Living in Morocco.

1. This is an excellent book for anyone interested in interior design or Morocco.
   Full of beautifull photos of guest houses and private homes in Morocco. The book is presented beautifully and would make a great present for someone special or even as a gift to yourself.



2. This is certainly what I did when I purchased this book. I expected a volume full of palaces, mosques, markets and average folk's homes (or at least native Moroccans!). What I found was a book of lavish hotels and rich foreigners' mansions. They are by and large interesting rich foreigners, but I was still disappointed in that what is portrayed in this book is not "living" in Morocco. It's "being wealthy" in Morocco. There is nothing penetrating about this book, but it is nice eye-candy.



3. Another one those wonderful coffee table book by Taschen publication. This book has a broader variety of homes like from the exclusive Aman hotel (Amanjena) to a humble farmer's house. It's not a book about how to live in Morocco nor about going remodeling or building a home in Morocco. It shows you what some foreigners and locals have done to their home.

   Book is cheaper than the previous Taschen book "Moroccan style".

5 comments about Everyday Engineering: What Engineers See.

1. The book is quite small in size - smaller than a paperback novel. Each chapter starts with a page of text and then the rest of the chapter is pictures with no text. Not sure what they were trying to accomplish. If you look at the index page in the Amazon "look inside" feature, you have seen most of the book. To me this exactly the kind of thing that makes people suspicious of "creative types" - all form and no substance.



2. THis is a good book that emphasizes the profound impact of engineering on our daily lives. The book contains little texts but for those of us in engineering the pictures speak for them selves.



3. When I bought this book, I thought I'll be receive a lot of shared experiences from the author on how engineers see everyday interactions and situations. I didn't expect to see something familiar to Jane Fulton Suri - Thoughtless Acts?: Observations on Intuitive Design. On the contrary, Jane's book was an appetiser to me. But, to have another book that's similar in its style, I was hungry for a main course. I felt that this book wasn't worth as depicted. Tom Kelley, please help make this book better ...



4. "Thinking like an engineer" is a great idea for a book for designers, especially one that could encourage and develop methods of collaboration or cross-fertilization. This silly book--more of a pamphlet, really--is an utterly trivial effort. It's designer vanity publishing at its worst, a short pretty picture book for IDEO's clients to flip through in the reception area while waiting for the meeting.
   
   The problem is that "broken things" look equally broken to everyone. An engineer might see a problem as a stress or tensile failure, or too much weight applied to a surface, or a failed gasket. A designer might see failures of clarity, accessibility, or aesthetic appeal. But a picture of a rusty pipe is pretty much just that, and it's not instructive on its own. (By the way, use Amazon's "Search inside the book" feature to read the entire book using its clever index, which reproduces every image at thumbnail size with a helpful caption.)
   
   And if you want even more pictures of broken things, try the "thisisbroken" tag on Flickr for an endless stream of them.



5. I was hoping for something insightful and educational. It turns out to be a picture book of design flaws that were never designed; rusty pipes, leaky faucets, etc. The text does not redeem, in any kind of instructional manner, what is essentially a foto album. With IDEO credited as an author, I was expecting much more insight into the design process.

3 comments about Chambers for a Memory Palace.

1. An interesting format for a discussion of design principles with beautiful pen and ink sketches. Imaginary letters written between two architects discussing well known and not so well known buildings that illustrate proportion, paths, angles and why they appeal to our eyes and hearts. Recommended by a designer whose course I took. A very pleasing book.



2. For the way this book is advertised, I did not feel like it accomplished what it sets out to do. Nevertheless if you are an amateur buff of architecture like me this is a good book to add to your home library collection.



3. Easily the best book on architecture, and mere observation, that I have ever read. Great even for those with little or no knowledge of the field.