3 comments about Hotels and Resorts: Planning and Design (Butterworth Architecture Design and Development Guides).

1. Great book, only negative is that it's a little out of date now. Last update was in 1995 which in design terms is a long time!



2. Good primer for anyone interested in development of their first hotel. Good schematics and good general information. Nice index. Useful for learning terminology, which makes negotiating with saavy designers and construction people a lot easier. Could stand to be updated.



3. This book includes all the technical and financial aspects of hotel design/planning. It is an essential book to have when designing any hotel as it contains all standard neccessities for all situations. It shows technical drawings and some info of many (successful) hotels around today. Including some financial statistics and images of these hotels, which are mainy the large hotel chains but also Low budget hotels. This is the most important info as we can learn the most from successful hotels and see why they are working.
   
   Cons are that it is quite difficult to follow. Not clearly explaining what certain statistics are and it is not in a reader friendly format. The few black/white pictures are not important really... But this does not affect my rating of the book as it is not intended for actual learning, rather more 'knowing' essential technical aspects.
   
   The book isn't what a lot of people see as design, aesthetics and visuals etc. It has nothing to do with interior decorating or contemporary design. Just to let you know if you dont already...
   
   If you are or thinking to be a hotel designer/Architect or are in the hotel business, then this book is perfect. You need it to have a hotel that works.

4 comments about The Bauhaus Ideal: Then and Now: An Illustrated Guide to Modernist Design and Its Legacy.

1. Great book; found it very useful for a presentation on Bauhaus.



2. Today's design students are overloaded with too many skills and ideas to absorb. Unfortunately, as students race into the future, it seems that subjects like Design History are the first to suffer. This book addresses that problem. You could think of it as the 'cliff notes' of Modernism. It's concise, fun to read, and beautifully illustrated. You can read it in one sitting. It connects Modernist ideas across design, art and architecture from the Bauhaus until now. Along the way, Smock pokes fun at some of the more pretensious characters and positions of Modernism. Most of all, he puts the ideas and forms of Modernism in context for our time. The author clearly has a deep appreciation for his subject, and argues that we still have much to learn from the spirit and optimism of Modernism. For students, this book should help to inspire new interest in what Modernism was/is all about. It suggests that rather than seeing a dusty footnote in history, maybe it's something we should pick up, polish, and re-examine. As an intro, this book should inspire further study for young designers.



3. Sprinkled liberally with the author's own pencil sketches of famous architects, buildings and other design icons, "The Bauhaus Ideal" is a small book chock full of unique perspectives on the history of design. It is pitched at the lay reader or college student - even someone with no interest whatsoever in Bauhaus or architecture would find this an absorbing read, which is why I think it would do very well in an intro liberal arts course for college freshmen hoping to pick up some ideas about modern art and architecture before they branch off onto the irreversible "med school" or "law school" track. It reads rather like the notebooks of da Vinci because of the deft pencil sketches; it also reminds me of John Ruskin's manifesto, "The Stones of Venice". Smock would very conversationally talk about an architect or a building, then throw in a little sketch - the effect is like dropping in on a professor who really knows his stuff but is cool enough to not beat you over the head with it. Smock is good enough to be a professional illustrator. In a few lead strokes he would capture the spirit of a real person's face, or the bare branches of winter. For the non-lay reader, the architect, or "those in the know", this book reaffirms one's thoughts about the giants in the architecture world and asks provoking questions about why things are what they are. All in all, a real treat and worth the price.



4. 
   
   This is the book for people who are interested in design (i.e. buy things)
   but don't read design magazines. Thought-provoking and funny.

No comments about Home Office, Library, And Den Design (Schiffer Design Book).

3 comments about Pamphlet Architecture 15: War and Architecture (Pamphlet Architecture).

1. The work of Lebbeus Woods has always fascinated me. From the initial shear beauty of his art of alternate built landscapes both familiar and alien to his in-depth commentary.
   
   This small book pulls some big punches, revealing the examined paper architectural propositions expressing the underlying spirit and intent of the buildings within their context, altered, re-revealed to that society's 'catastrophe.'
   
   Well worth a buy for students to Architects to all those wishing escapism back to simple truths, and to delight in the satisfaction gleaned. Only wish the inside images were colour!



2. Woods is as much philosopher and urban planner as architect in the traditional sense. His buildings rip open the landscape of the ordered grid, and also open new possibilities about what it means to inhabit a space. The functions of some of his ideas for buildings are obscure even to him. He is constantly trying to deconstruct the politics of architecture and it's place in history. He actively embodies Heidegger's idea that "dwelling means to recieve the sky", except in his dwellings it also means to recieve the ground, and to actively take part in constructing your world.



3. In this work I have seen the necessity for Woods' architecture to exist; where before I had only seen compelling drawings. Lebbeus Woods has dedicated this manifesto to the city of Sarajevo, and to all cities which bear the signs of armed conflict on their walls. He states that the emergence of a new architecture is especially crucial in Sarajevo where the architecture was the target of the attackers (from within) who meant to destroy the culture there in all of its manifestations. The architecture of that culture, the places of worship and of social congregation, became the primary target for the ethnic genocide. As much as the bodies of the people, the architecture was destroyed for its significance as the public body. Therefore it is the architecture which must give a physical presence to these atrocities. Woods makes it clear that it is the responsibility of the architecture to preserve the memory of the destruction- not in a sentimental or memorial manner- but in the same manner as the life of cities has been preserved through use and adaptation throughout history. The war is part of the reality of the place and therefore should not be erased. This work also resists the glorification of war of the Italian Futurists, and the `tabula rasa' erasure of existing conditions of the Modernists. This is a work which acknowledges growth and destruction in the same breath. It is existential in its acceptance of reality and its means of building with it.... not nihilistic. It is existential in that it knows no reality other than what is there, but is not fully convinced by its authority. It revels in the multitudinous nature of the contemporary world, of the present. Unlike the Modernists, Woods does not intend to reinvent the city but to allow the city to be more itself. This work, his infamous drawings, is an attempt to recognize the reality of a place through actualization of events.... By building in and upon the ruins he remakes them into the living substance of the city, leaving no trace unexposed.

1 comments about Design on the Edge: The Making of a High-Performance Building.

1. Who could dispute David Orr's central contention that we need to continue making buildings that can sustain themselves, so called "green architecture," and that there's no better place to start than at home. His is an impassioned voice that occasionally reaches the oratorical heights of a Thoreau or a Lewis Mumford, and his account of the events leading to the opening of Adam Joseph Lewis Center at Oberlin (Ohio) is worth reading from the viewpoint of agitprop alone: it is the green equivalent of THE CRADLE WILL ROCK.
   
   Alas, it lacks music altogether, and some of its purpler passages should have gotten the red pencil. And while they had the pencil out, they might also have marked up some of the endless and dull passages about persuading this one, selling the idea to that one, many Ohio and government worthies who seem to have stepped out of an early Sinclair Lewis novel. In most cases Orr doesn't mind giving himself the heroic role, but he's the man and we might as well acknowledge it. He's not only the hero, he's the Jeremiah of his own legend. His writing style is accessible: not for Orr the theoretical flourishes of his kinsmen. In fact he harbors a certain contempt for the jargonheads, even ones who share his preoccupation with the green. He has a telling anecdote in which a San Francisco cosmopolitan, invited to give a speech, turns place into an abstraction and bewilders a room full of hardworking Ozark peasant women who give her a grim glare of blankness. These were women who lived, as opposed to the San Francisco woman who could only speak. He quotes Lao Tzu with a certain wry approval: "One who knows does not say and one who says does not know."
   
   In that case he knows and says everything that needs to be said. With the Lewis Center slated to open shortly, we will see the first colleege built building capable to sustaining itself since the original Oneida Foundation in upstate New York during the Transcendental years commemorated by Hawthorne in his BLITHEDALE ROMANCE. Yes, the cost of making such a building is higher than your ordinary strip mall, but in the long run it's the strip mall that's going to cost us more, and as Orr points out, costs decline geometrically as more and more buildings go green and the technology is shared by many. Plus he prevailed upon numerous foundations who were swayed by his appeal and his honesty. His book ends up paraphrasing Wendell Berry to the effect that "to live, we must daily break the body and shed the blood of Creeation. When we do this knowingly, lovingly, skillfully, reverently, it is a sacrament." I wouldn't put it that way myself, but at the heart of the matter, Orr's on the side of the Lord.

No comments about The Professional Practice of Landscape Architecture: A Complete Guide to Starting and Running Your Own Firm.

5 comments about Draw Fashion Models! (Discover Drawing Series).

1. Great book by Lee Hammond that really shows how to draw detail of clothing, different poses, and much more. It is a very good book. She goes into so much detail that you can follow so easily. Lee is a very good instructor. I would highly recommend this book to those wanting to draw clothing, especially!



2. This book briefly goes into how to draw flats, but for learning every other aspect; from shading, to creating fabric folds, to drawing lace, and plaids i would recommend Fashion Sketchbook instead. Hope this helps :D



3. just a common book on how to scratch. talks about drawing models, but has nothing to do with fashion. squeezed the hot word in just to attact more attention. plus, you'll never draw like that for your fashion creative work.



4. This is a very handy reference to use while sketching people. It offers plenty of information and gets right to the nuts and bolts of getting the artwork done right. While other books seem to be filled with the author trying to entertain this one is filled with the author trying to explain and teach. Recommended.



5. i enjoyed this book from an artist point of view, it is really great if you are more so into giving your work a more "polished" artistic look but not much for fashion illustration. Only the section about rendering fabric patterns (gingham,stripes, and fabric folds) are really useful.

No comments about The Architecture of Parking.

2 comments about Donald Judd: Architecture in Marfa, Texas.

1. I'm naturally biased about this book because I was lucky enough to have Urs Peter Fluckiger (Upe) as a professor at Texas Tech University. In fact, he was the first person to introduce me and my fellow classmates to Donald Judd in a freshman class called Design Environment and Society. I had the opportunity to hear Upe talk personally about Donald Judd and his influence in the field of Architecture.
   
   When I bought this book, I was eager to see how well Upe's enthusiasm and passion about Donald Judd's work and philosophies would shine through. I was very satisfied then when the book arrived. The picture of the book's cover on Amazon doesn't do it justice. It's a very beautiful book with a great feel to it. Inside are wonderful drawings depicting everything including site plans, both of Marfa, showing where all of Donald Judd's projects are, and of the individual projects themselves. Each building is shown in plan, elevation, and section; giving the reader a great understanding of all Judd's completed works.
   
   Along side the drawings are beautiful photographs; some of which show the building's lives before Judd's touch was applied to them. The photos do a great job of documenting Judd's lifelong work and come very close to capturing what it's like to see the works in person.
   
   Most importantly though is Upe's commentary. His words give the reader a good basic knowledge of what brought Judd to Marfa and why Judd's legacy should include his architectural abilities along side his artistic methodologies and curating beliefs. Both in German and English.
   
   If I had one criticism of this book, it's that the book lacks more personally touches by Upe. From first hand experience, Professor Fluckiger has so many beautiful sketches, stories and memories involving Donald Judd and Marfa, TX. I'm sure he was tempted to include some little tidbits here and there, but decided against it. It would detract from the main subject at hand.
   
   I wonder if Donald Judd would like this book? I really think he would. I never met the man, and certainly couldn't speak for him, but if I was an influential, minimalist, creative spirit who laid eyes on Marfa, TX and thought it was the perfect place to permanently present my architectural and sculptural work...I would be proud if this book was made about me and my work.



2. This book is a great resource. The photo documentation is very extensive for each project. Its also nice to have all the plans, sections, and elevations. Flueckiger did a great job. A must have for any architect or student interested in the work of Donald Judd.

No comments about Historic Preservation Technology: A Primer.