5 comments about Architectural Drawing: A Visual Compendium of Types and Methods.

1. People say design cannot be taught. However, drawing tools and drawing types & techniques can be learned. In fact, they are essential for designers to understand and apply them so that they can visually communicate their ideas effectively. This book includes introduction to drawing tools and comprehensive drawing methods & techniques, like sketching, shadowing, perspective drawing, and rendering, etc.. I think students and beginners will find this book extremely helpful in transforming their design thoughts into visual drawing formats. As a young architectural professional and intern, I find the abundant and creative presentation formats and rich graphics in this book being good references for projects. I also gain insight into the differences and diversity of the book's architectural illustrations from students, professors, and architectural professionals from around the world. In addition, with globally renowned architects' drawings as examples, this book is also an incredible source of inspiration to architects of all levels.



2. This is one of the best recent books on architectural graphics. Rendow Yee's book is replete with illustrations from successfull architects as well as students which turned out to be an excellent way of presenting design work of various levels and generations. I would recommend this book as a reference for both professionals and students.



3. An excellent process driven guide to architectural graphic presentation; supported by great examples from students as well as practicing professionals. I use this book constantly as a reference on all projects.



4. This book is fantastic. I use it as my architectual Bible. It is not only good for educating Architects, drafters, and artists, but it is also a great book to use as a reference.



5. Easy to understand, thorough examination of a range of methods used for architectural drawings. Clear, concise descriptions as well as clear graphics depicting methods and processes. Extremely detailed reading while avoiding the mash-up of other technical manuals.

2 comments about A Richer Heritage: Historic Preservation in the Twenty-First Century.

1. The book arrived just on time and it was as great as they describe it. I would choose this seller anytime.



2. This was a recommended book for my thesis class. I have not finished it yet, but it seems an appropriate book for those in their Master's program for Historic Preservation.

2 comments about 100 Turn-of-the-Century House Plans.

1. This book was as useless as the German version of Strarwars that I received on Amazon



2. This is a reprint of Radford's 1909 Plan Book and (may I one day be forgiven for saying this, but), some of these houses were ugly. I mean really and truly UGLY.
   
   But some of them weren't so bad. If you were a wanna-be homeowner (almost) 100 years ago, you'd peruse the pages and pick out a house that suited your needs and your pocketbook. Then you'd send in a few bucks (typically $5 or so) and receive a full set of blueprints that you'd use to build your dream house.
   
   The quality of this reprint is good and this is a fun read, if for no other reason than to get an idea of the evolution of American architecture.
   
   Rose
   author, The Houses That Sears Built
   co-author, California's Kit Homes

2 comments about Drawing: A Creative Process.

1. Drawing: A Creative Process is my favorite guide and textbook for basic drawing. It covers, in an accessible way, basic concepts behind visually expressing ideas through drawing. Ching's section on perspective is especially good and is, like the rest of the book, clearly illustrated with Ching's own pencil drawings. The book does not contain examples of master drawings or lessons in art history, but it does provide an access point for someone wanting to learn how to visualize their observations and ideas.



2. Like the rest of Ching's books, this one is great as well. I use it as a resource for Drawing and illustration classes in college. It covers all the basics of sketching and drawing that are important to build a foundation for free-hand drawing. It covers everything from basic shapes and textures to gesture drawing and proportion. I also recomend the book "Design Drawing" by F. Ching.

4 comments about The Cape Cod Cottage.

1. living ih holland, this kind of design was completely unknown to myself,very adequate for expanding. i was hoping to see more floorplans. george from holland.



2. The author returns to his origins, geographically and aesthetically; he knows the hype about "the new" and "the old," he's neither cynical nor sentimental. Just the facts and the photos: the worn stepping stone at the door, the picket fence like the hem of a dress, the decorative pane reserved for the entrance door, the low doorways, wood that resembles trees. A threatened species, these cottages, remnants of a modest past, pre-vulgar. This plain beauty, seized by these gentle photos--like catching a butterfly without rubbing the dust off its wings.



3. The text in this book (called simply "Essay" by Professor Morgan) is only ten pages! The photographs, half archival and half taken by the author, are exquisite in their simplicity, though I craved a little more information than just location and date. (I wanted to know why Professor Morgan chose to include a particular house or show a particular detail: was it typical? atypical? a good example of what can be done with a Cape Cod cottage to improve it? an example of how the ideal has been corrupted?). While the Essay is clearly an appreciation of the Cape Cod cottage (with an occassional delicious dig on the current popularity of mega-mansions and hard-to-heat great halls), Morgan doesn't oversell us on the Cape's merits. There is enough discussion of history, philosophy (including references to Zen Buddhism), and social influences to be provocative, but not so much as to be cloying, "soap-boxy," or patronizing. And he does provide a bibliography for anyone who wants to explore this topic more deeply. This book will appeal to people with a general interest in architecture or the concept of "home," and to people who grew up in a Cape Cod style house or who own one (and might be thinking of expanding or altering it in some way). The photographs reward repeated viewing.



4. This is an amazing study, highly recommended. A North American will quickly recognize the houses of his/her childhood in this study. By discussing the influence of the Cape Cod Cottege in North American architecture, Professor Morgan covers allot of ground - within the US and to to some extent within the psyche of the nomadic American. One sees in this history (as written and photographed) evidence of an innate American desire for community togetherness and for the cozy, simple, independent lifestyle of the 'American Dream'. This book is as much about the 'Cape Cod Cottege' as it is about the independent lifestyle that has been part of the typically enthusiastic, positivistic, and pragmatic American outlook. Many readers will associate these buildings with their grandparents' homes, with childhood, with their roots - wherever they have lived in the US.

2 comments about Time-Saver Standards Site Construction Details Manual.

1. This is a great book that I use all the time in my design work. It's organized really well making it very easy to use. Like Gang Chen mentioned in his review, you can't just copy and apply each detail as is, you have to adapt it to your specific climate and design program. That said, the details are a great starting point. I recommend this book to not only landscape architects working in large LA firms, but also to the residential designers who incorporate a lot of detailing in their plans.



2. Detailing is difficult for young design professionals. College education does not cover enough detail design, the only ways to learn how to develop details are: 1) learn through working experience in design offices; 2) teach yourself by reading good books.
   
   "Time-Saver Standards Site Construction Details Manual" can alleviate this problem. When they wrote this book, Nicholas T. Dines, FASLA was a professor and director for the graduate MLA program at the University of Massachusetts, and already had 32 years of professional experience. Kyle Brown was an assistant professor of Landscape Architecture at California Polytechnic University, Pomona, and held a Bachelor and a Master degree in Landscape Architecture and was a Ph. D candidate in regional planning.
   
   "Time-Saver Standards Site Construction Details Manual" covers athletic surfaces (natural and artificial turf, athletic paving), curbs (asphalt, brick, wood, stone and concrete curbs), drainage inlets (catch basins, area drains, trench drains), drainage swales (concrete, stone and vegetated swales), lighting (accent, pedestrian and vehicular lighting), paving (aggregate, asphalt, brick, concrete, stone, wood and synthetic paving, reinforce turf), paving dividers (brick, concrete and stone paving dividers), paving edges, paving joints, pedestrian ramps, planting, ponds, retaining structures, seatwalls, steps, and walls. There is also a useful detail index at the end.
   
   The details in this book are useful, but you still have to adapt them per your specific project condition. For example, some of the paving details call for "reinforcement as required." If you just copy and use these details, I guarantee you'll get change orders for your job. You should adapt these details per the soils report and tenant or developer criteria of your job and / or consult your structural engineer to actually specify what kind of reinforcement you are using for these details in your job.
   
   "Time-Saver Standards Site Construction Details Manual" has 416 pages and 350 common site details. It is a good Site Construction reference book for architects, landscape architects and engineers. Like any other books, it'll not cover every situation for your job. As a design professional, you should still review and adapt these details for your job.

3 comments about Big and Green: Toward Sustainable Architecture in the 21st Century.

1. book is small format. covers about 50 building/urban projects which utilize green energy. however, most analysis is only one page to 2 page including diagrams and photos, and without any detail summary. the author have divided the book in sections such as "air we breath, skyscraper garden, energy, construction, and etc". Despite a clear outline, he uses too many buildings with very little detail instead of just using 1 or 2 buildings in great detail for each topic.
   unfortunately, this book is more of a guidebook of the latest green energy buildings with brief description.
   I would not buy this book unless you find it at super bargain price (like $10-15). this should be 2 stars instead of 3 but I cannot change due to Amazon's editing function.



2. The book was a bit dissapointing. I anticipated reading more indepth detail about the featured projects with diagrams/pictures of the major energy efficient application. Instead the information is only on the surface. It provides beautiful pictures of the building, with two page excerpts of each project (mainly pictures with a paragraph description), a list of the energy efficient applicatios and small floor plans and elevations, if any. A few projects feature the sustainable application methods, such as a diagram of natural ventilation. Overall, it's a good reference to start your research and find a sustainable building to research on, but the information is limited. It's also a good reference for lists of sustainable applications, definitions and essays. The projects are also divided up in five categories: Energy, Light & Air, Greenery Water & Waste, Construction and Urbanism. There are a lot of projects within each category that will spark your interest.



3. "Big and Green: Toward Sustainable Architecture in the 21st Century", by David Gissen, is published in conjunction with an exhibit at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. from January 17 to June 22, 2003. The book clearly shows that a group of architects has addressed the energy and environmental challenges facing many countries as they industrialize and enter the global marketplace. Their buildings indicate that a breath of fresh air has reinvigorated architectural practice to produce buildings that are climate-responsive, energy efficient, and occupant friendly while cleaning rainwater, reducing air pollucion, and enhancing the local environment as opposed to degrading it. The forms and shapes of these new buildings express these new functions in an authentic and genuine manner rather than look like relatively normal buildings with alien technologies applied to them. These buildings give hope that architecture can improve conditions for a sustainable society and not remain an energy and resource sink.

No comments about 1000 Fences And Gates.

3 comments about Floor Plan Manual: Housing: 3. Updated and Extended Edition.

1. A very good book, with many types of residential spaces with plans, elevations and many photos too. A very good graphical design and excelent quality of paper, a master piece without doubts!



2. This is the state of the art in planning information. Editorially, this is the finest work being done in the world, with all issues of book production
   (graphic presentation, architectonic and conceptual analysis, format, etc.) of the highest quality. Nothing currently available compares. Essential reference for students and architects.



3. I've desired this since I had access to it in an office at which I once worked. Now it's in paperback, revised, and cheap. The editors have a great sense of which projects merit inclusion, offering some basic works and some slightly more radical projects. The brilliant system of scaling everything to the same ratio (and the clever, included transparent scale ruler) makes this truly an efficient reference manual and not just some more architectural pornography.
   
   I find I use this both in work (and for casual browsing) far more often than I really use the sexy full color architecture books of the moment that seem to flood the landscape.
   
   I only have one or two complaints: I'd love to see some of the plans, whose reproduction leaves a lot to be desired, redrawn. Also, I'd love to see some scaled sections for the included projects, since many or the included works transcend full discussion in plan. I guess that would be antithetical given the book title, however.
   
   All said, highly recommended.

1 comments about The Gothic Cathedral: The Architecture of the Great Church 1130-1530.

1. How I ended up being the first to review this book is beyond me. I would've guessed that many a learned architectural scholar would've long since sung the praises of this wonderful book. I, however, am just a layman with a lifelong passion for Gothic cathedral architecture, which started in the Washington National Cathedral and became educated, at least partiallly, in this book.

   I consider Wilson's "The Gothic Cathedral", a 'must own' for anyone who has ever felt a yearning to know more about the soaring arches, brilliant glasswork, and impossibly high, vaulted ceilings of these magnificent medieval structures. This book, details the development of this unique form of architectural artistry; beginning with it's modest antecedents in Romanesque architecture and the groin-vaulted churches of Normandy and England and continuing through even the most elaborate and extravagant versions of late-Gothic throughout Europe. Mr. Wilson moves the reader, comfortably and comprehensibly through the chronological development of Gothic architecture, while neatly detailing the differences in coincidental development in several diverse geographic regions. Even I, with no formal architectural education, can now explain most of the finer points of Norman Romanesque, French High Gothic, and the Rayonnant styles of architecture, as well as explaining the odd metamorphisis of the English Decorated style into the very uniquely English, Perpendicular style.

   The text is brilliantly cross-referenced with the illustrations, diagrams and photographs, which are both descriptive and beautiful, despite being all black and white. Finally, the glossary, index, and bibliography are complete and very helpful. If you think you MIGHT like this book... you will. Buy it.