1 comments about Language of Space.

1. I must admit I haven't read this book, but I recently attended a presentation by Bryan Lawson where he presented these ideas in some detail. He is a good, entertaining speaker and has shown very good writing skills in previous books.
   
   The topic, however, is mostly well-known stuff by designers and architects, who have been interested in how the built environment shapes our behaviour for millenia, literally. The classic studies by Jacobs ("Death and Life of Great American Cities") is a more recent (1960s) example of this concern.
   
   In all (topic + author), I'd recommend this book to readers who are interested in design and architecture topics and are not fully familiar with Jacobs and all the subsequent work in envirmomental behaviour. This is a good place to do some catching-up.
   
   It is also very much recommended to non-design people trying to understand that design is much more than 'styling' or superficial appearance.

No comments about Expressive Form: A Conceptual Approach to Computational Design.

2 comments about The Ethical Architect: The Dilemma of Contemporary Practice.

1. I was excited to read an investigation into the ethical dilemnas surrounding changing our environment through building, but instead got a dime store review of philosophical positions and how one might make a decision using those positions. That coupled with non-committal statements about buildings such as the Guggenheim in New York - how can one reconcile their admiration for the building with the knowledge that it doesn't function as well as it could- left me wondering if the whole point was that ethics is a personal choice based on experience, personal preference, beliefs and values. While, that may be true and is surely fine conversation over a drink at the local pub, it's kind of weak for [$$$]and 200+ pages.

   I found myself pondering my positions on the case studies presented and wondering if Spector's arguments might sway me, but there were never any arguments, just possible positions, permutations and effects. Spector quotes from "Utilitarianism and Beyond"

   "It can be argued that rational choice base on an incomplete ordering requires only that a not inferior alternative be picked. This would have required Buridan's...to pick either haystack, but not neither, which was clearly an inferior alternative."

   By choosing to not take any position, the author falls into his own "inferior alternative". After all, we all make value judgements and decisions each day that form the basis of our own personal ethics, but none of us need to buy a book to tell us that.




2. A very serious aproach to the core of the most basic questions about the architectural profession. A book that openes many questions that architects should ask themselves more than we do today if we want to gain back credibility which our profession lost somewhere in the recent past. This will be a hard job to do and this book is a good start for everyone.

3 comments about Architecture is Elementary: Visual Thinking Through Architectural Concepts.

1. I am sorry to report that this book is awful. It is either condescending, or it is meant for elementary students. It was for a college-level arhcitecure study. There are no pictures, only drawings. I despised it.



2. The sequence and research given in this book is a comprehensive base for anyone teaching architecture, social studies, buildings, or practical geometry. Timelines, black/whie drawings throughout.



3. An excellent source of information for anyone interested in the field of Architecture. Perfect for beginners and experienced architects alike! Well-written and coherent.

5 comments about Understanding Buildings: A Multidisciplinary Approach.

1. This text is a great introduction to the world of building systems. It spells out in easliy understandable terminology the basics of many systems with great little sketches to boot. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning about how buildings work and are constructed.



2. I am a fan of architecture with little technical background. I was drawn to this book because I wanted to increase my understanding of architecture by learning how the mechanical systems within buildings work. I began this endeavor with E. Allen's "How Buildings Work: The Natural Order of Architecture", perhaps the best introduction to the subject. Having enjoyed that book, I wanted to get to the next level of complexity.
   
   Esmond Reid's "Understanding Buildings" is an intermediate level book. The writing is at college freshman level and was easy to understand for a reader with no engineering or other technical background. The many line drawings helped immeasurably in getting across basic points.
   
   For the true beginner, I would recommend E. Allen's book. If you like that work, "Understanding Buildings" is an exciting progression in beginning to understand how the buildings we interact with on a daily basis work. Highly recommended.



3. This book was written mainly for aspiring architects and civil engineers, and covers almost all types of building systems thoroughly. It is very detailed and has separate chapters for important topics such as structure, climate services, lighting, acoustics, fire safety, etc. Although the author largely stays away from mathematics, he is always clear and concise in dealing even with complex analytical problems. As an example I would give his excellent treatment of two and three-hinged portals, and the fascinating parallels he draws between the engineering ideal of arches and the different types of portals. He covers all major construction techniques from timber platform frame construction (generally of houses), to more complex forms such as the hyperbolic paraboloid (opposed double curvature), and the esoteric "hyperboloid of revolution", the opposed double curvature architecture (almost always in concrete) common in power station cooling towers.

   His writing on accessory systems such as heating, air conditioning, ventilation, and fire detection and prevention are both introductory and comprehensive. In all areas from structure to systems he is careful to explain real-world rationale in an approachable format that is both thorough and easy to understand.

   This book is wonderful. It should be read by every student in engineering or architecture school (the section in chapter one on stresses is of enormous value to technical students), and I would further recommend it to practicing professionals as an excellent conceptual 'refresher course' of real world building systems wisdom. This is an excellent book.




4. This book was written mainly for aspiring architects and civil engineers, and covers almost all types of building systems thoroughly. It is very detailed and has separate chapters for important topics such as structure, climate services, lighting, acoustics, fire safety, etc. Although the author largely stays away from mathematics, he is always clear and concise in dealing even with complex analytical problems. As an example I would give his excellent treatment of two and three-hinged portals, and the fascinating parallels he draws between the engineering ideal of arches and the different types of portals. He covers all major construction techniques from timber platform frame construction (generally of houses), to more complex forms such as the hyperbolic paraboloid (opposed double curvature), and the esoteric "hyperboloid of revolution", the opposed double curvature architecture (almost always in concrete) common in power station cooling towers.

   His writing on accessory systems such as heating, air conditioning, ventilation, and fire detection and prevention are both introductory and comprehensive. In all areas from structure to systems he is careful to explain real-world rationale in an approachable format that is both thorough and easy to understand.

   This book is wonderful. It should be read by every student in engineering or architecture school (the section in chapter one on stresses is of enormous value to technical students), and I would further recommend it to practicing professionals as an excellent conceptual 'refresher course' of real world building systems wisdom. This is an excellent book.




5. It's rare to find an architect who can explain things in such a conversational way. The underlying principles are always laid out, first for a small building and then for a large one, to show the effects of changing scale. For example as the surface area to volume ratio changes, so do heating and cooling demands. And for me it was educational to see the British way of building houses: floor joists over concrete slabs, or brick basements. I learned the dew point drops gradually toward the exterior inside porous materials, and 15 deg east of south is the optimum solar orientation in the Northern hemisphere. And the slogan of the man who invented the revolving door ("It's always closed.")
   The second half of the book covers building services--heating, plumbing etc.--concisely, and it becomes apparent the author has plenty of real world experience and is no mere academic. Lighting, acoustics and fire safety finish the book. Even at 20 years old, still educational.

No comments about Barcelona: The Urban Evolution of a Compact City.

3 comments about Understanding Structures.

1. This is a great book to act as a conceptual supplement architects taking courses in structures. Glad I bought mine when it was still going for only $35.00 used. Knowing how good it is I would actually consider paying the high used prices it is going for now.



2. Excellent intro to architectural structures. Strong on principles and concepts with numerous case studies; illustrations (by the author) alone are worth the price; expensive.



3. i am an architect. my professor has translated this book in farsi for introduce this book to his students. i think this book is very useful for architects, because they can understand structures good with many good examples.

No comments about Illinois Institute of Technology: Campus Guide (The Campus Guide).

2 comments about Archispeak: An Illustrated Guide to Architectural Design Terms.

1. This book is very well presented and clear; very useful for students of architecture in their early years of study. It covers a comprehensive range of words used frequently in the discourse of architecture.



2. a better read than you'd expect. a great source of information and terminology. I give it my 2 thumbs up!

5 comments about Places of the Soul: Architecture and Environmental Design as a Healing Art.

1. Are you looking for a book that recognizes the need for designing buildings to meet lofty sustainability goals, but that also places human needs on an equal or superior plane? Do you look at new mechanistic buildings of steel, titanium and low-e glass and wonder how it's possible to feel inspired, or even comfortable, when you're in them? If you answer yes to these questions, then perhaps you would benefit from reading the second edition of Christopher Day's book, Places of the Soul, Architecture and Environmental Design as a Healing Art (Grammarians might suggest "as Healing Arts").

   Day wrote the book in 1988, long before the birth of LEEDS, to address his perception of a growing lack of concern about human needs for variety in the form of spaces, the connection of spaces to nature and natural processes, and craft in the production of habitation. From his concerns one would assume that he was a student of the work of Christopher Alexander, particularly "A Timeless Way of Building". However, he moves beyond Alexander in citing the results of empirical studies that support his theses.

   In the chapter Architecture: Does It Matter? Day discusses how good design adds value, increases productivity, reduces health care costs, and accelerates healing. He cites the work of Dr. Roger Ulrich that demonstrated faster healing of patients in ICU's with views of nature. Important to architects struggling with limited budgets is the cited research that demonstrates how a 6.5% increase in productivity can justify a building four times as expensive!

   This book takes a broad-brush look at regionalism, vernacular architecture, the art of architecture, human and planetary health, quality versus quantity, making spaces livable, and even design as a listening process. Responding to criticism from clients that listening is a problem with some architects, the National Architectural Accrediting Board has made a recent change in its student performance criteria that emphasizes listening as a required skill.

   From listening, Day moves to making buildings with soul, building as a health-giving process, silence and peace in architecture, and the creation of appropriate spaces for children. He concludes with an important chapter on the urban environment, the conflict between sustainable values and urban pressures, the needs of urban life, cities as places for people and for life, and whether eco-cities might be utopian or practicable.

   Places of the Soul is an excellent primer for students of architecture seeking a balance between design for sustainability and for human needs, between a mass-produced machine aesthetic and one that includes hand-craftsmanship, and between sterile mind-numbing sameness and invigorating variety. It is illustrated with photographs and drawings of buildings and places in Great Britain that, while relevant, could be supplemented with more recent global examples. This book raises challenging questions about the buildings and places we will design and build, and the affect they will have on us as people and as a society.




2. My God, I was forced to read this book for a construction management class at a four-year university in the United States and struggled through every minute. I don't know what was more frustrating, having to read this dull-minded and repetative junk or reading four words at a time because for whatever reason the prestigious author, Christopher Day, was forced to go against conventional thinking and put two columns on each page. This was hands down the worst book I have ever read throughout my life. The guy is hypocritical of everyone who lives in an ordinary house and works in an ordinary job in an ordinary office building. Sorry Mr. Day, but most of us don't have the time and monetary security to write a 200-page book regarding soulful places. We just trudge off to work everyday in our non-biologically inducing office buildings. A bunch of junk!



3. A bit wordy and repetitive, but some of his ideas are first rate. The pictures are really nice too.



4. This is a seminal piece of work, that I would recomend for anyone involved with homes and living spaces, (I think that means everyone!) There is much wisdom in this book, and it is as much a book about how we live as it is a life philosopy book.
   Best book I have read about our 'third Skin'



5. PLACES OF THE SOUL is a very satisfying, powerful look at how the architectural environment makes an impact health, thought, and especially spirit. Mr. Day's writing is beautiful, drawing the reader through ideas of space, light, structure, environment, location and intention. Reading it was both inspiring and informative. An elegant book about an important subject.