1 comments about The Living Tradition of Maria Martinez.

1. SOME OF SHE WORKS IN CERAMIC

1 comments about The Designer's Eye.

1. Why this book has not been written before? its arguments are compelling, the evidence is before our eyes. Why was I never exposed to a similar book during my 8 years of studies at the Ecole des Beaux Arts?
   "The Designer's Eye" is about visual tradecaft. It shows on the same page, on the right side the way a building could have been, and on the left side the way it is. The difference between the 2 images is a visual detail, sometime very simple (say, a painted horizontal line) sometime more elaborate (say, a cornice). The visual result of this before and after approach is compelling.
   From time to time a little humorous vignette is added to illustrate with a non architectural detail - usually borrowed from women fashion - the visual point made on the page.
   The great strength of Brolin's book is that it shows real examples selected among a wide range of buildings. Some are architectural icons like the "Palazzo Nuevo" from Michelangelo, other are anonymous buildings like a suburban house in Pensylvania.
   Ninety percent of the book is visual, no long winded theory, just two images next to each other, and a few lines of comments below, in case ones doesn't get the point right away.
   The Designer's Eye demonstrates that no building needs to be visually unpleasant. A little care about the way things will look from the street will do wonder. Designers and builders who do not have instinctively this visual sensitivity would be well advised to borrow freely from Brolin's examples which are grouped by architectonic themes, facades, edges, details, etc.
   For those who think that they are already visually creative, a little reminder of all the tricks of the trade might also help.
   This book is a must for architects, remodellers, and more broadly for people interested in improving the visual quality of their own environment, at least when they have any control over it.
   I only regret that the book is not in colour, or may be on a CDROM. May be a future coffee table book edition?
   PS. I know why this book has not be written before. Without digital images and the possibility of modifying them easily this book would be impossible to produce. Previous books dealing with the same subject would have to ask the reader to imagine what the Michelangelo' capitol would look like without the "Grand Ordre" spanning two floors. Impossible to do without becoming terribly verbose, and therefore boring for the visually oriented.

4 comments about Architecture: From Pre-history to Postmodernism.

1. I am a Registered architect(with National Certification), Registered Interior Designer and instructor of Architectural History. Trachtenberg and Hyman have written the definitive history of western architecture in this tract. The reading is awkward at times, but the ideas conveyed comprise the foundation of todays architectural theory. There are few, if any textbooks on this subject which maintain a consistant thread of thought all the way through. This one does. If you are vitally interested in the underpinnings of today's designs, you should read it.



2. This book is a very good text book. I have just recently needed it and just started to use it. As far as I have gotten it is easy to read. The only thing that I don't think that I like about it is that it is black and white. If you want to get the full feeling for the achitecture I would think one might need to see it in color but oh well.



3. This book summarizes over ten thousand years of architectural history in such a practical and clear form. Ignoring its price, I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in architecture. However, though the book briefly studies such vast expanses in the history of architecture, it fails to even touch architecture in the eastern world. Asia still continues to remain much of a mystery and covering it would truly enlighten the human imagination. Yet, doing so would also probably double the size of the book, thus increasing its cost to over a hundred American dollars. The book also, I feel, seems to enter into too much detail in the forms of modern architecture. In buying this book, one most likely seeks to learn more of history not 'postmodernity,' nevertheless it can be interesting to learn how modern architecture has come to pass.



4. An update of an acclaimed survey of world architecture that is a much better read than its drab illustrations, dull layout and paucity of plans would suggest. Indeed, itÕs as hard to put down as it is to heft. The close analyses of Philip JohnsonÕs AT&T tower in New York and Norman FosterÕs HKSB tower in Hong Kong are brilliant, and the authors have the audacity to suggest that the high tech look of the one is as dishonest as the faux antique masonry of the other. This is an example of how the authors illuminate architectural history with concrete examples rather than windy generalizations. (Michael Webb is the book reviewer for LA Architect magazine.)

No comments about Unit 20: Bartlett School of Architecture.

No comments about Young Architects: City Limits.

No comments about Art of Architecture Exhibitions / Presenting Architecture, The.

No comments about Actions of Architecture: Architects and Creative Users.

No comments about Architectural Knowledge: The Idea of a Profession.

5 comments about Understanding Architecture: Its Elements, History, And Meaning (Icon Editions).

1. This book is one of the seminal readings for architectural history, and the reason is that the contents are well-thought-out, well-researched, and interestingly written.
   That said, shouldn't such a book, one you'll keep a good long time as a reference, come with a binding that doesn't fall apart on the first open? Sumeria and Mesopotamia are ready to leap out of the spine. It's a real travesty and the publisher should be embarassed. I'd have returned it if I didn't need it for a class.
   As for the contents, I'd say that Roth is a great scholar and writer. He's also done or reworked many of the very solid illustrations in the book, and the book is a good read as well as a good reference. You can pick up the thread anywhere and don't necessarily have to read in chronological order. Worth buying a copy (that doesn't fall apart in your hands.)



2. As Marion Dean Ross Professor of Architectural History at the University of Oregon at Eugene, Leland M. Roth summarized his research and experience in "Understanding Architecture: Its Elements, History, And Meaning."
   
   Having done extensive graduate studies in architecture, landscape architecture and urban planning, I always find the history and meaning of architecture, gardens and places fascinating.
   
   "Understanding Architecture: Its Elements, History, And Meaning" is a feast for people like me. It is separated into 2 parts. Part I covers elements of architecture including "Commoditie" (Function), "Firmeness" (Structure), "Delight" (Space, Acoustic and Aesthetic), architecture as part of natural environment, architecture, memory and economics. Part II covers history and meaning of Western architecture from the dawn of the civilization to present, including "from caves to cities," the architecture of Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt, Greek architecture, Roman architecture, Early Christian and Byzantine architecture, Medieval architecture, Renaissance architecture, Baroque and Rococo architecture, the origin and development and versions of Modernism, and various schools of Postmodernism.
   
   "Understanding Architecture: Its Elements, History, And Meaning" has 652 pages and many line drawings and good interior black-and-white photos. It is a valuable survey of Western architecture from the dawn of the civilization to present.



3. Excellent text of architectural history, with good information and explanations of each style in cronological order and lots of sections on examples and masters of each epoch. Lots of pictures of plans and sections! I only wish I had had it for the assignments I had to do last semester! I do wish it had more color fotos instead of black and white. Like all architecture books, it's a little too expensive, but reasonable for the comparatives I found localy. Excellent book, Highly recommended for architecture students and enthusiasts alike.



4. I'm a college instructor for beginning level Architecture Appreciation, and the Leland Roth book is an excellent choice to use for such a class. It is concise, informative and for the students, easy to read. Also, for their purposes, because the book is mostly black and white, it is rather cost efficient in an age of over-priced rip-off textbooks. The only problem with the book is that it can really stand to be updated. There is no chapter about Decontructivism or anything that followed, and the book ends with Mario Botta in 1993, which these days is antiquity already. Roth must know that his book is a gold standard for such a class. Knowing this, it is imperative that he revise it soon. it's too good of a product to stop 12 years ago.



5. This is a very well written approach to the understanding of Architecture and Urbanism. In the first half of the book, Roth analyzes the basic concepts or "elements" that conform today's Architecture. The second half of this clear and readable text is dedicated to the investigation of the history and significance of Architecture. These enjoyable and didactic thirteen chapters are an excellent starting point for a journey into past and present Architecture

No comments about Experiential Landscapes: A Design Language for People, Space and Place.