3 comments about Treehouses (The House That Jack Built Series).

1. This small book is a collection of 22 stories about living in trees. Each story is written by someone close to the project, usually the builder themselves. Each story involves 1 or 2 pages of text and a few images. The book ends with a brief summary of how to make your own treehouse.
   
   This book has little to recommend itself. It is a disjoint collection of poorly written essays and grainy, unprofessional photos. Of the 22 stories presented, very few were not previously known to me, and those that weren't were quite uninteresting. Some of the articles read like advertisements for a particular builder's services.
   
   From a builder's perspective, there is little to be gleaned from the short "Make It" section at the book's end. The complexities of building your own treehouse require much more than a few paragraphs. I will say that the author does not distribute any misinformation, something I can't say for a lot of other, more prominent works. On the other hand, very little information is provided in the first place.
   
   This book does provide you with a quick and thorough glimpse of modern treehouse ideas from 10 years ago. You will not find a more concise introduction anywhere. However, for those serious about treehouses, the lack of in-depth information is a sore lack indeed.



2. not only does this book have wonderful pictures, but it has wonderful stories that tells you about the personal life of some of the people who built and/or live in the treehouse. Including, myself.



3. This is really a dream book to savor and enjoy and look at again and again whenever you need to lift yourself up. Beautiful pictures, and many different designs, from all over the world. The stories alongside the pictures are more about the dreams before and the experiences after than the actual building. But the books out there on actual building are short on designs, so this book really helps you see what others have done. My only regret is that the treehouse on the front cover and the treehouse pictures in the introduction are not featured with a paragraph or two as are the other 22 treehouse articles. However, overall, this book is a delight to read and enjoy. Also, a good resource section in the back. Definately, 5 stars!

3 comments about An Architectural Guidebook To Philadelphia.

1. I wanted a book that gave me lots of facts, not that gave the authors opinion on hippies and other irelevant things.



2. I found this book to be a diappointment. I expected a book which would discuss the architecture of the buildings of Philadelphia. Instead the book is about the history of the city and its buildings with scant discussion of the architure. A Better title for this book would be , The Historical Significance of The Buildings of Philadelphia. For a guide book their were surprisingly few (black and white) photographs. I would suggest , Philadelphia Architecture: A Guide To The City; by The Foundation For Architecture .



3. How many guidebooks can you read through like a novel? I have several times, and each time is better than the last. This book is informative and entertaining. It's amazing how many new things you can learn about a city you thought you knew. And how can you not love a book where even the index is fun to read?

1 comments about New Museums.

1. This is a survey of 27 post-Guggenheim Bilbao museums on 325 illustrations, (275 color) of a high quality. The not very legible introduction is short. Each museum is described on one page, and presented in color on 6-12 illustrations without references. There is no analysis or architectural critique, but just an album-like review for those, who can analyze architecture themselves or enjoy its presentation without analysis.
   TABLE OF CONTENTS
   Introduction * Museum of Hiroshige Ando, Japan (Kengo Kuma) * Horiyuji Treasures Gallery, Tokyo (Yoshio Taniguchi) * Paper Art Museum, Japan (Shigeru Ban) * Het Valkhof Museum, The Netherlands (van Berkel + Bos) * Seralves Museum, Portugal (Alvaro Siza) * Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA (Zaha Hadid) * Liner Museum, Switzerland (Gigon/Guyer) * Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fort Worth, Texas, USA (Tadao Ando) * Schaulager, Basel (Herzog + de Meuron) * Palmach Museum of History, Tel Aviv (Zvi Hecker) * Nizayama Forest Art Museum, Tokyo (Lapena & Torres) * O Museum, Japan (Kazuyo Sejima/SANAA * Altamira Museum, Spain (J.N. Baldeweg) * Museo de Bellas Artes, Spain (Mansilla + Tunon) * Vulcania Museum, France (Hans Hollein) * Great Court, British Museum, London (Foster + Partners) * Stedelijk van Abbemuseum, The Netherlands (Abel Cahen) * Centre PasquArt, Switzerland (Diener & Diener) * Museum of Modern Art, Vienna (Ortner & Ortner) *Milwaukee Art Museum addition, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA (Santiago Calatrava) * Kiasma Museum, Helsinki, Finland (Steven Holl) * Imperial War Museum North, Manchester, UK (Daniel Libeskind) * River and Rowing Museum, UK (David Chipperfield) * Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas, Texas, USA (Renzo Piano) * Jewish Museum, Berlin (Daniel Libeskind) * Kunsthaus, Graz, Austria (Peter Cook) * American Folk Art Museum, New York, USA (Williams + Tsien) * Endmatter

No comments about Places of Worship (Architecture 3s) Sir Christopher Wren, Joze Plecnik, Tadao Ando.

No comments about 100 Great Extensions & Renovations.

No comments about John Calvin Stevens, domestic architecture, 1890-1930.

1 comments about Rome.

1. Too many histories jump lightly and quickly from the grandeur of pagan Rome to the grandeur of Renaissance and Baroque Rome --ignoring the thousand year artistic and architectural history in between. This book fills in a long and fascinating gap in the history; and brings to our attention works of art that, if they are outshone by the splendours before and after, are not to be despised. The only problem with this book is the relative paucity of pictures and plans, and the absence of any in colour. If printing photographs or reproductions is expensive, why can't they provide a DVD to go with the book?

1 comments about 21st Century Hotel.

1. The thirty seven hotels featured in this book have been selected to illustrate the exciting trend that has come about in recent years to build hotels that stretch beyond the utilitarian hotels of old to reach new heights of style. Most of these new hotels have been designed for a close, harmonious fit to their surroundings. This is particularly striking in some of the hotels built in mountain or desert locations.
   
   Other hotels built in cities for instance, do not have unduely striking exteriors but make up for it by the attention paid to the design of the interior areas both public and in the individual rooms.
   
   The selected hotels are scattered widely around the world, showing that such design is not restricted to one locale or even to one continent.
   
   Seven of the hotels might be considered to be the design experiments, where the basic structure or use of the building stretches design to the limits. These are not your basic Motel 6 designs.

2 comments about Victorian House Style: An Architectural and Interior Design Sourcebook (House Style).

1. This is a terriffic source book on Victorian Design. Every page is crammed with photos & sketches covering interior and exterior design, with lots of ideas for Victorian (exterior) Trim, decorative fences, tiles, furniture, architectural styles, interior trim & detailing. Great book!



2. This work focuses mainly on the details associated with the victorian period in England. Linda Osband uses an even mix of beautiful photographs and detailed sketches to illustrate the many design elements of the period. She includes a list of suppliers in the U.K., USA, Australia, France and Germany for those wishing to restore their current home. Inspirational and informative

2 comments about The New American Dream: Living Well in Small Homes.

1. The New American Dream is a marvelous pictoral essay presenting a well argued thesis for the superiority of small spaces. The breakdown of the book into sections which focus on specific aesthetic merits that small houses and apartments can provide is
   extremely well articulated. It is so refreshing to be able enjoy a book on design that has a text worthy of its photographs.



2. I bought this book at Strand Bookstore in New York because of the beautiful photography and details the author included about each featured home. I love that there is a movement (apparently) towards smaller homes. I'm originally from Houston, and the disgusting scale of houses in the suburbs is such a contrast to the wonderful buildings featured in this book.
   
   The only problem I had was I felt that most of the dwellings featured were second homes. I would like to have seen more primary residences.