3 comments about Sean Godsell: Works and Projects (Electaarchitecture).

1. Sean Godsell: Works
   
   The architect like his Australian contemporary Glenn Murcutt practices in the modality of a critical regionalism. The oeuvre of houses shows an architect concerned with the effects of the environment on human occupation, as his buildings are mostly formed by the skin of timbers used to manipulate light and air entering the facilities. This works are twofold giving even larger structures this almost chameleon aesthetic whilst still capturing and shading the effects of nature. Obtuse writing deters the intent of the book - becoming unnecessarily dense in conveying a simple aesthetic.



2. Sean Godsell is one of the rising stars of architecture. As most of his work is based in Australia he is perhaps not tha well known in the USA. His work is beautifully restrained and takes the local conditions into consideration without producing expected, trite or traditional responses. There is much to be learned from his elegant work.



3. Sean Godsell is a rare find. His work is both technological and refined, proving once and for all that true architecture belongs to those with an eye for design and total dedication to the discipline. Mies is present in his work, as is Le Corbusier, but also a healthy dose of traditional Australian patterns and textures. Spare modern forms meld beautifully with rich weathered materials - each work is a tribute to its unique setting in the landscape, immediately recalling the modernist elegance of Breuer and Seidler or the simple drama of the Case Study Houses. This is not to say that Godsell is stuck in the past, however. Indeed, many of the rich materials are off-the-shelf industrial items - stair treads, expanded and corrugated metal, stock pulleys and pneumatic hinges. Godsell suggests to us a modern world that is far from scary, far from cold, far from the dystopian nightmares propogated by science fiction film sets. Instead, he gives us progress - a better world, environmentally-sensitive, technologically-advanced, simply beautiful.
   This will be the first of many monographs of Sean Godsell's work. He is young and energetic - and at the beginning of a great career.

4 comments about Will Bruder: Recent Works (Planet Architecture).

1. I'm currently an architecture student and needed some information on Bruder's library. The books that i found weren't informative enough. A friend introduced me to the PA series and I eventually purchased this copy and it really surprised me by how thorough it was. It's a great tooL!



2. When I came across this CD, I was quite hesitant about buying it because, I felt more comfortable investing my money on a book rather than unfamiliar CD, not knowing what kind of content it would have. Luckily for me I couldn't find any books about Will Bruder, that I urgently needed. So I decided to try planet architecture. I was quiet impressed with what I found. Besides really valuable information, such as drawings, photos, panoramas, and interviews; the design and layout of the CD is very clear making it very easy to gain valuable knowledge and understanding of Bruder's work. For example, most of the drawings have points of reference that you can click on to view a picture of that exact point. The panorama option works kind of the same, but instead of just getting one view (picture) front a reference point, this feature lets you rotate around the point so you can better appreciate the architecture, like if you were physically in these buildings.



3. The cd-rom format offers an expanded range of possibilities for architecture publishing in the future! The projects are covered in amazing detail- its possible to pick a point on the plan and view photographs from that spot. In addition you can view enlarged sets of drawings and extensive photographic documentation. Dana Hutt's commentary is well researched and insightful, and the realtime interviews and slide shows with both of them is the next best thing to seeing a lecture in person. A very exciting format!



4. Let me start by saying that I'm not a big fan of "books on CD." This volume on Will Bruder, the first I've seen from in-D, is possibly the best use of the CD-ROM format that I've seen. With minimal use of text on screen, "Will Bruder-Recent Works" brings his vision and architecture to life in a way that the printed volume cannot. The navigational interface is unexpected, yet highly intuitive. Excellent coverage of the architect's works includes detailed floorplans, lush photography, and 360x360 (full immersion) panoramas that are probably the next best thing to being there. Insightful video interviews with Will are cut into manageable lengths and organized by topic. I can't wait to see more of the Planet Architecture series!

No comments about Corporate Fields: Office Projects by the D[R]L Design Research Lab.

3 comments about American Victorian Cottage Homes.

1. Dover has published a number of books on Victorian and other period homes, and this is an honest entry in the series, though not the best. This is basically a catalog of available house designs, ranging from modest cottages, to row-houses, to mansions. What I really like about this book, and what most books don't offer, is a perspective view, at least two elevations, and plans for the first two floors of each house. If you have a hard time visualizing a house from just a set of plans, or if you look at a perspective and always wonder what the back of the house looks like, you will love this book. Occasionally extra details or sections are thrown in, and there's a price quoted for each house. The descriptions are very sparse however: "the plates are intended to tell their own story." If you fell in love with one of these houses, a good architect could produce a set of plans for you, though the room arrangements would have to be modernized to fit our expectations for kitchen size, open floor plans, number of bathrooms, etc.
   
   There's a sample Specification at the end that you may find fascinating. Painstakingly laid out, it gives the minimum standard for every material used, from lumber to paint. There is also a contract for the builder and client to sign, which looks to be pretty savvy for the period.
   
   This is the best book of its kind that I know of when it comes to allowing you to visualize exactly what a house will look like, inside and out. Only a somewhat constrained range of styles, and lack of details, keep this from getting 5-stars.



2. The title of this publication is a little misleading. While it displays elevation and perspective views of many buildings along with their floor plans, the vast majority of those buildings are of the larger, mansion variety, and not the smaller cottages it refers to in its title. It is very lean in detail drawings along with descriptions, and is non-existent when it comes to sectional views. It will not help you when it comes to information on how to build one of these plans, but it will tell you what it will look like when you are done.



3. This book is full of great illustrations and plans for victorian houses of the late 1800's, many perspective views and some detail drawings. Great to look at and perfect if you plan to build a traditional victorian home or duplex and need some ideas.

1 comments about Modern American Houses: 50 Years of Design in Architectural Record.

1. The Architectural Record is the New York Times of architectural world. It is the journal of record with the best editors, writers and photographers. Starting in 1956, the Architectural Record began dedicating one issue a year to new houses. "Modern American Houses" is a fifty year compilation of the best and most important houses featured in the magazine.
   
   Some of the featured homes are stunning and are examples of the best in American architecture. Most of the homes featured are not especially remarkable and a few homes border on the grotesque. The value of this book is historical. The writers and editors at Architectural Record are opinion shapers and this book is a good reference to what they thought was cool and exciting in the past fifty years. At twenty dollars, this coffe table style book is a good value.

2 comments about Rancho Deluxe: Rustic Dreams and Real Western Living.

1. The last decade of the twentieth century spawned a culture of week-end ranchers buying week-end "places" and decorating the interiors in "drug-store cowboy". "Ranch Deluxe", however, shows you what the real thing looked like, Partner.

   For those of us who grew up on "Hop Along" and Gene Autry Saturday mornings at the neighborhood theatre, Rancho Deluxe is a voyeur's dream.

   Motoring down the highways of the great Southwest, one occasionally glimpses an old ranch house in the distance. "Is there a soul so dead who never fantasized about life in that ranch house?" Rancho Deluxe welcomes the voyeur to step inside and have a look around.




2. This book is a wonderful history/architectural reference. I purchased this book as an interior design reference and although it does not cover interior design details the rich history provided by the author led me to want to read this book cover to cover. And what a beautiful cover it is- brown leather- makes this a great coffee table book. This would be a great gift for anyone interested in western architecture and home style. This is not one of those books that choses a certain western style and displays hundred of the same photograph-this book covers every ranch style possible. I will continue to reference this book for inspiration and ideas.

No comments about Villa Muller: A Work of Adolf Loos.

2 comments about Elderdesign : Designing and Furnishing a Home for Your Later Years.

1. The author gives advice on designing and furnishing a smart aging home, providing room-by-room analyses, checklists, and recommendations for resources. She addresses specific physical conditions and considers 'the healing bedroom' as a means to setting up a home hospital. And she covers 'the caring community', outlining the local support systems available for the onset of health and disability issues. (I found the reference to 'motion seating' and the company that makes it to be worth the price of the book alone.) Having seen my father through his last years, I already had an appreciation of the need for things as basic as proper seating and an accessible bathroom. The author's experience with her mother's Alzheimer's disease gave me even more to think about. This book appears to be going out of print which is unfortunate because it is quite practical. Buy it while you can.



2. Briefly, a fine book to sensitize one to issues of design as they apply to older persons. Although much of this book pertains to new constructions, I used it to sensitize me to issues that were also relevant to retrofit--such as putting up railings, etc., in an existing house.

1 comments about California Bungalow.

1. As the owner of a 1920's California Bungalow, I am constantly seeking information about the correct styles and furnishings for this period. Obviously, many of these homes have been heavily modified by "do-it-yourselfers" of varying skills and often bear little resemblence to their former glory.

   This book provides an excellent set of original floor plans, plus the most detailed set of interior architectural elevations detailing fireplaces, kitchen cabinets, and built-in furnishings I have seen in this style of book.

   The architect responsible for the plans in this book was based in Los Angeles, so if you are local to that region the California bunaglow you are interested in restoring is likely to be represented within this volume.

No comments about Buy Me a Mercedes-Benz.