1 comments about The Architecture of Benno Janssen.

1. Anyone who has experienced a Benno Janssen designed property understands the beauty, majesty and uniqueness of his style. His use of the natural resources of Western Pennsylvania and a style of combining high roofs and archways create an Eastern European look. He is truely one of our country's greatest architects. I recommend this book for anyone who appreciates great architecture, especially when it utilizes the surrounding landscape.

No comments about Educational Environments, Vol. 2 (Educational Environments).

2 comments about The Hacienda in Mexico (Roger Fullington Series in Architecture).

1. I've never heard anybody say that an investigation in architectural typology could be pure poetry, but this one is. The text is a restrained and compact scientific analysis of the hacienda in many of it's aspects. It analyses the hacienda through time; it describes the hacienda as the expression of the two forces, the intuitive from the collective subconscious and the consciousness of the individual artist; the hacienda as an expression of the social world; as a compound; the big house; the chapel; spaces for production; materials and construction methods; and the details.
   But astonishing in this book is the additional material, the beautiful architectural drawings, the plans and facades which are drawn with an indication of the (former) functions of the spaces and the relationship to the landscape. Flooring and trees are meticulously reproduced. The photographs are never overly decorative, no tourist pictures; they are pure poetry and adding valuable information to the story told. Some pictures, where it's relevant, are in colour but most are in black and white, adding to the restrained poetry. It's clearly not a book for everybody, it's an architects book.
   Don't I have any comments? Yes I do, the material of photo's and drawings are chaoticly spread over so many pages, so it is very difficult to get a comprehensive image of any of the haciendas. Illustrations of Peñasco for instance are spread over the pages: 19, 29, 41, 58, 68, 75. And the book doesn't feels like it's complete. I miss sections, I want more photographs, I want more overview, I want more!



2. This book is one of the all time worst books on architecture I have ever seen. With so many gorgeous books on Mexican, Spanish and Spanish Colonial Revival available, pass on this one. Though the book was printed in 2003, most photos are in black in white, poorly focused and amateurishly shot. I felt this was someone's badly done college thesis.

4 comments about Our Governors' Mansions.

1. This book is well researched and the subject matter is very interesting. Every state is represented, with the exception of the few states, California!!!, that don't have an offical exective residence. The book is well layed out, my only qualm is the visuals, it's not that the images are poor, it's just the quality of visuals are poor, they are not vivid, they are not crisp, I can only assume it has something to do with the quality of the paper used, whatever the reason it is quite noticable and too bad because other wise it is a very good book, having said that I still highly recommend it because it's not the author fault for the quality of the photos, that lies with the publisher.



2. This book dedicates 4-5 pages to each Governor's mansion in the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii. Written history of each home is included, as well as pictures of the different mansion's exteriors and interiors. At the end of the book are addresses to contact any of the 50 Governors or First Ladies of the United States...



3. For years I have looked for a book about the Governors' Mansions of the United States. This book was recommended to me by the director of Alabama's Governor's Mansion and I was very excited and proud to get it! With beautiful pictures and interesting stories of every mansion this book is a real gem. It is a great book for anyone interested in history, architecture, or interior decorating. Our country is indebted to First Lady Kathy Keating for all her hard work.



4. Believe it or not, this is the first of its kind, a complete look at every occupied governors' residence in the nation. This is a fun read with interesting historic tidbits about these beautiful homes. Great pictures too!

1 comments about Main Street to Miracle Mile: American Roadside Architecture.

1. "Main Street to Miracle Mile" is an excellent introduction to the development of American cities in this century. What's more, it takes what could be a dull topic and makes it lively by looking at such structures as gas stations, motels, and shopping centers and showing how the changes in the architecture of these businesses reflect the changes that were taking place in American society. Good photographs from many parts of America illustrate the impact a more mobile population has had on the location, size, and design of the buildings that serve us. While this book has been used as a text for college classes, it also can be very enjoyable for the casual reader.

2 comments about Bicknell's Victorian Buildings.

1. Just about any of the many Victorian plan books reprinted by Dover is an excellent investment, but this is one of my top favorites. Within a single slender volume you'll find houses ranging from tiny "cheap" cottages (they could be built for $750) to a pair of opulent $30,000 mansions (an 18-room Mansard and a towered 19-room Gothic masonry "farm house"). There are also carriage houses and stables (from a two-stall, $500 board-and-batten back-yard style to a sprawling cupolaed masonry version), schoolhouses with two and six classrooms, churches from village to cathedral size, two dignified courthouses, a jail with keeper's quarters, and elevations (though unfortunately no floor plans) of several "business blocks" (store-and-office buildings). If you've ever wanted to get an idea of the kinds of buildings among which our small-town Victorian ancestors moved, this is a great book to start with.



2. This book was initailly published with the intent of allowing a builder to construct an entire town. Therefore, there are examples of single family houses (mostly), apartments, duplexes, churches, barns, and commercial buildings. Most elevations have floor plans attached as well as ornamental detail for the elevations. An interesting aspect of the book is the inclusion of contracts for constuction- if only things could be that simple again! I recommend this book for victorian architecture lovers.

No comments about The National Trust Guide to Art Deco in America (Preservation Press).

2 comments about Buildings of Colorado (Buildings of the United States).

1. The fifth in an ongoing series of field guides to the buildings of the United States, commissioned from experts by the Society of Architectural Historians. Companion volumes are available on Alaska, DC, Iowa, Michigan, and Nevada, with another dozen in preparation. It's an invaluable project, the most ambitious of its kind since the WPA State guides of the 1930s, and it maps the terra incognita between the few major cities that have been professionally surveyed.

   Colorado is more notable for natural wonders than architecture, and had little more to show than Mesa Verde 150 years ago. Noel provides an encyclopedic 600 pages of plans, photos, and commentary on boom towns-from those that have faded to those, like Denver, that have exploded. He is equally sympathetic to the best new work, but stumbles in his appraisal of an Ed Niles house-a controversial cluster of glass cubes in Vail-as he observes: "This eyecatcher revives the International Style in the Postmodern tradition of Richard Meier."




2. There is much architecture to see in Colorado and Mr. Noel has eloquently documented the variety of buildings one might make a special trip to visit. I especially enjoyed the small town examples. For information on the bigger cities in Colorado, there are more complete guides to Architecture and history... read those too! Keep in mind, that the point of this book was to document those buildings which you could visit or experience; there aren't many examples of private residences or secure buildings. Buy this book and start to plan your road trips through Colorado!

No comments about Cistercian Europe: Architecture of Contemplation.

No comments about San Francisco: Architecture & Design (And Guides).