5 comments about Unbroken Circles : The Campground of Martha's Vineyard.

1. L chose this book because it was featured on a trip to Martha's Vineyard and I love the photograph in it.



2. Peruse this impressive volume and step out of your world and right into the Campground in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts. Experience all four seasons there through Betsy Corsiglia's lush photography, and learn it's history and meet it's inhabitants through Mary-Jean Miner's absorbing text. This book is a must-own for anyone who loves the Vineyard.



3. Beautiful and insightful book on Martha's Vinyard. A must have book!!!



4. What a wonderful book about such an inspiring and inspired place. The pictures are bold and bright, and the text is tremendous. Betsy and Mary-Jean have done a great service to the Campground and the Camp-Meeting Association by providing such insight and memories of the Campground experience. A must have book if you've ever been to Martha's Vineyard. Great first book... hoping for many more.



5. The true flavor of the Campgrounds has been captured in this marvelous book. Photos and script leads the reader through the delightful history of this endearing place. Watching it change over the past fifty years, I can say it never looked better. Although long overdue, the talents of these two gals brings the Campground to life. A book to be cherished.

No comments about Smith College (The Campus Guide).

No comments about The Barn: Classic Barns Of North America.

3 comments about Building Your Own House: From Foundations to Framing.

1. Although there was some sound advise, the illustrations were outdated by about 20 years. If I had it to do over again, I would have bought a book that offered more uptodate photos.



2. This book started out with good intentions, but is so laughably out of date that it is hard to read with a straight face. The section on windows does not even list vinyl as one of the options. It might be a good starting point for someone with no experience, but it is past time for a serious make over.



3. This book is a combination of two books. The first and largest section is an older, existing book on building a sealed-in structure up to the external millwork. The second section covers the interior, to include mechanicals, drywall, flooring, tilework, and then outside to decking.

   The first section is older and written from a bit of the "new age" alternative housing viewpoint that was popular in the '70s but has ever since branded builder-owners as kooks. Examples are given of log homes, geodesic domes, and sod houses that may be just a tad tough to get financed and are certain to have your subdivision up in arms. There was no mention of cutting-edge energy-efficient building materials such as SIPs or concrete-filled styrofoam. That being said, the rest of the section is a strong primer on building a stick-built house from foundation to roof with lots of photos.

   The second section was more up to date, but not as comprehensive as the first section. Drawings replaced photos. The chapters on indoor millwork, drywall, and flooring are good, but the chapters on electrical and plumbing lack. There is nothing on HVAC.

   I will keep this book for the exacting step-by-step tutorial on stick building and interior woodwork.

No comments about Procurement Systems: A Guide to Best Practice in Construction.

1 comments about Small Eco-Houses (Evergreen).

1. I work with sustainable buildings and was happy to see a new book covering eco-homes. However I have to say that I was disappointed once I started reading it. I read the whole book in an hour and a half, including analyzing the pictures. English translation is sometimes bad (noticeable even to a foreigner as I am), while the specifics of "eco" in chosen houses is insufficient. Transparency of buildings is prevailing sometimes as a main aspect of the "eco" label. Mostly I lack a professional description of applied systems and more details that would support the choice of houses.
   I feel that if I bought any magazine with a similar topic I would have benefited much more from the purchase.

2 comments about The Un-Private House.

1. An amazing book of an equally amazing exhibition. The book continues where the exhibition left off, questioning what is private and what is not in each of the houses. More than that, the reader should look at each house and the "architectural letter" that it claims to write. Koolhaas' house is a Corbusian critique with a Miesian base. Xavier's house si definately Corbu, the slow house is a slug....and more. Each is an individual criticism on modern architecture and/or on the state of architecture today.

   A note:
   This is the most comprehensive list of architects that we should look out for....and are the worlds' best. Also if anyone can understand each of these projects, he has understood 80% of architecture today....(but that is if he "reads" each of the houses :-) Each house is prototypical of the architect's interests and what drives him.....see the house and you will understand all his other projects.

   BTW get that Menil house out of there. There is no letter he is writing.....




2. Terrence Riley's introduction to the museum of modern art show's "The Unprivate House" sets up a great framework for categorizing the architectural intent of the 26 examples of residential design represented in this show. Riley reminds us that historically privacy was not always associated with dwellings. Just when we may have become committed to private dwellings, this book challenges that notion and asks us to consider the reality of our revolution in communication and media, complex multi-generational housing needs, and the fact that many homes actually house only a single person. This book provokes the question; what is the character of the housing that will best suit our changing times? Each of the examples challenges our thinking in some way concerning the design of residences today; e.g. should a mixed-use work/home space be clearly divided into distinct sections-even in distinct architectural materials or forms- or should these functions merge together, as is the case in the house designed for wall street currency traders (they even have a video monitor above their jacuzzi). Privacy is challenged to the greatest degree in the structure that closes itself off from the street with a literal "curtain wall." A perceived building line is virtually non- existent when the curtains are open.

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

2 comments about Hadrian's Villa and Its Legacy.

1. First of all, it is a beautiful book. For anyone who already has visited the Villa, just the cover is truly moving, with the line of trees next the palestra, as moving is the Piranesi graffiti photo. The reader must also understand the book is about a ruin and accept some degree of frustration with descriptions and the current outlook of monuments, but MacDonald and Pinto are very sucessful in freeing our imagination to wander among the profound design and intentions of Hadria's Villa. A collection of monuments that is too the empire, the memories of a life and a message to the future. Even the authors seemed amazed, for instance, by the Maritime Theater plan or the use of landscape. It is a book to be read again and again.



2. MacDonald/Pinto assert that Hadrian forged a new and innovative architectural system which integrated buildings with nature and human use. Hadrian's goal was to create an arrangement of buildings which were functional and yet challenged the intellect to contemplate the unseen world. They also make a very strong case for the pervasive influence which this complex villa has had on archtecture from ancient times to the present. This book makes one realize that Roman architecture is indeed relevant to the present.

No comments about 30 60 90 09: Regarding Public Space.