2 comments about Small Lofts.

1. 
   I picked this book up because loft spaces are very similar to the inside of my home and I'm always interested in decorating ideas and what other people do with their own personal spaces.
   I looked through this book over and over again, read all the text, etc.....
   
   If you are the type of person that goes into a shop just to look around, you'll like this book... I thought the photography of all the spaces was awesome. But then again, I'm not a photographer so I'm not too judgemental when it comes to things like that. There are a lot of different styles in the book, although "everything" obviously isn't represented.
   
   With design books and remodeling books being as expensive as a lot of them get this book has a good price and a lot of ideas in it.



2. I like to browse books such as this to find creative decorating ideas. I'm not a huge fan of minimalism but appreciate it when done well. There are key elements of Simplicity and Practicality in minimalist design that appeal to many. However, I often find minimalist design to be pretentious when it lacks these 2 elements. All that is left is starkness and coldness with no grace. Such empty minimalism often seems to be favored by people who think a shocking starkness is somehow intellectual. According to my too long social experience, these people often turn out to be boring pseudo-intellectuals desperately trying to make themselves appear interesting to others. Unfortunately, I found this whole book to be exactly that. I was looking forward to sitting down in a comfortable chair with a fresh cup of tea and enjoying at least some nice artistic photos. I was very disappointed to find no original creativity anywhere in this book. Some of the architectural ideas were nice but not especially attractive or original. At least, nothing jumped out at me, just your humble lover of beauty and creativity but not a trained architect. I keep a personal scrap/ memo book of creative design ideas and I got not even one out of here. I wish I could at least say the majority of the photos were enjoyable to view, but I can't. Many of the subjects were pretentious and vapid; some even crossed over into stupid. For example, there are a couple built-in baths featured that were designed by/for pretentious idiots IMHO. As a Californian who lived in Japan for years and is part Japanese, I have seen and bathed in more than my share of baths and hot tubs of all types, indoor and outdoor. I am sure Bajamon's owners ended up rarely using them. But my favorite subject in this book is a Brussels loft, the second set of photos in Bajamon's visually mundane book. It was the only high point in this book since it was the only loft that got any reaction from me at all, positive or negative. In it, I counted 3 modern art renderings of Mao, one big enough on which to have painted the Battle of Waterloo. The big Mao is in a vivid red. I guess this is to signify communism or possibly rivers of blood. I was intrigued and tried to delve into Mr. Bajamon's reasons for this choice and positioning near the beginning of the book. Was this a sophomoric attempt to make his book appear interesting and intellectual? Or was he trying to make a political statement to us readers by his choice of one of the most efficient mass murderers in history (tens of millions dead through starvation and execution seems efficient to me) as a fashionable interior decorating feature? Well it worked! However, I don't want to be an obvious plagiarist of this decorating device. In my head I reviewed other equivalent subjects from modern history such as Hitler and Stalin. I'm going with Hitler. I have some software that allows me to scan in photos and then alter them into artsy, Warhol-esque pictures a little like the Maoist ones in Bajamon's instructive photos. I think I will hang them in my dining room. Frame them in brown frames to signify the brown shirts. I hope my guests will appreciate the deep intellectual thought behind the choice. I'm sure the whole room's welcoming and fashionable milieu will be good for everyone's digestion. Wonder how many guests the owner of the Brussels loft will re-entertain if he changes his art from Mao to Hitler. Oh, that's right. It's illegal in buy Hitler art in Europe. You book authors, publishers and decorators out there better be sure to pick the right mass murderers for decorative purposes in the right countries at the right times in history. Frankly, it offends me that a publisher decided this book was worth the trees needed to print it. And that applies even if the Maoist fashion statement hadn't been included.

1 comments about HVAC Instant Answers.

1. I am not an HVAC expert or technician, but I was looking for a book that would give me enough information to be able to troubleshoot and work on residential and small commercial units.
   
   This book has a TON of information in it. Charts, graphs, photos, and a great deal of in-depth topics related to HVAC. It is probably too deep for the average home-owner, but it does cover a lot of the basics, especially in the heating realm. For air conditioning, it leaves a tad to be desired. I was hoping for more detailed schematics of the wiring of modern A/C units and it doesn't really get into that very much.
   
   I have the Plumbing "Instant Answers" book which is very good (it's the only one I saw that covered how to install natural gas lines!) so I bought this hoping it would be as useful. So far, it remains a good reference tool, but you do need to know a little about HVAC basics to understand it. It's not a Dummy's Guide!
   
   For me, I think it was worth the money and will come in handy the next time I am able to nail down a problem and save hundreds of dollars in technician fees.

No comments about New Apartments.

1 comments about Small Spaces: Making the Most of the Space You Have.

1. Nice book and amazing spaces, maybe I am unimaginative but the cost associated with doing any of these ideas is huge. I was hoping for ideas that would be more affordable.
   
   The book offers some nice insights to small footprint living.

1 comments about Working with Tablesaws (New Best of Fine Woodworking).

1. Looking for a gift for your woodworking husband. These are a great series and a great way to say, "I love you!"

2 comments about The American Airport.

1. For those who love airports and airplanes, this is a wonderful book to have. Simple, well-written, but unpretentious, it is loaded with lots of good period photographs and illustrations that cover the historical development of airports and the growth and transformations of the passenger airline industry in the United States. It would have been great if it were not limited to airports in this country, but had also included the develoment of airports all over the world. My suggestion to the author is to try just that: a second book devoted to international airports around the world and the development of the international airline system, particularly in Europe and Latin America, and, of course, including some of the exciting and ultra modern airports built in recent years accross the globe, especially in the Middle East and Asia. I'll be first in line to buy such a book! If you are an airport and airline enthusiast like me, I am sure you will very much enjoy The American Airport.



2. From the first days of aviation--biplanes using dirt fields for landing and takeoff--to the modern state-of-the-art airports like the new one built in Denver--this book takes you on a historical and pictoral journey across the history of the American airport.

   To most travelers, all airports are alike other than the variety of restaurants and shops contained within; most people never stop to look at the amazing architectural details of many of today's American airports. From the art deco style of Regan National's updated terminals to the Native-American inspired "tents" of Denver International to LAX's futuristic Theme Building, this book gives a great overview of the distinctive styles and the functionality of our airports today.

No comments about How to Build Wooden Gates and Picket Fences: 100 Classic Designs.

5 comments about Places of the Soul: Architecture and Environmental Design as a Healing Art.

1. Are you looking for a book that recognizes the need for designing buildings to meet lofty sustainability goals, but that also places human needs on an equal or superior plane? Do you look at new mechanistic buildings of steel, titanium and low-e glass and wonder how it's possible to feel inspired, or even comfortable, when you're in them? If you answer yes to these questions, then perhaps you would benefit from reading the second edition of Christopher Day's book, Places of the Soul, Architecture and Environmental Design as a Healing Art (Grammarians might suggest "as Healing Arts").

   Day wrote the book in 1988, long before the birth of LEEDS, to address his perception of a growing lack of concern about human needs for variety in the form of spaces, the connection of spaces to nature and natural processes, and craft in the production of habitation. From his concerns one would assume that he was a student of the work of Christopher Alexander, particularly "A Timeless Way of Building". However, he moves beyond Alexander in citing the results of empirical studies that support his theses.

   In the chapter Architecture: Does It Matter? Day discusses how good design adds value, increases productivity, reduces health care costs, and accelerates healing. He cites the work of Dr. Roger Ulrich that demonstrated faster healing of patients in ICU's with views of nature. Important to architects struggling with limited budgets is the cited research that demonstrates how a 6.5% increase in productivity can justify a building four times as expensive!

   This book takes a broad-brush look at regionalism, vernacular architecture, the art of architecture, human and planetary health, quality versus quantity, making spaces livable, and even design as a listening process. Responding to criticism from clients that listening is a problem with some architects, the National Architectural Accrediting Board has made a recent change in its student performance criteria that emphasizes listening as a required skill.

   From listening, Day moves to making buildings with soul, building as a health-giving process, silence and peace in architecture, and the creation of appropriate spaces for children. He concludes with an important chapter on the urban environment, the conflict between sustainable values and urban pressures, the needs of urban life, cities as places for people and for life, and whether eco-cities might be utopian or practicable.

   Places of the Soul is an excellent primer for students of architecture seeking a balance between design for sustainability and for human needs, between a mass-produced machine aesthetic and one that includes hand-craftsmanship, and between sterile mind-numbing sameness and invigorating variety. It is illustrated with photographs and drawings of buildings and places in Great Britain that, while relevant, could be supplemented with more recent global examples. This book raises challenging questions about the buildings and places we will design and build, and the affect they will have on us as people and as a society.




2. My God, I was forced to read this book for a construction management class at a four-year university in the United States and struggled through every minute. I don't know what was more frustrating, having to read this dull-minded and repetative junk or reading four words at a time because for whatever reason the prestigious author, Christopher Day, was forced to go against conventional thinking and put two columns on each page. This was hands down the worst book I have ever read throughout my life. The guy is hypocritical of everyone who lives in an ordinary house and works in an ordinary job in an ordinary office building. Sorry Mr. Day, but most of us don't have the time and monetary security to write a 200-page book regarding soulful places. We just trudge off to work everyday in our non-biologically inducing office buildings. A bunch of junk!



3. A bit wordy and repetitive, but some of his ideas are first rate. The pictures are really nice too.



4. This is a seminal piece of work, that I would recomend for anyone involved with homes and living spaces, (I think that means everyone!) There is much wisdom in this book, and it is as much a book about how we live as it is a life philosopy book.
   Best book I have read about our 'third Skin'



5. PLACES OF THE SOUL is a very satisfying, powerful look at how the architectural environment makes an impact health, thought, and especially spirit. Mr. Day's writing is beautiful, drawing the reader through ideas of space, light, structure, environment, location and intention. Reading it was both inspiring and informative. An elegant book about an important subject.

2 comments about Masonry and Concrete.

1. While this book was written by an architect, she has a great depth of knowlege in the trade and the information is invaluable. However, To actually build a masonry house, it is necessary to have some hands on experience. An actual masonry course, would be inorder. In other words, as a reference for a masonry student, this is great, but it can not replace or modify the need to experience mixing mortar and squaring block. The author's other book on detailing masonry is also good, and is highly recommended.



2. This would be a good college text book for "Concrete and Masonry Theory". What I was looking for is a good text book for a "How the Heck do I pour concrete and lay bricks?" class. This weakly illustrated book with black and white photos was written by an architect and not a mason and is more suited to the general contractor or construction inspector. If you are looking for a hands-on "how to" book skip this one and buy a step by step well illustrated book with color photos.

1 comments about Chartres: Sacred Geometry, Sacred Space.

1. I visited Chartres cathedral nearly forty years ago and the effect was powerful. I reverberated for several days. And honestly certain memories of the two days I spent there are as clear as any. It was one of the first intimations that there is a spiritual or, just say, another dimension that one can actually live and breathe in.
   I hope that the last sentence will alert architectural students and enthusiasts who see no difference between a High Gothic cathedral and a six story parking lot that this is not a book they will enjoy. It's for people who have been touched by this magnificent building or other deep aesthetic experience, and for them is highly recommended. It is clear, fully comprehensible and feasible. The only thing I would have left out is the part about chakras, which is interesting but was and could not be sufficiently explored to merit inclusion.
   
   The space a great cathedral created is an artistic phenomenon never again achieved in western art, as far as I know. It is a place of palpable silence where one can have a complete immersion in peace, despite one's fellow tourists. All western prayerful spaces come from this.
   
   No book could encompass Chartres. After all, it's not the place per se but the truth it reveals that constitutes its being, and this is for us an infinite study. But there are many new and interesting insights in this book