2 comments about The New Architecture and The Bauhaus.

1. In one of my graphic design classes, we studied Bauhaus design. I was fascinated by Walter Gropius' designs and decided to do a report on him (if you can ever visit his house in MA, you will be awed to see his theories put into practice!). When I found and read this book in my college library I knew I had to buy it. It was out of print when I ordered it, but worth the wait. This book is a must read for all architecture/art history/graphic design students.

   Just knowing that everything in this book came directly from Gropius hand is fascinating. It's a look into an aspect of design/architecture that biographies and history books just can't give you.




2. I've found great substance with your book, "The New Architecture and the Bauhaus". It was brilliant and very informative. I was fascinated by the analysis of 20th Century Modern architecture and the history of its development. I recommend this book highly for anyone interested in modern design, or the courage of the indomitable human spirit. Gropius fought against mediocrity, mindless repetition and the numbing Status Quo. This book deserves to be read.

2 comments about LOT/EK: Mobile Dwelling Unit.

1. While this book was somewhat well written, it lacked detailed photos, and drawings to help explain the MDU and it's uses.
   A little disapointed as the book could have explained detailes better.



2. The book is comprised of the following: many photos of shipping containers in their original, unmodified state; many pages of low-quality computer-aided-design images of shipping containers; some text about the idea of using shipping containers as housing phrased in vague architectural gibberish; and a few photos of a shipping container in the process of modification. The book looks like a souped-up version of an art student's thesis. (It doesn't contain the details or drawings that I assume would be required of an architecture student.) I don't mean that as an insult to art students, but as a way of saying that the contents of the book are conceptual, not practical. Scoates makes the points that shipping containers are abundant, interesting, and can be used for housing. (But it's not "about" environmental or cost solutions, according to LOT-EK.) That's it; nothing in the book is more than a restating of those basic points. If that's what you're seeking, you'll be happy with your purchase. But if you are looking for information, ideas, or inspiration about actually transforming shipping containers into housing, the book is utterly useless. Within five minutes of receiving it, I had it repackaged for return.

2 comments about Domus: Wall Painting in the Roman House (Getty Trust Publications: J. Paul Getty Museum).

1. I saw a copy of Domus while in Naples and knew I would have to order a copy when I returned home. The book is beautifully produced with an excellent essay by Donatella Mazzolini on the architecture of Roman houses, focusing on those under discussion in Pompeii, Herculaneum and Rome. This is followed by an essay by Umberto Pappalando on the Domus Romana, focusing on the development of houses and gardens. As good as these essays are it is the pages dealing with the houses themselves that is jaw-dropping. The houses are arranged in sections following the development of the Roman domus and include color pictures and diagrams of the houses. There are short introductions to the homes followed by a portfolio section consisting of close up pictures of the frescos printed on non-glossy textured paper that gives a better impression of how the painting appears to the observer. These reproductions are superb.
   
   The choice of buildings is impressive. There are far too many to list but among them are: from Pompeii the House of the Faun, the House of Julius Polybius, the Villa of Mysteries, the House of the Golden Bracelet, the House of the Tragic Poet and the House of the Labyrinth; from Herculaneum: the Samnite House, the House of the Skeleton, the House of the Grand Portal, the Collegium of the Augustales; from Rome: the House of the Griffins, Livia's House on the Palatine and at Prima Porta and the Domus Aurea. The Villa of Poppea at Oplontis gets special attention in the book, and a fresco from the house appears on the cover.
   
   This book is a must for anyone interested in ancient Roman houses and their decoration. If you have even visited Pompeii, Herculaneum and the other villas destroyed by Mount Vesuvius you will enjoy this book.



2. A wonderful work in all respects - scholarship, printing, presentation, photography. Some of the paintings are more like wall paper samples, the paper and printing is that good.
   
   Another great work in the Getty catalog. A must have for any serious student of Roman Art/Architecture.

1 comments about 1000x European Hotels.

1. Be careful if you purchased the first 1000x european architecture book...
   This one is completely different from the first one...There are very few drawings about the buildings...I think it is much worhty for interior designers rather than architects...
   Yagmur Toprakli/Ankara

5 comments about The New York Apartment Houses of Rosario Candela and James Carpenter.

1. Alpern continues with the format used in his "New York's Fabulous Luxury Apartments", which serves the subject matter well. This new volume is also a worthwhile extension of the earlier work for those interested in New York apartment buildings, with very little overlap. However, considering the fairly high price of this book, it would have been nice to see included current photos of at least some of the apartment buildings as they appear today. This would also have provided another level of the always fascinating "then and now" element already included in the book, where illustrations were included depicting what some of the apartment buildings replaced. This was an excellent opportunity missed, perhaps, to provide an amazing encapsulation of the ever-changing and yet at the same time remarkably un-changing landscape of New York City, without detracting from the intended subject of the book. Overall, though, a very agreeable and interesting reference work.



2. An exquisite book! There are stories about each apartment house and how it came to be. I found the two architects, Candela and Carpenter, to be very interesting characters. The homes they designed are ahead of their time. The floor plans are fascinating. The book also shows, by the floor plans, how people lived and what their needs were. The authors even quote costs of building and tell of the people who lived there. If you like real estate you will find this fascinating.



3. Let me first say that I loved the period black and white photos of the buildings, I also appreciated the fact that all of the buildings mentioned came with requisite photos, that is a must in book of this sort. I really didn't know that much about these buildings nor the architects so this book gave me a real education, I came away more knowledged and very impressed. The attention to detail the architects employed in these buildings is amazing and the fact that so many are still extant is a tribute to the artistry and talent that went into designing and building them and obviously contempory wealthy apartment seekers appreciate these attributes or else we all know these buildings would have been pulled down long ago, just like so many of the Gilded Age mansions they replaced. This publishing house puts out such finely crafted books and this one does not disappoint, I highly recommend it.



4. Candela and Carpenter were two of New York's most noted architects of the inter-war era, specializing in luxury apartment buildings. Architectural historian Andrew Alpern has assembled a reference text of their buildings, organized in geographic sequence. In this book, a typical building has two pages dedicated to it. One page consists of a floor plan, and the facing page has a photo or rendering of the exterior, combined with a one-to-six sentence description. Also, there are several brief essays at the beginning of the book.

   I enjoyed this volume, which Alpern has directed at a very narrow segment of readers, but it's not for everyone. This is a volume for architectural enthusiasts who are intrigued by room arrangements. Others might be better served by a book broader in scope (including some by this same author).




5. Alpern has written several books about New York apartment buildings and this is his best. This time he focuses exclusively on the genius of two ground-breaking designers, James Carpenter and Rosario Candela. If you are not adept at reading floor plans (of which there are many), it might not be immediately obvious what defines the genius of these two architects. It is the innovation of their layouts and the graciousness of their spaces that made apartment house living so desireable, allowing for the migration from town house to apartment building. Regardless, everyone will still enjoy the exterior and interior views of these great New York buildings and get a sense of how the rich really live. Alpern raises our awareness of the apartment house type in the City to a higher level, just as others had focused on the greatness of NYC's commercial structures.
   Each building is described in detail and there is some chatty material about who lived where, who bought what, and maybe a little more of that would have added fun to the book. There is a chronology of all the buildings and I would have liked to have seen thumbnail pictures of the buildings next to the timeline, since the book is organized geographically. It is otherwise an excellent and elegant study of the complete apartment house works of these two great designers.

No comments about Small Houses (Evergreen).

2 comments about Courtyard Houses: A Housing Typology.

1. I've reviewed this book and strongly disagree with negative assessments.
   It's a typology book, a study of the courthouse type, and some excellent built examples are provided (such as the often admired courtyard house by Alberto Campo Baeza), as well as some great research done by professors and their students at the University of Darmstadt, showing new courtyard house ideas. As a book on building types, it is deliberately restrained in its graphics, which are scrupulously clear and the designs are modestly innovative, dealing with real issues like use neutral and multi-use subdivision strategies. Far from the ego, gloss, and starchitecture of typical publications this is exactly the sort of productive work architects can offer to society. Please take another look! The rowhouse volume is equally excellent, and both will prove out to be essential for planners working on these building types. Highly, highly recommended.



2. Dont let the nice cover fool you. This book is really very plain inside. Analysis of courtyard typology was not in depth and the graphics were very simple. Not very informative. My mistake was not seeing the contents before I purchased.

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.

1 comments about Cloister Cats.

1. Knowing Richard Surman's work from his four previous books, I was looking forward to receiving this latest in the series. I was not disappointed. This picture book (fine photos) with accompanying commentary is an excellent addition to Surman's previous books each showing felines associated with various sacred and secular institutions throughout England.

1 comments about The ASHRAE GreenGuide, Second Edition (The ASHRAE Green Guide Series).

1. As an ASHRAE Member and Certified High Performance Building Design Professional, I expected this Guide to be a great summary guideline. It isn't. Many typos (KW vs Watt). Examples of green buildings were mostly selfserving.