3 comments about Big and Green: Toward Sustainable Architecture in the 21st Century.

1. book is small format. covers about 50 building/urban projects which utilize green energy. however, most analysis is only one page to 2 page including diagrams and photos, and without any detail summary. the author have divided the book in sections such as "air we breath, skyscraper garden, energy, construction, and etc". Despite a clear outline, he uses too many buildings with very little detail instead of just using 1 or 2 buildings in great detail for each topic.
   unfortunately, this book is more of a guidebook of the latest green energy buildings with brief description.
   I would not buy this book unless you find it at super bargain price (like $10-15). this should be 2 stars instead of 3 but I cannot change due to Amazon's editing function.



2. The book was a bit dissapointing. I anticipated reading more indepth detail about the featured projects with diagrams/pictures of the major energy efficient application. Instead the information is only on the surface. It provides beautiful pictures of the building, with two page excerpts of each project (mainly pictures with a paragraph description), a list of the energy efficient applicatios and small floor plans and elevations, if any. A few projects feature the sustainable application methods, such as a diagram of natural ventilation. Overall, it's a good reference to start your research and find a sustainable building to research on, but the information is limited. It's also a good reference for lists of sustainable applications, definitions and essays. The projects are also divided up in five categories: Energy, Light & Air, Greenery Water & Waste, Construction and Urbanism. There are a lot of projects within each category that will spark your interest.



3. "Big and Green: Toward Sustainable Architecture in the 21st Century", by David Gissen, is published in conjunction with an exhibit at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. from January 17 to June 22, 2003. The book clearly shows that a group of architects has addressed the energy and environmental challenges facing many countries as they industrialize and enter the global marketplace. Their buildings indicate that a breath of fresh air has reinvigorated architectural practice to produce buildings that are climate-responsive, energy efficient, and occupant friendly while cleaning rainwater, reducing air pollucion, and enhancing the local environment as opposed to degrading it. The forms and shapes of these new buildings express these new functions in an authentic and genuine manner rather than look like relatively normal buildings with alien technologies applied to them. These buildings give hope that architecture can improve conditions for a sustainable society and not remain an energy and resource sink.

2 comments about American Synagogues: A Century of Architecture and Jewish Community.

1. This is a wonderful book, full of perfectly realized images and interesting text. For whatever reason synogogues in the U.S. often are designed in quite daring styles. It is intriguing to observe how each congregation says a bit about themselves in the building style they chose for their synagogue. I expecially like the spectacular Temple Emanuel in New York City, it is simple breathtaking, though I liked something about all of these buildings. I highly recommend this book; for someone not that familiar with the Jewish faith or synagogues in general it is quite enlightening.



2. I am architecture student doing my thesis project on the development of a synagogue. I knew little about Judaism and having few Jewish people in my community, I have only visited one synagogue in my life. This book was even more than I hoped for, in that it allowed me to view, for the first time, some of the beautiful architecture that celebrates this wonderful religion. The many pictures work well with the descriptive text and allow many to truly experience a setting that I would not normally have to the opportunity to do.
   Another key thing that makes this a five star rating is that you get this book for almost half its original price.

2 comments about Medical Design.

1. This book is representative of the Daab series. The interiors shown are mostly European, Ultra contemporary looks. They are great to stimulate thought about medical interiors, but the styling may seem cold or un-adorned to some american eyes.



2. Daab has created a series of books showing the very latest and most striking designs of all types of buildings intended for special purposes. In this one, it is obviously on medical facilities. It includes individual offices (including treatment rooms, waiting rooms, nurses stations, pharmacies) which may be office suites in larger buildings or independent buildings, and hospitals.
   
   The pictures are from locations literally around the world and as such serve as an excellent idea book to consult when planning any project related to a medical facility. The book is supurbly photographed, beautifully printed, and bound using traditional sewn signatures that produce a book that is much stronger and long lasting than other methods.
   
   The surprising point is that such as book is as inexpensive as this one happens to be.

No comments about Glass House: Building for Open Living.

3 comments about Monticello in Measured Drawings.

1. I cannot recommend this book. An architect might find some merit in it, but I don't. The format is so small one cannot make out many details in the drawings. The narrative is simply an homage to Jefferson, a man about whom I have read plenty and who continues to disappoint me. Like the man, this book falls short of it's promise.



2. I saw this book at Monticello and wish I had bought it. The drawings are crisp and fairly detailed. I would recommend it highly.



3. I purchased this book at Monticello, and any lover of architecture will enjoy this beautifully conceived work. The paper and print are gorgeous (reminiscent of Tufte's The Visual Display of Quantitative Information) - everyone I've shown it to can't stop looking at it. As a non-architect, at times I wished they had better defined some architectural terms, but overall the text is also quite good. If you enjoy aesthetically pleasing books, this beats almost every art book I've ever seen.

5 comments about A Civilian Occupation: The Politics of Israeli Architecture.

1. This is a truly groundbreaking piece of work. The occupation in the West Bank is defined by Israeli architecture purposely ensnaring as much land as possible. The editors of this work did a great job compiling works proving this. Overall, highly recommended!



2. This book describes a phenomenon that grew out of a innovative aerial photography technique developed by the Israeli's which gave government officials and planners unprecedented ability to use terrain to further their social and political ends. An amazing revelation, especially since by the day Israel is becoming ever more stratified with barriers of all types and now has a terrain in which free movement is often impossible. But the author's seem to overstate their thesis that " Contrary to common belief and visual impression, it [Israeli space] was born not of haphazard improvisation, emergency solutions or speculative entrepreneurship, and certainly not of spontaneous diachronic development, but rather of the unprecedented objective of putting into practice one of the most comprehensive, controlled and efficient architectural experiments of the modern era." As often happens, the far-Left position on Israel mirrors the far-Right in dissimulating Israel's history by couching it in terms of a singularity. Much of the research presented in the book offers a great way to begin assembling a history of Israel, but unfortunately the authors do what is more expedient by allying themselves with an already articulated critique of Israel instead.



3. A good start of the way to speak out the truth. I urge all Israeli architects to rethink their involvement in a racist and apartheid regime.



4. Is architecture ever political? Of course.
   
   I think it was political when Arabs built their homes with doors so low that folks couldn't ride their horses through them. And obviously, it was political in 1936 to 1939, when Jews built 57 "stockade and tower" settlements, many of them in a single day. But most of the politics I saw in this book was pro-ethnic cleansing of Jews from the West Bank, from the contributors.
   
   This book does have some maps and photos. You may want to look at them in the library. But don't buy the book.
   
   The book says that Jews are putting up buildings in the West Bank. It implies that such construction is hideous. It calls all this "arrogance." And it says that even a Jewish withdrawal from the West Bank will not undo all the damage. But I think anything it says about the West Bank can be equally well applied to the rest of the Earth, and I think the bogus argument for removing Jews from the West Bank is no different from the one to remove them (or any other people) from this planet.
   
   In fact, Israel is land-poor. Its people ought to have a right to buy land and live on that land, just as people everywhere in the world ought to have such a right. The West Bank is disputed land, not the personal property of some Goddess who has permitted only Her People, the West Bank Arabs, to live on it. Jews need to have as much of a right to live in the West Bank and build on it as do Arabs. The authors, by failing to agree, have shown their opposition to human rights, not just for Jews, but for everyone.



5. The argument here is pretty simple. A Jewish refugee living on the West bank is "wrong", he should not live there and it is not fair that if he chooses to live there that he might choose to live in a safe place, with gorgeous vistas. This book was compiled by left wing Israelui architects, whose meager experience in politics does not dull their hatred of the country for which they have worked in the past, namely the state of Israel. Their arguments are strong, they dont think its fair that Jewish villages happen to be located on hill tops or that those villages happen to be clean and neat and tidy or that those villages have defenses like fences to keep people out.
   
   The book begs the question of what is so interesting about a village in the west bank. The Authors are entirely racist in that they do not also covers similar settlements in the American west or the Moroccan occupied Western Sahara. This book doesnt draw any parrallels between places throughout the world where immigrants have designed new communities, out of fear or in order to live safely and in culturally homogenous places. THus in the end this racist narrow minded presentation falls far short oft he great work it could have been. it could have shown how early Islamic occupation of the same area was also dominate dby hilltop villages and armed military camps, as in the Roman period. THe subject lacks depth and history, whereas the subject itself; how immigrants settle land, is an amazing one.
   
   Seth J. Frantzman

3 comments about Residential Steel Framing Handbook.

1. This book covers the entire gamut of steel framing in one convenient source. It covers the entire residential structure from the first plan through the wall framing to the roof. It has plety of diagrams and photos to enhance the points it attempts to make. The chapters are thorough, but not unnecessarily long. The author has that unique ability to describe the instruction he wants to impart but at the same time the keeps on track. It helps if the reader has an engineering background, but anyone familiar with the process should have little trouble following the step by step instructions.
   
   This book won't find its way to a best seller list, but that is not the point of the book. It has important information for those involved in steel construction framing and that audience should benefit greatly from having this book available as a reference.



2. I am familiar with commercial metal framing and drywall. I know nothing about residential metal framing. This book helped answer alot of questions I had. I still have not framed a house in metal but if and when I do, I know this book will have made alot of the techniques and materials easier for me to understand and work with.



3. As a Civil Engineer, having to deal with both horizontal and vertical construction, and having to build residential, industrial and commercial buildings, both in Hurricane zones (Dade County, Miami, Florida) and in earth movement areas (Los Angeles Force 4/Richter Scale 9) in California & now in Istanbul, Turkey, this handbook has been particularly usefull when describing Light Gauge Steel Framing to Engineers which are having to cope with the subject for the first time. Would like to know when a new Edition of this Handbook with updated data will be published?

   Our deep appreciation to Mr. Robert Scharff and the editors of Walls & Ceilings Magazine.

   Sincerely,

   Alexandre Byron-Exarcos President & CEO United States Steel Framing Corp.

5 comments about Modern Carpentry: Building Construction Details in Easy-To-Understand Form.

1. I am a builder / carpenter that collects carpentry books for ideas and for the purpose of tryinng to stay current with new techniques. I purchased this book used from an Amazon reseller, and upon receiving it am dissapointed. The book is very out of date and due to its age, is not comparable to newer books in terms of illustrations. I have several books that are significantly better for carpentry / framing. I would not recommend this book.



2. Full of information on every aspect of the carpentry field. In depth and up to date.



3. This version (Workbook) of Modern Carpentry is a workbook. Its questions that you must fill in the blank (answer). It is NOT a book but more of a 'test' (I'm assuming) of the material in Modern Carpentry.



4. This is the best carpentry and overall construction book I've ever read. This should be at the center of all of your construction books. I do construction in the Navy and we have some great books to learn from but this gives book gives you more info on standard construction practices, load sizes for lumber and such detailed information with pictures that can't be beat. I've owned an older edition and that helped me out alot, but this book is truly modern and up to date with construction practices going on right now. This is a must have and you won't go wrong.



5. As a student in carpentry class, I find this book simple, helpful and detailed. But, our class has found ourselves going to other book sources to answer specific carpentry questions. Needed information on particular subjects is either too vague or non-existent, as this book leaves out some details. Overall, this is a good foundational reference as a supplement to other sources.

3 comments about AIA Guide to Chicago.

1. Limited to the Chicago city limits and Oak Park, the selection of buildings is good, but certainly not exhaustive (Evanston would have been a nice addition). Since commercial architecture is so important to Chicago history, there is a palpable emphasis on these structures. The book is in standard AIA format, with short essays for each entry, some including a small photograph. In fact, the major flaw with this book, in my opinion, is the lack of effective photography. There's a photograph for, perhaps, one out of every ten building entries, and the entries that do include photos are often not that interesting. One tries to come away from this book with a mental image of Chicago, derived from the text, but with little assistance from photography. There are also more than a few entries that include no text, simply the building name, address, date and architect. Keep your favorite internet map program handy.
   
   There are so many magnificent things to see in Chicago, it's a shame this guide doesn't much help us to see them. That (critical) matter aside, it's a solid and important addition to the AIA-sponsored series.



2. Only one other city is so steaped in architecture history than Chicago and this guide does a commendable job of highlighting the most important Chicago buildings, the synopsis on each building is susinct, the only qualm I have is that there are not more pictures, I also wish the authors had ventured more into the suburbs and commented on some of the great houses in Lake Forest and Highland Park, but that omission does not mar the overall enjoyment of this scholarly guide. If you are interested in architecture at all, I recommend you pick up this book, Chicago is so steaped in architecture history and this is a good guide to the best examples.



3. Chicago is generally known as one of the centers of modernist architecture, and this visual guidebook, complete with maps, photographs and authoritative little essays on most of the important buildings, is a must-buy if you plan to tour this richly textured urban center. It's also one of the best small resources for anyone interested in architecture from 1850 to the present. Inexpensive, designed to slip in your pocket, it holds up well-- I depend upon mine to help me with the walking tours of the city I give on a regular basis, and it's still in one piece after three or more years of hard use.

No comments about Spas (ArchiDesign).