3 comments about Planning and Urban Design Standards (Wiley Graphic Standards).

1. This book is tremendously broad in its coverage of planning topics, though not in depth. Most topics get only 2 pages, though some get 4-5. References are listed for each topic to help you find more detailed information. The book is well organized and indexed. It's loaded with illustrations such as graphs, diagrams, flow charts, line art, photographs, and maps. Most are black and white, but there are 16 color plates that are grouped together and stuck in a seemingly arbitrary position in the middle of an unrelated topic.
   
   Some information is already out of date. For example, on page 580 it says that the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) expired in 2003 and Congress was still debating reauthorization. The new act (SAFETEA-LU) was enacted in August 2005 and is not mentioned.
   
   My only real complaint is that the type is quite small and can be difficult to read for 40+ year-old readers. On the other hand, I understand that if they used larger type this huge, heavy book would be even bigger and heavier.
   
   I also got the electronic, online version of the book and was disappointed in that, again because of the small type. Even using a 20" monitor I had a very hard time reading it. The viewer application that Amazon uses has very limited capability to zoom in on the text so it does not help.



2. This is a mandatory book in an urban planner or college bookshelf, for it has all the necessary information to complete urban projects. It is my handbook and that says all. It is also very well presented with a hardcover in good leather. The only shortcoming that I see is the absence of folded pages with urban plans in a larger scale, or renderings of zoning plans.



3. An excellent resource for anyone involved in public sector land-use planning. Contains great detail on many different subjects. Good illustrations throughout. Not the best resource for site planning, though.

No comments about Eames House Aid (Architecture in Detail).

No comments about The Graphic Standards Guide to Architectural Finishes: Using MASTERSPEC to Evaluate, Select, and Specify Materials.

3 comments about Green Roof: A Case Study: Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates' Design For the Headquarters of the American Society of Landscape Architects.

1. This book is perfect for readers who already know that green roofs are good for our planet, but are looking for technical information on how to build one. Product and plant guidelines and the construction process are marvelously detailed. It's also generous with photos and diagrams. This particular green roof demonstrates that they can be more than just sedum in planters on a flat roof--green roofs can be a building amenity and enhance the viewshed for nearby buildings as well. The book is very well written. It should be noted that the author is a German landscape architect and Germany leads the world in green roof design. An excellent resource for developers, real estate executives, building owners, and designers.



2. Exceptional text, supplemented with beautiful and informative graphics and diagrams. Very good book for anyone interested in Greenroofs.



3. This case study is primarily geared towards the client's requirements and satisfaction, rather than basic green roof benefits. For example, there is more emphasis put on employee/ human use of the roof over the traditional benefits that roof greening putatively confers. Although there are some interesting techniques employed, like the grating over the sedum plantings, it is quite clear that roof greening is still for the elite rather than us common folk. Considering this, the concept of roof greening still has a long way to go before it will become a truly 'sustainable' practice in North America. The ASLA intended this project to showcase their involvement in this arena, but we would all be better served if they would test/employ techniques that were affordable to the masses rather than the wealthy elite.

5 comments about Hip Hotels: Escape.

1. I really enjoyed this installment of Hip Hotels. As expected, the pictures are yummy enough to qualify as "gourmet eye candy". But, to me, it's Ypma's commentary that really steals the show: The writing is served up for those in-the-know and flavored with a perspective that's both witty and inviting.



2. This book profiles around 45 luxury hotels throughout the world. Some of the hotels featured include Vatulele in Fiji, Pangkor Laut in Malaysia and Soneva Fushi in the Maldives. Due to the format of the book, I found the pictures to be small. Some entries include only 4 pictures of the hotel which really is not enough. Overall, it is ok. Anyone interested in this type of book should check out The Hotel Book: Great Escapes series by Taschen. This series focuses on luxury hotels in Asia, Africa, and Europe and the pictures are outstanding.



3. Mr. Ypma is a gifted photographer and a careful writer - a rare combination. Great selection of hotels. It is the perfect coffee table version of cool new online services such as the great "tablethotels.com" which also work as a trip planner.



4. JUST THE BOOK I WAS LOOKING FOR WITH GREAT PICTURES IN THE BAHAMAS AND BALI, MUSTIQUE, ETC. THE BOOK IS A VACATION IN ITSELF. WORTH THE MONEY.



5. I got this book as present from the owner of one the resorts featured by Ypma. Its true that a picture can paint a thousand word. This book is a beautiful compilation of some of the most breathtaking locations in the world. Some of the visuals also provide interior-decorating ideas. After all, the writer is founder of the award-winning Interior Architecture and creator of the best-selling World Design series. If I'm an owner of a resort, I'd want him to feature my property the way he does it here. The places featured may offer 'out-of-this -world luxury' but ONLY if one can afford it. If paradise is the aim in every respect, there are many more beautiful and 'Highly Individual Places' that are more accessible. I would not recommend this book as the ultimate vacation guide, only the perfect coffee-table item.

5 comments about Fallingwater: A Frank Lloyd Wright Country House.

1. Anyone that wants a complete study of Fallingwater will want this book. Lots of detail. Lots of pictures. Drawings are great.



2. This is a huge heavy duty book filled with all kinds pictures and information about another of FLW's masterpieces. A great gift!



3. Fallingwater, in and of itself, is a name that commands awe and respect. This book epitomizes that notion.

   Simply, this is it. This is the be all, end all of texts on this masterpiece by the late F.L.W.

   I have been an admirer of F.L.W. since I was in the fifth grade, and had to do a report on earthquakes and buildings. Living in S.F., I guess this was a hot topic. But, in a showing (foreshadowing?) of extremely good taste---if I do say so myself, I chose F.L.W. and the TransAmerica building. For those of you out of the loop, that's the "pyramid" building you see when looking at (virtually every) snapshot(s) of the S.F. skyline. I hadn't yet discovered Fallingwater, but I would eventually be shown the way...

   This is such an incredibly beautiful house. Honestly, I could not imagine the blessing of owning that house and living there. This text, however, sets it all out.

   EXCELLENT photos, both inside and out....in different seasons as well.

   VERY GOOD text and dialogue. Provides a great understanding of the dream, planning, undertaking, and completion of this masterpiece.

   This is an incredibly text. I cannot urge you enough to purchase this one. In short, your collection is not complete without it.

   Open this book, and dream....




4. What first draws one to this book is the wonderful new photographs presented. This is also what I keep going back to see after reading the text. The perspective of many of the downstream shots is not exaggerated as are the older black and white ones taken in the 1930's although when I visited the house I was unable to get the same view or position. They must have been taken with a special camera. I appreciate the helicopter photos as it really shows the site, a deep ravine. The house always seemed to be up on a promontory but is set deep into the forest. The lighting on the interior is a little misleading when the shadows and light direction are altered. These photos overall are the most naturalistic that I have seen and to see all the seasons represented makes me want to goback for the others. It looks as if the insect screens were removed for most of the photos which gave the house a cleaner, more modern appearance than in person. I only wish the breaker pages, the ones with the large green background, were larger although I believe I have seen the winter view on a recent calendar by the same photographer, Heinz, great work on his part. I always wish there were more books like this on great American buildings, especially on the photogenic ones by Wright.



5. I received the book as a gift, then visited Fallingwater, then re-read the book. It's not very good. The pictures are nice, but redundant and not comprehensive. Examples: no pictures of second floor guest room and bath, too many pictures of E.J. Kauffman's "dressing room." Mr. Kauffman, Jr., fondly (and, I would hope, accurately) recollects the brief history, but supplies very little analysis and absolutely no criticism, which is sorely lacking. No book published does justice to the antagonistic surfaces and cave-like interior spaces of the house, nor the terribly confusing bouquet of stairwells springing from the main floor. Nor does the author provide the context supporting the true genius of Wright's three-dimensional composition in the post-cubist age of international style and international turmoil. Lastly, why does the only author who has lived there fail to mention that the house rings with the crashing of the water? It literally sounds like the proverbial "machine for living."

5 comments about California Missions (Sunset Pictorial).

1. A beautiful illiustration of Californias most spectactular monuments. As well as, 21 well written chapters describing each individual mission presently and historically. I have visited some of these missions within the last 5 years.
   For anyone who have never seen one of these 21 California Missions personally, this book will make it seem as if they are.



2. I used his book while traveling to the missions with my children. It is an excellent overview of all of the missions. It provided us with a good sense of the history of the missions, and gave a idea as to the extent of restoration and rebuilding that had occured at each mission. It also documents the highlights and special attractions of every mission.

   Each mission is presented individually, and maps show each mission as it was originally built. Many illustrations portray mission life. Period photos and other illustrations show each mission as time and the elements have affected them. The textures, building materials, techniques, and crafts used in the construction and reconstruction of the missions are presented via text, photos, and illustrations.

   There are many books that discuss various missions as separate entities. I bought many along the way. For the money, this book is the best at bringing them all together in one place and discussing the interdependence of the whole mission system. Used as either a mission travel guide or as a jumping off point, you won't be disappointed.




3. Although it's nicely written and photographed, NO book reissued these days as a historical outline or overview has ANY business referring to Native Californians as "simple" or "childlike" or the colors of their artwork as "barbaric."

   As for 90% of these "simple" people with a rich cultural and spiritual life having been wiped out through warfare, culture shock, deicide, and disease, the authors weigh in on the pro-mission anti-mission argument by resorting to this supposedly measured justification:

   "...the treatment of natives by the Spaniards, though open to criticism by modern standards of political morality, was certainly no worse than that practiced in other colonial empires of the time. Slavery was condoned by all the world empires until late in the 19th century...Basically, the conflict of Spaniard vs. Indian was that of two cultures widely separated in style but fated to collide, and the reduction of the weaker by the stronger was inevitable."

   To argue that one form of subjugation is "no worse" than another, or that it was an inevitable result of the meeting of two cultures, is a cynical--no, a despicable hypothesis; and until this racist book is rewritten to eradicate these irresponsible "reasons" for ruthless colonialism, I urge the potential reader not to buy it. You can find nice photos and good commentary in plenty of other books. Let this one wither on the vine just as the missions did before their later restoration.




4. I have visited missions across the country. And each has its attraction. Yet there is something more robust and alive about the California missions. This book attempts to bring it out to you in history, tales, and diagrams. This is a good book to carry as you visit the different missions.

   The only drawback is that the bulk of the pictures are Black and white. It looks like art more than a live place that people are in today. Some of the missions are hard to find but there is no excuse to missing the gardens in San Diego de Alcala. The first mission founded July 16, 1769, and has had many lives since.

   There are 25 chapters and a fact section. You can even find Mission Recipes like Puchero means "a boiled pot".




5. This book describes not only how and why the Missions were established, but also gives a history and brief description of each individual mission in the California system. There are some pictures which could help when making a model (the book "California Missions Projects & Layouts" by Libby Nelson is best for actual model-building). But this book certainly gives enough history to be an excellent resource when writing a report. It is also written so that a 4th-grader can read and understand. A must for any Mission student!

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!"

3 comments about The Colonial Revival House.

1. I found this book most interesting, not only from an architectural point of view, but also for historical information



2. This book is a meandering discussion of influences and variations on the theme of colonial revival architecture and includes some tasty pictures. However, it is not a stylistic reference with specific, prescriptive descriptions of what is generally envisioned as colonial revival. If you're hoping for proper paint schemes and/or the millwork detailing and proportions or plans you'll be disappointed. Still, some of the photographs were beauts...



3. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the photos are sharp and crisp and it is very scholarly. Mr. Wilson traces the Colonial Revival house from its begins until the present. The houses he choses are wonderful, expecially the McFaddin-Ward House in Beaumont, which I consider to be one of the most beautiful homes in the country; he even wisely chose it for the cover. The photos and the text fuse nicely and the book layout in general is very well done. If you have any interest in beautiful houses and well written easy to follow text, then you will be pleased with this book.

5 comments about Structural Renovation of Buildings: Methods, Details, & Design Examples.

1. While this text explores renovation of a wide variety of building systems -- reinforced and post-tensioned concrete, wood, steel, masonry -- from a structural engineering perspective, it is quite pragmatically written and a non-engineer will derive considerable benefit from it. The book provides an excellent and detailed guide to critical issues that are confronted in period restoration, including making transparent best practices for undertaking the investigative process to evaluate salvagable components and structures for each type of building system. Filled with well-researched historical data about material types, it also contains excellent reference sections at the end of each chapter. An outstanding resource for those who are serious about building restoration.



2. A comprehensive book but with some strange omissions: very little on foundations or restrained brickwork. Also, the section on FRPs looks like it came straight out of a contractor's brochure. But these don't really detract that much. Strongly recommended.



3. Renovations types are defined, methods of investigation, solutions proposed,case studies and additional reading are presented for further assistance. Structural revonations are common works this book is a 'must buy' when conducting these works.



4. In my office where projects are small commercial or residential, I find Mr. Newman's book a basic resource for renovation work. This comprehensive handbook provides either a solution or more considerations that were not obvious at first. It is a main staple I turn to for guidance on renovations of all structure types and materials.



5. This book is well organized and presented. It covers a lot, and is more comprehensive than other books of its type. It has very good material on concrete design/repair, and also covers wood structures, steel, and pre-engineered buildings quite well. The material on masonry is also good, but a discussion about rusted steel lintels embedded in masonry would have helpful, as this is a common source of problems in 20th century buildings. There are few handbooks that come as close as this one to a thorough treatment of the subject, and it is a useful book for architects and engineers who deal with renovation.