4 comments about Harbor Hill: Portrait of a House.

1. Harbor Hill: Portrait of a house deals with one of the most important private homes built in America's "gilded age." Both the family involved, and the architect, provide the meat for a good story. Unfortunately, the result is a dry review of the details. Perhaps there are few surviving photographs of the home's interior, but too few are included to gain a good picture of the interior design and furnishings. In the end, the book is something of a disappointment.



2. BEAUTIFUL PHOTOS AND WELL WRITTEN STORY OF AN ESTATE THAT NO LONGER EXISTS....THE AUTHOR MADE IT EXIST AGAIN, IF ONLY IN THE MIND OF THE READER.



3. Gave as gift and person who received it absolutely loves it. She could not put the book down and we have ordered another copy to give as gift to somene else! Very well written and immensely interesting.



4. Harbor Hill was one of the most spectacular mansions ever built in America. Designed by the iconic Stanford White and built to embody the MacKays desire to accend to the pinacle of NYC society. This book charts the rise of the MacKays and their ultimate demise, along with the similar fate of this great house. The mistress of the house was a real peice of work, but this beautiful showplace was really her creation, she knew what she wanted and Stanford White gave it to her, with Mr. MacKay's money of course. The book is well researched and it's an interesting read and the images are first rate. Honestly, it's tragic that this house no longer survives, you just wonder what kind of philstine could tear something like this down, unfortunitely this being America and not Europe, none of us should be surprised it was so uncerimoniously destroyed. Harbor Hills fate closely resembles the great Philadelphia mansion, Whitehall, and the MacKays are more than a bit similiar to the Stotesbury's, both thought they built their great estates to last for centuries and instead they barely outlived them..when you see the kind of grand mansions built today in places like Bel Air and Palm Beach, you can't help but notice how inferior they are in comparison to the great Gilded Age mansions like Harbor Hill, it's a shame we dont have more respect for beautiful architecture of the past, we inherited so much from the Europeans, but that unfortunitely was not one of them...too bad for Harbor Hill, now just a ghost, haunting old sepia stained images.

5 comments about Modern Architecture: A Critical History (World of Art).

1. This is one of those 'must have' books for anyone interested in modern architecture. Although it does not have detailed information on each architect or movement, it is a great starting point from which to have a general idea of how the pieces of modern architecture fit with each other.



2. This book is admittedly very dense. Each short essay is packed with knowledge, but Frampton is not difficult. It certainly isn't useful to rush through it. Mull over a paragraph instead of the whole book. I originally found Frampton a challenge but it never seemed hopelessly out of reach. His writing coaxes you to a higher level. Your knowledge grows as you consider and wrestle with any two essays. It forces you to amass an inter-related structure of knowledge. I now think the book is extremely forthright and consider it a generous gift to those striving to get deeper; a primer and a leg-up on assessing the history of architecture. I don't think Frampton is pretentious at all. His personality is not even present in the mateiral. I have no more idea about who he is now than before I picked up this book a long time ago. He foregrounds his architectural knowledge and graciously disappears.
   
   90 percent of architecture publishing is coffee-table quality stuff that asks little of a reader, and consequently leaves you with little of substance. If you think this is difficult, pick up anything by the inscrutable, pretentious K. Michael Hayes. If you want facts in isolation, just keep telling yourself that Liebeskinds new WTC tower "which is 1,776 feet tall..." is architecture.



3. I took the first year architecture history in community college. Frampton's book is extreme. This book is absolutely not a choice for beginers in architecture history. It is not the pleasant experience to read Frampton's book. I doubt whether it is necessary for the author to use such not understandable writing style. In average, I read about three times in order to understand what he is talking about VAGUELY! However, it is no doubt that this book is considered as the classic (or the Bible) of architecture history. Frampton made a lot (A LOT!) comparison of enormous archtiects from different eras and different parts of the world. According most practicing architects, it is the best arch history book you could read (only if you are knowledgable enough in the field)

   By the way, if you are interested in a visual architecture history book, this is not you choice. All the illustration in this book is all white & black, small.

   Hope this commend help!




4. Frampton makes no apologies for modern architecture, instead he makes one of the more arduous defenses of modern architecture, taking in the full sweep of this architectural movement, and critically examining some of the contemporary trends which have followed in its wake.

   It is a very readable overview of modern architecture, beginning with the late 18th century and 19th century predecessors which led to a thorough re-examination of architecture in the early 20th century. Frampton divides his study into short thematic chapters which allow readers to focus on one movement at a time. There are various recurring figures such as Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe; but Frampton covers an exceedingly broad range of architectural ideas in the past century.

   He has updated the book to include some of the more recent currents in architecture such as deconstruction and fragmentation, which he places in the context of the broader stream of architecture since 1962 in one of his more thought-provoking chapters, "Place, Production and Scenography." He notes how many of the recent ideas in architecture draw from the Russian avant-garde and Italian Futurism. He pans Post-Modernism for its pretension display of historicism, as exhibited in the work of Michael Graves, preferring the more rigorous historic views of neo-rationalists like Aldo Rossi. It is an insightful, illuminating book, which has been updated to include Modern Architecture to 1991.




5. Calculus textbooks read easier than this book. The content is probably concise but the communication is not. The writing is awkward and often incoherent.

   Whatever happen to the simplistic yet skillful writing style of a Hemingway? His style was neither haughty nor indolent. He did not have to impress with fancy wordage. And his simplistic, flowing style took far more effort and thought than the rudimentary level of stringing out difficult sentences.

   This book is okay for the intellectual or the elitist but for the real world it can be painful. Architects are not always known for their communication skills. This book does'nt help.

3 comments about Roman Architecture.

1. This book is jam-packed with information about Rome and its architecture. However, it does not present information in the most readable format. This book was downright painful at times (especially the night before a test). However, after having read it, I do feel that I know a great deal more about the topic. Does provide a nice foundation for further study.



2. Just a quick note. I had Frank Sear as a lecturer a few years back and he was fantastic. If his book is as good as his lecturing it'd be well worth the money.



3. I used this text when I studied Roman Architecture and when I went to Rome. It is an excellent text and has good illustrations, although the pictures are occasionally blurry. I would recommend taking this with you if you would like to know just a little bit more about the ancient ruins you are looking at in Rome, even if it is heavy.

No comments about Landscape Design.

1 comments about 10x10_2.

1. There are radical changes (in good taste) taking place in architecture. As an "outsider" I was totally unaware. Book has absolutely top-notch presentation.

No comments about The First American Women Architects.

3 comments about The Metropolis of Tomorrow (Dover Books on Architecture).

1. I think that generally Dover Books are to be congratulated on reprinting many books that otherwise might never be seen again and priced very reasonably too. I don't think any plaudits are in order on this book though. I found the text very dull and the pictures gave an overall impression of blackness.
   
   Hugh Ferris managed to develop a wonderful rendering technique (being trained as an architect no doubt helped) that seemed so suited to commercial buildings of size, especially skyscrapers. His black and white artwork is simply stunning but it needs to be printed on quality paper to bring out the subtleties of grey shading. The main problem with the book is the paper does nothing for his work and I was really made aware of this when I recently bought 'Power in Buildings' (ISBN 0940512114) a lovely reprint of his 1953 book. The fourth of his famous renderings from Evolution of the Set-back Building appears in both books but in the 'Power' edition the image looks so right.
   
   His writing in 'Metropolis' came across as very long-winded, for example, this is from the last page of the book:
   'As for personal and specific proposals, the author well knows how many parapets, other than the one we are now leaving, overlook the imaginary "Metropolis of Tomorrow" and he shares the common belief that few of the many visualizations currently being formulated can contribute more than a particle to the ultimate actuality'
   The ten pages of words and pictures devoted to Set-back I thought the most interesting part of what he had to say.
   
   Get his 'Power' book for a much better appreciation of his architectural thoughts and the fifty main renderings really look beautiful on good paper.



2. Ferriss's drawings had an immediate impact on architecture. Some of his projections are the purest distilling of Art Deco application to buildings one can find from the age. But Ferriss's effect on cinema and illustration has been very powerful as well, and far less documented. The 1-star-off is because the reproduction quality -- quite good, no doubt -- leaves some to be desired, nonetheless: the sfumato effects appear more like soft-focus than atmosphere and the graininess brings to mind infra-red film more than the grit of a huge city fueled by leaded gas and coal.



3. To say that this 1920's classic is anything other than a masterpiece would be proof of insanity. By "interpreting" a Law, (NY Zoning 1917), Ferriss found beauty in the hope of what might be. In today's world of 3D CAD and computers, Ferriss was able to use canvas to convey not merely ideas and requirements, but opportunities and emotions. There are few books that inspire architects more than this. The value of original prints of this is evident in that single plates are sold in New York for $20 apiece by street vendors Architects are usually too caught up in the details to appreciate the beauty of buildings. Leave it then, to a painter to bring out the beauty and grace of buildings that were meant to inspire, or were not meant to be.

4 comments about New Orleans Style: Past and Present.

1. Well written and good in its selection of a variethy of types, typically found in New Orleans. The photography, exceptionally important in this kind of book, is excellent. New Orleans' architecture is unique, from its shotgun cottages along the river, to its grand, Garden District houses. They're all here, and make me yearn to return to New Orleans.



2. This is a gorgeous book of homes of residents of New Orleans. These are real people who love their city, their history and their residences. Susan Sully shows that to its full extent.



3. "New Orleans Style" is a sumptuous, colorful tribute to our city and a worthy companion to Susan Sully's other books on Charleston and Savannah. Her research is, as always, impeccable with rich, lush prose appropriate for this most exotic of U.S. cities, and it's ideally complemented by Paula Illingworth's photographs. No student of American architecture and style should be without Sully's dazzling trilogy of the Deep South's "treasure cities."



4. how can you have a book about past new orleans and not mention shotgun houses a very bad decision

4 comments about Ultimate Kitchen Design (Ultimate Books).

1. Some comments about this book:
   
   1) It's all pictures, not text. Something which I like (personal preference though). 700 pictures/500 kitchens.
   
   2) Most of the kitchen (including the "romantic/traditional" ones) are really modern ("European" as some would call it here), not a book for people looking to create the "traditional" kitchen. Something I like, but again a personal taste.
   
   3) I actually do not like most of the kitchens layouts in the book (again personal taste), but it helped me a lot to decide about combinations of materials (dark floor/light floor, corian/stone, metal/wood, etc.). I now know what NOT to do.
   
   All in all, a good source of ideas.



2. The book is great if you want 700 pages of sterile looking European kitchens. But if you want lots of ornate wood and raised panel cabinet doors, find a different book; this isn't it.



3. I think the kitchens are all european. The pictures are mostly full page. There is almost no text. There is very little sourcing (names of some designers in tiny type on the side of the picture, you'll have to google to find contact information, and then they'll be somewhere in europe.). This isn't a guide to fixtures. This is a book you'd use to communicate what you want to architects.
   
   I love this book, but again, there is no sourcing, and you can't use it as a guide to fixtures.



4. Whether you are working with a designer, building a house or just looking for ideas, this is an important and valuable book. NOTE: it is 99% photos of different styles and designs of kitchens. It is broken up into modern, country, minimalist, etc, and each section has about 30 photos of different kitchens. It contains no descriptions of materials or how toos. The photos are fabulous and the ideas are varied. I guarantee that you will find a kitchen that fits your style in this books. Good luck!

2 comments about Planning Your Addition.

1. My husband and I really enjoyed this book and really felt it helpful!



2. We are planning an adition and I have purchased several books on home remodeling/planning. Although this one is only 186 pages, it is well written with many great sketches and photos. I use it much more that all of the other books I purchased.