No comments about Wadia Associates New Classicists: Distinguished Residential & Interior Design.

No comments about Hotels (Architectural Interiors).

2 comments about The Ethical Architect: The Dilemma of Contemporary Practice.

1. I was excited to read an investigation into the ethical dilemnas surrounding changing our environment through building, but instead got a dime store review of philosophical positions and how one might make a decision using those positions. That coupled with non-committal statements about buildings such as the Guggenheim in New York - how can one reconcile their admiration for the building with the knowledge that it doesn't function as well as it could- left me wondering if the whole point was that ethics is a personal choice based on experience, personal preference, beliefs and values. While, that may be true and is surely fine conversation over a drink at the local pub, it's kind of weak for [$$$]and 200+ pages.

   I found myself pondering my positions on the case studies presented and wondering if Spector's arguments might sway me, but there were never any arguments, just possible positions, permutations and effects. Spector quotes from "Utilitarianism and Beyond"

   "It can be argued that rational choice base on an incomplete ordering requires only that a not inferior alternative be picked. This would have required Buridan's...to pick either haystack, but not neither, which was clearly an inferior alternative."

   By choosing to not take any position, the author falls into his own "inferior alternative". After all, we all make value judgements and decisions each day that form the basis of our own personal ethics, but none of us need to buy a book to tell us that.




2. A very serious aproach to the core of the most basic questions about the architectural profession. A book that openes many questions that architects should ask themselves more than we do today if we want to gain back credibility which our profession lost somewhere in the recent past. This will be a hard job to do and this book is a good start for everyone.

No comments about Tile Designs from Portugal/Desenhos Em Azulejos De Portugal.

4 comments about New Bamboo: Bamboo architecture and design.

1. This book is full of great ideas for building with bamboo, the photos are spectacular. We got it to help us with design ideas for a tree house we are building on our resort in India. It really helps me when communicating with our Indian architects to be able to point to pictures of certain techniques I found in this book.
   
   Michael Skowronski
   Author of Unforgettable: A Love and Spiritual Growth Story



2. The picture on the front cover says it all - this book might be useful if you are designing or making large Bamboo structures but it gives no advice about using Bamboo to make a real house to live in.
   
   It's not a "How to" book - I can't recommend it.



3. The book is beautiful, well documented and presents a marvellous insight about the great work of Simon Velez and his colleague Marcelo Villegas.

   It is though a mystery that the book simply decides to neglect mentioning the ZERI Foundation and its protagonist Gunter Pauli who prefered to go broke over the initiative, then to drop the ball half way.

   Thanks to his determination the full scientific tests on bamboo could be undertaken, the building permit could be obtained for a first time ever in an industrialzed country, and the 6.4 million visitors could admire the masterpiece created by Simon Velez.

   One would have expected that an othewise professional publisher like Villegas Editores, who is well aware of the origins of the great building in Hanover would have put reality in balance. After all without this large investment this masterpiece would never have materialized.

   It is hoped that the book will quickly sell out, become a great success which it deserves and then this minor error could be corrected.




4. During the International Bamboo Festival at Fairchild Tropical Gardens in Miami, I had the pleasure of personally meeting Marcelo Villegas. He is truly "el miestro", a master carpenter, who builds some of the most exciting and innovative bamboo buildings in the world. He is soft-spoken, humble, and refers to himself as a simple carpenter, not master.

   The book is a great reference for photographs of his most recent exciting work. Bamboo is a natural building material which has some very interesting properties. It is as strong as steel by weight and has incredible strength under tension.

   Villegas has a deep understanding for the special type of bamboo he used, Guadua Angustifolia, which is native to his Colombia. He treats each project organically and executes them flawlessly.

   He helped build the largest bamboo structure in the world which was tested by German Engineers for the WORLD EXPO in Hannover in 2000. The structure was so strong, according to him, that is surpassed german building codes (the toughest in the world).

   This is a MUST buy bamboo book, one you won't regret buying.

5 comments about Sensual Home.

1. I have owned this book for about 3 years now and it by far the most helpful home book I have ever owned. I think this is a book for people that are very aware of their five senses and want a home that is intimate, simple, nurturing and pleasurable. Crawford cover the five senses, examining how to enhance your home experience with fabrics, textures, smells, sights, sounds, tastes and sights. She focuses on using natural materials rather than chemical ones. Cotton, silk, cashmere, natural stone, aromatherapy, flowers, etc. are all discussed. There is a great directory towards the end on what businesses she recommends finding the best, natural materals discussed in the book. I also love that the cover of the book itself is textured. I always ome back to this book for guidance on what I really need in my home to make it a warm, intimate, senual, pared down and happy place.



2. i have many, many home decor books and this one by far and away is my most favorite and has the best philosophy. and the cover is fuzzy and pleasant to handle AND nice to look at.



3. And the text makes you think about things that you are probably never going to think about in today's madcap and rushed society, simple things like natural lighting, linen textures, plants for detoxifying your environment, etc. There is just one thing that frustrated me about this book. On pages 54 and 55 there is the most amazing sofa I have ever seen, but there is no mention of where it came from or how to get one like it. Some of the references are clearly European and cannot be found in the States. But the overall philosophy is simple- we are animals and we need to slow down and rediscover our sensual being. And once you have found this simple mindset, you will see ways to make it happen all around you.



4. I love this book. I found it on a small interior design store in Italy,and It was love at first sight.I judged it by it's cover(and thought the idea of the velvet cover was great) but when I read it I was transported by its contents.Its absolutly great! Everyone should have it!



5. This book teaches us how to feel calm and organized, how to embelish and refine our senses with the best home arrangements. I loved it!

3 comments about Streetcar Suburbs: The Process of Growth in Boston, 1870-1900.

1. This book is straight forward: Warner describes the process of suburbanization between 1870-1900 in Boston, Mass. Warner is focusing on a period of time that most contemporary American's would not equate with the process of "suburbanization", but it is this very approach that makes "Street Car Suburbs" so interesting.
   
   Warner shows that the street cars and suburbs were both linked to the increasing wealth in the Boston area after the civil war. Capital was looking for places to be invested and both the wealthy and middle class found it in their interest to lay the foundation for suburban growth. The wealthy developed street car lines. In response, many members of the middle class engaged in small scale suburban "developments". Perhaps it the small scale of the street car suburb that will most intrigue the modern reader.
   
   For the most part, the builders of street cars didn't develop the housing market. One explanation for this seeming discepancy is that the mortgage market for residences was most primitive during this time period. Warner shows that most of the small scale "developers" carried the mortgages of the buyers of their newly developed properties! This is a far cry from our world of today!
   
   Warner's photos of various homes are excellent, and they make a fine counterpoint to the text. This book is an interesting treatment of a little known period of American suburban development.



2. This book is important to anyone wanting to understand why the streetcar industry was such an imporant force in shaping America's cities. While it uses Boston as a case study, you can apply the same ideas in hundreds of cities and see how the same thing happened. Streetcars were the boom/bust speculative industry of their era, just as "dot-bombs" were the boom/bust of the recent era. Of course, real estate speculaton lives on, but street railways are no longer the tool.



3. All ye people of the Parkways! Read all about the history of suburban Boston. It's all good! This is a scholarly study of the history of Roxbury, Dorchester, and West Roxbury (which includes Jamaica Plain, Roslindale, Mattapan, and Hyde Park.) Have you ever wondered why Washington Street in Roslindale looks the way it does? Why one street has mansions and the next has turn of the century boarders? And why does the bus run down one street and not another? Find out in Streetcar Suburbs: The Process of Growth in Boston. Cambridge tip: you can find cheapie copies of this book at the Harvard Press Bookstore. That's how I got mine.

5 comments about Building Security: Handbook for Architectural Planning and Design.

1. Barbara A. Nadel. FAIA creates the resource for architects for security design. Nadel empasizes owners assembling a security team at the beginning of a project when design professionals can plan for and budget good security strategies. Most of the text is very informative and uses examples as well as compiles articles developed by security consultants in the field. In this unparalleled book Barbara A. Nadel, FAIA creates the source for security design. A must have resource for all architects, planners, landscape designers, lighting consultants and engineers in a security conscious design era; post 9/11.



2. Since 9/11, the security industry has been evolving. The need for standards in the industry is imperative and this book discusses a varity of industries and their standards of care. This book is a great reference for anyone in any industry that is looking for information on security. Building Security: Handbook for Architectural Planning and Design is a must have.



3. I'll never look at my clients' nursing home facilities the same as I did before I read this handbook! I'm a healthcare attorney, not an architect. There are some chapters that are more applicable to my role with clients than others; nevertheless, I found this book extremely informative and thought provoking. Clearly this book was a labor of love for Ms. Nadel.



4. Security from soup to nuts, here it is, in one big book. Big picture ideas, nitty gritty details, many different security concepts. Lots of tips and checklists on how anyone can apply them in any scenario or location. Packed with all kinds of useful information for designers, building owners, security personnel, students, professors, and just plain folks. Well-organized and edited, beautifully illustrated, very user-friendly. Simply a remarkable volume about one of the most important subjects on the planet.

   Destined to become the bible for security experts - or those who wish they were!




5. This outstanding book is easy to read and useful to everyone who wants to build security into their region, city, community, home, workplace, design and construction projects, and daily routine. Topics are clearly divided into sections and chapters. Sections include achieving transparent security (the opposite of designing fortresses and building bunkers), planning and design of buildings (including commercial, institutional, historic, and religious facilities, schools, health facilities, single and multifamily residential, and many others); engineering, technology, construction, cost estimating, codes and liability concerns. A who's who of experts in the design and construction world, government and nonprofit organizations, along with the author/architect, write about security for many situations and building types.

   A series of lessons learned from benchmark events, such as September 11, 2001, the Oklahoma City bombing, Khobar Towers, and major natural disasters, are found throughout the book, reflecting extensive research about what went wrong in the past, and how we can learn from previous mistakes. Rarely has such a comprehensive reference been compiled for the public.

   For those concerned about home and business security, there are dozens of handy checklists, charts, and illustrations for disaster planning, emergency response, disaster recovery, and even how to handle public relations and the media when your organization is caught in the middle of a crisis. Homeowners, landlords, families, and those involved in residential design and construction will find information about design and emergency management techniques to minimize damage from fires, tornadoes, floods, hurricanes, blackouts, and natural disasters.

   Readers will be pleasantly surprised with many impressionist pen and ink architectural drawings illustrating the topics, injecting a creative, artistic touch into serious discussion. Hundreds of checklists, diagrams, top 10 lists, website resources, and photos simplify important concepts and summarize key ideas at a glance. Examples include how to recognize suicide bombers to safety checklists for building personnel dealing with intruders, hostages, suspicious packages and workplace violence.

   Not to be missed are the very moving photographs of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon taken on and immediately after September 11, 2001, by those on the scene. They serve as a chilling, yet poignant reminder to readers everywhere why this remarkably comprehensive book is so essential and immensely valuable to everyone concerned with building safety, freedom, democracy, and maintaining a free and open society. Highly recommended, as a must have, must read!

3 comments about A Picture History of the Brooklyn Bridge.

1. If you're even mildly obsessed by the Brooklyn Bridge than you simply must own this book. You'll also enjoy it immensely if you're interested in books of old photos of NYC or Brooklyn.
   
   While enjoyable on its own, it works even better as a companion to David McCullough's definitive book about "The Great Bridge."



2. Fastidiously assembled, lovingly written, and captivatingly shot, this pictoral work is nothing short of fascinating. I really have enjoyed it, and was pleasantly surprised with the selected photography and art. It all comes together well and gives the reader a formidable sense of early new york city. A wonder.
   
   I should also add that this is the sort of work, short on words though not in meaning, that may appeal to documentary video afficianados rather than those looking for a purely textual approach.
   
   I consider myself fortunate to have stumbled across this book and hope to find more like it.



3. Dover publishing has once again put out a quality collection of photographs and prints of New York City. Mary Shapiro's "A Picture History of the Brooklyn Bridge: With 167 Prints and Photographs" is as colossal, magnificent, and substantial as the subject of the book. While it might seem gratuitous to have 167 illustrations of the same structure, the different angles, times of day, events and maintain the audience's fascination. Of course, the older photos and prints that were created during the bridge's construction marvel the reader, and one begins to realize how massive an undertaking the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge really was.
   
   This is an excellent visual companion to David McCullough's "The Great Bridge".

2 comments about The Sources of Modern Architecture and Design (World of Art).

1. An excellent primer on the 19th and early 20th century sources of Modern Architecture, but a little thin when it comes to the underlying theories that set the stage for the movement that began after WWI. Pevsner starts with the British Arts and Crafts Movement and ends with the Deutscher Werkbund, which the Arts and Crafts Movement inspired. He covers the short Art Nouveau era, making some interesting comments on the role Gaugin played in it by inspiring a return to primitivism in the early stages of the movement. He notes the strong impact Frank Lloyd Wright had on the European architects at the turn of the century with the publication of the Wasmuth monograph, and the further impact of Cubism in leading to the further abstraction of architectural form. But, for the most part the book is a catalog of buildings and decorative designs that will give the reader a good starting point for investigating the roots of the Modern Movement.



2. I like this book so much: we used it for an art history course at Yale on art, architecture, and design from 1890-1940. Pevsner's goal, seemingly quite simple but really so complex, is to show the SOURCES of modernism, its origins. This is what the title suggests. Yet it seems he does so much more - he teaches, he gives things dignity, he makes clear intricate connections reaching across space, time, and place in architecture and the applied arts. Arts and Crafts, Art Nouveau, industrialism, the International Style - everything. Plus the illustrations are fitting and so beautiful. Pevsner gives mention to things often neglected - jewelry, ceramics, etc. It's a compact work, slim, beautiful, easy to read, and great to have as a reference.