5 comments about Paris: An Architectural History.

1. This slim guide is one of the most comprehensive guides to Paris architectural style over its history. Though the guide is very good,it omits alot but is still a really great resource to walk you through the centuries of building in the city. If you love architecture or Paris or both you will enjoy this book which is chock full of color photos, lithographs, old maps and desriptions of styles, movements and the history behind these. If you are a student or a tourist this is a fun guide.



2. the book will serve to be very beneficial to my daughter which is studying architecture in Paris.



3. First of all let me state that one star for this book is absolutely ridiculous, I must confess, I dont hold a PH.D in Parisian architecture, but i do know a thing or two about Paris, and this book is excellent, there are images and information about the architecture of Paris, that I had not seen before. I love Paris, and have always been fascinated with the architecture and Hausemans layout of Paris. If you have any interest in the architectural history of Paris, then really I cannot imagine you not having some appreciation of this book, maybe when your in Paris you can run by the afore mentioned reviewers copy he left out of disgust and save yourself some money. Highly recommended.



4. I took this book with me on a month-long architecture study trip to Paris this summer. I started reading it before the trip, and found it very dry and badly written (I have a B.A. in History, so I've read my share of dry texts!). I hoped that being in Paris would enliven the book. That didn't happen; Paris itself only highlighted the deficiencies in the book, the most glaring of which being the complete omission of the city's pre-Roman, Roman, and early Middle Ages history. (Saint-Chapelle is not in there at all!) In lieu of this, Sutcliffe spends an inordinate amount of documenting the development of the distinctive hotel-style residences in the city. There are the obligatory bits on Haussman and the Pompidou Center, but both - particularly the latter - are so opinionated that it made me question the credibility of the entire book. At the end of the trip, I left my copy behind in my dorm room. Au revoir!

   Unfortunately, I haven't found a good Paris architectural history to recommend instead of this one. If you're in the city and want a good, well-illustrated book on the development of early city (pre-Roman through the Middle Ages), pick up the exhibition catalogue at the archeological museum under the plaza in front of Notre-Dame.




5. This is without a doubt the best book I've found yet on Parisian architectural history. Sutcliffe has done an incredible job of merging discussion of the architectural features of Parisian buildings and monuments with the historical context that influenced (and was influenced by) them.

   If you have ever been fascinated by the spectacular buildings, monuments, and boulevards of Paris, this book will be a treat. After reading this book, Paris seemed like a totally new city to me. Apartment rows that I'd previously not even noticed suddenly took on meaning and importance for me. The larger patterns of the city became clear to me. And I felt a physical link with the history of Paris.

   I loved Sutcliffe's writing style, mixing humor with information and sharing his personal opinion of buildings with the historical facts. I also enjoyed the insights on the social atmospheres and values of each timeperiod and how they influenced the way in which the structures were built and what the public reaction to them was at the time.

   I have many books on Parisian architecture, but this is the one that I always come back to and read over and over...

3 comments about Round and About Chatsworth.

1. Just in case you were wondering -- Dowager: a widow holding property received from her deceased husband.
   
   The palace and surrounds of Chatsworth have been in the same family for more than 450 years. It consists of some 35,000 acres and 450 houses. Each year a half million visitors come to the house, and countless more come to take a walk in the vast park areas.
   
   In this book the Duchess provides a guided tour of the estate as it exists today and complements it with pictures out of the past. It is most interesting to see a building as it exists today just above another picture made in 1900, or perhaps a painting from the 1700's when the building was new.
   
   This book would be a good suggestion as a gift for anyone planning on a visit to England. It's just as nostalgic as you would expect and great reading.



2. Just in case you were wondering -- Dowager: a widow holding property received from her deceased husband.
   
   The palace and surrounds of Chatsworth have been in the same family for more than 450 years. It consists of some 35,000 acres and 450 houses. Each year a half million visitors come to the house, and countless more come to take a walk in the vast park areas.
   
   In this book the Duchess provides a guided tour of the estate as it exists today and complements it with pictures out of the past. It is most interesting to see a building as it exists today just above another picture made in 1900, or perhaps a painting from the 1700's when the building was new.
   
   This book would be a good suggestion as a gift for anyone planning on a visit to England. It's just as nostalgic as you would expect and great reading.



3. The author, The Duchess of Devonshire, is a British national treasure. She has overseen the preservation of one of England's greatest houses, Chatsworth, and then chronicled it in several volumes with enriching personal insights. Round And About Chatsworth is a must for Anglophiles. It is a charming blend of her delightful personality with a tour of this great English home and it's gardens.

1 comments about 50 of the World's Best Apartments (Images).

1. Generally I liked the apartments. I must say the plans are really extraordinary and stylish. The only thing that bothers me is the buildings are ONLY from Brasil, USA and Australia. Isn't there any great apartments in the rest of the world...?
   ALTAN SISIK

1 comments about New Light Design.

1. It has few really nice photos to view over and over again but that's about it and after you flip thru some actual lamp pages you begin to wonder... I don't see any plans or projects offered by this book as it has only photograhs of rooms with lights on. Don't waste your money on this.

1 comments about Downsized Luxury Home Plans.

1. No..not a home that I would find comfortable or a "my space " type of area. Certainly a book for those on the Stepford Wives Backdrop.

No comments about Georgian Architecture.

1 comments about The Works in Architecture of Robert and James Adam (Dover Books on Architecture).

1. I most say that this possible is one of the best and most inspiring books available for anyone interested in classical architecture. The Adams brothers style together with Louis XV is possibly the most modern interpretation of classical architecture. Highly recommendable and a must for anyone interested in classical architecture, beaux arts, etc.

1 comments about Architecture in France (Architecture & Design Series).

1. Although I have quite a few other books by Jodidio (amoung them the Architecture Now series - great, by the way), I didn't have any expectations for this book. I was pleasantly surprised. The book covers some of the work of smaller name architects (at least from my perspective in N. America). Very interesting work covered. I especially liked the simple, but brilliant "Tower Flower" by Edouard Francois - large built-in greenery on a nine- story apartment building. However, some of the complex and convoluted buildings could have used a floor plan to help understand the scheme of the building a little better. A few architects' work(s) are simple computer generated models of works in progress, but they effectively portray the buildings. Given the state of architecture in general, I was pleasantly surprised to see a strong representation of women in this group of architects. Does this represent the "Architecture in ... " series by Jodidio, or does it represent France? I will be getting more of this series to see what new and interesting in the other countries covered. I like the three language format as well, allowing me to maintain my French and German while enjoying architecture. No complaints about the quality of the physical book either (paper, binding, printing).

1 comments about Essence of Home: Timeless Elements of Design.

1. "Essence of Home" is clear and simple, like the designs in the many excellent photos. Provides an excellent framework to help you think through the design of your home.

5 comments about The Stone Skeleton: Structural Engineering of Masonry Architecture.

1. The book explains the design of massive masonry structures in simple, yet highly accurate, terms. It presents knowledge for the design of masonry structures that is even invaluable to practicing engineers.



2. Jacques Heyman's text is without doubt one of the most interesting books I've read in the last couple of years. I became interested in gothic architecture after seeing my first gothic structure in person, the St. Eustache church in the Les Halles area of Paris, in 2001, and hearkening back to my undergraduate engineering mechanics classes, my "find" in central Paris that day drove me to more fully explore the structural operation of this style of architecture. I started by identifying and visiting the principal gothic structures in France (with the help of such great books as Stan Parry's introduction to gothic architecture), then to identify the key architectural elements common in all these structures, and finally to researching the historical development of the style all the way from Suger's St. Denis to the emergence of the Renaissance. But all this left me with some unanswered questions. How do simple forms, such as the pointed arch, the flying buttress, and the barrel vault, actually operate? Why would such forms remain standing up, even when, in some cases, surrounding parts of the building had been destroyed in times of war, or perhaps by stone-robbing to build other structures (for example, structures at Ourscamp, Soissons, and Caen)? For that matter, why even use features such as the flying buttress, when other, simpler forms would suffice?
   
   The Stone Skeleton thoroughly answers these questions, not from an aesthetic or historical view, but from an engineering view, where geometry, stereometry, thrusts, force vectors, the pull of gravity, and the physical properties of concrete and stone are the principal actors of interest. Although it is true that the book does investigate the subject through the lens of engineering (this is the books forte, and why it is such an invaluable addition to the subject), and the volume occupies itself at length with the examination of forces present in concrete and stone structures, most anyone with a moderate mathematical background and the patience to re-read a paragraph until the concepts become clear can profit from this text. In my mind, it is a missing link in the immense genre of gothic architecture texts.
   
   I picture this text to have two related, but nevertheless discrete, audiences. The first is the one described above, the person who is interested in gothic architecture as an historical and aesthetic art phenomenon, and wishes to develop a greater understanding of the structural factors behind such structures. With a little work and patience, the text more than fulfils this need. But the second audience is the actual engineering student or in-practice engineer who wishes to develop a more sophisticated knowledge of the mechanics of concrete and stone structures. In this sense, I could easily see this work used as the textbook for an entire undergraduate or master's level course, or perhaps as a text for a directed independent study, where the end result is a comprehensive understanding of the mechanics of stone structures and the actual operation of the architectural devices present in gothic structures (barrel vaults, groin vaults, domes, arches, pointed arches, piers, flying buttresses, pinnacles, and so on).
   
   I remember at some point in my gothic investigations I came up with a nagging question: why is the lower side of a flying buttress curved? Why not just lay a straight, diagonal beam from the outer wall of the building to the outer buttress pier? Was the curve added for aesthetics? Or was there some important design principle at play? Eager to find the answer and certain that this little fact would be easily discovered, I turned to my mini-library of gothic, only to be repeatedly disappointed (often, tantalizingly so, with texts that ALMOST addressed the question). The answer finally came in Heyman's text, along with many such similar questions. If you, too, are interested in such questions, this book is for you.



3. this work covers quite thouroughly the mathematics and mechanics of arches. It spends particular time on construction in the Gothic cathedrals including the barrel vault, cross vault, dome, and flying butress. It is beautifully illustrated and it presents the basic concepts as well as giving a quite extenisive theoretical analysis. A good book for anyone familiar with masonry and an essential for anyone involved in repairing and maintaining Cathedrals and other large stone structures.



4. There's no doubting this is an authoratative book. It's based on an article that first appeared in a professional journal, and I feel that is its real audience. I found myself in trouble shortly after the introduction, despite a couple of mechanics courses in graduate school. You may have better luck, but I think only practicing structural engineers will be able to enjoy this book.



5. This is definitely a very well written book concerning structural engineering applied to medieval type of buildings. The practice at that time was driven by principles of geometry and physical proportion, and generally speaking masonry structures work well under this scheme.
   The Stone Skeleton is a book that will catch the interest of students and even professional structural engineers who enjoy learning about both gothic cathedrals and buildings designed in a similar way.
   A structural analysis textbook may come in handy should someone wishes to go deeper into the mathematical concepts of elastic versus plastic structural analysis and the design of domes and vaults. Other structural elements such as piers, pinnacles, flying buttresses and subjects such as cracking and settlements are also briefly discussed.