No comments about Conversations with Mies van der Rohe.

No comments about Cozy Cottage Home Designs (Home Plans).

1 comments about Garrett Eckbo: Modern Landscapes for Living.

1. Treib and Imbert offer a rare insight into the man who lead the movement to modern landscape design. Where formerly, landscape design rested on a strict axial orientation, with Eckbo's brilliant influence, this rigidness exploded into designs more like Wassily Kandinsky compositions. No other designer has played a greater part in the development of modern landscape design. Just looking at the intricate, beautifully hand-drawn landscape architectural drawings he made, from small-scale gardens to large-scale parks, is a big treat. The authors integrate Eckbo's writings into the text, as well, to give us a sense of this apparently, humble, yet, brilliant man's thoughts and process. This is a wonderful book for someone interested in the history and dynamics of landscape design, or someone just developing a small garden. This is also a great addition to the library of the mid-century design enthusiast or scholar. For me, beginning to understand the underpinnings of landscape design, as well as the social value of public landscape design through Eckbo's eyes and mind, made a world of difference in my approach to seeing or modifying space of any kind. This is a quiet, illuminating and wonderful book.

No comments about The History of Development of Building Construction in Chicago.

2 comments about Goldfish I Have Loved (too much?): Mix and Match Stationery.

1. I love, love, love Heather Ross's drawings and have purchased as much of her designed fabric as I can get my greedy little hands on. However, the quality of this paper is pretty low and the colors are so saturated, they would be pretty useless for actually writing on. I will probably use the envies for letters and the paper for scrapbooking (although, honestly, it isn't as nice as most of my scrapbooking paper).



2. When I first saw this stationary set I knew I must have it. Not only was it fish themed, but it was just so darn cute. On the pages and envelopes are some of the friendliest looking goldfish and each has a name. To me that just give it all more character. The colors are all pleasing and not so bold that something as simple as pencil would not show on them.
   
   I know I will run out of these quickly and will probably have to buy another set soon. I love this almost too much to even write on it!

1 comments about Downtown, Inc.: How America Rebuilds Cities.

1. Here we have a very interesting investigation about the stories of the american cities and specially its downtowns, how they have growned, its shinning past and its following falldown. We can learn about very brilliant redevelopment projects that are intending to rebuild and to regain once again progress and live to some parts of the modern cities that have been in a great depression since long decades of desinvestments. It is very important to take in accounts the stories very well written by the authors about how the joining between public and privates forces is the only way to rebulit american ( and everywhere) abandoned downtowns!

3 comments about Anatomy of a Park: Essentials of Recreation Area Planning and Design.

1. This book may be a nice introduction for someone with no design background, but is not appropriate for landscape architects or site planners. The book's content primarily focuses on siting a park's programmatic elements for maximum engagement between users. It doesn't discuss commonly seen typologies or offer any interesting design solutions. Instead, it covers topics like where an amphitheater should be located in relation to a park's paths and roads (and, really? an amphitheater? So corny.). Anyone with experience in site design will likely find the concepts too basic and, even, unsophisticated.



2. This is a carefully crafted update of a classic primer that is essential reading for anyone engaged in park design or administration. The book would be especially useful to the new park commissioner who is looking for ways to add value to his/her park system through good design. The text is highly readable and is augmented by charming illustrations that makes for enjoyable reading of sometimes otherwise dull technical material.
   
   Jerrold Soesbe, FASLA



3. This is a good book for city planners who don't know a lot about park planning, but need to in order to develop well-used parks. Easy reading.

No comments about Volume 1.

No comments about Innovations in Office Design: The Critical Influence Approach to Effective Work Environments.

2 comments about Manor Houses in Normandy.

1. Huge book, full of beautiful photographs of homes and castles in Normandy. Interesting text as well.



2. i think that in this fabolous book there are the best place where a man can live