No comments about Bright: Architectural Illumination and Light Installations.

5 comments about New York, Empire City: 1920-1945.

1. A rare glimpse into a glamorous New York as it once was. An amazing time machine. The photographs are of absolutely stunning quality.



2. I love the fantastic black and white images in this book, you forget how spectacularly beautiful the New York skyline was before the 50's, 60's and 70's international style of Mies and SOM ruined the skyline blocking many of these breathtaking buildings from view and altering an iconic american image forever. At any rate, this is a really good book, with well researched, interesting text and aforementioned great photo's. As you look at all the beautiful buildings and lament the loss of so many over the years, you can't help but want to throttle Robert Moses and David Rockefeller.



3. No regrets but I wish there were more photos of the city and street scenes.



4. When David Stravitz bought around five hundred glass negatives from a New Jersey photo shop in the late seventies I bet he didn't realise what a nice little earner he was onto. This treasure trove of images has so far produced two books, the amazing day-by-day building of the Chrysler Building (ISBN 1568983549) and now 'New York, Empire State'.
   
   Both books follow the same format, page after page of very detailed architectural photographs of the city in the first fifty years of the last century. This book has a hundred images (thankfully in 175dpi) taken by commercial photographers Peyser and Patzig probably for architects and builders as a record of their endeavours.
   
   It is the detail in the photos that makes the book so fascinating. Taken on eight by ten glass negs after carefully selecting the right position reveals street scenes and buildings where you can read the road signs and study the detail work on skyscrapers that would be impossible to see from street level. Nearly all the photos are of commercial property though near the end there shots of tenements, shops, sport arenas and Coney Island. Needless to say many of the buildings shown came down years ago.
   
   Each picture has the name of the building or city area and Christopher Gray adds more detail on six pages at the back of the book and this is where I felt the reader has been badly let down by the publishers. There are 130 photo pages yet only sixteen have page numbers, which makes nonsense of Gray's page numbered captions and the three page comprehensive index. Strangely page 105, with a whole page photo does have a number and this, I assume, was to be the case with every page but someone screwed up! Very frustrating (and do I get a refund?).
   
   I recently reviewed a similar architectural photo book about New York City with 170 stunning photos taken by Samuel Gottscho between 1925 and 1940. Included are some marvellous Manhattan night photos as well as shop and house interiors. Gottscho's work helped to define the popular skyline silhouette image of the big American city. Have a look at 'The Mythic City' (ISBN 1568985622) by Donald Albrecht.
   
   ***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.



5. A wonderful pictoral history of early 20th century New York. One will be astounded at the space between the buildings of the city and the level of architecture throughout. In our daily hustle, this book reminds us of the beauty of the many buildings that make up the skyline of New York. Enjoy.

3 comments about Moisture Control Handbook: Principles and Practices for Residential and Small Commercial Buildings.

1. This book has a load of information in it and many helpful diagrams. I am pleased to have added this to my collection of moisture books.



2. This book is great for explaining to our clients the challeges they are having, the way to prevent and a great picture how it should have been done.
   
   It is in simple english for anyone to understand.



3. This is an excellent introductory overview of practical problems and solutions relating to moisture control in buildings. The diagrams are outstanding! The emphasis is on moisture problems and solutions in low-rise framed buildings. My only disappointment is that the underlying physics are not described and that predictive techniques are not presented. An excellent reference book for builders, and a must read for anyone involved with trouble shooting, inspecting, insuring, repairing, and restoring building envelopes

4 comments about Richard Neutra: And The Search for Modern Architecture.

1. This book is the benchmark on Richard Neutra's work, it's thorough, has wonderful, vivid images, and the text is scholarly, but easy to read. I have always been a huge fan of Mr. Neutra's work, it is so clean, open, and modern. His buildings really fit Southern California perfect, the sunshine and the dry ocean breezes meld well with his modern asthetic. If you have any interest in Moderne architecture or are just a fan of the singular Mr. Neutra, then I highly recommend this book.



2. to an architect the purpose of this book is unclear. The subject is an architect with an extremely interesting life, who designed very interesting buildings. The subtitle of the book gives us the impression that the book is about architecture. In reality it only gives us a very poor impression of the buildings designed by Neutra: only very small pictures are displayed of what he designed. family snap-shots on the other hand, are everywhere and in larger sizes.
   Of course this can be a purpose of the writer. However, the uncritical way and blind admiration for Neutra makes the book boring to read and tiresome.
   I suggest that anyone that is interested in the works of Neutra buy another book, with better, and more pictures of his buildings and floor plans to go with them. His buildings deserve it.



3. this is an excellent account of the life and works of richard neutra. i would recommend this book to anyone interested in modern architecture, both regionally and internationally. More color images would have been appreciated, although this does not detract from the overall attractiveness of the book.



4. The classic Neutra companion; very informative. Although I would have liked to have seen current color photographs of the great RJN's work along with the extensive B&W ones (actually I believe a volume of that nature is in the works), this retrospective is nonetheless very broad in its scope and has many interesting stories about the building of the structures during Neutra's life. Also contains a complete list of his buildings and houses, along with locations and dates of construction.

1 comments about Dream Porches and Sunrooms: Designing the Perfect Retreat.

1. Though the word "sunrooms" is included in the title, there are fewer than five sunrooms featured in this book.
   
   Most of the featured houses would cost $3-5million if purchased in California. The porch on the front cover is illustrative of the porches featured inside. If you can't afford the house that goes with that porch, you won't be able to afford the porches on the interior either.
   
   This complaint is no small matter--the issues that arise in trying to make the most of limited space with a limited budget are different from the issues faced by a multi-millionaire designing a dream house with a dream view.
   
   The self-congratulatory text concludes, "You've seen spectacular examples of porch design and been directed to the details that set them apart. Along the way, you've witnessed what is possible no matter the circumstances, regardless of the size of a house." I disagree.

2 comments about Alvar Aalto, 1898-1976: Paradise for the Man in the Street (Taschen Basic Architecture).

1. When they call this book "basic," they mean it. There is nothing deep or philosophical contained within these pages. Instead, this is an overview of the main works that Aalto produced during his career. Projects range from his Savoy vases to entire buildings. This is a good starting point for anyone who is interested in learning more about Aalto's work and nice to have as a basic reference. For the price, this little book can't be beat!



2. I love Aalto's work, but this book was just dry.
   I give it 3.5 only because it's meant to be an inexpensive introduction to Aalto's work, and it is inexpensive..but the writing is just dry. You really get nothing from the articles about the buildings..but it is a nice intro to the architect's life and it does showcase a few of his best works...albeit in a dry manner..
   
   If you aren't really interested in his work, this is perfect for you.
   But if you want a decent look into some of his buildings and materials and philosophy, then your going to have to splurge a little
   
   B-

1 comments about Le Corbusier.

1. This book really gives you an insight into one of Architecture's greats. I bought it to get a general idea of Corb's work, not because it fascinated me, but, as an architecture graduate, because I thought I should. This book opened Corb's work to me.
   
   It gives a chronological view of the man's life and work. It features great photos and drawings of his most important works, and some of his less well known ones too. The writing is done so well, giving an insight into Corb's theories and explaining how and why each project came about.
   
   I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in architecture who wants to know a bit more about the history of 20th century design, and the impact that Le Corbusier had.

No comments about Greening Your Home.

2 comments about Classic Houses of Seattle: High Style to Vernacular, 1870-1950 (The Classic Houses Series).

1. 
   This book covers the basic styles of homes seen in the SEATTLE areas, from around 1879 to around the 1950's.
   
   Many of the earlier homes have since been destroyed, so the author had to rely on archival photos. All those photos are, of course, in black and white.
   
   Then the author did a wonderful research job by showing the following architectural styles from the early 1900's to the 1950's.
   
   The reason that I give this book a 4-star,rather than a full 5-star rating, is because I wish the author had shown more photos of the LATER homes discussed, & that are still available in Seattle. Instead, the author showed one photo (mostly) of the later homes, when she surely could have included a few more photos of the LATER homes, since they are still available for photo-taking.
   
   The photos of the available (modern) homes, are all in black and white also ---not in color. I suppose the author wanted to show continuum throughout her book, so she chose to show all the book's photos (even the modern photos from 2004-2005) in black and white.



2. I'm the third owner of a 1908 house in downtown Seattle that has survived relatively unmolested. I was looking for details of how the house should have been decorated in the period and how I could make small changes to the house to make it functional, yet remain honest to the period. The book is great at showing the history and architecture of each period with nice photo examples inside and out. I only hoped there would be a little more detail about how to find an architect that specializes in restoring these types of homes.

1 comments about John Pawson: Themes and Projects.

1. after reading that bruce chatwin had his london apartment designed by john pawson, i went looking for books on pawson's work, and found four. after studying them for a while, i chose this book. it is not the biggest, doesn't have the most pictures, and isn't the cheapest, but it does have beautiful balance. i tried unsuccessfully to wait until after work to look through it, but after a few hours i broke down and skimmed it. i am currently reading through it in detail, and i just love it.

   it has a nice selection of buildings and projects, and with all the various opinions from a variety of different types of people, gives an unusual, but fascinating introduction which leaves me wanting to find out still more. the one regret i have about this book is that there are no pictures of chatwin's apartment, but then none of the others i looked at had them either. there are also a number of useful references to other architects strewn throughout the text, as well as an index to john pawson's body of work. highly recommended.