3 comments about Colors of the World: A Geography of Color.

1. This is a great coffee table book. It brings the colors and architecture of the world into your living room. The pictures are beautiful.



2. I'm tired of the fluffy books about color. Here is some concrete studies on color use in different cultures with relation to architectural color choices. This information is the perfect addition to my thesis research for grad school on the topic of cultural differences in color perception. Plus, it is so beautiful to look at! Really beautiful.



3. A Husband and Wife team bring their insights together in a book that exudes beauty and order in the natural and the built environments. The photos are meticulously color balanced, the natural hues in buildings are inspiring and life affirming. The book is so multi-faceted that it could have other titles as well, "Color in Geometry" and "Homes with Soul" would be appropriate. The book deserves a cloth cover, much like Christopher Alexanders opus "The Theory of Life. This is a book you will come back to when you need to recharge your soul with the beauty of man and nature in harmony. I smiled a lot while looking through the book. Give this book to your friends, it's that good!

5 comments about Mall Maker: Victor Gruen, Architect of an American Dream.

1. There are only two things to say about this book on Gruen the Mall Maker: 1) The writing must be overlooked, and 2) the substance of the book is crucial to understanding American cities and American culture as we know it today. It made me want to read more about architecture, city planning and economic trends as market forces redesigning neighborhoods, towns, cities and, ultimately, our country. It made me want to go back to school and get a degree in Urban Planning. It made me want to petition the school board to include the study of commerical design and the rise of malls in every high school American history class. It made me want to recommend it to all of my friends who live in cities, love cities, love their malls, live near malls and who shop at malls. The subject matter fascinated me; the writing - not so much so.



2. This is an excellent book about a single, fascinating individual and about American culture in the twentieth century. There is an irony here: Gruen was very idealistic about the mall's potential to improve society, but he didn't realize that, ultimately, his creation would cause the "malling of America." And he DID build the first mall...the first ENCLOSED mall (rather than an outdoor arcade), which was copied all over the country and is now the dominate type.



3. Mr. Gruen developed and expanded the concept, but no, he did not originate it - he and the automobile made it more successful and widespread, enriching us all.
   
   1956 the first mall? Er, no, not really: not by a century. Google "Arcade+Providence"

   The Arcade Building building by J.C. Bucklin & Russell Warren, 1827-1829
   
   The shopping arcade started here. While not called "shopping mall" the arcades were the start of having multiple shops under a single roof. The shopping mall is the same, with addition of parking and not usually urban but sub-urban or even rural.




4. My first true mall shopping was done in a Gruen mall, although I was quite unaware at the time of the fascinating story behind this complex man and his vision for America's public spaces.

   Thanks to this engaging work by Hardwick, I feel now feel enlightened as I prowl the mall that Gruen built. You don't need to be an architect or a social scientist to enjoy this book because the author makes the subject approachable for the inner shopper in everyone.




5. A great read and remarkable that no one has written about Gruen before now. if American retail and architecture is your thing, this is a must have. Hardwick captures Gruen in an objective light, in his time, for the reader to judge. can't wait for the next Hardwick bio.

No comments about Getting Started in Watercolor.

No comments about The Meaning of the Built Environment: A Nonverbal Communication Approach.

4 comments about Heavenly City: The Architectural Tradition of Catholic Chicago.

1. If you are Catholic, from Chicago and dislike the hexagons that are being passed off as Catholic churches in the last 50 years, you will love this book!
   
   Many inner city and suburban parishes are treated, grouped by geographic location.
   
   Agreed it is a little pricey, but it beats driving all over the city and climbing into the choir lofts to take your own pictures.
   
   A great gift idea for parents, grandparents from Chicago!



2. Mary Pat and I went to Chicago expecting to see something fabulous. I don't get it. We didn't see any of the churches, but we got a great room at the Fairmont. We had full body massages by a Japanese man.
   
   We got lost trying to find John's mansion in Lake Forest or Kenilworth. Anyway, Mary Pat enjoyed the church pictures. After Ernest Thorp's war book, it's my favorite Wapella literary feat.



3. If you don't believe that Chicago has some of the best looking Catholic churches in America, you should take a look at this book. Sixty-eight of the almost 400 churches in the Chicago archdiocese are featured, some in much more detail than others.
   
   The author seems to have a thing for older, more traditional churches over newer ones, which is just fine by me. Most of my favorites are here - Holy Name Cathedral is present, of course, as is St. Michael's in Wicker Park, which was burned in the Chicago Fire, and Holy Family, which wasn't, although it was almost torn down a decade ago. St. Ita and St. Jerome on the North Side are featured, as is Our Lady of Lourdes, which was once moved across the street, spun 90 degrees, and then split in half to double its size. The South Side has its masterpieces as well - St. Rita of Cascia, St. Philip Neri, the darkly lit Queen of Peace, with its incredibly ornate flat ceiling, and the fantastically bright and beautiful St. Columbanus. The great Polish churches are well represented: St. Mary of the Angels, modeled on St. Peter's in Rome, closed and almost torn down once; the St. Michael on the Southeast Side; the sad and tragic St. Hedwig; St. Hyacinth - now a basilica, and an enormous one at that, the largest and arguably most beautiful Catholic church in the city; St. John Cantius, another nearly destroyed masterpiece, now completely renovated and with its own order of Latin-speaking priests. I could go on and on.
   
   Two churches are not even active Catholic churches anymore: St Boniface was closed 15 years ago, and the fantastic old St. Martin's just off the Dan Ryan Expressway is now Protestant. And there is the wild story of St. Gelasius, just south of Hyde Park, vandalized, nearly burned down, closed, and now being rebuilt as the Institute of Christ the King.
   
   I think a few really great ones are missed. Namely, St. Ben's on the North Side, whose bell tower dominates Irving Park for literally miles, and St. Martin de Porres (formerly St. Thomas Aquinas) on the West Side. Perhaps St. Sabina's on the Southwest Side belongs, although the interior is all screwed up -I don't think any other Catholic church has a big neon "Jesus" hanging over the altar. St. Mary of Perpetual Help, in Bridgeport, is an outstanding church and certainly belongs in the book, as does the beautiful and unique Lithuanian Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Marquette Park.
   
   On the other hand Loyola's Madonna Della Strada is an oversized white barn, and St. Gabriel in Canaryville, despite being designed by the famous Burnham & Root team, is too small and too low. And St. Peter, downtown, while a fine church, is not really in the "great" category, either. The chapel of St. Mary of the Lake at Mundelein Seminary is a great example of Congregationalist church, being all white and almost featureless, but a lousy example of a Catholic church.
   
   But this is quibbling. All the photos, by James Morris, are in stunning full color, and the text is mercifully short, yet well footnoted. Perhaps a bit overpriced at $60 for about 160 large pages. Robert Cameron's Above Chicago, for example, has the same number of much larger pages but costs half as much. All in all, a beautiful book, very suitable either as a gift or a bit of self-indulgence.
   
   Here is a list of all the churches, copied from the publisher's website:
   
   Downtown Chicago
   
   Holy Name Cathedral (Near North Side/Gold Coast)
   Assumption (Near North Side/Gold Coast)
   St. James Chapel at Quigley Preparatory Seminary (Near North Side/Gold Coast)
   St. Peter (Loop)
   Old St. Patrick's (Near West Side/West Loop)
   
   
   North Chicago
   
   Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Lakeview)
   St. Ignatius (East Rogers Park)
   St. Alphonsus (Lakeview)
   St. Vincent de Paul (Lincoln Park)
   St. Josaphat (Lincoln Park)
   St. Clement (Lincoln Park)
   St. Jerome (East Rogers Park)
   Our Lady of Lourdes (Uptown)
   Madonna della Strada Chapel (Loyola University/East Rogers Park)
   St. Michael (Old Town)
   St. Ita (Edgewater)
   Queen of All Saints Basilica (Sauganash)
   
   
   Northwest Chicago
   
   St. Hyacinth Basilica (Avondale)
   St. John Berchmans (Logan Square/Bucktown)
   St. John Cantius (Wicker Park/Ukrainian Village)
   Holy Trinity (Wicker Park/Ukrainian Village)
   St. Stanislaus Kostka (Wicker Park/Ukrainian Village)
   St. Viator (Irving Park)
   St. Mary of the Angels (Bucktown)
   St. Boniface (Wicker Park/Ukrainian Village)
   St. Hedwig (Logan Square/Bucktown)
   Holy Innocents (Wicker Park/Ukrainian Village)
   
   
   South Chicago
   
   St. Michael (South Shore/South Chicago)
   St. Martin (Englewood)
   Nativity of Our Lord (Bridgeport)
   Holy Cross-Immaculate Heart of Mary (Back of the Yards/Canaryville)
   Institute of Christ the King (formerly St. Clara⁄St. Gelasius) (Woodlawn)
   St. Anthony (Pullman)
   St. Gabriel (Back of the Yards/Canaryville)
   St. Basil/Visitation (New City/Back of the Yards)
   St. John of God (Sherman Park)
   St. Thomas the Apostle (Hyde Park)
   St. Ambrose (Kenwood)
   Holy Cross Monastery (formerly Immaculate Conception) (Bridgeport)
   St. Rita of Cascia (West Englewood)
   Corpus Christi (Oakland/Grand Boulevard)
   St. Anselm (Washington Park)
   St. Columbanus (Greater Grand Crossing)
   Our Lady of Guadalupe, Shrine of St. Jude (South Chicago)
   St. Philip Neri (South Shore)
   Our Lady of Peace (South Shore)
   
   
   West Chicago
   
   Holy Family (Near West Side/University Village)
   St. Pius V (Pilsen)
   Our Lady of Sorrows Basilica (Near West Side)
   Holy Rosary (Wicker Park/Ukrainian Village)
   Notre Dame de Chicago (Near West Side)
   St. Adalbert (Pilsen)
   St. Paul (Pilsen)
   St. Nicholas Cathedral, Ukrainian Catholic Church (Wicker Park/Ukrainian Village)
   
   
   Chicago Suburbs
   
   St. Thomas Aquinas Priory Chapel, Dominican University (River Forest)
   Chapel of the Immaculate Conception, University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary (Mundelein)
   St. Athanasius (Evanston)
   Chapel at the Convent of the Sacred Heart, Barat College (Lake Forest)
   Marytown, Shrine of St. Maximilian Kolbe (Libertyville)*
   St. Peter (Skokie)
   St. Edmund (Oak Park)
   Ascension (Oak Park)
   St. Giles (Oak Park)
   Immaculate Conception (Waukegan)
   Chapel of the Holy Spirit, Divine Word Monastery (Techny)
   St. Francis Xavier (Wilmette)
   St. Joseph (Wilmette)
   Saints Faith, Hope, and Charity (Winnetka)



4. I bought this as a gift for a friend. It's a great reminder of the church where she got married. It also has the church where her parents and grandparents were married as well, so she was thrilled!

No comments about Deleuze & Guattari for Architects (Thinkers for Architects).

5 comments about Watercolor, You Can Do It!.

1. I can not believe that Amazon does not carry Tony Couch's books.
   He is an awesome teacher that gets his points across to the novice.
   His advise is easy to follow and he uses his colour in a pure and simple way



2. The early chapters on handling paint and the brush seems to really get to the point. The section on "moisture control" really is a must read for anyone still struggling with this aspect of watercolor painting. I recommend this book all the time to anyone who asks about good reading material. Too bad it is out of print. A must for the watercolorist library!



3. This is a great book that addresses problems that I haven't seen addressed in other books. He is also encouraging to the painter who may not feel they have a lot of talent but still want to paint. He feels that all people with the desire can do it. I got the book from the library, and loved it so much I purchased it. I've heard his videos are great too.



4. This is one of the best books teaching watercolor painting. I've bought many. He stresses that the journey (learning) is more important than the goal (being a great painter). He's an excellent teacher and his step by step illustrations are some of the best. A great help to me.



5. After reading at least 30 watercolor instructions books, this one goes to the top of my list. Couch covers everything from the basics (from equipment to how you actually get paint on to the paper) to the essential guidelines of design and composition. These (sometimes boring) subjects are covered in an easily-digestible, easily-usable manner, making it exciting to get to your next painting and apply what you have read. The book includes a really good description of how the painter is a "shape maker, symbol collector and entertainer" and numerous step-by-step examples of painting basic landscape components (trees, sky, rocks, water). The book is upbeat with a wonderful sense of play and humor running through it -- plus the reader is given dozens of examples of Tony Couch's own marvelous watercolor paintings, as well as examples from eight other superb watercolorists. The gallery of paintings alone is worth the price of the book (which, by the way, is about 30 pages longer than most watercolor instruction books -- so you really get your money's worth!)

1 comments about The Accessible Home: Updating Your Home for Changing Physical Needs.

1. This book is packed with practical information for homeowners who want to do their own work in adapting their existing homes for the comfort, convenience, and safety of those with various kinds and degrees of physical disability. The how-to instructions are clearly written and well illustrated. It's less useful, however, for those of us who are looking for design inspiration and turning the actual labor over to professionals. Still, at the ridiculously low prices at which this book can be obtained, it's a handy reference work for those who want an off-line source of -- for example -- where and how high (and how many) grab bars should be installed to provide an ADA-appropriate bath or shower. Architects and contractors will turn to other sources, but DIYers will find value here.

No comments about Bauhaus.

No comments about Beachlife: Architecture and Interior Design on the Seaside.