2 comments about Masterpieces of Chicago Architecture.

1. As a survey of many of the best-known examples of Chicago school architecture, replete with handsomely large reproduction of photos and (the real treat) often dazzling architectural drawings (Walter Burley Griffin's for a tract development in Iowa is especially lovely), there's a lot to admire about this book, and it deserves a place on many coffee tables.
   
   Still, the title says "Chicago school architecture," which means that architecture that belongs in the club of well-known Chicago architects is in, and architecture that stands out of that group is not. The result is that there's an awful lot of post-1950 glass and steel office buildings toward the end, few of which evidence any reason to love them (only Marina Towers, perhaps); while art deco gets short shrift (where's the beautifully detailed Powhatan in Hyde Park? Where's the Civic Opera? Where's the Chicago Motor Club?) and semi-obscure one-shots-- Louis Bourgeois' contemplative Bahai Temple in Wilmette, the stunning Arts and Crafts-era Carl Schurz High School on the northwest side-- get no attention. Indeed, apart from the occasional McDonald's, there's little sense that architecture means anything other than skyscrapers-- few retail buildings or restaurants, no factories, few churches, only one recent school, few private homes (although if you want that, you might as well go straight to the book on David Adler). By the last pages, it seems a collection of the buildings that architects keep trying to convince us we should like, and we won't, any more than we'll all go around humming Schoenberg. Buy it for the first half, and for the beguilingly beautiful draftsmanship of early 20th century renderings above all.



2. If you are visiting Chicago an el ride around the Loop will transport you through 100 years of architectural history in about 20 minutes. Chicago is a living architecture museum always in flux; new buildings are added to the skyline, old ones re-imagined and re-used, whole neighborhoods rising from decades of urban decay. Daniel Burnham, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Mies Van der Rohe all left their imprint on the city and contemporary masters such as Helmut Jahn, Frank Geary, and Rem Koolhaas, are shaping the Chicago of today.

   For those attracted to architecture Masterpieces of Chicago Architecture is another tour de force from Rizzoli. Masterpieces of Chicago Architecture presents the first 100 vibrant years of built and un-built projects by the masters and their disciples. Generously illustrated with more than 200 photos, illustrations, models, and plans, from the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. The authors and curators of Architecture at the Art Institute of Chicago add thoughtful commentary and unique insights on the city to bring the past, present and future together in one glorious package. Chicago is the leading force in American building trends and to understand where Chicago is going is to understand something about the future.

1 comments about Sustainable Energy System Engineering.

1. After reading the first of Dr. Gevorkian's works on sustainable energy systems I thought it would be interesting to see what could possibly be added to his latest. The second book is intense in its content. Packed with so much information it would be overwhelming to read cover to cover - rather it is like an encyclopedia on the subject and a very useful reference. For an architect or engineer wanting to learn how some of these systems might be integrated in a project they are working on, or for a layman to have a savants knowledge of these subjects, I give it a high recomendation.

No comments about Bloomsbury Rooms: Modernism, Subculture, and Domesticity.

No comments about Exploring Metric Drafting: Basic Fundamentals.

4 comments about Structural Engineer's Pocket Book.

1. Good handy book. Not as detailed in items as I would have liked. Layout in terms of Index could be better. Hard to find items at first



2. Keeping me at hand for every bit of information at the right place and at the right time! It's simply functional,what more can I ask for!>>>>



3. There was no indication that this pocket book was written based on data for Great Britain. I discovered this only after it arrived!



4. The laws, codes and building types are all UK (Great Britain). Pretty useless in the good ole US of A.
   
   All the structural stuff is in metric (Yea, I know we should use metric, but we don't).
   
   And all the shapes are British Standard.
   
   Heck of a nice book, but wrong country.

No comments about Spanish Splendor.

No comments about Design For Kids.

No comments about Modern Asian Living.

3 comments about A Treasury of Anglican Art.

1. This book is a must for every Episcopalian and would make a wonderful Christmas present (especially for your favorite Episcopal priests!) The Anglican Communion is the largest world wide body of Christians after the Roman Catholic Church -- but is not nearly as well known in the United States . The unfortunate media coverage which our beloved church has received recently makes it seem like a loony liberal cult rather than the heir of a magnificent Christian trqadition.The beautiful photographed pictures and well written descriptions of art and architecture throughout the Anglican world is sorely needed during this time of uncertainty and division between traditionalists and revisionists within our church. Just viewing these beautiful pages is just the right prescription for all Anglicans to remind us of what is truly lasting and essential, and puts the right perspective on the petty and self serving transitory "issues" which so preoccupy so many of the American Church hierarchy. Get this book today -- you will be glad you did!



2. The volume is a good introduction to a neglected aspect of religious art. The range is good although there are some notable omissions. The contribution of many of the womens' religious communities could have had a little more coverage as many were famous for their artwork as well as their contributions to the Gothic Revival and Arts and Crafts movements. There are a few technical problems with the book in that at least 17 of the illustrations are reproduced in reverse i.e. in mirror image. The western rose window of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine on pg. 24 is upside down. The frontispiece illustration is incorrectly identified as by Raphael, it is one of the Barbarini tapestries illustrating the life of Christ, the illustration on pg. 68 is not from the Litlyington missal (it looks like a 13th text on Gregory the Great?), the caption on pg. 157 'monastic' should read 'canonical' as York Minster was never a monastic cathedral, it was served by secular canons.



3. Most people are familiar with the sacred art of the Catholic Church - but few realize that the Anglican Communion has made a significent contribution as well - particulary in the 19th century when Sacred art elsewhere as stagnent or waning. From the stain glass of Tiffany to the sculpture of August Saint-Guadens, Anglican Churches, particular those in America, set the standard. But this book also covers much more - the from ancient English cathedrals to small chapels in the Caribbean there is suprise on every page. It is especailly refreshing to see so many contemporar works that are carrying on this tradition and at the same time, paving new ground. my only "problem" with this book is it did not contain Fred. Hart's beautiful carvings at the National Cathedral in Washington -no only one of the great works of Sacred art in recent years, but probably one of the most overlooks masterworks of the 20th century

4 comments about Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater (Wright at a Glance Series).

1. This book is very useful for giving you both a quick overview of Lloyd's approach and how Fallingwater manifests his work. The text is incisisive and despite its small size, the pictures are very good and instructive.
   Of value before or after seeing the house.



2. Carla Lind's small-format, 58-page book on `Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater' is an excellent introduction both to this remarkable structure, but also to the interesting life of the architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The book is very short, and could almost qualify as a Cliff's Notes version of Wright's architectural style and principles, as well as being a remarkably thorough introduction to Fallingwater, which is perhaps the most famous modern home in America.

   Built in the midst of the Great Depression, `Fallingwater' was one of the projects that resurrected Frank Lloyd Wright's faltering career. His own famous Wisconsin home, `Taliesin', burned twice and was ultimately seized during bankruptcy and divorce proceedings. For the ten years prior to getting the nod to design Fallingwater, only five commissions of Wright's were built. However, during this time, Wright was not unproductive. He wrote his autobiography (which was later revised in 1943), began planning for Taliesin West, and eventually earned a cover of `Time' magazine as Fallingwater was being built.

   Wright was reactionary against the International Style, which took hold after 1932. Wright had been partly responsible for the new aesthetic, and was in fact influenced by its developments, but he recoiled at the idea, and wanted his work to have more spirit, more poetry, than the austere and functional/mechanical designs in vogue seemed to hold.

   `Fallingwater, Wright's polemic response to modernism, arises from ideas and imagery that flowed in such profusion from his pen and pencil in the years around 1900.'
   - Joseph Connors, Wright on Nature and the Machine

   Fallingwater would, in fact, not seem out of place in the Bauhaus school of design, though Wright would probably not have appreciated the connection.

   `It was an extraordinary moment with the full force of Wright's concept became apparent. Father enjoyed bold ideas and challenges, and my mother found sources of graceful livability in an unusual setting.'
   - Edgar Kaufmann, Jr., Fallingwater

   Edgar and Lillian Kaufmann commissioned the project that was destined to reinvigorate Wright's career. A wealthy Pittsburgh couple, they were noted for interest in artistic and imaginative endeavours. The Kaufmanns' son was an apprentice at Taliesin in 1934 when they visited and became inspired to hire Wright to design their new home in Mill Run, Pennsylvania. It was a perfect site for Wright's imagination.

   `If Fallingwater is viewed as a perfect marriage of building and site, the leading partner is nature. Wright's habitat is an extension of the Appalachian terrain in which it rests so respectfully. Deep in the rugged forest, where dogwood, rhododendron, oak, maple, birch, and hickory flourish, Bear Run hurries to meet the Youghiogheny River in the valley below. The Kaufmanns, committed to conservation of the site, regarded the largest of Bear Run's rocky waterfualls as the heart of their property, a place to picnic and lie in the sun.'

   The house is anchored by four giant boulders built over the waterfall, and the sense of steps, ledges, drops, and waterfall shapes are thoroughly pervasive throughout the house and guesthouse. Exposed stone layers are primary design and aesthetic values; rectilinear shapes are dominant with circular and curved elements as secondary components. Windows are everywhere, as nature is never excluded even in the deepest part of the house. Many rooms have terraces, which go in different directions around the property.

   The house became an immediate showplace, one that has remained an architectural marvel of world renown. In 1963, Edgar Kaufmann Jr. donated the house and its grounds (over 1500 acres) as a privately-held public memorial to his parents and to Wright's genius. The son of the original owners, Kaufmann Jr. was destined to remain at Taliesin for only a short time, but as the primary go-between on development and construction of Fallingwater, he secured a permanent place for himself in American architectural history. Eventually he went on to a distinguished career of teaching and writing in the architectural field, including the larger, definitive study of Fallingwater (review coming shortly!). He was also on the design staff of the Museum of Modern Art.

   Fallingwater receives over 100,000 visitors per year.

   This book is a proud tribute to the house - a small format that nonetheless captures a great spirit. Every page has beautiful, full-colour photographs that illustrate the design and decoration of the house in its natural environment. There are also a few construction photos that show development stages. The book also includes several handy time-lines and bullet-point pages, including one of Wright's pre-Fallingwater history, and one highlighting the major aspects of the design considerations.

   Of course, the best place to purchase this book is where I purchased it, at Fallingwater itself. The house is open to the public on weekends throughout the year, and also on Tuesdays and Fridays from April to November. It is about an hour-and-a-half drive from Pittsburgh, through generally gorgeous countryside.

   Carla Lind, the author of this text, is also the author of `The Wright Style' and `Lost Wright'. She has worked to preserve Wright buildings for several decades, and worked in various foundations and organisations dedicated to maintaining Wright's designs and structures.




3. "Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater," by Carla Lind, is one of a series of books that celebrate the work of this visionary architect. This volume in the series is devoted to Fallingwater, the amazing modern house designed by Wright in 1935 for Liliane and Edgar J. Kaufmann. This is a "mini-book," but despite its small size, it is an impressive tribute to a landmark of home architecture.

   Carla Lind's concise but informative text is complemented by many glorious full-color photographs of Fallingwater. There are both exterior and interior shots that capture many of the home's memorable features: the rough stone walls, the cantilevered balconies, the bold use of glass, the remarkable asymmetrical fireplaces, and more. There are also some fascinating black-and-white historical photos.

   Lind also includes a bibliography and a chronology. The text is further complemented by a series of sidebar quotes from Wright, Edgar Kaufmann Jr., and others.

   I have visited Fallingwater. It is a stunning architectural achievement which, I think, no book could completely capture. But Carla Lind has done a good job of celebrating the spirit of this remarkable house.




4. There is nothing wrong with this book. In fact, it is a good value for the price. The problem is that this book is a handgun blasted apart by a cannon. The cannon is the larger, heavier, more expensive (but well worth it) book on Fallingwater by Edgar Kaufman Jr. (Wright's pupil and son of the client).

   For a less expensive gift - this is the book.

   For yourself, a Frank Lloyd Wright fan, or a lover of Fallingwater; invest in the cannon - it will blow you away!