1 comments about Introduction to Japanese Architecture (Periplus Asian Architecture Series).

1. IF you want 51 more colored photographs, 32 of which are 1- to 2-page spreads, 10 of which are 1/2- to 3/4th-page ones, IF you want what adds up to an additional 3.5 pages of text, THEN you will probably prefer Art of Japanese Architecture, David and Michiko Young's 2007 revision of this book.
   
   If, however, you opt for INTRODUCTION TO JAPANESE ARCHITECTURE, you will still get an excellent overview of the entire history of Japanese architecture. Granted, you will not learn, for example, that since this book was written, a particular site is now a National Treasure or that each sliding door handle of a particular mansion bears the design of the imperial chrysanthemum or that the cost of rethatching a roof is now the equivalent of up to half-a million U.S. dollars. But these are mere details, not major revisions.
   
   Nor, if you opt for INTRO, will you be lacking illustrations, for it does have 320, all in color. In fact, with the exception of the added 51 photos, a handful of photos retaken at a different angle and 9 other minor changes, the illustrations are the same as they are in ART.
   
   If you wish more information, please see my review of ART. I have also included the Table of Contents of both books in the following comment.

2 comments about Architecture of the Old South.

1. This is a wonderful book on some of the most spectacular buildings in American. The text is highly informative and the images are crisp and vivid, the author does a fine job of capturing the buildings in their best light, and he is quite thorough. The south is a special place, with it's own pace and culture, much is made of the divide of European and African American's, but as a southerner I can tell you that, both groups understand each other totally, for better or worse and for the most part work and live together better than in other parts of the country, these buildings where built for the most part by the whole of the south, and the styles reflect the culture, be it french, spanish, english, irish, african, scottish or whatever. The architecture of the great southern cites, Charlston, New Orleans, Natchez, and Savannah are on display here as are the wonderful rural plantations. I highly recommend this book to anyone with any interest in the architecture of the south or just enjoys well conceived books on interesting topics.



2. "Architecture of the Old South" is a rich and immensely-informative volume.

   Mills Lane spent over fifteen year of "exploration, research, and writing" to produce this now classic work. He has attempted (and succeeded) in documenting how, surprisingly, "the great buildings of the Old South were created by outsiders and newcomers, especially New Englanders, whose contribution to Southern society and culture has been long underestimated."

   Laudable buildings from such great cities as Charleston, Savannah, and New Orleans are amply represented here, as are country houses and plantation estates. And to Lane's credit, he includes some quirky homes and frontier houses that have architectural connections to some of the region's more familiar buildings.

   Van Jones Martin's color photography is crisp and unfussy. The best pictures include William Bryd II's handsome 18th-century mansion, in Westover, Virginia; Charleston's elegant, 18th-century Unitarian Church; and the grand, curving stair in Peter Wilson Hairston's 19th-century, two-story home in Advance, North Carolina.

   A fine Bibliography and Index can also be found in this handsome and important work.

No comments about Contemporary Architecture & Interiors: Yearbook 09: Yearbook 2009.

No comments about Treehouses of the World 2009 Wall Calendar.

No comments about Architecture and Authority in Japan (Nissan Institute/Routledge Japanese Studies Series).

5 comments about Why Architecture Matters: Lessons from Chicago.

1. This is essentially a collection of updated columns from Blair Kamin's 1990s-era reports on the state of architecture in Chicago. In many instances, there are "postscripts" updating the information to the new millenium.
   
   These are pretty good items, but suffer from the architecture critic's foremost risk: the "ain't it awful" trap that can detract from the pure enjoyment of excellent design. "This is a great, beautiful building, but right across the street is a Kwik-E-Mart." Equivocation is an inevitable part of human experience, but it can also sometimes induce a killjoy effect.
   
   Leadership means creating a vision of a preferred future state and then sharing that vision with others. Enthusiam matters. And so do results.
   
   In Chicago architecture today, there is a whole lot more to celebrate than to decry. Let's celebrate more!



2. Okay, first, why mistitled?
   This book is a compilation of columns and articles Blair Kamin wrote for the Chicago Tribune. He writes passionately (and well) about architecture, and the book is definitely worth reading. But the title is all wrong. If you want to know "Why Architecture Matters," don't buy this book. It won't tell you. If Kamin has a thesis about why architecture matters, he never comes out and says what it is.
   What you will get, if you buy this book, is excellent commentary on the state of contemporary design, particularly as it relates to that most architectural of cities, Chicago. Kamin covers his beat well, and has opinions which are, as Michael Feldman would say, "well reasoned and insightful." Particularly powerful is his extended analysis of how architecture does and does not impact the social pathology of public housing in Chicago. This is great stuff--well researched, well reasoned and well written. Kamin looks past the conventional wisdom about the evils of high-rise public housing to what's really going on there--and whether what's going on has anything to do with the architecture or not. As I said, great stuff.
   If he'd just called the book "Architecture Matters," I'd have given him 5 stars. The "Why" in the title begs for a thematic core that, unfortunately, is just not there.



3. At the heart of this book, a collection of Kamin's Chicago Tribune articles spanning nearly a decade, is the author's adherence to his "consistent but flexible principles" of Activist Criticism. His critiques are not mere assessments of buildings as works of art; they are convincing arguments that as a whole show us the significant role architecture plays in a city. Far too many urban-dwellers blindly take whatever buildings go up around them and fail to realize how architecture shapes their lives, for better or worse, but Kamin implores us and our civic leaders to be more discerning, demanding worthy projects that will strengthen our cities.

   Blair Kamin is not just a great critic with sharp insight: he's a terrific writer whose articles are seasoned with wit and a highly readable eloquence. Upon reading his work, it is no surprise that he won a Pulitzer Prize for criticism. It helps to be familiar with Chicago's landmark buildings, but that is not a prerequisite to learning some important lessons. This book is not just pleasure reading for architecture students, but for anyone who cares deeply about the architectural decisions being made in his or her city. By frequently reviewing proposed projects, Kamin goes on the offensive, raising some keen questions that go alarmingly unasked by the developers and politicians involved. This approach, with the resulting influence he wields, has altered the course of events in Chicago many a time (though, sadly, not always). One wishes he had the final approval on all the city's projects before groundbreaking. Architecture, as he says, is the "inescapable art" we all have to live with on a daily basis, and Kamin's activist criticism encourages us to learn from past mistakes in order to form a more livable city.




4. He makes clear the difference between a building as a structure and a building as part of a living city. While the examples are mainly from Chicago, this book is a must-read for anyone who loves cities.



5. Mr. Kamin's obvious lack of experience in actually constructing anything other than useless "Architect-talk" is all over this book. Slanted for those who cannot find their own voice - Kamin reveals nothing but garbled particles of writing, framed within his false exhalted position as critic-extraordinaire.

   Why buildings matter should be re-released and re-titled "why do we need architecture critics?" I have walked down the streets of NYC and learned more about why architecture matters. Buildings are inert without the culture surrounding them. Critics are inert without practical experience to draw from.

   pass on the book, grab a coffee and stroll the streets of your hometown instead.

   Pass of Kamin and his pretentious thesaurus of architectural "criticism".

No comments about Dutch Houses.

3 comments about Greek and Roman Architecture in Classic Illustrations.

1. If you are interested in classical architecture and/or ornament, this is a truly spectacular work at an unbeatable price.



2. This is a great collection of classical Greek and Roman architectural reconstructions from the book - "Fragments d'Architecture Antique" - published by Hector d'Espouy (1854-1929) in 1905. The book presents some of the drawings rendered by participants in the French "Prix de Rome" art and architecture scholarship program which ran from 1663 to 1968.
   
   The printing is not excellent, but very good considering the price. The selections show a true care and attention to detail in bringing these design elements back to life. The ancient world was amazing, in a way that we often ignore today in our modern age of machinery and computer-aided design. Certainly, we're more advanced in many areas. But take a good, long look at what these earlier socieities created out of stone, with simple tools, and you'll be quite impressed.
   
   There is a more expensive book on this subject, published by the J. Paul Getty Museum, entitled "Ruins of Ancient Rome: The Drawings of French Architects Who Won the Prix De Rome 1786-1924" that manages to outdo this one in my opinion. But considering the price difference, this is understandable. In any case, I still enjoy this book, as it presents Greek elements not present in the other. You'll see studies of the Parthenon, the Precinct of Demeter at Eleusis, the Temple of Asclepius at Epidaurus, and so on. You'll also take a brief look outside Greece and Rome to the Mausoleum of Mausolus at Halicarnassus.
   
   Overall, this is an excellent view into the architectural world of the ancients.



3. the illustrations in this book are amazing, better than any photo.the buildings are depticted as they were when they were built (reconstructed). highly recommended for anyone interested in classical architecture (especially the architecture student).

1 comments about Thomas Jefferson's Architectural Drawings.

1. Jefferson's architectural drawings, edited and compiled by a noted architectural historian who taught at the university which Jefferson founded, give the general reader a perfect opportunity to observe Jefferson's talents not just as an architect but as a draftsman and artist. The drawings of the 1st and 2nd Monticello convincingly reveal to a general audience how the design and shape of his beloved home evolved from that of a two-story villa derived from the designs of the famous Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio to the red-bricked, octagonal, and domed three-story Neoclassical building that we see today. The drawings of Jefferson's other architectural masterpieces like the University of Virginia, Virginia State Capitol, and Poplar Forest also show this extraordinary Virginian's knowledge and mastery of the concepts of Classical architecture. This book is a must for all who admire Thomas Jefferson the architect and for all who want to know how he designed and built such beautiful buildings without any professional training as an architect.

5 comments about Garage: Reinventing the Place We Park.

1. This book is beautifully photographed and the scope is enormous. The author covers an enormous variety of handsome solutions to storage and leisure time which actually become an historic perspective. Taunton Press actually publish Fine Homebuilding magazine and I wish there had been more floor plans. This is not a "how to" book but rather a photographic essay. Perhaps, they will add a website or link in future editions for readers who might want to build such garages.



2. This book and the great mass of the photos relate not to the garage, ie, a covered space where cars are stored or where a hobbyist workshop is located, but converted space or living space above a garage. If you're interested in creative garage layout, workshop arrangement, automobile-related storage, etc., this is not the book. If your desire is to turn a hardworking garage into a granny flat, this is for you.



3. The book is almost nothing about the garage you already own. It is about fancy buildings with garage doors to use as offices, dwellings, exhibit spaces, furniture factories, archtectural statements. If you want to keep your car dry, you will need to build another real garage.



4. Loved "Garage." And for the reader who was looking for the book "Your Garagenous Zone," you can hunt it down at www.garagenouszone.com.



5. My garage will soon be turned into a workshop (and hopefully still park the car in there), and this book has given great ideas. I only wish I could find the book "Your Garagenous Zone" mentioned on page 98 written by Bill West.