5 comments about Wood: New Directions in Design and Architecture.

1. I am in agreement with the Amazon reviews I read from John and Scott on this one...
   
   1) Not featuring Greene and Greene quality of wood detailing.
   2) Nor a good guide for what it claims to cover.
   
   I think the cover sells this book to people. This seems to be a book I see a lot on the selves at Borders and Barnes and Noble; it must be marketed well with people pushing it pretty hard. It might sell too, but don't be fooled.
   
   If you're seeking books about wood and it's applications look for books with more substance such as the "In Detail" line, or "Wood Houses: Spaces for contemporary living," or seek specific architects (the ones in the Northwest such as James Cutler or Miller/Hull Partnership seem to come to mind, or an even better idea may be Shigeru Ban.) If you are a novice concerning architecture books who's just seeking a coffee-table book, start by picking up masters such as Mies or Corbu and work your way up into materials books.
   
   When buying books, it is not always true with books that you "pay for what you get," but in this case I paid relatively cheap, and that's exactly what I got.



2. This book is a must-read for architects and architecture students who are designing with wood. These well-chosen projects from around the world highlight the varying qualities which can be achieved through the use of wood. The designs reveal a close attention to the inherent properties of the material, and showcase many of the ways in which they can be exploited by a designer. The photographs nearly allow the reader to touch the material and feel the texture. This book is a great one to keep on the shelf and leaf through to ignite the imagination before beginning a new design. The book was previously published under the title "The New Wood Architecture."



3. If your expecting beautiful wooden architecture like Greene & Greene's or Val Agnoli's, look elsewhere. Most of the buildings in this book look cold and lifeless. I don't even think a Termite could stomach this book!



4. This book is not a very good guide for people interested in what its title claims to cover.
   The project selection is pretty poor with the exemption of a couple housed and Ando's projects.
   To put it simply the book lacks a larger gradient on the possibilities this material has to offer. The majority of the projects, which have practically no drawings to accompany them, are an aesthetic use of wood, and most of them do a poor job at this. Even so the book has great pictures and the projects are visually entertaining. They just don't sum up the new directions and design wood has taken in architecture.



5. You donÕt have to be a tree-hugger to love this book, which is as appealing to the senses as a forest after a spring shower. Stungo is based in London and the majority of the 31 buildings are European, though there are a few from Australia, Japan, and north AmericaÑincluding the marvelous Skyrose Chapel of Fay Jones and Maurice Jennings in Whittier. Sections examine green architecture, structural possibilities, and updating the vernacular, and houses are balanced by schools, museums, and sports buildings. Excellent photographs, plans, and sections supplement the concise text. (Michael Webb is the book reviewer for LA Architect magazine.)

1 comments about Structure in Architecture: The Building of Buildings.

1. I'm an university student. I think after read this book. About 'mechanics of materials' But I don't know. Because I'm baby engineer. So I want your's imformation. Please send me your's imformation. Please.........

3 comments about Noise Control Manual for Residential Buildings (Builder's Guide).

1. This is an invaluable reference. I've been searching for weeks for materials related to noise control in a residential setting. I've found only one "expert" in the yellow pages and he charges hundreds for his advice. This book provides all of the information he provided and more. Although, the editing isn't great and there are typos and other errors, the content is first-rate. For once, this book was exactly what I expected.



2. This is an invaluable reference. I've been searching for weeks for materials related to noise control in a residential setting. I've found only one "expert" in the yellow pages and he charges hundreds for his advice. This book provides all of the information he provided and more. Although, the editing isn't great and there are typos and other errors, the content is first-rate. For once, this book was exactly what I expected.



3. El Libro del Sr. Harris ha sido de gran ayuda en mi trabajo como Ingeniero Acústico. Sin lugar a dudas es un texto que debe estar en la biblioteca de toda persona ligada a la arquitectura, construcción y control de ruido. Un Gran Libro.

No comments about Membrane Structures: The Fifth Building Material.

2 comments about The Ranch House.

1. Mr Hess may be an architecture critic in San Jose but his focus in this book is low-end, tract style Ranch houses and his photographer, with similar credentials, is less inspired than a novice realtor photographing homes for the first time. When you realize his coffee house book was a 1950's effort, you know he doesn't have a broad experience beyond San Jose. Don't expect floor plans or any clues as to square feet under roof. This is a waste of time and money.



2. Another beautiful Alan Hess architectural history that deserves to become the standard work. The book is in two parts, in the first sixty-eight pages he writes a readable and interesting history of this very popular housing concept and being popular it was looked down on by the architectural elite and many critics. The second part (147 pages) is a pictorial study of twenty-six ranch houses photographed by Noah Sheldon.
   
   It is Sheldon's photos that makes the book come alive for me. With one photographer taking all the color photos there is a consistency of composition and color values and these 230 photos really work, with exteriors and interiors showing structural detail and the use of space. He manages to make the work of Cliff May, William Wurster or Harwell Hamilton Harris really sparkle plus Hess has written comprehensive captions to all these images, another refreshing plus for a highly visual book.
   
   The design and production can't be faulted though to really make it perfect I would have liked to see floor plans of the twenty-six houses. By the nature of the ranch house, on one floor and no need for second floor supporting walls, rooms could meander in any direction and the leading architects of the style certainly took advantage of this. The back pages have a bibliography and index. I think Hess has written an excellent survey of this past popular house style and it will appeal to anyone interested in domestic architectural design.
   
   ***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

No comments about Cairo of the Mamluks: A History of Architecture and its Culture.

1 comments about Circle Houses: Yurts, Tipis and Benders (House That Jack Built).

1. I thought the book gave an excellent description of yurts and tipis from a historical perspective and present day use. Its gives case studies/examples of people who current live in these types of unique dwellings. We added a couple of yurts to our North Georgia bed and breakfast inn. We have witnessed some of the feelings first hand that our guests have had that were also mentioned in the book by yurt dwellers.

No comments about Supersurfaces: Folding as a Form Generaion Method in Architecture.

1 comments about Daniel Libeskind Jewish Museum Berlin: Jewish Museum Berlin : Between the Lines (Architecture).

1. I just got this book from Amazon.com and I'm already enjoying it. It discusses very well many details on the Jewish Museum Berlin by Daniel Libeskind. Great photos and floor plans are provided as great visual aids. You can really gain an appreciation for this unique building by getting this book.

5 comments about Country Houses and Seaside Cottages of the Victorian Era (Dover Books on Architecture).

1. A nice little book on the subject. Gives the reader a basic covering on a variety of dwellings of the period but unfortunately rarely gives more than one or two floors of a design that uas three or four without providing a full set. Also doesn't provide scale for some designs.



2. Though these houses purport to be "country houses and seaside cottages," there's little reason they couldn't have been built in any Victorian small town. They range from a tiny three-room structure to a rambling 10-bedroom Dutch Gambrel mansion (called in those days a "villa") to a "club house" (easily altered to private use), a lakeside pavilion, a Baptist chapel, a "stone rectory in Iowa," and a couple of apartment blocks, one of which eerily reminds me of a building not far from my former home. These buildings are primarily of the Eastlake or Queen Anne style, the original book having appeared in 1883, an era when the front stair-hall was often as big as any other room and used as such. You'll need a magnifier to make out some of the details, but if you have any interest at all in late-Victorian domestic architecture, you need to have this volume on your shelves.



3. Is a great visually informative book. It gives the reader a better idea of the way homes were built in the late 19th century. The book covers a wide variety of victorian styles and includes plans, perspective views and elevations from a small 4 room cottage, to a huge 36+ room mansion in the Caribbean. I recomend this book to anybody interested in late 19th century victorian architecture.



4. is a wonderful book that shows how homes were designed and built in the late 19th century. It covers a variety of victorian styles and has floorplans along with perspective views and elevations from a small 3 room cottage to a 36+ room mansion. This is a great way to learn about victorian architecture.



5. This book has great illistrations and floor plans with elevations. It's a great way to learn about the way homes were built in the late 19th century. It also includes specifications for the builder. It contains many plans of many differt styles of victorian architecture from a simple 3 room home, to a 36+ room mansion.