5 comments about Chicago Architecture and Design.

1. My nephew loved it. He grew up in Milwaukee, went to school and lives in California. He comes to Chicago about every other year.



2. This book has beautifull photographs. The book is much deeper than other Chicago architecture books because it has a well thought out historical review of the progression of Chicago architecture. Interesting even for the lay person like me.



3. This book provides an excellent introduction to Chicago's numerous schools of architecture over the years. It also provides a photographic tour of the city's important buildings, from the late 1800s to the present day. The photography is great! Highly recommended for fans of Chicago or architecture buffs in general.



4. I thought this book was very interesting it has great pictures of the buildings in Chicago. It has alot of information about the beginning of when Architects wanted to build something modern but unqiue at the same time. Get inspired by the great exterior and interior of these amazing buildings.



5. This book described many of the significant architects in Chicago history. I found it to be informative and very readable. It is the best book I have found which summarizes Chicago Architecture. The color photograghs are excellent

5 comments about Adobe Houses for Today: Flexible Plans for Your Adobe Home.

1. this book was very informative, and had mulitple plans with all kinds of potential additions. great book for someone looking for a book that can give them concrete ideas for building an adobe house.



2. I agree with other reviewers that one of the most important features of this book is that in the 12 example plans presented, you can economically plan and build the Basic smaller version of 850 to 1000 sq. ft. and when the need arises, add on to the design. If any design meets your needs, you can purchase a working blueprint for $25 including postage and also included at no extra cost for the more technically minded, are a CD-ROM of a CAD version of the chosen working drawing that you can alter making this one of the most complete and convenient packages I have had the pleasure to use.
   
   The one reviewer who said, "If you are looking for old traditional Adobe home plans this is not what you are looking for." was correct. But, if you are looking for a modern adobe home with passive solar traits that is well thought out and will lead you step-by-step, this is the book/package for you. Covers both traditional "flat roofs" and "gabled roofs".



3. Adobe Houses for Today is a concise discussion of building with adobe. All the house plans are well thought out and enable a core house to be built first. While living in the core house, you can build on additional rooms without making structural changes to the core house. The homes appeal to a variety of builders from southwest flat roof styles to homes with gable roofs. Excellent resource.



4. This is a terrific book to get started thinking about the adobe home you want to build, especially if you're planning on building "green." The floor plans and accompanying CAD generated images are practical and straightforward. The text covers the basics of adobe home building, including the advantages and disadvantages the owner may want to consider first. If you're considering building a modest adobe home, this book is an excellent place to begin. Working blueprints of the floor plans are available for a minimal cost as well should the owner decide to adopt one as is.



5. If you are looking for old traditional Adobe home plans this is not what you are looking for. Other than, this is a very interesting book, very useful in where to get things done.

5 comments about New Directions in Tropical Asian Architecture.

1. This book was given to me as a birthday gift from my mother-in-law. I absolutely love this book. There are many beautiful photos. There are places and subjects that I never knew had so much beauty. Because I am already a huge fan of art and architecture, it was fun to learn about the many influences to Filipino style. I liked it so much that I had to buy a copy for my father (Born in Las Pinas - Metro Manila, Philippines)



2. I'm an Architectural Designer that lives/works in Jamaica and Bermuda and I'm also a fan of modern/contemporary architecture. I own a number of books on the subject, but few tend to address basic climatic issues that we in the Tropics face (and rightly so, since they are about projects north of the tropics). I've just received the book from my freight forwarder and had a chance to browse thru it. It really looks interesting and certainly provides inspiration for projects that can be successfully executed in our hot, humid climate.
   The inclusion of architectural drawings (Plans, Sections, Elevations) is also welcome - too many books on Architecture neglect this very important point. I think this may be the telling factor for deciding whether this is to be another one of my coffee-table books, or a serious informative reference for ideas and inspiration. For now, I'm leaning to the latter.



3. This book is a great book for young Filipino Americans who need some inspiration. As a Filipino American growing up in USA, I never really felt any connection with the Philippines. I was brought up by knowing only the stereotypes that sometimes make a Filipino American want to shy with embarrassment. Stereotypes are everywhere within any culture. By reading this book and flipping through the pages, I saw that Philippines is a beautiful place. Everyone needs take a look at this book. It's a great eye opener for Filipino Americans who have problems accepting their own skin.



4. I bought this book for myself. It's a true treasure trove of visual treats. Have you wanted to know how the homes of the rich and/or famous in the Philippines look? The variety of materials available for buidling and furnishing homes in the Philippines is astounding--rich woods, a wide spectrum of fabric, ethnic carvings and woven work. Linger over the detailed photographs in this book! Now I know what to get for my sisters and in-laws for Christmas!



5. Finally, a book on Traditional and Contemporary Philippine Interior Design by a reputable author/photographer. It will give the reader a good sense of Native Interiors to Traditional influences of Spanish-Colonial Interior Design and Architecture. Very superb photographs. Beautiful renderrings in the Furniture Dictionary.

1 comments about Implementing SOA : Total Architecture in Practice.

1. Brown's book is a sign that the field of SOA is maturing. The book's heft is because it is a collection of the most significant design patterns in SOA. The early chapters give an overview of SOA and what Brown calls Total Architecture Synthesis. A wholistic view of people, processes, information and (hardware) systems.
   
   But it may be best to treat the book from a top-down classification of patterns. Where the top level has the sections Collaboration, Communication, Data, etc. There is an abundance of patterns. Which in itself might address some of you sceptical about the entire field of SOA. Sure, it has its buzzwords and jargon. However, the set of patterns and their subgroupings might make SOA more applicable to your situation, rather than just having nice high level statements of vague generality.
   
   Many readers might [should] already be familiar with patterns, if you come from a programming background. This will indeed help when reading the book, for several terms and concepts will be familiar. Note however a key qualitative difference between the book's patterns and those of [eg] Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code (The Addison-Wesley Object Technology Series). Fowler's patterns refer to code that often all sits in one machine, or perhaps in a group of machines co-located in the same server room. So bandwidth and latency are not issues. With SOA, these often arise as vital considerations. SOA refers to spatially distributed systems; maybe over large distances.

5 comments about Home by Design: Transforming Your House Into Home.

1. I had borrowed this book from the library and loved it for Susanka's creative ideas and beautiful photographs. So I ordered it on Amazon. Unfortunately, as I looked through my copy I noticed that the photos weren't quite as clear. Then I realized that the colors weren't as appealing. Some paint shades I had flagged in the library copy for their warm brown tones look positively green in my edition. Upon comparing the two books, I realized that my copy had been printed in the U.S., the library copy in Singapore. I wish I had known this before ordering--I'd have purchased the book at Border's instead.



2. This is the best book on home design available. It provides guidance on creative ways to use space, light, and order to create a house that really feels like home.
   
   I believe this is one of Susanka's best books, and in my opinion, one of the best introductions to "pop" architecture available. Susanka exposes us little people to the idea of design patterns in architecture, a concept first introduced by Christopher Alexander thirty to forty years ago. In fact, many of the patterns she explores were first uncovered in Alexander's work.
   
   Susanka isn't quite as nutty as Alexander was. She does a better job than Alexander of describing patterns. She demonstrates her patterns with beautiful photography, and describes them so well that you can almost imagine yourself occupying the room as she describes it. She has developed something of a cult following over the past few years, but this book is really worth reading.
   
   My wife and I are planning to build a house soon. We've worked with our designer to incorporate many of the patterns that Susanka describe in Home by Design: varied ceiling heights, lowered soffits, alcoves, light at the end of a tunnel, and more.
   
   Many have given this book a negative review because the houses used to illustrate the patterns are obviously big and/or expensive. That's a valid point. But there is no reason why the patterns can't be applied in smaller and more reasonably priced homes. There is also a lot of repetition in the "Not So Big" series, which includes Home by Design. Most of the books use the same examples, the same or similar photos, and describe the same patterns. If you only buy one Susanka book, this is the one.
   
   The bottom line: if you're building a new house, or remodeling an existing one, buy this book.



3. I have increased respect for Sarah Susanka after reading this book. It is well organized and clearly explains her concepts. But you have to remember when reading this book that the meat is in the text. Make no mistake, this is a beautiful book. Perhaps too much so that some of the reviewers here have mistaken it for a "browse through" book. This is very much a textbook for thinking about houses. The contents are written in plain, lay-person English, but that does not mean that your brain can take the back seat while reading it. You really have to concentrate to take it all in. Also, this is not a so-called "idea book". You will have to proactively use your imagination in order to apply any of the concepts explained in this book to your own house, whether you have lots of money or not. One of the most extravagant examples in this book is a poolhouse built for an obviously very rich client. Yet this spare-no-cost structure has art glass windows on one side of the fireplace and not the other. Also it has no windows in the bathroom. And Susanka takes the time to explain that these things were not oversights. Now, if rich people can do these things on purpose as design statements, there is no shame in a not-so-rich person adopting the ideas to save costs. But you really have to use your brains to do so. Otherwise you will end up saying (like some reviewers have) "This book is useless if you don't have lots of money".



4. GREAT ON UTILIZING SMALL SPACE /NATUAL LIGHT fRANK LLOYD 'S HOUSE'S RICH
   IN EXAMPLES OF SHELTER AROUND ACTIVITY OFTEN A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT HEIGHTS NOT ONLY THINKS OF THE VIEW FROM WITHIN AND OUTSIDE /
   A SEQUENCE OF PLACES /ALL SPACES EVEN THOUGH SEPERATED SHOW THEY CAN WORK TOGETHER IN AN EFFECTIVE WAY .
   SEQUENCE OF SPACE EVEN OUT SIDE DECKS THAT EXTEND INTO A LIVING SPACE
   i GIVE THIS BOOK A 5*****



5. This is a great book. Lots of great ideas with visuals to help you understand the effects of doing something one way or another. Lots of good ideas that can be used in any home. I open it up on a daily basis and keep finding more great ideas.

3 comments about Japan Modern: New Ideas for Contemporary Living.

1. I've long been interested in the Japanese approach to design of all sorts, but especially architecture. Coming from a much different tradition, the solutions to problems and needs for shelter are often very different than those arrived at by architects with Euro-American tastes and training. Some of the examples depicted so beautifully and discussed so shrewdly in this volume are rooted strongly in Japan's history, such as an old farmhouse relocated to Tokyo and fitted into an urban neighborhood. Others are playful, like the house with a lawn on the peaked roof, watered by a sprinkler system on the ridgepole, and with the courtyard floored in clay roof tiles. There's a two-story "miniature" house with a footprint not much larger than two parking spaces, but which still manages to be a very comfortable environment for actually living in. And, naturally, there are structures *so* experimental, you might not realize they were houses if you weren't told. There are homes in this collection I would love to live in, and others that would probably give me nightmares, but all of them are fascinating.



2. This book provides total eye candy for design enthusiasts. Not your typical formulaic shoji screen stuff. Very original solutions to design problems from a Japanese perspective. I find it very inspiring and look at it all the time.



3. This book is filled with page after page of stunning rooms and living spaces in Japan. A must for anyone who believes all Japanese live in cramped, dark, unattractive homes. An excellent conversation starter and coffee table book.

No comments about My Father, Frank Lloyd Wright.

1 comments about Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future.

1. This book was put together as an accompaniment to a touring exhibit of Eero Saarinen's work. It is one of three books I purchased for an architectural class project on Saarinen and this book is the best of the three, more comprehensive, more personal, and just as if not more informative. I would highly recommend it, it offers tremendous insight into the man as well as the work. The personal interviews and discussions at the end are superb. The editors obviously have a great admiration and affection for Saarinen, and they do an excellent job of making you understand why.

1 comments about Builder's Essentials: Plan Reading & Material Takeoff.

1. i did not know anything about building materials before and now i am an expert (well almost)

No comments about Otto Neurath.