No comments about Buenos Aires Style: Exteriors, Interiors, Details (Icon (Taschen)).

2 comments about Modern Cabin.

1. This pictorial review is very well done. The pictures are clear. In combination with architectural floor plan drawings and explanatory text they give one an excellent understanding of the space, circulation, features and finishes. Included is an extensive variety of contemporary styles from the small to grand, retreats to dwellings, eco friendly to luxurious, thought provoking to simply variations on a theme. If the reader is keen on more than just an out building this is a good read, a coffee table must to stimulate conversation or simply a way to spend vicarious time in another place.



2. Each of the 23 "modern cabins" included in this book is unique, beautifully designed and crafted for the specific site upon which it is built.
   The photography is spectacular and turning pages elicited many "ohs" and "ahs"!
   Kudos to Ms. Kodis!

4 comments about The Chinese Garden: History, Art and Architecture, Third Edition.

1. I've been a garden designer in Portland Oregon for twenty years and have spent over a year in China visiting gardens . This book is a very good place to begin if you want to understand , on a basic level, Chinese gardens . It is however, not the place to stop if you really seek to understand them . To do that you have to try to understand the culture and times which produced them. Fruitful Sites by Craig Clunas is the best work which I have found so far as it analyzes the gardens at Suzhou over the course of several dynasties. Chinese Classical Gardens of Suzhou (Hardcover)
   by Tun-Chen Liu, Joseph C. Wang is also a very good book . It is a critique of most of the principal gardens in Suzhou and it punctures the illusion the every Chinese garden is equally great and every feature wonderful. And if you are actually going to travel to China to see gardens you really should read both of Peter Valders books . They will help you understand Chinese plants and to find gardens in many Chinese cities. I don't always agree with Valder's assessments . He is quite restrained at times . And if you are planning to travel to Suzhou consider visiting Tongli as well. I also consider the gardens of The Slender West Lake in Yangzhou and other gardens there to be equal to many of the gardens in Suzhou. And if you are going to go to China I recommend you start reading The Orientalist online and purchase Beijing by Peter Neville Hadley so that you will not be shocked when you travel China . It is by no means an easy process if you want to travel beyond some air-con rip-off tour.



2. While the attitudes and examples of Japanese gardens abound in books and in cities around the world, very little has been written or photographs of the unique concepts found in the Chinese gardens. Maggie Keswick repairs that paucity of information with this very beautifully designed, photographed and written monograph on the spirit of the subtle beauties that abound in the Chinese garden.
   
   Keswick offers an in depth analysis of the history of gardens in China and even if the reader is not an avid horticulturist, just the amount of information about China alone is reason to read this book carefully. But in addition to the history and the architectural elements of these gardens here considered, there are many graceful photographs and accompanying illustrations that keep pace with the narrative while providing an encouragement to return to the book purely for the art of it.
   
   Keswick has found the middle ground in creating a volume about the elements of the Chinese garden and a volume that stands strongly as simply an art book. Highly recommended for repeated readings. Grady Harp, April 05



3. How great Chinese garden are!From north to south ,east to west,royal to normal,fancy to simple,you could see all of the best gardens in China.Especially two cities that must visit:Beijing,my hometown,and Suzhou,a wonderful small town built beside the river.The spirits of Chinese gardens were focused on how to combine nature and humanity together.The gardens in Suzhou absolutely rendered an ideal level without artificial fixing,you might called it "Eastern Venice".On the oher hand,Beijing seems much more luxurious since it used to be the capital of China for 5 dynasties.The best known garden named Summer Palace ,which settled in Western part of Beijing,belong to the royal family. A fire desaster ruined most valuable garden named Yuan Ming Yuan,if it still being there,Yuan Ming YUan might be the most gorgeous garden in the world.However we pitifully left a waste garden,morely a Country's shame.You luckily better read this book before you visit China.<>is a helpful tourguide take you a preview.



4. A superb study that is as engrossing as it is elegantly written and lavishly illustrated, and a sensitive inquiry into the aesthetics, the history and the philosophy that underpin an ancient and majestic civilization's view of mankinds's place within the cosmos. Both unique and profound. An essential work.

5 comments about Craftsman Homes: More than 40 Plans for Building Classic Arts & Crafts-Style Cottages, Cabins, and Bungalows.

1. Please understand that the author of this book, Gustav Stickley, is founder of the original Arts and Crafts movement which evolved to American Crafstman in the United States in the early part of the 20th century. This book is in fact the original work from that time period, so is dated in its composition, but, of course, an historically significant piece of literature.



2. This book has very poor sructural building plans. It informs of the classic arts and craftsman period and how it effected design. It did not inspire nor reveal any proceedure's on how certain designs were accomplished.



3. I was dissappointed in the poor illustrations and lack of depth on the topic.



4. This is a reprint of a house plan catalog from 1909. These books are actually exact reprints of original plan books from the turn of the century (1880-1925, roughly). Dover adds little or no modern explanations, just presenting the catalog as it was. So when one looks to review these books, one isn't really judging the modern-day publisher, or editing, or writing. The only modern element is the accuracy of reproduction- in some cases, if pages in the originals that Dover found are damaged or torn, that page is reproduced in the original with the tear, smudge, blot, or hole showing. So to judge the books, one has to compare each one to others of its kind, and then to decide whether the material in it is thorough and complete according to the standards of its time. Since there are several dozen of these catalogs published by Dover, we have the basis for such a comparison.

   Stickley and the Craftsman school of design are well known. Many people own bungalows, or admire them even if they don't own them. What getting a book such as this does, is give a person insight into the details of the lifestyle of the time, of the philosophy of the architects/designers, and so on.

   This particular book is one of my favorites. As with other Stickley catalogs, it includes several essays. The first one is "The Simplification of Life: A Chapter from Edward Carpenter's book called 'England's Ideal'". This essay resonates today, with people who are looking to get away from some of the modern excesses of possessions and displays of wealth, to a simpler life. There is also a review of another book, with quotes from it: "The Art of Building a Home" by Barry Parker and Raymond Unwin.

   One of the features of this catalog is that along with the exterior view and floor plan of every house, there is an extensive written description. For many of the houses there are drawings of the interior, with suggestions for furnishings. There are also examples of what types of light fixtures one might use. The written descriptions, in some cases, even include alternate ways to finish the house to save money or to adapt it to a particular type of location. Most of the illustrations are drawings/paintings; there are a few photographs, but not many. The drawings of the interiors include wallpapers and curtains. One illustration even shows a Craftsman piano! There are some concrete/cement houses, including ones mixing concrete with wood construction.

   There are a few houses in the book without indoor bathrooms, which is not unusual for the period, but most have a full bath, and some have two bathrooms. Almost all have extensive built-ins: sideboards, bookcases, benches and settles, shelves. There are illustrations of the kitchens; while built-in kitchen cabinets as we know them now were not common at the time, these illustrations show kitchens furnished with the cabinets and tables that were common, and show the placement of stoves, water heaters, etc. There are also some wonderful examples of inlaid decorative wood flooring, and large sections on Craftsman furniture, metal work, and fabrics and needlework.

   One of my favorite things in the whole book is "Two Inexpensive but Charming Cottages for Women Who Want Their Own Homes." It's difficult for us to imagine now, how radical an idea that was - that women might want to own their own homes without necessarily getting married. Recognizing that even if she works, a woman's income at that time would be significantly less than a man's, Stickley designs these homes to be economically built. He describes how two or three single women might manage to share such a home, making it more affordable. Very forward-thinking for the time!

   In sum: this is more than just a plan book; the only bad point is that if this is your first exposure to plan books, then the subsequent ones you read will seem plain and lacking by comparison. Definitely should be in the collection of anyone interested in turn-of-the-century architecture or restoring houses.




5. This book assisted us in the redesign of our home in the craftsman tradition. A good reference for us to formulate our ideas, and for our architects to see what we liked. Worth the price

4 comments about Constructing Architecture: Materials, Processes, Structures; a Handbook.

1. Excellent book, everything you wished to know about construction, it's there explained, in theory, in in technical drawings, and with images of contemporary buildings.
   The way it is organized is very straightfoward, good index, with all themes and sub-themes making sense.
   One of the buys of the year for me...



2. I have reviewed many attempts at a comprehensive description of the complex subject of architecture, and this is the best. This book is far better than the exhaustively recommended Francis Ching (all due respect), and even better than Unwin's Architectural Notebook, which is also excellent. This is the very first book I would recommend for any serious architecture student. It covers tectonics and construction in elegant detail but, even more importantly, this book delves into the conceptual intentions behind the tectonics, at every scale. Telling examples, well chosen, illuminate the ideas, and the case studies feature some of the finest contemporary architecture in the world today. Simply the best.



3. The English title might be misleading--this book is not about 'construction', but rather about what the Germans call Baukunst, the art of construction, or the art of 'putting buildings together', considering the spatial order as an inseparable part of that putting things together.
   The book provides a structured approach to the basics of contemporary architectural composition, several essays introducing fundamental concepts and giving you the bibliography to go into them in detail (the key part is making them all fit into an overall framework, and pointing at the sources that normally take years to discover), and illustrate several remarkable buildings in remarkable detail, with excellent descriptions reaching a depth and quality of analysis unfortunately missing in typical architectural publications.
   Andrea Deplazes, the editor and author or co-author of many of the articles, teaches at the Zurich ETH (and I would guess the same must be true for the authors of most of the other articles), which for well over a hundred years has been one of the few true schools of architecture in the world. The book glows with the power of this accumulated knowledge developed in a true academic environment since the times of Semper. It also gives a glimpse at how the ETH consistently produces first class ordinary architecture, and for that matter first class extraordinary architecture too.
   This book will be of huge value to every architecture student, teacher, and architectural designer. I bought it by a fortunate mistake --I thought a construction book from the ETH was sure to be an excellent reference book on technology, and the mail delivered a treasure trove of architectural knowledge instead.



4. I purchased this book for a construction class and as an architecture student, I find it very helpful. The book is not a construction how-to and the images are not very detailed nor are any of the images in color, but it is a compilation of a variety of architectural examples that use different or innovative construction methods. A great supplement to a studio course for inspiration and incorporating interesting structure into projects.

5 comments about The Architecture of John Lautner (Universe Architecture Series).

1. It is wonderful to see a book devoted to the houses that John Lautner designed. However, the small format (8.2 x 6.5) doesn't do justice to the details of his designs.



2. Fantastic architecture and pictures.
   I needed it for my new house as inspiration, and my architect has Luutner as one of his favourites.



3. Lauther has been able to utillize unbuildable sites to create rooms with beautiful views.



4. it is amazing to see how the designs of the mid 1900's seem so contemporary even to the present day. this book captures the designs via beautiful photography and commentary.
   even the layman will be amazed to find that many of the buildings have been used in the media for many years. whether in movies or magazines they have been associated with the most contemporary designs of our time.
   highlights this architects mastery of a typical material palette of concrete, wood, and steel.



5. This book is really beautiful, the pictures are of great value. If the architecture can be said as to be a little "out of fashion" (I mean architecture of the fifties), it is anyway wonderful and inspiring to see such beautiful house. there is a lot of wonderful pictures of all the major houses build by lautner during his career. the only things that can be missed in this book is that there is no drawings but anyway, I really believe it's a good book.

5 comments about Geodesic Math and How to Use It.

1. I don't like to spend money on information that I can get for free. I found plenty of free information about geodesics on the web, but not enough.
   
   I'm glad I spent the cash. This book filled in all the gaps.
   
   It is not for people with weak math skills.
   
   The book seems confusing at first, but if you keep reading and studying you will be rewarded with a deeper understanding of geodesics than you can imagine.
   
   This book is a "must have" for anyone who wants to build their own dome, or just learn more about geodesics.
   
   And yes, it's worth learning the math skills to understand this book.



2. To paraphrase Barbara Mandrell, geodesic domes were green when green wasn't cool. I read this book in college and was sorely tempted to steal it out of the university library because it had gone out of print and was just not available new or used anywhere else. I kicked myself later for not yielding to temptation when I went to check it out again and realized that someone else stole it before me! Seriously, give Kenner his rightful due, this is a classic in its field. What is my test for saying so? It has been thirty years since the book's first printing and has yet to see its equal. And there have been many many contenders. I could not recommend any one book higher for hobbyist or even professional reference to geodesic calculation and the practical design of geodesic domes. Though Hugh is no longer with us, five years gone as I am writing this, but the effects of his powerful intellect live on and continue to infect others with his inquisitive spirit by way of such seminal work.



3. Seemed over-technical at 1st, but after about a year has been my reference book on geodesics & making all kinds of geodesic domes... It lists chord factors (lengths of segments before applying radius of dome) on tables to 7 decimals for various domes @ the end of the book if you don't want do calculate w/formulas provided. If your familiar with trigonometry, it will let you jump around chapters that are of more interest.
   
   This book was originally copyrighted in 1976, but not edited for this 2nd paperback 2003 Edition (glossy color cover). The author, Hugh Kenner (1923-2003), has compiled a very thorough book. Very well written & explained in orderly fashion with excellent general layout & (especially for the time) detailed diagrams plus cross page-references. IMO there is very little that I would change except for replacing current diagrams with modern CAD generated illustrations, that's about it.
   
   Has 172 pages with several blank pages for notes (I note in the wide margins instead) & is 8.7 x 8.7 x 0.5 inches. Not a small book but not a big bulky one either. Makes for a lot of information handy to store just about anywhere...
   ____________________________________________________________________________________
   
   I found many formulas & shortcuts throughout the book. From Chapter 12 I plotted a 16 frequency (# of divisions making total # of triangles) icosahedron (the typical geodesic polyhedron shape) dome with 3880 chords or "struts". Even made them into arcs for a perfectly round sphere. Chapter 12 has "Using the Tables" with a simple symmetric triangle xyz-grid on a spreadsheet. Each chord calculated does not rely on another chord's result, so chance of error is greatly reduced. Chapter 14 "Truncations" has "Truncation by Rotation", which saves time on calculating the rest of the chords in dome, or moving chords by their symmetry.
   
   This "still nicely" bound book after a lot of use covers tension & tensegrities, subdivisions, great circles, symmetry & breakdowns, choosing a polyhedron, spherical coordinate system, ellipses & superellipses, truncations, space frames & many kinds of angles - plus charts & other resources @ the end.
   
   A free program on the web called Windome is useful to 8 decimals, but lacks input parameters like radius... So I use it to verify chord factors. From 2-16v involving about 12,240 chords plotting all verified (to 15 digits) on 1st try. Besides spreadsheets, formulas can be used in programming like "The R Project", formulas & programs are also written for old Hewlett-Packard HP-35, 21 & 45 series calculators & programs filed with the HP-65 library (circa mid-1970's). I guess it also goes to show Hewlett-Packard has a history in the PC & hardware programming business...
   
   One thing - spherical coordinate symbols for Theta & Phi are switched, though referenced in correct order (check Mathworld). Easy to correct, just read "Phi symbol" as Theta & "Theta symbol" as Phi - references & formulas will be in order. This book was written in mid-1970's, guess more? people then used this as convention.
   ____________________________________________________________________________________
   
   There are many good free sources on the web for geodesic domes & math plotting through Cartesian x,y,z and/or spherical Theta, Phi coordinates using basic trigonometry. This book cost me $13.57 shipped free brand new & is WELL worth it, even after searching the web...
   
   
   A final word of caution on building materials for domes in general: if you use wood make sure you take extra fireproofing precautions, unless it's a temporary frame. 2 domes here in town (on same lot) burnt down before fire department got to them - and they were right down the street! The intense heat from both fires left nothing except the slab & melted everything.
   
   So, when they start to burn there is very little time to exit the structure. As energy efficient as they are, the same design allows for a very efficient combustion, especially with wood stud frames & panels. Other problems arise as well with ventilating interior wood frames to help prevent condensation.
   
   There are many other materials that will not burn that could make up the panels (like from American Ingenuity, Inc.), or even a monolithic concrete pour over a temporary plastic covered geodesic wood frame. Another method that doesn't use geodesics is a "monolithic shotcreted airform dome" (from a company called Monolithic Dome Institute).



4. The subject very well presented and in a way that is easy to understand. Gives the underlying math to be able to use our modern computers setting on our desk tops to go far beyond what one person could do 25 years ago.



5. Well, the time has come for the pirates to take a hike. UC Press is reprinting this book. The information I have indicates both hard and softcover bindings...It will be available this year (2003).

   Geodesic Math and How To Use It is an extremely well written book, and with the NASA papers, forms the "canon of applied geodesic math." It is a great book, well written and useful.

3 comments about Carlo Scarpa: Architecture and Design.

1. About this great architect I adore,I have seen some books such as , and in the libraries. Last month I bought it for collection.But after reading it,I was so disappointed.There is not any detail, sketch,even a section,which you really want to know. The contents of the books will be found from Internet. if you never know him ,the book is just so so.But as a professional Architects, I commend the other three books .



2. Excellent coverage of Scarpa's work. There are great shots of Scarpa's intricate detailing as well as shots expressing his space making abilities. Scarpa combined the spirit of the international style, the warmth of Finish modernist materiality, and the passion of Italian arts and crafts tradition. He was a modernist with heart. One of the men listed in the acknowledgements gave my studio group a tour of some if his best works in northern Italy including the Brion tomb. The man cried during his lecture. Scarpa brought heart to a building aesthetic that seems largely sterile when comparing his contemporaries on the other side of the Alps. I hope this book popularizes this truely skilled architect and draws greater attention to what he accomplished during his career. This book is pertinent to anyone interested in architecture, interior design, or decorative arts. His genious was as much in the process of design as it was in the completed product. He developed decades long relationships with builders and craftsmen. Buy this book and spend hours studying every detail in the photos. You are going to learn something. You might even shed a tear after leaning how he passed away.



3. This book fulfills the promise that "Carlo Scarpa: The Complete Works" did not deliver in that it is a very complete survey of Scarpa's built work. Among the things the book does very well includes the photography, which even of works as well documented as the Brion Cemetery and the Castlevecchio, shows very different angles than what has typically been seen elsewhere. I also really appreciate the inclusion of diagrams indicating from where the images are taken.
   The book is structured as a chronological survey of Scapra's work, with accompanying text explaining the brief history of the project, Scarpa's involvement (often done as a collaboration or in the case of posthumously completed buildings, the people involved), as well as the structure's current condition (to the extent of showing the Venezuela Pavilion's shocking dilapidation in hopes of spurring a restoration).
   I only hope that this book provokes enough interest in Scarpa's work that a comprehensive book on his drawings is produced.

4 comments about Erwin Hauer: Continua-Architectural Screen and Walls.

1. If you want a book that can be used as a tool for deriving patterns and architectural forms, this is a great book to add to the library. Very innovative works.



2. this book is done very nicely and provides me with aesthetic and informative material !!



3. Excellent b+w illustrations and clear layout. Very informative and inspiring works.



4. The Greeks used the word LOGOS to refer to reasonable speech, articulated reasoning expressed in words. Our modern word LOGIC derives from this root. Erwin Hauer has, over the many years of his career as a working artist, elaborated a visible LOGOS, a logos not of words but of forms. These forms were initially realized to serve a commercial, architectural purpose -- they were built as walls or screens -- but the logic they embody will delight, or thrill, any observer who pays close attention to the display they present. One comes to suspect that this logic, and not just the commercial commision that occasioned them, is the driving force behind Hauer's investigation.

   The book is designed and produced with an eye towards clarity and precision, making it totally in sympathy with the vision it presents. Anyone who enjoys seeing an idea recognized, seized, and elaborated with intense concentration will enjoy this book.

3 comments about The Complete Taj Mahal.

1. Having visited the Taj Mahal, I wanted to have an authoritative book on the history behind its construction and this book is not only an excellent souce, but also a very good photographic record of this amazing Wonder of the World!



2. Having read a number of books about the Taj Mahal, including the recently published one by the Prestons, I would bet good money that if given a copy of Ebba Koch's book to preview, those truly interested in India's national treasure will buy THE COMPLETE TAJ MAHAL, even if they have to skip lattes or lunches to afford it, even if they have already done so to afford Okada/Joshi/Nou's Taj Mahal with its stunning photography.
   
   One reason, of course, is that TCTM is so complete. To others' overviews of the material covered, I would add only that Koch does not neglect the human element. For example, in eight introductory pages of text, Koch provides excellent background information about Shah Jahan, his wife and his predecessors; later, she details Jahan's passion for building. Koch also includes interesting information about the artisans, craftsmen and laborers who did the actual work as well as details about others associated with the Taj-related structures/gardens of Agra. Further humanizing the story of this garden city are colorful Mughal paintings of its nobility and rulers.
   
   Another aspect of TCTM that makes it a must-have are the many photographs of sites, structures and architectural ornamentation, photographs "The Hindu" declared "often brilliant" as well as "judiciously chosen." Just how apt these descriptions are is suggested by the following: There were only seven pages of O/J/Nou's photographic extravaganza of the Taj complex that I photocopied to tuck into Koch's book, and of them, five were additional close-ups of floral inlays and calligraphy. Adding to the appeal of TCTM is that the camera goes beyond the splendors of the Taj complex. Of special interest to those who have been in Agra, for instance, will be the realistic photographs of the Taj Mahal peeking above the "agglomeration of haphazard constructions" that have "almost obliterated" its bazaar and caravanserai. Shown, too, are its architectural precedents as well as artisan workshops and quarries. Though most of the photographs in this book are in color, even those in black and white are revealing.
   
   Also making TCTM next to impossible to resist are the "company drawings," most of which are in color as well. Forerunners of postcards, they were "made by local artists in the early days of the Raj" for European tourists, who bought them "to illustrate their journals." Works of art in themselves, often the drawings are so detailed that they could easily be photographs. But they do not serve as mere eye candy: many are of Taj-related structures that no longer exist or have been stripped of all that made them magnificent; some are juxtaposed with recent photographs to show the toll time has taken on the brilliance of color and intricacy of design. Evocative paintings and watercolors of the Taj Mahal by foreign artists are included as well.
   
   What may ultimately sell people on TCTM, however, is that it is a book they will actually enjoy reading much if not all of. Not only is Koch's narrative writing fluid and easy-to-digest. Even her descriptions of architecture will be relatively easy for laymen to understand, provided that they are willling to refer to the glossary of terms and look at the many visual aids, including Barraud's "precise and clear" line drawings, that accompany the text. So well done is this book, in fact, that as "The Hindu" noted, even "information which is more technical and not at face value so interesting to general readers will, in fact, be found by them to be equally absorbing." (All I would personally exclude from this are the two pages of precise measurements of the Taj complex.)
   
   To another reviewer's assertion that TCTM is a book that "should be in the library of anyone fascinated by the Taj Mahal, not just historians and architects," I add a thousand "Amen's." --B. Evans, 4/14/07



3. A superlative volume showing in detail and with historic drawings, maps, and photos, as well modern illustrations and reconstructions the unsurpassed achievements of the Mughal in residential garden architecture. The riverbanks of the Yamuna River as it passes through Agra was where this artistic impulse achieved culmination in the seventeenth century garden residences and tombs sponsored by the nobles and rulers of the Mughal state and built by the craftsmen of India. One of the signal contributions of this book is the inclusion of the stories of the architects, carpenters, and masons who left their signatures and marks on the individual elements of the overall project. The residential and tomb gardens which stretched along the river and are now mostly gone gave way at midpoint to the grandest residence of all, the Red Fort which remains today the second greatest landmark of Agra. And at the southern end of the development stands today the greatest tomb ever built, one of the architectural wonders of the world, the Taj Mahal. The work is so complete that it documents not only the construction efforts but also the tourism that followed and the depth to which the Taj Mahal became embedded in the consciousness of the world. The culmination of three decades of meticulous research this substantial volume tells an engrossing story of the planning, development, and eventual decline of a unique garden city. It more than fulfills the adjective "complete" and should be in the library of anyone fascinated by the Taj Mahal, not just historians and architects. A truly extraordinary accomplishment.