1 comments about Paulo Mendes da Rocha: Fifty Years 1957-2007.

1. Paulo Mendes da Rocha
   This is a book of ideas. Opening each chapter, text written by the architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha present the themes that show up time and again throughout his work: territory, technique and the city. The projects illustrate each of these selected subjects, making up a veritable visual narrative. Likewise, brief descriptions transcend the mere classificatory sequence of the projects and complement the narrative.
   The first of the texts, "The Americas, architecture and nature," deals with the relationship between architecture and territory. According to Paulo Mendes da Rocha, territory orients the architectural project, while the project humanizes nature. One example of this acting on space is his project for the Library of Alexandria, in Egypt. In it, the architect ventures beyond the limits of the piece of land set aside for the library's structure, aiming to incorporate the Kings Peninsula into the project and proposing to install the library's gardens there -- as if the possibility of the building and its gardens were already contained within the very landscape. In other works, Paulo Mendes goes so far as to conceal his building in order to establish a subtle dialogue with the city already built around it, as in his project for the Rio de Janeiro Public Library, an underground construction, or for the Beaubourg, a complex array of enclosures that accompanies the design of medieval Paris' alleyways.
   In the Americas, however, the adventure of the occupation of territory has its peculiarities. The new continent, still under construction, demands new horizons for design as well, an original and clever spatiality. This original character appears in Paulo Mendes da Rocha's plans for the recuperation of Vitória Bay, in the state of Espirito Santo, and in the feats achieved with the Elevated Reservoir in Urania and in the City of Tietê, both in the state of Sao Paulo. The new design proposed by the architect is founded in a critical revision of colonialism, and represents the hand of man in strategically chosen points in nature.
   In "The genealogy of imagination," Paulo Mendes highlights man's attempt to make viable his own existence by exploring the transforming power of technique.
   His enchantment with the capacity of human engineering is what made him marvel, as a child, at the construction in the Port of Vitória, and what drives him in the conception of such projects as the gymnasium at the Paulistano Athletic Club -- a concrete ring supported by six pillars from whose upper extremes extend the steel cables that hold up the central metal covering.
   One of the most beautiful contributions of Paulo Mendes da Rocha's work lies in its striving for resources that are technically perfect for the consolidation of spaces. This constant exploration can be verified in both his large and small projects, as is the case with Brazil's pavilion at the Osaka 70 Expo in Japan, in which the articulation of the structure is especially projected to resist seismic shocks, or with the retractable metal staircase in the Forma store, which serves both as access to the upper floor and as the piece with which the building is shut. The architect's meticulous dedication in his search for a synthesis of a design and form as beautiful as they are technically impeccable serves as an homage to human genius and its drive to find solutions to life's puzzles.
   Paulo Mendes da Rocha believes that architecture must not be seen as a finished object that sits static on the landscape, nor the city as an assemblage of self-referencing monuments. This tendency to venerate the past results in the praise of representation over realization. As he understands it, architecture is a modifier of space and of landscape. It meets both social and aesthetic human needs. Paulo Mendes sees history as it relates to the future.
   This posture is explicit in "The city for all," the third and final part of the book, in which we find his projects for the Bela Vista Grotto Park, the Poupatempo Public Service Center in Sao Paulo's Itaquera district, and the "Zezinho Magalhaes Prado" CECAP Housing Project in Guarulhos, a complex whose prefabrication principle inspired the Gerassi House. The city must build a structure that is supportive of life and takes its myriad dimensions into account: habitation, commerce, services, transportation, leisure and work.
   The project which closes this book is Paulo Mendes' proposal for the recuperation of the Bay of Montevideo, the fruit of an international architecture seminar organized for Uruguayan students. Closing this narrative in the context of a classroom is symbolic, as, in addition to his admirable mastery of design and technique, Paulo Mendes da Rocha dedicates himself daily to the task of educating. Not just students, but also small and major clients, friends and colleagues -- all of us, in short, still have much to learn from his impassioned discourses. Many of his works sprang up sustained by the enthusiasm of his words. We bring some of them together here.

2 comments about Element.

1. The book was a surprise. As stated by other reviewers it has a hightened sense of graphic representation, with overlay line and pattern making searching out patterns in specifically chosen natural landscapes... It was this back to a base principle that was the interesting part. Basic yes. Fundamental yes. It leaves you with more a 'taught to fish' rather than 'given the fish' approach - which can be most infuriating when wishing to have a straight and direct answer. It a book that with a mind emptied of immediate questions will delight both mentally and aesthetically. I recommended this text for the simplicity of underlying basics that leads to the more complex.



2. I really enjoyed Balmond's previous book, "Informal", so I bought this one right away.
   But instead of a inspired engineer sharing his knowledge about complex design, here you can find drawings on photographs of beautiful landscapes (searching for patterns) and his "poetic" thoughts on nature.
   I have to say that this book is beautiful and well designed, but is not challenging intellectually like I hoped. If you're interested in architecture, stick to "Informal", way better than this one.

2 comments about Urban Land Use Planning, Fifth Edition.

1. Needed it for Grad Urban Planning class...Got book, difficult at first with terminology, but than it goes smoothly. It mainly is about draft planning and the creation of...It does a good job outlining all the issues, but making you're own outline of ure notes from the book will help even more...



2. Arrived in a timely manner and as good as new. Good reading so far too.

2 comments about Paris Changing: Revisiting Eugene Atget's Paris.

1. What Berenice Abbott et al did for New York, Atget and Raushenberg have done for Paris.



2. Last summer I saw the Atget exhibit at the Bibliotheque Nationale, which was a marvelous passage through a lost time. This book matches some of those absorbing old photos with photos of the same location taken today. I think it's a fascinating book and I can lose myself in the nuances while comparing the photos. This pasttime may not be to everyone's taste, but I highly recommend the book to thoughtful people who enjoy looking at things.

5 comments about Big House, Little House, Back House, Barn: The Connected Farm Buildings of New England -- 20th Anniversary Edition.

1. The author gives the "how and why the connected farm emerged in the mid-to-late 19th century and the story these buildings tell about the common New England farm and the people who made them."
   Hubka has written extensively about traditional American buildings and architectural design methods and teaches at the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
   I love the old pictures like the one showing a family and horses in front of a Saco house and barn.
   "According to Hubka, the primary reason for connected farms was agrarian reform, which was spurred in the 1840s and '50s by competition from new, larger farms in the Midwest. Connected buildings allowed New Englanders to take on home-based industry, such as candle- and cheese-making, while continuing to farm and still have everything centralized. Fashion also played a part: Connected farms became the latest thing, and keeping up with the neighbors was important even then." (This Old House)
   "An important pioneering effort. The book commemorates both an unique indigenous architectural expression and a way of life that has become extinct . . . The style is economic and clear and Hubka's affection for architecture binds the buildings to their people and their times." -- Maine Sunday Times



2. Very imformative. The images of the older New England homes are very interesting and useful.



3. Lets get this straight, this is NOT a coffee table book - if you want lots of colour pictures of old farms and barns - look elsewhere. What it is though, is a well written, brilliantly researched and documented assessment of a largely by-gone way of life in rural New England. Look - I'm even British and I loved (OK - I do have an interest in New England and architecture)
   
   If you are vaguely interested in old rural life, agriculture, history and social history, or vernacular architecture (or any combination of these) - buy it you won't be disappointed.



4. If you have ever wandered around Maine, you will have noticed a unique form of farm architecture. But ask most people why 19th century Maine farmers made such a concerted effort to physically connect the structures on their farms and the answer is "they needed a way to get to the barn through the winter snow." Trust me, I have gone around and asked current dwellers of Maine farmsteads. Thomas Hubka carefully points out that if that were so, we'd see similar connected farm architecture in parts of the nation where winters were even more inclimate and snowier. Yet Maine farm architecture remains almost totally enigmatic. Hubka's diligent field work reveals that forces were at work in mid-19th century Maine that conspired against the rural farmer: industrial competition for hand-manufactured goods produced at home for cash suppliment, a labor drain to other more prosperous farming regions, and unyielding land. The brilliance of Hubka's work is that he evokes how, despite all this, Maine farmers strove to adapt by creating resilliant islands of industry with the structure of their homes that defiantly sheltered year-round dooryard work efforts from wind and snow, but also change abroad. This book is also a perfect source of pithy detail and illustration regarding 17th century cape-style house architecture which, it turns out, is still ubiquitous in New England. Highly recommended, a stiking work.



5. There's a type of farm layout that you see in New England that you don't see elsewhere in the US. This book is a study of that type of farm, its whys and wherefores, and how it fit into people's lives -- or better, how their lives fit into it.

   This book is written very clearly, with numerous graceful diagrams of floor plans, layouts, and photos of representative farms. The author has a deep sympathy for the ordinary farmers and their taxing occupation, as can be seen in the choice of photos (farmhouse buried in snow, barn on fire, farm family sitting in a front yard still dominated by those granite cobbles you expect to be piled into fences). Diagrams tell the demographic story of why these farms were created, why they belong to northern New England; how they were achieved and how people spent their lives in them.

   For me, the magic comes in because I fell in love with one of these farms, and its sunny Lincoln-era dooryard. It has a subtle rightness because of its orientation, its site on a knoll, and a certain flexibility of layout. But even if you don't have such a reference point, I think you will be impressed at the perceptiveness of the work, if you can muster any interest at all in the topic.

   p.s. I checked on the Web to see if the author is still flourishing. His current project seems to be the wooden synogogues of tiny eastern european towns. Sounds neat...

4 comments about The Architecture of the Italian Renaissance.

1. I would have little to say other than that this work is probably the most readable that i have seen and is quite useful. Color pictures and better quality photography-rendition would have been ideal, but the date of original authorship makes this unlikely, unless the work is to be revised.



2. For the layperson who is interested in the evolution of renaissance architecture, this is the book I would recommend. It is easy to read without swamping the reader with architectual jargon, while remaining informative. The abundance of illustrations and structural diagrams further help the understanding of how these buildings are important historically, as well as pointing out the artistic merits of them. Highly recommended, particularly for those visting Italy - it will clarify and deepen your understanding of renaissance structures.



3. This well-illustrated, tightly-crafted paperback is a pleasure to read. By well-illustrated I don't mean fancy. You won't find big color photographs, but you will see what the author is talking about. Murray is not only an expert on the subject; he's a good writer, and I know of no other book that so effortlessly leads the reader through the story of how the wonderful Renaissance architecture of Venice, Rome, and particularly Florence came to be. If you want to know WHY those churches and palaces look that way, and why it matters, this is your book. I especially recommend it to Florence-bound travelers.



4. I am not an academic, so I cannot judge the accuracy or importance of this book from a historical perspective. I bought this book to help prepare for a trip to Tuscany and Umbria, and was pleasantly suprised to find it very readable and even difficult to put down. I am now more excited than ever to visit not only the famous sites such as the Duomo and Palazzi in Florence, but also lesser known sites such as Lucca's Palazzo dello Signoria and its Piazza and fountain, by the Mannerist Amanetti. I wish I had this book before my visit to St. Peter's in Rome, because the knowledge of the succession of architects and their circumstances would have made my visit even more rewarding, if that could be possible.

3 comments about Sublime Spaces and Visionary Worlds: Built Environments of Vernacular Artists.

1. Over the last year there was an extensive display of "outsider" art at the Kohler Art museum in Sheboygan Wisconsin. I was fortunate enough to be there when the exhibit was on and went back three times to take in all the details of the exhibit. A subset of the larger show is still on display.
   
   I have also gone to several of the art locations in Wisconsin to experience the artworks first hand. This book goes a long way to capturing these artists and their work.
   
   Outsider art [if that is the correct term] is art created by common folks rather than professional or semi-professional artists [if that makes sense]. Their art is unusual, rustic in some senses and folkish. This book catalogues some of the more interesting artists and their work.
   
   The locations stretch from Fred Smith's concrete garden in Phillips Wisconsin to Nek Chad's vast works in India. The types of art range from Nick Engelbert and Fred Smith's concrete statues to sequined houses to Emery Blagdon's strange wire and wood "healing machines" to the huge Evertron of Dr Evermore in Sauk County Wisconsin.
   
   Look any of these people up on the web and you will begin to get the idea as a thorough review and description would result in a review as long as the book.
   
   The book is very well done and of excellent quality. It is a book that you can spend hours reading and perusing.



2. If you are - do NOT miss planning a drive to or a drive by some of the sites described in this comprehensive collection. The authors have extensive experience and firsthand knowledge of these artists' exuberant installations and come by their enthusiasm from a deep empathy and masterful understanding of these self-taught, self-driven artists. Bring your camera. Bring your notebook - you WILL be inspired. If you're not going to this neck of the woods any time soon - not to worry, this book will give you an excellent and in-depth overview of Raw Art, Art Brut and whatever else you want to call these projects made by mostly hobbyist retired farmers and other non-artsy fartsy folk artists scattered throughout the nooks and crannies of the subject area. Prepare to be wowed by the sheer force of will of these often times whimsical visionaries. That they called into being representations of their often time hidden passions and inspirations until they had some time on their hands is what this is all about. That they accomplished more artistically in their sunset years than many trained artists do in a lifetime is cause for celebration. This is book is just that - a celebration of raw inspired vision as it manifests on the landscape - in between barns and villages here and there. Sort of artistic cheese curds - a little uncultured, but tasty nonetheless. Uniquely Wisconsoian. Inexplicable - but carefully documented here.



3. This is essentially a catalogue of the permanent collection at the Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. We had the good fortune to visit and see the collection and decided, after leaving, to buy the book. The book is beautiful and the photographs and essays are excellent. They should make anyone who sees the book want to go visit the museum to experience the exhibits.

No comments about 2006 International Building Code: Code & Commentary, Volume 2 (International Building Code Commentary).

5 comments about The Architecture of William Lawrence Bottomley.

1. This book, as with all Acanthus books is simply beautiful. I don't know any other publisher that puts more thought into their product, down to the ever present bookmarking ribbon. William Bottomley's work is given its just due in this well thought out and produced book. Frankly, I was not all that familiar with his work, so this book was a real eye opener for me. He producted everything from chic townhomes to spectacular mansions, and he was a master of many styles. As with all Acanthus Press books, this comes highly recommended, and it does not disappoint; well done indeed.



2. Plain and simply a beautiful book. If you have any interest in traditional residential architecture than buy this.



3. This is a marvelous book that will give hours and hours of visual pleasure and reading pleasure. It is very informative with personal information and professional information with many photos, many original black and whites. Susan Hume-Frazer has done an oustanding job. Thank you!



4. "The Architecture of William Lawrence Bottomley" is the latest addition to a fine series of books on architecture and design by The Acanthus Press. As with the other books in their series on architects, this volume presents the best of Bottomley's output with indepth discussions of 34 examples of his work, from a church to a city hall as well as his extraordinary residential commissions which inludes townhouses, River House in New York City and a variety of magnificent homes. The book provides a wealth of floorplans, some site plans and period photographs (mostly in black and white) of the various projects. Also included is a fine biography of Bottomley which discusses his family life and his professional career, and a catalog of commissions. This book is a must for anyone interested in Bottomley and/or fine traditional,(mostly) residential architecture. This hard-cover volume, as all volumes in the Acanthus Press catalogue, is beautifully envisioned and produced. Many congratulations to the Acanthus Press and author Susan Hume Frazer!



5. Though I have not finished reading this book, I am enjoying it. I have been looking forward to this since I first heard of it's publication. I am interested in Bottomley's work, but the original monograph by Mr. Weeks is now selling for $200-$300, which is not an affordable price.
   As an architectural designer, I enjoy the book for the "pictures", however, I find the introduction and narrative of the projects to be just as interesting.

3 comments about Interior Design Portable Handbook : First-Step Rules of Thumb for Interior Architecutre.

1. This book is a required textbook for a drafting class I am taking. It is a reference book Designers will always need, therefore, I wanted it new. It was $12 below retail cost at Amazon. It arrived in perfect condition within 2 days of ordering it. I was very happy with this purchase.



2. The handbook provides great information for any drafting classes and more information that you can use out in the field of Design



3. You ca learn a lot from this book I'm a interior design student and this book it's been very helpful.