No comments about On Site.

No comments about Lewis Mumford and American Modernism: Eutopian Theories for Architecture and Urban Planning.

1 comments about Roman Gardens: Villas of the City.

1. One would think that a book titled 'Roman Gardens' would.... well, contain a little more gardens and a little less interior. I ordered this along with it's companion (Roman Gardens; Villas of the countryside), they are both currently on the way back from whence they came. Also - very disappointing - a lot of the photographs are out of focus and shot from bad angles. My ten-year-old takes better photographs.

1 comments about Tokyo: A Spatial Anthropology.

1. The imprint of Edo on Tokyo is deep according to the author, and while the buildings of that era have largely vanished, the spirit of Edo lives on in the imprint that Edo's urban design has left upon Tokyo's urban landscape. The author and his students took old maps of the city, scaled them to maps of the current city and set out to feel the spirit of the old city in the present.

   The feeling of the old city comes alive in these pages and yet at the same time this is a book that is missing something and a book where considerable addition can be made through subtraction.

   One of the books great revelations of this book is that Edo, and particularly the city of the low city, was a city of water and canals, a Venice of the East. As this reviewer lives in the low city surrounded by these same canals and frequently visits Venice, I have long had the same thought. The author's expostion on this line of inquiry is brilliant and yet, sadly, the author fails to make this one of the centerpieces of this book.

   Instead, there are numerous (and frequently condescending) references to other European cities that have no physical comparison to Tokyo in any way. The reason becomes clear as one continues through the book - Hidenobu somehow resents the artificial European influence on the Edo urban design that is modern Tokyo. Since the book was origially written in 1985, such expressions of cultural superiority are unsurprising. Does he feel the same way today?

   The book is further diminished by the belief that every new, large scale building crushes the spirit of Edo. In this the author lacks perspective for as the citizens of Edo altered the original landscape for their needs, so do the modern citizens of Tokyo for theirs. This lack of historical perspective diminishes the accomplishments of those in both the Meiji era as well as in the post-war era. In both eras, the city responded to the needs of the time and made changes that needed to be made.

   Because of this romanticism, the book is no guide to the future. It is however, a marvelous guide to the past and I look forward to using the book on future walks in the city. In the end, the book's flaws do not overshadow its clear vision of the old city.

No comments about Young French Architects/Jeunes Architectes Francais.

2 comments about Great Villas of the Riviera.

1. This is an amazing book with great pictures and a well documented text about rare treasures of the French Riviera: many of them are hiden from the eyes by fabulous mediterranean gardens and the authors had a great chance to be invited inside as we are now!
   
   These are some of the estates of this area to have escaped from 60's and 70's appartment blocks obsession because of their situation on privileged Cap instead of town surburbs, and of the savoir-vivre of rich owners who have been seduced by them for more than a century.
   
   Anyway, this is a good vision of the Riviera and the life-style that can be lived there, especially around Monte-Carlo, Mougins and Cannes!
   
   A must-have!!!!



2. WOW! The photos in this book are excellent. Johnston and Schezen have really captured the essence of the Riviera. This magnificent display of architecture and landscape is one of a kind. What a great coffee table book and conversation piece!

3 comments about Houses of Saint-Tropez.

1. This book is full of beautiful images and you really can dream to stay there, in these magnificent villas, breathing the Provence air and earing the sound of the waves.
   It describes very well the atmosphere of St.Tropez.



2. I was looking for a book that covers the architectural views of the houses of Saint Tropez. This book should be entitled the Interiors of Saint Tropez. Less than 10 exterior photos of any value. Beautiful photography of eclectic interiors of the French Med. variety.



3. I just love looking through books like this with photos and descriptions of unique houses. This one profiles 23 vacation homes, cottages and mansions. Some are modern, others charm with their bohemian style or Moroccan style. Don't miss the sailboat that was owned at one time by Errol Flynn.
   This book has beautiful homes with a special character that is Saint-Tropez plus lovely waterfront views, and bits of history to draw you into the spirit of the place.

1 comments about Sweden: 20Th-Century Architecture (20th-Century Architecture, 4).

1. What can one say but, dont judge the book buy its cover. In my case (and everyone else who buys from amazon) i did exactly this, expecting too much, i was BITTERLY disapointed in the content of the book. I love scandanavian architecture and for some stupid reason the author decided to write a book on 20th Century architecture but left out the all important 1970 - 2000 buildings. The author focussed far too much on Pre-20th leading to. overall i hated the book. (the first one mind you ever! since purchasing from amazon in 5 years) If your interested in the background of swedish architecture then fine it's probably a great book, however if it's great design your after then this is certainly not the one!.

No comments about Pioneering British High Tech (Architecture 3s).

5 comments about Iconic LA: Stories of LA's Most Memorable Buildings.

1. When you think of cities you often think of some kind of landmark building or structure. Sydney - Opera House, Chicago - Sears Tower, New York - Empire State Building (if not the World Trade Center) and so on. Mention Los Angeles and what comes to mind is endless miles of cars on slow moving freeways.
   
   After looking at this book, I find that I do remember a significant number of what the author has selected as the best of architectural design in Los Angeles. Her selection is varied from her husband's Case Study House #22, a spectacular steel and glass structure on an otherwise unbuildable lot, to the Los Angeles International Airport Theme Building; from Frank Lloyd Wright's rather strange looking Hollyhock House to the Walt Disney Concert Hall, which is almost as dramatic as the Sydney Opera House and has much better acoustics.
   
   This is a dramatic book that will make you look at Los Angeles architecture in an entirely different light.



2. KNOWING LOS ANGELES: EXCERPTS FROM CITE ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW: "Iconic LA" is not exactly the book its title and appearance might lead one to expect. It turns out to be more than just a splashy presentation of the cool, the weird and the kinky. What it is instead is a carefully focused look at 13 notable buildings spanning two centuries, well illustrated with pictures both current and historical, and topped off with succcinct text sufficient to whet the appetite of Los Anglophiles and architectural critics alike. Koenig, a former editor and writer at the University of California at Los Angeles, has selected buildings that represent different eras and architectural types. Each project is boradly described and documented, and the photographs - many of them are rare - are sublime. Some surpriese await the readers of this book; for example, how important a fixture on the LA architectural scene Lloyd Wright was, from the time he came to complete his father/s Hollyhock House in 1920, to his seminal designs for the Hollywood Bowl, and on through the 1940's. A readerr can also develop a new appreciation of how much Frank Gehry is a product of LA; it's probably for that reason that he was asked to supply the book's foreward. I have a growing bookshelf dedicated to Southern California, and "Iconic LA" has an important new place on it. It nestles comfortably next to Reyner BAnham's "Los Angeles: The Four Ecologies" and Charles Moore's "Experiencing Los Angeles". Its overview of immediately familiar structures and the insights they offer into the city's culture make "Iconic LA" a good companion to these. In the book Frank Gehry says, "LA is a city of instant recognition." He's right, and "Iconic LA" is where that recognition gets its due.



3. I just read Iconic LA as a part of my research on Los Angeles landmark, the Watts Towers of Simon Rodia State Historic Park. The book is truly a valuable addition to the field of architectural literature for all of us! I truly enjoyed reading the entire book. Sincerely, Bud Goldstone, conservation engineer co-author The Los Angeles Watts Towers 6719 W 86th Place #2 Los Angeles, CA 90045



4. From Los Angeles Magazine, January, 2001. If architecture is a stamp of a city's identity, then Gloria Koenig's "Iconic LA: Stories of LA's Most Memorable Buildings" is proof that Los Angeles is more than a mass of shopping malls. In a city sometimes thought to be lacking in landmarks, it's surprising how recognizable the 13 buildings included here are and how much they have become a part of our collective consciousness. From the art deco Union Station to the futuristic Bradbury Building, these structures suggest the growth and sensibility of the city - and, with a section on the under-construction Walt Disney Concert Hall, the city to come. The selections may be obvious, but Koenig provides the tales behind them: Aline Barnsdall's conflicts with Frank Lloyd Wright during the building of the Hollyhock House; Sid Grauman's obssession with creating an authentic Chinese Theater in Hollywood; and the struggles of Paul Williams, the African American architect of the LAX Theme Building.



5. For those with architectural leanings, Gloria Koenig's Iconic LA offers tales and black-and-white pictures pertaining to a baker's dozen of Los Angeles's most memorable buildings, the Hollywood Bowl, Grauman's Chinese Theater, and the Getty Center, among them. Part guidebook, part urban history, Iconic includes compact entries that reveal as much about the architectural details - like the fact that Pierre Koenig's glassed-in modernist masterpiece Case Study House #22 was assembled in a single day - as they do about the people behind them. Who knew that Paul Williams, the architect who designed the space-age Theme Building at LAX, was African American? The book has the breezy quality of a Hollywood bio, with the buildings as stars.