1 comments about Houses and Cottages of Britain.

1. In 1963, R.W. Brunskill published "Vernacular Architecture". This illustrated handbook was one of the first serious studies of ordinary buildings in Great Britain. "Vernacular Architecture" took a constructivist approach to the study of architecture. The importance of this book is that Brunskill created an intellectual framework for the study of vernacular architecture. It was a foundation text which shaped two generations of British architectural historians.
   
   In 1997, Brunskill published "Houses and Cottages of Britain". Instead of concentrating on the technical details of building construction, Brunskill changed his focus to the study of house plans. By following the slow evolution of house plans, Brunskill is able to show the origins and development of traditional buildings. The book is well written and filled with beautifully executed line drawings.
   
   My personal interest is in collecting illustrated American architectural field guides. Understanding British vernacular architecture provides me with insights into both American Colonial architecture and British "Revival" architecture of the 1920-30's. I live in a neighborhood filled with many Tudor and Georgian Revival homes. "Houses & Cottages of Britain" goes a long way to putting these homes in their proper context. Highly recommended.

No comments about Architecture in Detail Chicago (Architecture in Detail).

1 comments about TerraAtlas: Central Washington, DC.

1. Deftly compiled by Naphtali David Rishe, Terra Atlas: Central Washington, D.C. is an expansive aerial photographic mapping of the central Washington, D.C. and Arlington, Virginia areas. Comprising a concise, visually informative, superbly executive photographic atlas complete with map-style scale measurements indicators, a street index, points of interest index that serves as an easily accessible landmark locater, Terra Atlas offers readers a "user-friendly" visual guide from an overhead perspective. Terra Atlas: Central Washington D.C. is very highly recommended as the ideal atlas for the Washington, D.C. and Arlington, Virginia areas -- and would serve as an excellent template for overhead photographic mapping reference books for other major
   American cityscapes as well.

No comments about Jerusalem: The Future of the Past.

No comments about New Orleans Architecture Vol VII: Jefferson City.

No comments about Japan: Architecture at the Cutting Edge (New Architecture).

No comments about The American Statehouse: Interpreting Democracy's Temples.

No comments about The Architecture of Affordable Housing.

3 comments about The Color of Cities: An International Perspective.

1. As a colorist for the last twenty years, specializing in exterior building color I was sorely disappointed to read this book. Basically everything she had to say of import could have be said in an essay. The author has a wonderful vocabulary but after wading through all the prose one finds there is liitle said that isn't entirely obvious. I was left with the impression that this book was concieved as a great excuse to travel to the world's really wonderful places. You will note that she not traveled to Lubbock or Erzerum.



2. As a colorist for the last twenty years, specializing in exterior building color I was sorely disappointed to read this book. Basically every she had to say of import could have be said in an essay. The author has a wonderful vocabulary but after wading through all the prose one finds there is liitle said that isn't entirely obvious. I was left with the impression that this book was concieved as a great excuse to travel to the worlds really wonderful places. One is aware that she not traveled to Lubbock or Erzerum.



3. The is a somewhat remarkable book, worth the high price tag. Swirnoff tackles an unique issue: the role of color/light in forming a particular city's identity. She cites (and sites) examples from New York to Santa Fe to Venice to Mexico to Paris to the Caribbean to Stockholm to Japan and many others, too. The book has many photo examples, both black-and-white and color, as well as quite thought provoking written discussion.This is a much-needed book, focusing on an important issue of local identity at a time when globalization challenges the specifics of space and place. The book would appeal to travellers, visual artists, architects, sociologists, urban planners and many others.

No comments about Masterpieces of American Architecture (Dover Books on Architecture).