1 comments about Midwestern Landscape Architecture.

1. This book is a very interesting reader. The essays on the important founders of Midwest landscape, spoke of a greater view of the American Civil Condition and how landscape can promote civilization and community in a diverse group of people. This is a strong undertone of the book.
   Not all the architects were enamored with. The wild Midwest landscape sought to build upon it to create a more varied and interesting landscape. It is interesting to note that what most of us regard as the Midwest look, is artificial and created by these progenitors of our current landscape.
   This is not a book for everyone, but is very insightful

2 comments about China Modern.

1. This book is at the cutting-edge of today's modern Chinese interior design. The selection of the featured projects covers a wide range of style. Generally speaking, the majority of these projects are great works (except for one HK house). I have personally been to several of the places featured in this book. The text and the pictures captured the beauty of these places and provided rich information about the cultural values behind decoration and designing. Simply put, this is a high quality book. I can feel that the authors are really serious about the content and have done a lot of research. If you like Chinese style and modern decoration, this is definitely an excellent source.



2. written by obviously one of the region's foremost authorities on Chinese design and interiors having been in Hongkong with Elle Decor and other excellent publications for many years, Sharon Leece knows her way around the traditional feng shui and new leanings of the China elite as well as the western expat with a home and heart in Asia. Creative and informative text and fabulous photos take the reader on a trip into another world of China Decor uptil now unseen but sure to be come a trend worldwide. Check out her other China interior books for even more wonderful shots of lush and lavish spaces.

1 comments about Toward a Simpler Way of Life: The Arts and Crafts Architects of California.

1. When I began studying architecture, many of my favorite architects were designers in the Arts & Crafts style. They were my favorites before I even heard of the Movement. This book is not only a must have for students of architecture and Arts & Crafts fans, but a valuable resource for history scholars in general who want to learn more about the people who shaped the region and the way we live here. The book is nicely photographed, showing buildings in their early surroundings, as they exist today, a variety of good close-up details, etc. All photos are black and white, some with an authentic sepia tone look. Some color photos would have been nice. I wish that a book like this existed for the architects of each state. Each essay is well written by a variety of different authors, many of which are familiar names to Arts & Crafts enthusiasts.

   J. Wheeler

   San Francisco Bay Area Arts & Crafts Movement

   http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Orchard/8642/

5 comments about The Royal Palaces of India.

1. A very well done book on a fascinating subject. The text is very interesting and the images are well conceived, the exterior and interior photographs are equally well done. India is blessed with amazing buildings and these palaces certainly reassert this fact. India is a land influenced by centuries of invasions by foreign forces and they all left their mark on her. These influences have made for stunning buildings and amazing architectural styles. I high recommend this book to anyone with any interest in India or just fascinating architecture.



2. Written by a recognized authority on Indian architecture and art, this book emphasizes architecture of Indian palaces and citadels. But what are palaces and its architecture without some interesting history. The description and historical background accompanying the fine-detail-high-gloss mostly-color pictures breathes life into the palaces and stokes the imagination of the reader. This book is an authoritative survey of surviving proofs of lavishness enjoyed by erstwhile Indian royalty. Highly recommended for tourists with enthusiasm for architecture as well as professional architects (This review has been taken from Recipedelights.com).



3. A very informative, thick and large book. Has TONS of info for anyone that is interested in architecture, history, or in India in particular. Also includes many of the floor plans and multiple photos of some of the same Palaces. If you are intersted in this subject, well worth your while.
   Enjoy



4. For the student of Indian architecture, history or royalty, "The Royal Palaces of India" will be a treasure. With more than 250 illustrations (206 are in color), this book brings one's imagination alive and lets your mind wander through the gates of these gorgeous palaces and forts.

   Authors Michell and Martinelli explain in a somewhat academic way how kings, both Hindu and Muslim, held their courts.

   The power, perks and privileges that accompanied the royalty are dimly reflected in the opulent architecture that shaped both the places and the royal life. It is hard to imagine, even with the excellent help this book provides, what the glory and splendor of these kingdoms must have been like.

   The monarchs were "not merely enhanced by divinities, they were ritually empowered by gods and goddesses" and these palaces reflect, as do the cathedrals of Europe, a journey past the mundane existence of morality. Many who have visited India have seen the celebrated Taj Mahal, but it is a tomb to the wife of the great mongol ruler Shah Jahan. Now, if this is was his wife's tomb, what do you think his palace looked like? This is an engaging and enlightening book. Recommended.




5. A gorgeous collection of pictures of castles, palaces and fortresses from all over India. What I liked best about this book is the vast range, geographically and also in period and religious styles. Most people who still have only the vision of Mother Theresa's India, will be amazed at the beautiful sights. For a country that is so full of historical splendor, much of which (beyond the Taj Mahal) is so rarely heard of, this is great tourism handbook. Even the written descriptions and historical backgrounds that accompany the chapters are interesting. Though, perhaps because of the humongous scope, there are some, in my opinion, over generalizations and clumping together of kings and what they did. However, I don't suppose anything else would be possible if the authors were to keep the book light enough to be picked up. All in all. A great book!

1 comments about Houses from Books: The Influence of Treatises, Pattern Books, and Catalogs in American Architecture, 1738-1950.

1. This is the most exhaustive source I have come accross in regards to the study of pattern books and catologue books. Reiff traces the devlopment of pattern books first coming from Europe (Palladio, Serlio) and then evolving into Armerican Pattern Books (Asher Benjamin, A. J. Downing) and finally the history of plan catalogues by architects, lumber yards and majot retailors, such as Sears Reobuck. The book shows how houses built from these sources sometimes deviated from their plans. Also, many times the plan books merely influenced builders who drew their own plans more or less pirated from these sources. Reiff traces many built examples of houses that have their roots in these sources - sometimes litterally and other times suggestively.

   Houses from books also contains an interesting chapter on the development and influence of architectural journals. There is also a chapter of the influence of pattern books and catologue houses in an actual town using the authors home town of Fredonia, New York.

   In many ways this is a wonderful book, and if there is one source book I would recommend for the study of these topics, this would be it. My only critisism is that the reading can at time be laborious. The author has a tendancy to describe subtle nuances of houses in great detail. Sometimes an illustration accompanies the text, other times there is none. Because of this I often found myself a bit frustrated trying to figure out just what the author is trying to get accross. That set asside, it is still an excellent, scholarly work. The bonus feature of this book is its eight Appendices that contain listings of pattern and catologue books by companies, individuals, construction details, etc. This is an invaluable source for the student of vernacular architecture.

5 comments about Louis I. Kahn : Unbuilt Masterworks.

1. So I'm looking through this book of photographs of unbuilt projects, and gradually I realize. . . I'm looking at photo. . . . graphs of. . . unbuilt projects. They're great-looking photos, too. There's a building at the Salk Institute in La Jolla which I know isn't there, and another Jewish memorial NYC which I don't think exists, and they look great.

   What Kent Larson has done is a simple, powerful, cool idea that took a lot of time, energy, MIT architectural thinking, and SGI computing power to accomplish. Larson first pieced together a reasonable paper version of each structure, then assembled a 3-D virtual model of that structure, then had to choose the best virtual camera angles under the best false sunlight for the best portraits. Larson went as far as using high-resolution photographs of existing Kahn walls to skin these virtual surfaces, and added a patina of wear and tear, just to make it more convincing.

   So Larson's work is the result of a lot of a helluva lot of choices. It helped the interpretation that Kahn preferred a limited palette of building materials - like concrete - which helped Larson orchestrate this score. It didn't help Larson that Kahn was known for his close attention to lighting effects. All that lighting took the most sophisticated possible CAD/CAM rendering on SGI hardware.

   But the payoff is - shocking. You get bright sunlight, soft counter-reflections, complex reflections in glass (the glass-block Jewish memorial is the showboat piece in that respect). You have to see them to know how much you want to believe them, if that makes any sense. To know how much you'd like to visit these six new Kahn buildings that will never exist. In a weird way, this project advances Kahn's career and reputation, not only from beyond the grave, but lapsing over into architectural cyberspace.




2. Larson has not only demonstrated superb skill in computer rendering but also a much deeper understanding of Kahn's architecture. Reviews by Scully demonstrate the histrorical development of Kahns work & Mitchell has done a fine job of giving the analysis. This book will help in establishing some standard for presenting unbuilt works of architecture in the future.

   Format of the book is good in its simplicity although some reference to drawings would have made it a more comprehensive study. Great book ... a collecter's item for all "Kahnian's" across the world.




3. This is not just another architecture book. It is also a beautiful photography book. It is astounding that these luminous images are of spaces that were never built!



4. I have known the eight projects presented in this book for over thirty years, but now realize that my understanding was only superficial. This extraordinary volume reveals aspects of the buildings impossible to perceive from drawings and models: the layering of space, the rich materiality, and - most of all -Kahn's genius for manipulating light. Delightfully, this ambitious and unorthodox study is sure to rattle those who regard Kahn as an unapproachable icon.



5. Kent larson presumes he can show a finished Kahn using a computer. As we all know, the building process is evolving. It certainly was for Kahn. Larson's leaden computer graphics shed not even the glimmer of a candle on the genius of Kahn.

1 comments about After the Crash: Architecture in Post-Bubble Japan.

1. An essential, condensed, objective and critical insider view of contemporary Japanese architectural designs. A must for those who need an updated understanding on what's happening in Japanese architecture and design nowadays.

No comments about Between Fences.

1 comments about Historic Houses of the Hudson Valley.

1. This book does not do the homes it features justice. The images are depressing, they are all bad b/w on cheap paper, other than the sickly color image on the cover. I purchased two copies, one was to be gift, but it was so bad I gave them something else.

5 comments about Morphosis, Vol. 3: Buildings and Projects, 1993-1997.

1. The information presented in the book is good--no doubt about that. But the graphics of the book is too much--it takes away a lot from one's ability to clearly read and understand the drawings. Whoever designed it does too much to overwhelm the senses and as a result, the reader is left confused and thumbing page to page trying to figure out what is going on. Also, the quality of the binding is rather lackluster--after about half way through the book, the binding (which was basically a piece of paper HOT GLUED on to the pages) fell apart. Thom Mayne's work is interesting (and perhaps nothing more than that) but he doesn't much help his case if the quality of the design and the construction of the book is this BAD.



2. I have seen a lot of books on Morphosis out there. Some are more projects' photographs, other are of single projects drawing, philosophy and graphic. This one is a graphic masterpiece. I bought this when I was an architect student and it helped me layout the foundation of my portfolio and presentation. I don't necessary design like Morphosis, but love how they projected their projects to the curious eyes. This is a very thick book, of mostly weird angles FormZ's renderings mixed with CAD drawings. You get tried of looking at rendering pages after pages, but each project is unique in its own. My friends and roommates borrow this book the most of all the books in my architectural library, by far. The cover is very cool, but the pages were cheaply glue or constructed and it break apart, under heavy browsing. I repair this book with zappa-gap many times. So this is my #1 architectual book.



3. One of the few architecture books at the brick and mortor bookstore that isn't sealed shut with shrink wrap. After I flipped through it I immediately bought it through amazon. It is designed by Cranbrook design superstar Lorraine Wild, the design perfectly represents what Morphosis is about. I take it from the other reviewers that they only looked at the images and did not read anything at all because they did not "get it". Their work is delivered as a cyberpunk novel outtake, the setting an industrial dance club with torture devices. There is a wonderful surreal short story that acts as a sort of guide to viewing the work as well. I am not an architect but this is inspirational enough for me to spend half a decade in school to become one. Reminds me of the Jean Tinguely book published in the early 70's (with sketch overlays) and a similar design philosophy as Low/Tek



4. Being an architecture student, I constantly refer to many books, and Morphosis is one of my favourite contemporary architecture firm. This is really a thick and quite a heavy book. Its a compilation of many of Morphosis' work. Their "Best Of.." volume. This marvelous edition is divided into 2 parts. The first part consist of many colourful computer generated views, elevations, plans and 3D computer models etc of their buildings. The 3D models give a good visual understanding of their complicated but exciting buildings. The second part consist of essays by Thom Mayne. The thing about Morphosis is Mayne's writing is clear. He states his intention and theories clearly without getting out of the subject of architecture much. He talks about the difference between a project and a building which is a very good way of looking at architecture today. The graphics and writing provide a very clear understanding of their buildings. The bottom line is, if you like Morphosis, you'll love this book among your collection.



5. neat drawings, but this book is for hard-core fans of Morphosis. the amount of graphic information enclosed is staggering at first, but once you own it you will get bored with it. there is no meat on these bones. the text, tellingly placed in the back like an afterthought,is meaningless. i doubt anyone without prior experience with Morphosis' projects would really understand what he is up to.