4 comments about Architectural Graphic Standards Student Edition: An Abridgement of the 9th Edition.

1. I am a fourth year architecture student and I use this book every semester. I keep it with me at all times. It is the perfect design handbook. If you don't have it, You need it!



2. The book was in great condition as expected. It was delivered during the expected time frame, but it was later rather than sooner. I purchase frequently from amazon and I recieve consistently good service from them.



3. Loaded with tons of reference data all good for Architects.
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4. This book is one of the best reference books an architect will ever use. It contains the necessary information for the beginning and advanced architect. Inside the 568 pages in this book one will find from the most basic to the highly complex architectural graphics. The book provides reference for the various arcchitectural plans such as the floor plan, elevation and perspective drawings. No other reference material can surpass the amount of information provided in this excellent book.

5 comments about Patio: Garden Design & Inspiration.

1. I've bought that book 'cause I'm planning to transform a small corner of my garden into a nice patio. But this book is about balconies, sky gardens, decks, pools, back yards, seaside retreats, etc...Nothing about patios!!! If you're looking for ideas for your patio, this probably isn't a good book for you.



2. A definite must have. This is by far one of the best inspiring books for outdoor designs. If you are looking for something modern, minimalist, different from ordinary, don't look any further and buy this book. I designed my own terrace thanks to the great ideas and inspiration by Jamie Durie.



3. This is the best of Durie's books and is an excellent companion for the California garden designer. The plans are helpful for understanding the layout of a garden, but the photos are what really make the book. The light modern style, clever detailing, and CA compatible plants give me new ideas every time I open it.



4. I must admit that I wasn't expecting much from Jamie Durie, knowing him mainly for his home renovation shows in Australia.
   However, after much searching through countless books on garden design in bookstores, I found his books to be far and away the best I've seen.
   His designs are very modern and innovative and the book gives a lot of insight into the design and construction process. Backgrounds and reasoning on particular choices made and goes into detail on subjects such as lighting, plants and materials.
   I own quite a few garden design books and I would definately rate this the best I've seen and just about every design in his books I would rate amongst the best I've seen.



5. This book is an excellent sourse of inspiration for the garden designer who is tired of traditional garden design. Jamie Durie explores new materials and plant selections in a way that is comfortable and exciting. A must read for those of us who are tired of English garden design!

3 comments about Design of Cities: Revised Edition (Penguin Books).

1. A very informative and well designed book. I am currently a grad. student in architecture and the ideas presented in this book are very intriguing. It takes a very practical approach to urban design. If this book were coupled with Jane Jacob's The Death and Life of Great American Cities, one could get two different but relevant viewpoints regarding this very important debate, especially in the wake of Modernism.



2. This is my favorite book on urban design....how cities work, history of city design, and the key elements that make a city exciting, livable, and functional. A key insight of Mr. Bacon is the potential for the integration of various movement systems (train, car, pedestrian, etc.), and the vitality possible at the intersections and nodes of those systems.



3. This book changed the way I looked into the conception of cities. The command of urban spaces, with beatiful examples through history, put me to new design of cities or to renew existing city centers including new perspectives for the citizen or people that just pass by.

No comments about Mosaics - West 8.

3 comments about Natural Landscaping: Designing with Native Plant Communities.

1. Natural Landscaping is an essential resource for anyone interested in landscaping with native plants. The importance of learning to use native plants is so important as we face continuing droughts in various parts of the country, including here in Williamsburg, VA. The book is so full of information that I find myself going back to it often. Many thanks to the authors for this fine volume.



2. Now in an updated and expanded second edition, Natural Landscaping: Designing With Native Plant Communities by licensed architect and landscaping authority John Diekelmann and natural plan restoration expert Robert Schuster is a fascinating, "user friendly" instructional guide on basic landscaping principles, as well as cogent, authoritative advice on how to restore wetlands and introduce native plant species for wetlands, grasslands, forests, and more. Black-and-white photographs as well as an inset section of color plates wonderfully illustrate this meticulous, fact-filled, professional quality, highly recommended "how-to" guide for anyone aspiring to enhance or restore native plant communities.



3. I have the 1982 edition of this book - I stumbled across it and have been amazed ever since that such a book was written in 1982 before this approach to gardening/landscaping was popular.
   It is tailored to the midwest, but the technical solidity and sound design concepts should apply anywhere.

1 comments about Earth Ponds Sourcebook: The Pond Owner's Manual and Resource Guide, Second Edition.

1. This is meant as a companion for his other book on ponds but does a very nice job by itself.

1 comments about Biophilic Design: The Theory, Science and Practice of Bringing Buildings to Life.

1. I finished reading Biophilic Design--having read every chapter--on a recent trip. I think it is one of the most important design books ever written, not just in the decade. Readers should know that this book is not just for architects, builders, designers or city planners. Its rich array of chapters brings the message, with clear and compelling examples, to life for any of us who care about creating spaces and places where nature and culture are in a vibrant, beautiful, and healthy balance. Everyone benefits--from individuals to families to whole communities.

5 comments about Taunton's Front Yard Idea Book: How to Create a Welcoming Entry and Expand Your Outdoor Living Space (Idea Books).

1. This book helps change your perspective on the front yard in general. It talks about the wastefulness of large lawns and tells you how to cover ground in a way that is not only functional for your family but better for the environment. Her advice of what to do if you live in a track neighborhood with only plantings left by the builders is great. She talks about how to transform your yard in such a way that neighbors follow suit instead of looking at you like you've ruined the golf course aesthetic of the neighborhood. Her perspective that the front yard is a semipublic space and how to respect the neighborhood while inspiring them was good. The pictures are great and most of the ideas would blend in with other neighbors while still being origonal and attention getting. Thumbs up.



2. I love elaborate front yard plantings, but this book just isn't the inspirational guide that Liz Primeau's similar "Front Yard Gardens: Growing More Than Grass" is.

   It's a fairly pedestrian, utilitarian book, nothing special. The Primeau alternative actually conveys a sense of the excitement and adventure inherent in de-lawning your front, and the examples shown are more interesting than the bland gardens depicted here in Taunton's offering.

   I've read through this once, then returned it to the library. "Front Yard Gardens" I bought, and I've read through it three times. Buy it instead. Do redo your garden, but don't expect Taunton's Front Yard Idea Book to inspire you.

   Note: a 3 star ranking from me is actually pretty good; I reserve 4 stars for tremendously good works, and 5 only for the rare few that are or ought to be classic; unfortunately most books published are 2 or less.




3. I can't begin to say how much I adore this book!! I'm telling you now, if you read this book from cover to cover & allow yourself to digest each & every picture, you'll never look at a front yard the same again. Literally, American is stuck in a rut. I look up & down my street, & all I see are blank, bland, boring lawns!! Wretch! This book has made me realize something that took me directly out of that silly, traditional mindset: I PAY AS MUCH FOR MY FRONT YARD AS I DO MY BACKYARD! This book has motivated me to "reclaim" my front yard for my own use, & I can't wait to have it all in & done! It won't be my neighbor's front yard anymore! It won't look like public domain anymore!!!



4. A good-looking front yard isn't just a wise investment in your home, it's a gift to your neighborhood. Webber's book is packed with ideas for real families and real houses. For example, the book's chapter "Driveways and Parking" offers ideas on expanding a narrow driveway or parking spot, even parking bays and pull-offs!

   Webber uses a logical, easy to follow pattern. First she gets us thinking about our goals for an area, then she provides reliable information, combined with Taunton's characteristically good photography.

   All in all, the book's a good investment for any homeowner with a front yard.




5. My book is so filled with post-its marking which ideas I'll be emulating. It may take awhile, but it'll be worth it if my front yard ends up anywhere near as beautiful as some of these pictures. I'm looking forward to enjoying my front yard in a private garden setting, just like I enjoy my back yard. It's mine to enjoy, not to work like a dog on just for the neighbors benefit!
   
   Editing to add - it is now three years after I originally posted this review. I used many of the ideas learned from this book, and it sparked many of my own! My front yard looks like a park, I love to look out my windows and enjoy. Even a walk to the mailbox has become a serene experience because of the lush gardens and plantings.
   People drive through our neighborhood, stop in front of our house and I see them looking and pointing at different gardens, etc. We'll be selling our house to retire in a couple of years, and I feel confident that our place has tremendous "curb appeal" because of what I learned and implemented from this book.

1 comments about The Education Of A Gardener (New York Review Books Classics).

1. There's been no better book written about the art of designing a beautiful landscape, IMO. While few of us can relate to mansions on the Riveria or expansive town gardens in Paris, the principles Mr. Page talks about are an accessible distillation of a lifetime of intense planting, looking and thinking. If nothing else, experiencing this rigorous and disciplined artist is an incredible inspiration.

2 comments about Landscaping with Native Plants of Minnesota.

1. This is about the most user-friendly garden book I've ever owned. In the first third of the book Ms. Steiner teaches the how's and why's of native plants, and how to distinguish them from invasive, weedy introduced plants. She shows how to make your gardens wildlife-friendly, drought and disease resistant, and beautiful, describing planting strategies for all sorts of environments (sunny, dry, marshy, woodland, water gardens, etc.) She covers everything about plant cultivation--from weed control, pruning, staking, dividing plants, pests and much more. She also covers garden design, and the photographs of plant combinations are inspiring. One chapter, entitled "A Gallery of Gardens," has many examples of beautifully designed native plantings.
   
   The last two-thirds of the book is an encyclopedia of sorts, divided into Flowers and Groundcovers, Grasses and Sedges, Ferns, Deciduous Trees, Deciduous Shrubs and Small Trees, Conifers, and Vines. She describes in depth many different cultivars of each plant under these headings, how to care for it, what other plants to plant with it, and what its prime landscape use is. This portion of the book is invaluable for planning your gardens, and is great for bringing along on your trips to the nursery.
   
   This book is packed with so much information on both the science and the art of gardening with native plants. If you think that gardening with natives results in a dull, rather colorless garden, this book should change your mind and get you excited about working with the plants nature has so abundantly provided us with.



2. An excellent resource for those who are wanting to learn to plant part or a lot of their yards using native plants.
   The book covers many different types of sites, with pictures of some beautiful native gardens in MN. Good plant resource in back of book.