No comments about The Organic Approach to Architecture.

No comments about Architecture's New Media: Principles, Theories, and Methods of Computer-Aided Design.

2 comments about The New Glass House.

1. Glass has long been used as the basic siding in commercial buildings, but the requirements for privacy has made it used much less for residences. Still, some of the more advanced architects have designed some striking houses with a heavy use of glass. Some of these have been in remote or in areas of heavy vegetation to assist in the privacy. Some however, have used other techniques to create privacy when it doesn't even appear that they are private.
   
   In these thirteen homes Mr. Trulove has beautifully illustrated the concepts that have been used in these stunning homes. They come from all across the country. Some are indeed in secluded areas, but then there are town houses located in cities.
   
   Each house has a bit of description, and is creatively photographed. There are also drawings and floor plans. A lot of the houses are built on difficult steep lots that lend themselves to exposed pilings holding up the house. My hands down favorite is the so called Scholar's Library. Only 20 feet by 20 feet, the building is a solid monolithic block on the lower floor (a 10,000 volume library) and an all glass reading room on the upper floor. I want one like that.
   
   This is primarily an idea book, but it is one containing very novel ideas.



2. James Grayson Trulove has written several books on architecture and design: when he visited the Glass House designed by Philip Johnson, he was inspired by its light and inspirations, and decided to view other modern houses which shared such qualities but were more livable for the ordinary owner. THE NEW GLASS HOUSE profiles some fourteen of his findings, which represent very different styles and approaches yet still remain true to the glass house ideal. It's the variety of approaches which are the meat of a rich survey of all the options a glass house can provide.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch

1 comments about Site Matters.

1. As an architecture student that wanted to understand landscape urbanism better for a studio project it was a great start. The introduction allows you to get a feel for what L.U. is about, and then breaks down the essays so if you are looking fro something specific you can turn right to the essay and read away.

4 comments about Uniform Building Code Compliance Manual.

1. Page xiv states, "A copy of the Uniform Building Code is required to use this book," and that is the truth. I wish that information had been available in the reviews before I bought it. This book does not summarize the code requirements.



2. To the above reviewer who claims this tome contains no more than a checklist and was not useful to him, my response can only be that even Hamlet, tossed into the ape's den, will eventually become so much banana toppings.
   
   Truly, it would take one of little imagination not to find application within these pages. I offer, as proof, this quote from page 79, "In structures having spiral or sloping floor, the horizontal projection of structure at any cross section shall not exceed allowable area per parking tier."
   
   Ho! Could the Greeks have offered up truth any clearer? Could the poets in their infernal contortions of language have landed on surer footing than the UBC finds in those solid syllables above?
   
   Here I offer you a work of man's pride and his humility, his ambition and his concern. Yes, your tribe may tempt God himself with your Tower of Babel, but by these pages I swear the foundation shall be laid symmetrical and unto a 3 or 4:1 ratio of density to units high depending on area soil composition and proximity to residential dwellings!



3. This book is a big check-list. Do not buy it if you are actually looking for building code information. However, it would probably be useful to contractors who want to be sure they have covered all bases. (I gave it two stars because it was not useful for me.)



4. This book makes an excellent Companion for the 1997 UBC Code. It is broken into section like the UBC code, each section has check list that can be used to insure compliance with the code.

   The CD Rom in the back of the book allows you to print out check list that can be used in project files for documentation. An excelent tool for any design Engineer.

No comments about Green Building Handbook: A Companion Guide to Building Products and Their Impact on the Environment.

1 comments about Plaster, Render, Paint and Coatings: Details, Products, Case Studies (Detail Practice).

1. I've always been pleased by In Detail publications and own a few of their titles in English - books I often refer to while designing my work. I was intrigued by this one while researching stucco techniques for a new project - my first such.
   
   For the first time - and in a bad way, since expectations were high - In Detail has let me down. Every case study presented in this book is for plaster applied over concrete substrates. Not a single example of plaster applied to wood frame construction! To add insult to injury, all the window/door head and jamb details are way too similar to really be worth including for "variety". The entire book could be reduced to an article in their magazine!
   
   I wish I had an alternative title to recommend to you. For now all I can tell you is: if you're looking for a good range of information regarding finishing walls with stucco, this isn't it. If you just want to complete your collection of In Detail issues, try checking it out in person to see if you still think it's worth the shelf space and its price.

No comments about Architect's Guide to Running a Job, Sixth Edition.

1 comments about Clay and Cob Buildings (Shire Library).

1. Okay, so if you're like me, you've been looking at alternate ways to own a home and have probably stumbled upon this little book, probably because you've heard somewhere else about building with earth and maybe even specifically cob. This quest probably generated all kinds of questions for you, such as what is cob and why do they call it that? If you have asked those questions, then you want this book. This book primarily concerns cob and clay structures in the British Isles which makes it also a very handy little book for students of that regions architectural styles. It would also seem ideal for anyone taking a walking tour of the more rural parts of Englnad Scotland and Wales as it readily shows the different styles of earth building prominent in those regions as well as goes into detail about technique and history. The author takes a cursory close look at some restorations and examines some buildings that have been left in disrepair since they were vacated. It is here that I found the greatest value in the book as someone currently ingterested in working with the material. Here is several hundred years of historical evidence as to what this material is really capable of. This is not some guy telling you about the durability of this construction system. This is what has happened to cob homes over years of use. Overall it is great confidence booster and testimonial to the material itself, proving just how beautiful and durable it is.

1 comments about Introduction to Architectural Science: The Basis of Sustainable Design.

1. This is a real good buy. Prof. Szokolay is one of the prominent experts in the field. I was waiting for this book to be published .... to use it as the required textbook for a course I teach. It is a perfect content for an Architectural Engineering course on environmental control. Sadly, I couldn't require it for the course because it is all IS units. Still, I use it for my personal use.