No comments about Building Anatomy (McGraw-Hill Construction Series).

No comments about Stone: Stone Building Materials, Construction and Associated Component Systems: Their Decay and Treatment (English Heritage Research Transactions).

2 comments about The Adaptable House : Designing Homes for Change.

1. good overview of adaptable home techniques
   focus on affordability is a welcome change as most architectural design is geared toward higher end homes.
   illustrations compliment the text
   
   from the book:
   Author Avi Friedman believes that rather than being unchangeable, physical environments should be designed and constructed to easily adjust to the evolving lifestyle of their inhabitants. A home, he contends, should be structurally flexible enough to adapt to changes such as children "leaving the nest," elderly relatives moving in, or the need for home office space. Written by an internationally recognized flexible housing advocate, The Adaptable House provides specific design approaches and techniques that facilitate flexible design--both on the inside and outside--making it simple to alter a dwelling layout, demolish partitions or build new ones, upgrade heating systems, change the locations of stairs, etc. The book is divided into three logical sections: the first sets the stage for adaptability, the second outlines relevant principles, and the last shows their actual application. Packed with floor plans, drawings, photos, and charts to fully and clearly illustrate his suggestions, The Adaptable House includes detailed coverage of: * Interior layouts and room configurations * Exterior elements such as roofs and facades * New building materials and methods * Easy add-on and remodels * Single-family and multiple dwelling housing The Adaptable House is a master blueprint for those interested in creating homes that can be quickly, easily, and inexpensively redesigned to meet the dynamic nature of the occupants' life. contributers include Nadia Meratla, Effie Bouras, and André Majaes



2. Sorry I don't have more time right now to compose a more substantial supportive review, but suffice it to say that I can enthusiastically give this book 5 stars. Though somewhat modest in it's appearance, the book's contents are an important advancement of many of the concepts discussed in the equally important book, How Buildings Learn. Importantly, in addition to the ideas discussed, are several examples of actual projects, including construction details and materials showing how to achieve them. This book is a particularly valuable and practical reference for all forward-thinking architects and contractors who truly want to serve their clients for a long time to come.

1 comments about Industrial Storage & Distribution.

1. Purchased to get some ideas on new inovation in warehouse design and layout. Is expensive. Book is dated and needs to to be updated or price needs to be drastically reduced. Has basic info from 10 years ago with little new added. I would not recommend this book unless you are looking for a basic primer.

No comments about Thermal Analysis and Design of Passive Solar Buildings.

1 comments about The Art of Architectural Drawing: Imagination and Technique.

1. you don't really know what you are getting until it shows up. i was hoping that a book on waterCOLOR illustrations would have primarily COLOR illustrations! silly me! this book does have a lot of illustrations - too bad probably 85% of them are in black and white. it would be nice if amazon would list the number of color and b&w plates along with the rest of the info they give you on a book, but until that day comes, its buyer beware. if you are looking for a lot of nice examples of waterCOLOR illustrations, this book, even at the discounted price is no bargan. however, if you like lots of poorly reproduced black and white images of watercolor illustations, then this is the book for you!

No comments about Hozon: Architectual and Urban Conservation in Japan.

No comments about Reciprocal Frame Architecture.

1 comments about Eisenman/Krier: Two Ideologies.

1. `Two Ideologies' has been a welcome, if long overdue, debate between two of architecture's most disparate architects. I use the term `architect' lightly here, as both Peter Eisenman and Leon Krier tend more towards theory (or, in Eisenman's case, so-called theory), than to the practice of building itself. Although Eisenman has built several works, they cannot rightly be called architecture; rather they are built diagrams - and crude diagrams at that. It is an important distinction to make, and one which, unfortunately, is lost on Eisenman's followers who themselves tend to be susceptible students or young practitioners more impressed by notoriety than by architectural sophistication. Krier too is not without his faults. While he must at least be credited with a respect for history, he is perhaps too inclined to replicate it fastidiously. This has obvious limitations, but evolution of architectural constructs within an overall continuum is at least a framework in which discussion is possible. On the other hand, Eisenman, (in the time-honored, cliched manner of a self-proclaimed avant-gardiste), openly rejects history, notwithstanding that he does not seem to understand it in the first place. Nor does he maintain an effective grasp on philosophy or theory, although he manhandles the vocabulary of both as though he does. This does not matter a jot to his followers because they do not comprehend it either, and thus, an unfortunate and pretentious posturing is allowed to regenerate it self in a pitiable way.
   
   So the promised debate never really materializes. A learned professor encounters a baboon in the academic jungle. But not speaking a common language or sharing a cultural background, meaningful communication is not possible. Krier speaks English but proposes a stage set. Eisenman fumbles with a more unaccountable vocabulary and counters with loutish and alien sculptures. Sheepishly, he wonders if he has fooled anyone in the audience.
   
   The editor, Cynthia Davidson, does her best to mitigate her husband Peter's sillier proclamations. However, her editorial bias (or was it her indoctrination), limits any opportunity for incisive commentary. But in allowing the debate to happen at all enabled us to see what a sham contemporary architectural conjecture really is. We should be thankful to them for that.

No comments about From Models to Drawings (Critiques; Critical Studies in Architectural Humanities).