1 comments about Faster Construction Projects with CPM Scheduling.

1. This is by far the most interesting and comprehensive book I've ever read on project scheduling. The concept of Momentology is much more viable than Critical Chain and should really deserve more attention.
   
   Although not for the novice scheduler, I can wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone interested in CPM.

4 comments about Comfort in Any Climate.

1. good topic for discussion around a break room or sitting lounge. not extremely detailed on mechanics of an Earthship house (guess you have to buy a blueprint or get a contractor). well worth it if you want to be more environmentally involved.



2. I have all M. Reynolds' other Earth Shelter books and this one has some great pictures and gives a short background on the Earth Shelters. This is a great "starter" book for anyone who thinks they might be interested in building an Earth Shelter. (I can't wait to get mine started!)



3. Comfort in Any Climate is an introduction to building your own home using passive solar techniques. The book is not intended to be the book to end all books, in fact it is an introduction that gets one thinking about how different climates affect the performance of any dwelling. No one cookie-cutter formula will work for different situations (Latitude, Altitude, Micro-climate, etc.) and this book gets one thinking about how to adapt a design to a given area based on narrowing down specific paramaters. It is not intended for Rocket Scientists, it is more for people who are new to natural and sustainable building, and wish to pursue their education in learning how to properly pick a building location so that they will be in a better position to make sensible choices that lead to asking the right questions of what design will work best on their chosen building site. This is a good place to start. The three original earthship books are more "one size fits all" and this book will add to knowing how to modify the "one size fits all" mentality so that a comfortably dwelling can be constructed.



4. This book talks about insulation, space, and mass and the need
   to "tune" a house to benefit from free heat/cooling. HOWEVER,
   it never mentions a single tuning formula. Unless you plan on
   building many homes to "tune" your designs, this is only a book
   on common sense and you'ld be better off with Reynolds' other
   books or another book on this topic by another author.

5 comments about Architectural Research Methods.

1. This is a great book that fills a gap in architectural education. it tries to cover a wide range of issues. The effort is appreciated and to a great extend successful



2. This is a good overall text for anyone working in or towards a graduate degree in architecture or landscape architecture.



3. As a graduate student taking my first official course in research methods, I was disappointed. The language and structure of this book could have been made a lot easier to follow. I would have appreciated, for example, more frequent subheadings and listing of points. Because of the lack of, the book is difficult to skim or pick and choose sections to read; expect to read thoroughly. Some of the examples in the book were questionable -especially the chapter on experimental and quasi-experimental research. The frequent diagrams were also lacking in clarity. I think that the text could have been half as long and still conveyed the same amount of information. Redundancy aside, I did (with much caffeinated effort) gain a broad understanding of several research strategies and tactics. The book is not a comprehensive guidebook for conducting research based on particular research methods; it is merely a broad introduction or clarification of various strategies. However, it frequently suggests comprehensive texts for further reading if you are so inclined.



4. I found this book to be excellent: comprehensive and approachable, eclectic and interdisciplinary. It should save any student, researcher or instructor much time and can serve as a text book and/or a comprehensive reference manual. It also adds to the body of knowledge by freshly demonstrating the application of the research methods of many other disciplines in the specific context of architecture (including many cases and examples), all within a nice, logical, unifying philosophical framework.



5. The text is relevent for those interested in "Evidence based architectural design". It is excellent for both a beginning researcher in acadamia or an experienced practitioner involved with architecture research. It provides a broad research background as well as specific application to architecture. It is well organized and usable as an office reference or classroom text. It is written with jargon and graphics familiar to architects.

3 comments about Hotels and Resorts: Planning and Design (Butterworth Architecture Design and Development Guides).

1. Great book, only negative is that it's a little out of date now. Last update was in 1995 which in design terms is a long time!



2. Good primer for anyone interested in development of their first hotel. Good schematics and good general information. Nice index. Useful for learning terminology, which makes negotiating with saavy designers and construction people a lot easier. Could stand to be updated.



3. This book includes all the technical and financial aspects of hotel design/planning. It is an essential book to have when designing any hotel as it contains all standard neccessities for all situations. It shows technical drawings and some info of many (successful) hotels around today. Including some financial statistics and images of these hotels, which are mainy the large hotel chains but also Low budget hotels. This is the most important info as we can learn the most from successful hotels and see why they are working.
   
   Cons are that it is quite difficult to follow. Not clearly explaining what certain statistics are and it is not in a reader friendly format. The few black/white pictures are not important really... But this does not affect my rating of the book as it is not intended for actual learning, rather more 'knowing' essential technical aspects.
   
   The book isn't what a lot of people see as design, aesthetics and visuals etc. It has nothing to do with interior decorating or contemporary design. Just to let you know if you dont already...
   
   If you are or thinking to be a hotel designer/Architect or are in the hotel business, then this book is perfect. You need it to have a hotel that works.

3 comments about Thermal Delight in Architecture.

1. I purchased this book for use with my Thesis research, and have been quite pleased with it. The book brings up ideas about human perception of spaces as influenced by thermal conditions. It goes into historical examples very nicely, but it is a little weak on more contemporary works. That being said, it is quite easy to apply the proposals to any work of architecture. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in 1) architecture or 2) human perception. For someone that is interested in the human perception of architecture, it's a must-have.



2. This book does not provide much in the way of technical information on the art architecture, and that is perhaps its greatest strength. Rather, Heschong offers a more poetic, archetypal appreciation of buildings and environment, focusing, as the title suggests, on the role warmth plays in creating an enjoyable construction that is capable of influencing human bonding and interaction within its boundaries. Heschong's simple, lucid prose captures the subtle effects of the dynamics of warmth in our daily lives. I am not a student of architecture and have done little reading in this area (unfortunately, few books live up to the precedent set by Heschong and seem dull reading in comparison), but this book has had a profound impact on my perceptions and the way I experience my surroundings, opening up a whole new world of appreciation.



3. Of the many books I've read on architecture, this has been by far the most influential; it inspired by bachelor of architecture thesis. Heschong argues that thermal aesthetics in architecture, although almost universally overlooked, affect building users at least as much as visual aesthetics. She supports her thesis by naming dozens of examples linking thermal qualities to psychology/perception, culture, traditions, language, and, of course, architecture. The book is accessible to everyone and not just architects: it is not at all technical and is very concise. Yet it is thorough, and is sure to change the reader's perception of his or her thermal environments.

No comments about Future Forms and Design for Sustainable Cities.

3 comments about Liquid Stone: New Architecture in Concrete.

1. This book did a fantastice job of conveying the limitless possibilities of concrete as an art form expressed in architecture.



2. The title of this book is an excellent choice of words. All you have to do is creat a form of almost any conceivable shape; pour or spray the concrete in place and you have stone that is no longer liquid.
   
   This book has three major sections.
   
   It starts with a series of essays on concrete. This give some history, some of the characteristics, some of the things for which concrete has been used. The middle section of the book consists of photographs and drawings of some of the most advanced buildings imaginable that have been constructed using concrete. This section serves almost as an idea book of its own. Finally the last section is on the future of concrete. This includes some of the advanced types of concrete that will enable even more advanced concepts to be utilized in the future. Some of these include Translucent Concrete, Bendable Concrete and more.
   
   This is an excellent book that gives you some thoughts that your next building should be structural concrete.



3. LIQUID STONE: NEW ARCHITECTURE IN CONCRETE doesn't just come from architects or artists: it includes engineers and scholars alongside those working in the medium to explore the changing nature of concrete from both aesthetic and technical perspectives. Chapters use over thirty buildings by leading concrete architects as foundations for descriptions, photos and discussion. From the characteristics of space to structural links, LIQUID STONE offers plenty of insights on concrete production, design, and art.

No comments about New Waterscapes: Planning, Building and Designing with Water.

No comments about Concrete: Design, Construction, Examples (Detail Practice).

1 comments about Support and Resist: Structural Engineers and Design Innovation.

1. Nina Rappaport's splendid new book, 'Support and Resist,' reveals the underlying force in so much high-visibility recent architecture, especially for large-scale buildings. Structural engineers have generated some of the most remarkable buildings, testing concepts and radical new shapes alongside the architects. This close collaboration, once acknowledged as a critical factor, is often more significant today than ever. Rappaport's illustrations are stunning, revealing the process alongside the magnificent realizations. This book helps reconfigure our understanding of innovative modern architecture in the past and in the 21st century.