1 comments about Corrugated Iron: Building on the Frontier.

1. An anonymous writer in 1833 called the public's attention to an architectural novelty that had appeared on the London docks: "Every observing person, on passing by it, cannot fail being struck... with its elegance and simplicity." What had brought this praise was the world's first building incorporating corrugated iron. One might think that the novelty of corrugated iron had surely led the writer into effusion about a subject otherwise unlikely to bring praise. And one might also think that a history of corrugated iron is one of the more unlikely subjects to be brought out in a colorful coffee-table book. There are many surprises in Corrugated Iron: Building on the Frontier (W. W. Norton & Company) by Adam Mornement and Simon Holloway, architectural historians who are enthusiasts for a material that provides shelter for millions and also is being used in upscale modern buildings with surprisingly beautiful effect. The authors say that corrugated iron has met diverse challenges of affordability, portability, utility, and strength, "but despite its many virtues, corrugated iron's contribution to society has rarely been acknowledged." Corrugated iron is everywhere, and because of this it has become invisible; this book is a handsome corrective to bring it back into view.
   
   Corrugated iron was invented by Henry Robinson Palmer, Architect and Engineer to the London Dock Company, in 1829. He foresaw that the material could be used both as cladding upon an architectural framework and arched to make free-standing spans for roofing. Corrugated iron had advantages that innovative architects could use. The brilliant engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel adopted it early, and designed London's Paddington Station to be roofed in the material, with the corrugations running horizontally. There are no tie rods and no longitudinal beams between the rafters, because the corrugations in the roof provide tensile strength. Corrugated iron was used on lighthouses, whaling stations, and agricultural buildings. Prefabricated houses were designed with corrugated iron roofs and walls, and there are many illustrations here from catalogues from which people ordered such houses. Here also are pictures of the houses themselves, many of which are still being used. Most corrugated iron dwellings, however, were meant to be relatively temporary structures. Gold rushes in America, Australia, and South Africa proved to be workshops for such use, when living in tents was just too temporary a housing solution. There is a whole chapter here on churches made from corrugated iron, showing many of them of rural simplicity, but others with some Gothic splendor. Corrugated metal was not restricted to buildings; it was used to build boats, and the World War I Junker aircraft of Germany had wings of corrugated aluminum.
   
   Corrugated iron will never escape completely its association with poverty. There are plenty of pictures here of shantytowns from all over the world, where corrugated iron is an architectural staple for improvised homes. There are other pictures of Nissan huts (the American version was the Quonset hut) used for wartime dwellings, and Buckminster Fuller used corrugated iron in a low-cost circular house called the Dymaxion Deployment Unit. The many pictures in the book's final chapter, though, show that corrugated metal has a place in the cladding of skyscrapers or in the homes of millionaires. Frank Gehry, for instance, has used it, and many of the modern buildings shown here are housed in huge loops or barrel forms of the material. It is used not only for its capacity to support and protect, but also as a sort of architectural sculpture. Many of the new and innovative buildings made from corrugated metal are from Australia, which has drawn on a tradition of using corrugated iron in the gold fields; there is no chance that these handsome, large houses of whimsical shape are going to be mistaken for shanties or for mobile homes. Corrugated iron is one of the most-used inventions humans have come up with, and paupers and tycoons are all taking advantage of it. Here is an intriguing history, full of colorful pictures, of an important architectural tool.

5 comments about Fundamentals of Building Construction: Materials and Methods.

1. This book has alot of information in it both on the actual materials properties and production and on the structural methods and forms



2. I am still using my 1985 Edition! It is a resource you will want to keep around. The technical background and drawings are great! It has some of everything - residential and nonresidential. Thanks Edward Allen-great book.



3. I am a construction engineering major and we used this textbook in our construction materials class, and I must say that it is fantastic. It covers a wide array of materials and methods used throughout the construction industry and it gives history lessons on said materials and processes. *This is a definite MUST HAVE for any architects, civil/structural engineers, construction managers/engineers, as well as M.E.P. engineers and applied engineering designers/ET's.* -M.



4. I found this book to be very good. The materials and methods used in construction are vast and constantly changing. This book does well at giving the reader a good working knowledge of both. There may be better sources, but this one is good enough.



5. this book is an excellent overview of construction materials and practices. i really recommend this book to beginning structural/civil engineers who want to know more about construction. I would absolutely recommend this to architects because it's very practical.

1 comments about Successful RFPs in Construction.

1. A great guide for obtaining pricing early in the development process. Presented in a straight-forward, concise manner, this book will allow owners, consultants, and project managers to obtain useful pricing information that can be used to underwrite financial analysis and assist in selecting a contractor to work with during the design process. We just used the system on a large mixed use project and had excellent results. The analysis tools and approach allowed us focus in on what was the "real" cost of each contractor proposal, not just the cost per square foot. I highly recommend it!

2 comments about Made of Light: The Art of Light and Architecture.

1. Esse livro contém enfoque próprio sobre a possibilidade do espaço arquitetônico tornar-se complexo através da plástica da luz. E ainda chama a atenção para a necessidade de pensar o edifício e da cidade no ambiente noturno



2. This must be one of the most insightful and beautiful books on light ever written. It should inspire every lighting designer . . . and architect

2 comments about Interior Construction & Detailing for Designers and Architects, Third Edition.

1. Has lots of tables and charts, and is adequately explained. The author also writes study guides for standardized architecture tests, and that pretty much sums up the style: no opinions, just facts. Very thorough though. Personally I don't need a whole chapter on locks, but I suppose there are those who do. Presentation and graphics are a bit low-rent for an architecture book.



2. This book should be on the shelves of every interior designer- it's so thorough that it's a little cumbersome at first. It should be used as a reference book, it gives chapter-by-chapter explanations on the specifics for the construction and application of windows, casegoods, partitions, etc. If there is ever any doubt in a designers mind as to how exactly something is constructed or works when it comes to the specifics of interior design, this book's for you.

2 comments about Decorating With Concrete Indoors: Fireplaces, Floors, Countertops, & More.

1. Excellent presentation of various types of decorative cement design. A great idea book, not designed to give one step by step instruction, but with this book a reader can tell what projects might be worth pursuing.



2. What I got was 120 pages of marketing materials I could have gotten free at a home show. The photos are beautiful, the ideas are interesting, but there's almost not a single bit of practical help in there (the exceptions being pages 54,56-60). But there are plenty of references, one for every photo in fact, of which professional was responsible for each design/implementation, and in the back, handy contact information so you can hire them to do the job. In other words, I paid to look at their marketing materials.

No comments about Concrete Systems for Homes and Low-Rise Construction (Portland Cement Association).

2 comments about Colours of Architecture: Coloured Glass in Contemporary Buildings.

1. As a student, this text was incredibly helpful in opening my eyes to the possibilities of glass. I had no idea such methods and techniques are being used all over the world! This will definitely add to my studio practice as well as my scholastic prowess. I am recommending this text to my professor as a required reading for our contemporary architecture course. I think many students would benefit from the breadth and depth of this work.



2. This book speaks to the evolving landscape of architecture with beautiful images and captions capturing the essence of architecture today. Breathtaking views of colored glass invite the reader while the critical commentary provokes thought and sparks further dialogue. This text is a must read for any aspiring architects, artists, or lovers of the arts. Very clear, beautiful, and evocative.

5 comments about How Buildings Work: The Natural Order of Architecture.

1. The underlying premise of this book is that architecture is an imitation and application of the principles of nature. To build is not merely to impose our will on nature. It is to cooperate with nature.
   
   Shelter is a natural human need. Building is the art of meeting that need. It does so, according to Allen, by following the example of nature herself and applying her principles. An organic analogy runs through the book. Buildings live and breathe. A building, like a human body, is matter so arranged that it interacts dynamically with its environment and thus perpetuates the arrangement. Buildings, however, are highly dependent on human beings, whom they serve. The parts of buildings, e.g., the roofs, walls, windows and mechanical systems must work together with the other parts in such a way as to "survive" but most importantly to provide optimal human shelter. Buildings that outlive their usefulness "die."
   
   My favorite passage from the book is a section entitled "People as the Measure" (pp. 169-171). Drawing on his extensive knowledge of the history of architecture, Allen explains how "people literally became the measure of buildings." For example, the brick... was standardized in medieval times within a range of sizes and weights that could be easily manipulated by the left hand of the mason, leaving the right hand free to operate the trowel." Allen cautions against bulk materials manipulated by machines instead of people: "[T]he finished product will not automatically display the human-scale texture that hand-sized components have and that occupants often subconsciously identify with."
   
   This book was very educational for me, a Ph.D. in philosophy who has left academia to help run a construction business. I highly recommend it to new students of architecture or engineering or anyone who has amateur interest in those fields.



2. This is a book on how buildings are designed. It's not a book on how to design a building, that's the architect's job. It's a book on what the architect is going to do to design the building you want.
   
   The book contains hundreds of line drawings on the components of a building. This is how a wall is built, this is how heat circles around a room, this is how a truss structure holds up the roof, this is how electric power is brought into the house and distributed.
   
   This is not a book on how to design a house, you can put the bedrooms anywhere you want, you can have as many bathrooms as you want. This is the basic design of how the building does its job of providing the walls that make up the bathroom, keep it warm/cool, with water inside but kept where you want it.
   
   I consider this book to be interesting to anyone interested in the subject. I consider this book to be mandatory reading for anyone even thinking about building a house or having one built.



3. I approach this book as someone who likes to walk around old neighborhoods and look at houses. I have collected architectural field guides for years and I can identify most building styles. However, I had little idea how buildings worked.
   
   This book was enjoyable because the writing style was simple and straight to the point. One does not need a technical background to get a lot out of the book. Edward Allen's skillful line illustrations also add a great deal. If I could not understand the technical description, the simple illustration helped me with the underlying principle.
   
   To give you an example of why this book is helpful to a non-specialist. I have heard of septic systems my entire life. However, I had no idea how they worked. With the help of very clear illustrations and straight forward writing, this mystery has been solved. This book is a great introduction to all those interested in architecture. Highly recommended.



4. HOW BUILDINGS WORK is just a great book, even more interesting than Macaulay's THE WAY THINGS WORK. Buildings are everywhere, and most everyone uses buildings of various kinds for various purposes. Yet how a building works is often a mystery. In this way, I think buildings are much like computers; most people who use them have no clue about the inner workings of them.

   Edward Allen takes us through the functions of a building without going into traditional architectural theory. This book is more concerned with the needs that buildings must fulfill, and how we can fulfull them. He discusses water, waste, heat, ventilation, lighting, accoustics, energy, structure, and more, first by explaining each particular concept, and then by examining how problems can be solved with the knowledge of those concepts.

   While this isn't a book on theory, neither is it a wholly practical book. That is, it won't equip you with the skills to go and build a house. But it will open your eyes to the various elements of buildings and building construction and you may think "Aha!" the next time you look at a building and observe a strange structural or design detail. You don't have to be an architecture freak to enjoy the book either. You just need to be curious.




5. I practice and teach architecture. This is the best book I have ever found for communicating material essential for the study of building science and architecture. The presentation style is frendly and informative. The knowledge of the subject displayed by Edward Allen is superb. I am a unashamed book-a-holic, if I could only take one book to the proverbial desert island - How Buildings Work would be it.

No comments about Detail Practice: Translucent Material: Glass, Synthetic Materials, Metal.