5 comments about Design with Nature (Wiley Series in Sustainable Design).

1. My husband is a landscape designer and architect. So, he loves this stuff! I bought it for him as one of his birthday gifts. He has been wanting something of high quality and loves McHarg. I would recommend this book. We keep it on the coffee table because the pictures are wonderful and the design shows through. My husband and I love it!



2. As a former colleague of McHarg's at the University of Pennsylvania during the 1960's, and currently working in a planned community he designed (The Woodlands, TX), I decided to buy this book to try to understand the strange idiosyncracies of The Woodlands, TX.
   
   The book is very wordy, but it is well illustrated. McHarg successfully blended community design with natural boundary conditions (watershed management, geology, forestry, slope properties, etc) with the case histories he presented (some of which I remember when serving on an invited basis on jury's in McHarg's academic program). The book's strength is his advocacy of melding human planning needs with nature's boundary conditions.
   
   BUT, does it really work? Only at the expense of the time of people working and living in such a planned community. The inconvenient practices that go with such a planned community require a lot of adjustment that asks a bit much of people who work in such places but don't live there.
   
   But it works fine for the affluent and the unhurried who can afford it.



3. No has estudiado arquitectura si este libro no ha caido en tus manos. Sin Ian Mcharg la arquitectura sostenible no seria posible. Por lo menos la arquitectura sostenible pensada a escala regional."



4. this highly recommended book started out as a compelling read, but became something i had to force myself to finish. it seems to be a series of lectures strung together, which may have been interesting as lectures, but is not cohesive enough to be a book. the good information is lost amidst the rambling style.



5. Anyone studying environmental planning or LA should read this book.

No comments about Marmol Radziner + Associates: Between Architecture and Construction.

5 comments about More Straw Bale Building: A Complete Guide to Designing and Building with Straw (Mother Earth News Wiser Living Series).

1. I was very impressed with the level of detail and thoroughness in how the authors explained about building with straw bales, the details, etc. If you are considering alternative building materials with an eye on energy conservation and reducing your "footprint" on the planet, this is a must for your library and to use while planning your home design.



2. This was a pretty good book. But, I must admit, I am waiting for one book that says it ALL!! I haven't found that book yet.



3. A VERY HIGH QUALITY INFORMATIVE PUBLICATION. ANYONE INTERESTED IN STRAW BALE CONSTRUCTION SHOULD HAVE A COPY.



4. I received my item quickly and in good condition. Very satisfied.



5. I have been reading up on SB construction for quite some time now and this is by far the best book yet. It is a nice blend of the glossy pics that are nice and the technical info that we need. It is also nice to see Tina taking a bit of credit for a change. Congrats folks you have another great book out there.
   
   Nick

5 comments about Robert Venturi: Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture.

1. "I like complexity and contradiction in architecture." That's how Robert Venturi starts this superb book. No great proclamation. It was an age tired of great proclamations. Instead, Venturi takes us through an impressively learned tour of his favorite things, a grand overview of great architecture, with acute formal analysis of facade and plan composition, sectional variety, and an accumulating realization that complexity is an inevitable force in the tumult of human, urban life.
   Postmodernism has come and gone, but modernism looks as it does today because of this book.



2. this book impacted the field of architecture during its time as much as LeCorbusier did with his book. Its extreme in its area of covering the world of architecture and how Venturi studies each theory on how the world of architecture has changed and is changing. Definately a must read for any architecture student or anyone associated in this long term field. the history of this book is more important than anything. Although alittle complex it is a must for those mentioned.



3. Now that the bottom of postmodernism has actually fallen out and is being dragged along the street by the chains of American capitalism, it's "alright" for students of architecture to return to that misjudged canonical textbook of post-modernism, C+C by Venturi. While not as engaging as his other main work "Learning from Las Vegas", this book still leads the reader into a meticulous analysis of the physical composition of major pieces of architecture, and the composition of the thoughts that made them. After reading it, I found myself unconciously applying it's main dichtomy of complexity and contradiction to much of the architecture around me, if that is any testament to its power.



4. I had to read this book for a class specifically regarding Robert Venturi and the postmodernism movement that he became a leading proponent of. However, this book is NOT a manifesto for a postmodern vacabulary- rather, this book looks at all architecture from the Parthenon to the common family home. Let me say that I have read many architectural theory books, but nothing that really inspired me to look at a building and really see what the architect intended like Complexity and Contradiction. This book really focused my attention on the possibilities for great architecture on any level- from museum to treehouse. I feel that anyone with an interest in appreciating architecture should certainly read this book. Because of my studies of Robert Venturi and his contemporaries, I have pursued a degree in architecture and certainly plan to incorperate his ideas and philosophies into my work.



5. venturi's book highlights the inherent complexity in today's post-modern society, coupled with the depth of comprehension often mistaken by critics. A must buy for Architecture students!

5 comments about EcoCities: Rebuilding Cities in Balance with Nature.

1. The most amazing book I have ever read...life-altering look at evolutionary coexistence. There is hope for our future...with others understanding and implementing ecocity principles. Please - I challenge you to read and use the book...our way of being depends on it.



2. Anyone involved in city planning or anyone that lives in a city should read this. Power of Proximity!



3. EcoCities is a book I have returned to repeatedly and discovered new insights every time. Register is no utopian dreamer; he's addressing real problems in contemporary urban design and land use patterns that cannot be sustained in a lower-energy future. Register's personality comes through loud and clear in his writing--this is no dry treatment of the subject.
   
   Through this book, Register helps us to envision with some specificity what urban landscapes light on automobiles but rich in biodiversity could look like. It's as if he's illustrating a series of before and after treatments of various spaces, but the before picture is now and the after is a future yet to be realized. Highly recommended reading for anyone who wants to help actively design their built environment towards sustainability.



4. Along with books like Natural Capitalism and Cradle to Cradle, Ecocities takes its place among the most important environmental tomes of our day. In a nutshell, Richard Register's vision (replete with a plan to get us there) could transform our world. In fact a structural response like ecocities (and smart growth) may be the best tools available to bring us to our only destination, sustainability. In his thoughtful book, Register waxes poetic on the environmental crisis we face, shares a grand vision for addressing the crisis -- while simultaneously improving our everyday lives -- and wraps it up with a road map for getting there. His many illustrations spark the imagination and are guaranteed to put a smile on your face. If you haven't read it, just do. Buy this important book now.



5. Here is an ambitious remit. Register gives a history of the development of cities. And he offers suggestions for what he calls eco-modern designs. That attempt to minimise energy consumption and maximise biodiversity. The former is an obvious laudable aim for any city and its occupants. Rising energy costs, due in part to ever increasing global industrialisation, can adversely affect everyone in a city. Reducing consumption is shown to involve such trends as more energy efficient cars.
   
   But he also advocates a greater biodiversity within cities. More gardens, including on rooftops. Multiple benefits are offered. A more pleasant recreational environment. And reduced cooling costs for buildings.
   
   Register offers a light leftist approach. He does not seem anticapitalist, unlike some radical environmentalists.

No comments about Home Delivery.

1 comments about Form Based Codes: A Guide for Planners, Urban Designers, Municipalities, and Developers.

1. Form Based Codes provides an excellent ways to understand how design codes works in various stages in urban design field. I think this book guides very clear description in terms of preparing design codes and the management process. The material in this book illustrates excellently relationship between design and planning principles towards high quality environment. As an Urban Designer and Landscape Architect, I would like to express a great appreciation and many thanks to all authors.

2 comments about London: A Life in Maps.

1. The British Library published this beautiful book of maps of London. The reproductions of maps and plans are enhanced with engravings, paintings and photographs. Peter Whitfield's commentary for each map is informative and engaging. Each map stands alone, but taken as a whole the book presents a panorama of a great city.
   
   A few of my many favorites include:
   
   Caesar's Camp called "the Brill" located just outside St. Pancras on the River Fleet just outside London.
   
   Matthew Paris's 1250-54 diagram from London Bridge ('pons Lond.') and the Thames ('Tamise'), through Rochester and Canterbury to Dover, then crossing the sea ('La Mer') and reaching France.
   
   A 1593 guide for Cuntrey men In the famous Cittey of LONDON.
   
   Section and Plan of a Gateway to Westminster at Hyde Park Corner, 1778.
   
   Plan of a Proposed TURNPIKE ROAD From St. JOHN'S CHAPEL, ST. MARYLEBONE into the Great North Road Near the 8 Mile Stone at Finchley, 1824.
   
   A small sample of Whitfield's prose: "Between 1850 and 1945 London changed beyond recognition as a result of the interplay between population pressures, novel means of transport, a revolution in building techniques, and a new leisure ethos. By the early 20th century there were a variety of Londons. Buildings spread deep into the countryside until Green Belt legislation was passed to save what remained. Distinct types of suburb developed. Ramblers took advantage of the remaining commons, heaths and woods around London. And those two icons of modern London, the A-Z and the Underground map, were created."
   
   The book is a delight to hold and to study. Even better, the British Library has mounted an interactive exhibit of 40 the 100 maps in this book. And, many of the maps are available for sale in the Library's shop.



2. Peter Whitfield's "London, A Life in Maps" is a must-read for anyone with an interest in, and/or love for, Britain's capital city. Having lived in London for three years in the 1970's, and returned many times since, I found the maps, drawings, photos, and text enthralling, shedding light on innumerable aspects of the city that previously were unknown to me. What an incredible amount of research Peter Whitfield has done, and how brilliantly he presents it. The book would make a superb gift for any Anglophile or student of English history.

5 comments about Historic Preservation: An Introduction to Its History, Principles, and Practice.

1. "What thou lovest well remains . . . is thy true heritage . . . shall not be reft from thee"
   
   This book is a very good basic introduction to the principals, laws and resources governing historic preservation issues. As is pointed out, historic preservationists oppose the conventional American ideal of consuming ever more and more, and seek, instead, to reverse the "use it up and move on" mentality by cleaning/clearing up and making what was once used up livable again. That is the purpose of historic preservation: to protect and preserve the past so that we can live with it as part of our heritage and learn from it to create our future. To quote from the text, ". . . not to arrest time, but to mediate sensitively with the forces of change to understand the present as a product of the past and a modifer of the future." John Lawrence, Dean Tulane's School of Architecture. This book is a good place to start.



2. This book was a requirement for an undergraduate course in Public History. For a student just starting out in the preservation field, it is a wonderful informative book encapsulating everything from the philosophy of the historic movement to homeowners purchasing a historic structure. Mr. Tyler has taken his expertise and knowledge and shared it with those of us within the realm of historic preservation. I would highly reccomend this to anyone interested in saving America's heritage.



3. I had a graduate class in historic preservation, and while certain books were recommended, none was required.
   
   If I were teaching historic preservation, this would be the text. This is a book largely about Main Street America, not about the U.N. or ICOMOS or preserving the Parthenon, but about preservation in a country that in many cases is philosophically opposed to it.
   
   Toward the end of the book is the best explanation of the use of historic tax credits I have ever read. As Tyler notes, these tax credits are the best friend the American preservation community has today.
   
   If you're interested in historic preservation in America, buy it and read it.
   
   Plus, I'm pretty sure it's the only book on historic preservation that has a drawing of the jewelry store in Huntington, W.Va., where my wife and I bought our wedding rings.



4. This book provides a concise and thorough overview of Historic Preservation. It has become the building block on which I will continue my studies of Preservation.



5. Having recently purchased an older home in an historic neighborhood, I thought it would be a good idea to aquaint myself with the topic of historic preservation. Norman Tyler's "Historic Preservation" was originally written as a text for a college class on historic preservation. His purpose was to expose his students to the major themes in the field of preservation.
   
   The book starts with a philosophical overview of preservation and moves onto chapters dealing with historic districts and the legal basis for preservation. I found his chapter on the documentation and designation of individual historic properties to be most valuable. Tyler concludes with chapters on design issues, preservation technology, downtown reviatalization and preservation economics.
   
   This book is a well written introduction that will get you started in learning more about historic introduction. Highly recommended.

4 comments about Great Streets.

1. i love the drawing styles and methods presented in this book. i recommend it for anybody who loves buildings and great streets of our world.



2. This wonderful book consideres the civic street from many perspecitives and describes it with poetic attention. The author has spent days on these great streets and brings careful measurement and observation to his carefully crafted text. If everyone planning streets and highways in America read this book and visited one of two of these great streets, it would enable a huge improvement.

   This book studies the street not from the simple American perspecitve of high velocity traffic sewar, but from the realities of a place to hang out. eat lunch, shop, socialize, people watch, court, celebrate and be. The read how these places work in this book is to realize how much our desperate focus on the automobile costs us.

   Buy this book and photocopy some of its illustrations for your next public hearing on town planning.




3. This is an absolute must-read for anyone interested in the study of urbanism.



4. ...this is a reference book in the sense that it mentions so many important and peculiar streets in the world, many of which, I'm sure, you've heard about or possibly even visited. Mr. Jacobs' accounts of his own travels and his feelings while strolling down those streets could even put this book in the travel journal caegory, complete with beautiful sketches by the author himself. Not only the sketches, but the technical and historical information, (like street dimensions, the schematic comparison of several different city plans worlwide and the decline of once great streets) establish this book as a constant source of information for Architects and Urban Planners, as well as students.

   I could clearly recognize the Traveler, the Urban Scholar and the Artist in Mr. Jacobs as I took a stroll down these great streets through the drawings and heartfelt passages of his book.