No comments about Worlds Away.

4 comments about The Lure of the Local: Senses of Place in a Multicentered Society.

1. I picked this bad boy up at the museumstore at SF Moma. It is a handsome, weighty book, with a beautiful, interesting cover. The book made a good impression on me.

   My wife and I decided to buy this book because we have been interested in the theme of "landscape as witness". This is a concept we read about in Nancy Spector's accompanying essay in the Cremaster Cycle Guggeinheim museum catalog. Basically, the idea as it is expressed in Barney interpreted by Spector is that the landscape is a character in the narrative created by art.

   As a brief survey of Amazon.com will reveal, Lippard is a well regarded writer on art. Honestly, I'd never heard of her before. This could have something to do with me not being intimately familiar with the New York City art scene or otherwise involved with the art world except as an occasional museum goer. Art is sort of at the periphery of my set of interests.

   None the less, I found this a comprehensive, at times brilliant, survey of both artistic theories about the concept of place as well as a thorough documentation of the specific expressions of these theories in art work. Lippard's scope of reading and breadth of knowledge about art all over the United States (this book is entirely about the U.S.) is nothing short of stunning.

   The actual form of the book is a little difficult to explain, The book has a five part structure, each part with a title: Around Here, Manipulating Memory, Down to Earth: Land Use, The Last Frontiers: City and Suburbs and Looking Around. Each of these parts contains sub-chapters that are titled with various aspects of the five parts. Lippard's style is basically to situate each chapter with a brief survey of what other writers have said about the "subject", followed by a description of different acts of arts intermingled with commentary. Each of the pages also contains images with substantive critical passages. Along the top of each page, there is a running essay about the author's experiences growing up in Maine.

   I found her work to be fairly comprehensive: Although she has end notes and a thorough bibliography, I found myself doubting that any of them so totally nailed the relationship between art and the concept of place.

   If the author or her representatives are reading this, I would recommend updating this book in another couple of years.

   Lippard is a self-declared liberal. Although I did not always agree with her analysis, I admired the manner in which she was able to outline her bias in a non-intrusive way. She could be more forceful with her arguments. I don't think anybody could begrudge her opinions.




2. If you are a person who cares about places, an artist who is looking for ideas on how to incorporate a place-based ethic in your work, a nomad who longs for a greater sense of rootedness, or an environmentalist who wants to explore new ways to communicate, this is the book for you. The depth and breadth of Lucy Lippard's experience of America is impressive. She has lived in Maine, New York City, and New Mexico, and has collected stories of artists who are reflecting on their relationship to the place they live from around the country. The book is incredibly diverse, looking at the issues of homelessness, the changing face of the American West, the unique personalities of suburbs, rural areas, and big cities (to name just a few topics) through the lens of geography and art.

   The book is well written, although it might seem challenging to some. Expect a left-of-center view from a respected and extremely knowledgeable critic and observer of American life.




3. this was a horrible book. i dont recommend it to anyone. read only if you dare!



4. My Childhood home in Georgetown Maine is in this book. I have had many dreams at night of this beautiful place. My Maine roots go back to the 1600s. I am looking forward to owning this book, to pass down to my childrens children. I live in Oklahoma. I will always prefer Lighthouses over oil wells, lobster boats over bass boats,etc.

3 comments about Skinny Streets and Green Neighborhoods: Design for Environment and Community.

1. Used it in a board meeting to convince them GREEN is the best color and strategy for design initiatives!! Amazon shipped fast and was right on time for the meeting.



2. I love the bbok, it is beautifully edited, and very relevant for anyone researching on sustainability and cities. It is probably too much focused on the suburban type of neighborhood ( I think they are trying to justify this model through green sustainability ) , but it is very clear and precise on the strategies taken by all these developments.
   
   I was still in needs for more images and detailed sections of the models proposed, that's why I think of it as a reference book. All drawings are very basic, beautifully made but basic.



3. Expertly and knowledgeably co-authored by Cynthia Girling (Director and Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture at the University of British Columbia) and Ronald Kellett (Professor of Landscape Architecture and Director of the Neighborhoods LAB in the Design Centre for Sustainability at the University of British Columbia) Skinny Streets And Green Neighborhoods: Design For Environment And Community is an innovative modern introduction and study of urban planning and ecology that deftly provides the reader with an exceptional selection of proven methods for solving generally difficult problems for community landscapes in urban areas. Inclusive of in-depth analysis with years of experience in the urban planning, with an excellent selection of design strategies for opportune placement of plant life for the essential betterment of the environment. An outstanding contribution to Environmental Studies and Urban Studies reference collections, Skinny Streets And Green Neighborhoods is very strongly recommended for all students of ecological design within the context of an urban environment.

4 comments about Architecture for the Poor: An Experiment in Rural Egypt (Phoenix Books).

1. For those of you looking for a book on how to build a house cheaply this is not for you. This book is on how to give poor people the means to build homes, and communities, get educated, and develop careers all at the same time. All this can be orchestrated by an architect who understands the needs of the people he is designing for. Every architectural student should be required to read this book.



2. 'Architecture for the Poor' by Dr Hassan Fathy

   Sometimes a book is so ahead of its time it can sink beneath the waves before it's appreciated. Such a book was 'Architecture for the Poor', written in 1969 and originally published by the Ministry of Culture in Cairo. Written with the help of a fellowship from the Adlai Stevenson Institute of International Affairs it was published in America by the University of Chicago in 1973 and in a second impression in 1976. But even then it was only taken up by the fringes of the solar energy movement as a neat idea for a different culture and climate. Currently its out of print. The author died in 1989 having received some praise in his home country of Egypt but having seen no actions to take up his ideas for helping peasants take control of their lives by taking charge of the creation of their homes and communities.

   Dr Fathy was officially an architect but his talents as an amateur anthropologist, sociologist, psychologist, inventor, and economist are what make him great. His holistic approach to solving the housing problems of a poverty level community (and his vision to see how they could be applied to a whole country) takes in the gamut from reviving the craft of mud brick making (along with the traditional masonry building of vaults and domes to roof simple mud structures) through to solving the problems of parasitic worm infections that debilitate entire populations infected through their water supply systems. Every aspect of village life receives his attention: how to adapt an Austrian heating system to make a cooking stove more efficient, how to share a house with cows more hygienically, where to do laundry, how to build a better school, how to provide an alternative income from tomb robbing for the peasants, and how to tactfully delouse peasants using the luxury of a Turkish bathhouse rather than the chilly chemicals of a government mandated cold shower.

   His appreciation that some inefficiencies are functional within a society makes the changes he does make even more impressive. Fetching water from the village pump in water jars is one of the few occasions a girl has to be seen out in public in Moslem society. Providing running water to every house would derail the marriage process within that society. However he is happy to create plumbing inside the home ? running pipes to the kitchen from rooftop storage jars across the middle of rooms, so if they leak the occupants will have to fix them not ignore the drips until the wall is eroded. Fathy's changes are not just improvements to make a peasants life more like a modern westerners life ? that is impossible given the astonishingly low income of these people. They are changes that make life easier or healthier while striving to maintain traditions and strengthen society because they understand what is behind the tradition. For example splitting the village up into single home farmsteads would expose the individual families to roaming bands of thieves, so it's necessary to let houses huddle together for protection and for cows ? more valuable than children ? to stay inside the house.

   Yet this book is not just about practicalities of house or village building ? it's also about the need for beauty in the life of even the poorest amongst us. Dr Fahey's desire to restore an appreciation for craftsmanship to all members of society especially by restoring the ability of the poor to control the creation of their own homes is inspiring. An architect can help the process along only if he or she can learn to see life outside the urban world of modern design. This book shows how an architect with an academic education can be of some help to a peasant faced with grinding poverty but only if equipped with the ability to move to the world of that peasant and see how alien western technological solutions can be.

   Fahey's ideas are not just applicable to Egyptian society, reading this book made me aware of the similarities of problems faced by peoples in many middle eastern countries, particularly Afghanistan which is trying to rebuild itself and could use Dr Fahey's techniques to rehouse its population cheaply and empoweringly. It's even possible to extend his ideas to other hot dry climates such as Southern California, and the desert states of the US, to Mediterranean countries and to many parts of Africa, South America, and Australia. Wherever issues of building cost or those of insulation, shelter and energy efficiency in a hot dry climate need addressing Dr Fahey's solutions should be considered. This book needs to be reprinted; clamor for copies and see if we can make it the bestseller it should have been the first time around.

   ISBN 0-226-23916-0




3. This book should be required reading to obtain an Architect's license. Mr Fathy is far from perfect, but his message of democratic economy is desperately needed and eloquently stated, and his mixture of respect for and scientific evaluation of traditional building techniques is inspiring.



4. This book sets a new theory in architecture by the famouce Egyptian architect Hasan Fathy. Fathy argues that you can build fancy buildings without using expensive materials. He practiced his theory in Upper Egypt, Mexico, and many other countries.

No comments about Golf Architecture: A Worldwide Perspective (Golf Architecture).

2 comments about Variations on a Theme Park: The New American City and the End of Public Space.

1. This is a very thoughtful and provocative collection of eight essays on various simulated spaces which have infiltrated the American landscape. The book's overall thesis is that public space and "authentic" urban life increasingly has been replaced by simulations of urban life, usually as spaces of commodification (e.g. malls, gentrified districts, theme parks). In this process of replacing public space, aspects of American public life--open space for assembly, the interaction of different people, concern for communities--also get erased. While simulated spaces may seem to improve public space and public life, they do so at a cost, one that the critics seem to suggest is the loss of real public space and perhaps even of democracy.

   The purpose of this book is not only to describe these spaces, but to oppose them. Each of the authors point to the negative effects of simulated space. In many cases, the essays' implications jump right out of the page and into your neighborhood. Margaret Crawford's essay on the Edmonton shopping mall could be applied to any mall in Anytown, USA. Neil Smith's essay on gentrification points out the high price that comes with "revitalization"; one is reminded of many similiar projects outside his NYC example: Philadelphia, Detroit, Seattle,and so forth. Edward Soja and Trevor Boddy both contribute well-written essays which demonstrate growing chasm between the "haves" and the "have-nots." With these essays, extended and local comparisons with dying urban areas and suburbia, sprawl, gated communities, and so forth are appropriate. Michael Sorkin's own essay on Disneyland turns a well-wrought phrase, and gives the Disney Studies scholar much to think about. (NOTE: Those interested in Disney should read this article if nothing else in the collection, although many of the essays are applicable to the study of Disney.) Of the essays, it is perhaps the one least obviously applicable to "real" life. But then again, Sorkin notes the distance between the simulated environment of the theme park and the reality of the city is decreasing.

   Of course, the scholars' analyses are dark and even depressing. And more than once, the authors manage to sound like angry young critics filled with more agenda than action. More than once, extended discussion of the issues raised in the essays would have helped--although many of these authors do have full-length treatments elsewhere--or perhaps alternative perspectives which would have varied the collection's tone and helped sustain readers' interest. And like any collection some of the essays are stronger than others. Overall, though, the collection makes a reader stop and think. Many readers will end up carefully reconsidering 1) the state of American life and its public space and 2) one's participation in these developments. Variations deserves recognition for addressing these issues.




2. This book enlists many different authors, who all have an amazing point of view on the built environment. From gated communities to Disneyland, every chapter expresses concerns of fast-changing developed environments. Our cities are quickly becoming cold, enclosed enclaves. This book helped me realize how our society has snubbed the utilizaton of public space. This is definitely a book for every person interested in city planning, urban studies,or sociology. Whether a student or leisure reader, this book will open your minds to what is really taking place in our cities, suburbs, resorts, and recreational facilities. Any place in which society is forced to interact with one another is referred to in "Variations on a Theme Park". Read it. It will open your mind!

No comments about Urban Spaces: Squares & Plazas.

3 comments about New York 2000: Architecture and Urbanism from the Bicentennial to the Millennium (New York).

1. NewYork as I know and love it.This is an exceptional book,it explains why the city is like it is.Every outstanding architecture is well described and it is readable by everyone.



2. At 1300 pages this is quite comprehensive and exhaustively researched. NYC has had a real resurgence in skyscraper building in the last ten years or so and many good buildings have been built..like the Time Warner Bldg. the Bloomberg Tower, and the New York Times building..and so far it looks like the world trade center site is going to have some specacular buildings, frankly im still not sure about the Freedom Tower(please find a new name, lord)design but it's so much better than that untenable Libeskind designed, frankly I love the Norman Foster design but whatever, but I digress...as for this book it's fantastic and if you love NYC you will have to have this in you collection, really a complete, thorough book on current architecture in NYC, buy this book you wont be disappointed.



3. I bought this book as a gift for my boss who loves both NYC and architecture. He loved it! I looked through it before giving it to him and agree it is a great book. It's $100 in the book stores, so it is a good buy on Amazon for $63.00. Great for anyone who loves NYC.

3 comments about The Architecture of the City (Oppositions Books).

1. It is a fundamental piece of work on the theoretical study of architecture and cities. The topic that Rossi documents and discusses is far from being concluded, which demonstrates the relevance of this publication edited for the first time about 40 years ago.
   
   I'd recommend this lecture to those involved in the formal study of architecture and urbanism, who might be looking for a solid theoretical basis towards the definition of a "urban science", or simply as a reference to understand the new "urban artifacts" ("urban facts" would be a more accurate translation in my opinion) that occur in our days cities.
   
   As it has been mentioned, this is an excellent book, although I-would-not recommend it as a first approach to the subject. The topics are treated more with academic rigor than practical value, this might be disappointing to anyone who only wants a simple, easy-to-read book about cities and their construction.



2. The practical work of Aldo Rossi is known to may, and has attracted a great number of followers for its common-sensical approach to architecture, at a time (the 60's) when Modern architecture ran out of steam and fell into a vacuous "play of forms" without sense nor content. Yet the theoretical foundation of the Rossian work remains fairly unknown, and it is distilled into 2 works: the paradigmatic "Architecture of the City", which was a serious attempt to readdress the role of architecture in the urban context [something ignored by most Modernists]; and the "Scientific Autobiography" which is a witty essay of a great architect's discovery and experience of architecture and life... This work,the "Architecture of the City", is definitely the more scholarly of the 2 books translated into English, and despite some of its contestable aspects [the romanticization of the Mietskaserne in Berlin for instance], it still presents itself as one of the key documents on urban thought in the twentieth century, along with Corbusier's "Urbanisme" and Koolhaas's "Delirious New York". Definitely recommended for students of Architecture and Urbanism...



3. i liked it and would recommend it to a friends family

3 comments about Planning and Urban Design Standards (Wiley Graphic Standards).

1. This book is tremendously broad in its coverage of planning topics, though not in depth. Most topics get only 2 pages, though some get 4-5. References are listed for each topic to help you find more detailed information. The book is well organized and indexed. It's loaded with illustrations such as graphs, diagrams, flow charts, line art, photographs, and maps. Most are black and white, but there are 16 color plates that are grouped together and stuck in a seemingly arbitrary position in the middle of an unrelated topic.
   
   Some information is already out of date. For example, on page 580 it says that the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) expired in 2003 and Congress was still debating reauthorization. The new act (SAFETEA-LU) was enacted in August 2005 and is not mentioned.
   
   My only real complaint is that the type is quite small and can be difficult to read for 40+ year-old readers. On the other hand, I understand that if they used larger type this huge, heavy book would be even bigger and heavier.
   
   I also got the electronic, online version of the book and was disappointed in that, again because of the small type. Even using a 20" monitor I had a very hard time reading it. The viewer application that Amazon uses has very limited capability to zoom in on the text so it does not help.



2. This is a mandatory book in an urban planner or college bookshelf, for it has all the necessary information to complete urban projects. It is my handbook and that says all. It is also very well presented with a hardcover in good leather. The only shortcoming that I see is the absence of folded pages with urban plans in a larger scale, or renderings of zoning plans.



3. An excellent resource for anyone involved in public sector land-use planning. Contains great detail on many different subjects. Good illustrations throughout. Not the best resource for site planning, though.