No comments about Arcade: Artists And Place-Making.

1 comments about Telecommunications and the City.

1. This book is like a bronseal advert, it does what it says on the tin. the authours have given a indepth look at life in a city in terms of communications. the reason i have now bought this book is that i have read the social and cultural impacts of communications within a city, and now want to read the rest. the authors which for me gives the book real zeal is that their writings are de-viod of utopian or distopian views and keep to real facts. im sorry my review is not of a professional nature, but i recommend this book to anyone in studies at degree level or anyone interested in the way a whole city operates purley by communications albeit internet, phone or any ohter communication. a must buy.

2 comments about Housing: New Alternatives, New Systems.

1. Well, honestly, I probably wouldn't have seen this book if it wasn't for my professor and his obscure references to buildings. This is a pretty good book to make one understand and become visually aware of the way housing affects the inhabitant and the way the inhabitant(society/culture) affects the housing... also site relationships and basically the urbanization of the world. Another thing, this book is pretty good at giving examples of housing that breaks from the "normalcy" and "style-numbness"(that's my own term!) of today. I focused mainly on Riegler and Riewe's apartment building in Austria and theories on "conditioned openness" and flexibility. This, and the other examples are pretty interesting to me, maybe a good coffee table book for some. Pick it up and compare the many different systems to your current form of housing...



2. Well, honestly, I probably wouldn't have seen this book if it wasn't for my professor and his obscure references to buildings. This is a pretty good book to make one understand and become visually aware of the way housing affects the inhabitant and the way the inhabitant(society/culture) affects the housing... also site relationships and basically the urbanization of the world. Another thing, this book is pretty good at giving examples of housing that breaks from the "normalcy" and "style-numbness"(that's my own term!) of today. I focused mainly on Riegler and Riewe's apartment building in Austria and theories on "conditioned openness" and flexibility. This, and the other examples are pretty interesting to me, maybe a good coffee table book for some. Pick it up and compare the many different systems to your current form of housing...

No comments about Cities & Cultures (Routledge Critical Introductions to Urbanism and the City).

No comments about Future City.

No comments about Soft Architecture Machines.

1 comments about Urban Spaces, No. 4.

1. In a time when it seems like there is less and less human interaction because of the spreading out to the burbs, TV and the Internet, it seems that there is more and more demand for social interaction in public places.
   
   In this book Mr. Dixon has collected pictures and drawings from a very wide range of projects from designed neighborhoods, cultural facilities, educational facilities, entertainment complexes, remodeling, parks and too many other types to list here. The cover the United States as well as unexpected places like Tokyo, Moscow, Shanghai, Philippines, Australia, Poland and more. The size of the projects vary from giant to surprisingly quite small. It is arranged by the architectural firm that did the creative design work, and these are some of the most creative in the world.
   
   This is basically an idea book, showing what can be done, or what is being thought of for new projects. It is a large format book, and beautifully printed in full color throughout.

2 comments about The Modern Language Of Architecture.

1. I discovered this book in architectural school, and was intrigued at the way Zevi clarified everything I was then dealing with in vague ways in architectural school. The invariables, or "anti-rules", as Zevi calls them, are each given seperate chapters in this book. Listing of Functions, Asymmetry and Dissonance, Antiperspective Three Dimensionality, Four-Dimensional Decomposition, Cantilever, Shell and Membrane Structures, Space-in Time and Reintegration of Building, City and Landscape are all ideas present to varying degrees in various buildings at various times in history. Zevi shows how they can be used in a more deliberate and integrated fashion, no matter what the budget or funtion of any given building. He illuminates how these ideas are present in the architecture of times historical and times more recent, and underscores the value of non-conformist buildings for the enrichment of society.
   This book gave me a tremendous creative boost at just the right time in my life and it's influence continues in my work. Marvellously illustrated with three-dimensional drawings and with photos, it presents a summation of the thinking of a great and scholarly mind.



2. This book is by far one of the best books I have read in a while. It is simple and to the point and Zevi does not hold back. It is a little dated, but all of his seven principles are able to be directly applied to the current state of architecture. This should be a mandatory reading for all architecture students. His opinions of the tendencies within society to praise the priciples of Symmetry, proportion, and order, show how architecture has been plagued by standardization and repetitive forms throughout history. A great book for anyone who is troubled by the generality of architecture (with great exception to the current masters, no less)and would like to see the boundries broken.

No comments about Personal Space: The Behavioral Basis of Design (Spectrum Books).

No comments about J.C. Nichols and the Shaping of Kansas City: Innovation in Planned Residential Communities.