1 comments about The Virtual Dimension: Architecture, Representation, and Crash Culture.

1. It is hard to find books on architecture and information technology which do not read like a manifesto. Indeed the strength of John Beckmann's "The Virtual Dimension" can be found in its inclusive and at times playfully eclectic scope. Rarely do editors working in this genre assemble into one volume such a conflicting cast of theorists, writers, artists and architects. Featured in a collection of 26 essays are authors as diverse as Paul Virilio, Stahl Stenslie, Mark C. Taylor, Stan Allen, Gareth Branwyn, Stelarc, Bernard Cache and many more. Aside from the sometimes bizarre prophesies of writers like Hans Moravec the essays in this book generally form a balanced survey of the many important issues facing our digital age. For anyone interested in computers, architecture theory, electronic art or the problematic relationship between cyberspace and the physical world Mr. Beckmann's profusely illustrated book is a virtual necessity. > >

2 comments about Sun Valley Architecture and Interiors.

1. "Sun Valley is an oasis between desert and lava of the Snake River Plain, an isolated haven and difficult place to reach from just about anywhere. It is wedged between surrounding peaks of Sawtooth, Smokey and Boulder Ranges with a high desert climate."
   
   For anyone living in Sun Valley, the history at the beginning of the book will be of interest. Then, if you have ever been skiing in Sun Valley, this has interesting historical pictures. Golfing and fishing are also of interest.
   
   In regards to the beautiful architecture in this book, you may notice the abundance of open space and walls of windows. Living inside, you feel a sense of communion with nature. Garden showers and retreat rooms are an essential. Modern log cabin styles contrast with the more traditional mystique of old-world adventure.
   
   The homes do not seem overly opulent on every page. There are some quaint pictures of decorating with quilts and small porches with aging chairs. The retreat style homes have a cozy country feel and there are even pictures of restored trailers.
   
   There is a gorgeous kitchen complete with rows of copper pots and a huge island. Fireplaces, libraries, lush gardens, modern art, fishing lodges and barns all mingle nicely together. The picture of the kitchen in the fishing lodge is amazing in detail. Now that is what I call a sink on page 205.
   
   ~The Rebecca Review



2. Sun Valley has long been a vacation area for the rich and famous. It is large enough that houses don't have to be next to each other, each home can have its own surroundings out of sight of the neighbors. Further, each home can be constructed to meet the desires and requirements of the individual builder. There is no standard architecture like you find in many communities. Here is an ultra modern concrete and glass structure, there is a 'log cabin' but not the simple one room cabin the pioneers might have had. Somewhere else there is a converted barn, here is a house decorated with oriental art, more common is a western Americana theme. There are some homes that are not too large, and there's one that's 19,000 square feet that houses a private art collection of some 650 pieces.
   
   All in all, a spectacular set of photographs beautifully printed that shows some of the best in the valley. My one complaint is that I would like to know who owns these homes. Pure curiosity I know, but I'm certainly curious.

1 comments about Earth Moves: The Furnishing of Territories (Writing Architecture).

1. i found this text to be a significant resource in thinking about practice and design, and their blending of intentions. using furniture as a medium for thinking about architectural space, the author identifies methodologies of investigation that are forward but readable. this book is not about furniture, it is about spatial movement, its architecture in the broad sense of spatiality. its a good resource for anyone interested in layering, trans-anything, and folding concepts.

1 comments about Classical Architecture: An Introduction to Its Vocabulary and Essentials, with a Select Glossary of Terms.

1. The ne plus ultra of visual references for classical design. Treats each component independently, both verbally and visually, and helps one aquire a weighted and balanced perspective on the full range of formal options.
   
   The perfect companion to Sir John Summerson's slight but powerful Classical Language.
   
   Highly recommended.

1 comments about On Distant Shores: Colonial Houses Around the World.

1. This is a truly unique book breaking down as it does buildings by colonial nation. It enables a side-by-side comparison of how different countries adapted their historic architectural styles to their mostly tropical colonies. It is stunningly illustrated and is a must-have for anyone interested in colonial architecture or, like my self, wishing to build a luxury home with colonial elegance in the tropics.

1 comments about Japan-ness in Architecture.

1. I ordered this book before publication and it wasn't until the summer of 2006 that i read it. and read it and read it. It is not easy to grasp for it complexly relates the myth of "Japan-ness' and how the qualities of Japanese architecture have been influenced by critics, history, individuals and foreign interventions - Isato concludes that there is no 'essential Japanese style but a complex web of forces creating various Japanesese architectural forms. "Japan-ness in Architecture" is a beautiful blend of personal and historical explorations that reveal the sources of styles whose effects continually define structural identities and transformations throughout 'Japanese' history. This is one of the best books I have read on the interaction of Japanese history and culture.

2 comments about Eccentric Spaces.

1. I've read this book three times. After the first two readings, I still had no clue what the book was even about. I mentioned this to my sister, and she found that rather mystifying. So I tried again, with not much more luck. I am giving this four stars because there must be something here, since I keep re-reading it. I've even got it on my Wish List to buy it and try it for a fourth time.



2. One of the oddest and most beautiful books I have ever read

4 comments about New Orleans Architecture: The University Section : Joseph Street to Lowerline Street, Mississippi River to Walmsley Avenue (New Orleans Architecture).

1. These are wonderful books and very thorough. This book is full of beautiful old New Orleans mansions, the pictures are small, but every discription of a home has a requisite photo. The text is highly informative and the book is well researched. New Orleans is blessed with so many beautiful mansions and many reside in this section of the city. Reading this book, reminds me how special and unique this city is, as well as how beautiful the city can be. Highly recommended.



2. I have read several volumes in this set and this one (vol. VIII - 1997) is the best.
   
   This is more than merely a coffee table ornament. It is meant to be a poweful tool for equipping people to actively work for the preservation of the South's most architecturally rich and complicated city.
   
   It is difficult to imagine a finer work of this size and scope.
   
   First, the publisher (Pelican of the suburb of Gretna, LA) has spared no expense. Cover to cover, all 215pp. are packed with the highest quality photographs, maps and illustrations. The paper is glossy, sturdy, 8.5 x 11.
   
   Second, the writing is uniformly precise and compelling, and moves at a good pace. rarely dry.
   
   Third, the scope is manageable and makes good sense. The University Section, as conceived here, consists of the area around Tulane and Loyola, and extending south to the river. Thus Audubon Park, Hurstville, Bloomingdale, Burtheville, Marlyville, Greeneville, Friburg, etc. are all included. This includes from Lowerline and several streets west of the Park to Joseph and Arabella in the east, and from the river up to Clairbourne.
   
   Fourth, the archtecture history is woven into the general history of the neighborhood and of New Orleans. Someone with no interest at all in the architecture would still glean much about the lager developments of the city, and of Uptown in particular. Politics, environment and social history are included.
   
   Fifth, the maps and photos (hundreds of them) are used well to illustrate and make sense of complicated trends in the neighborhood. They are arranged in a very helpful and easily understood manner.
   
   Hundreds of the homes are displayed, from the humble to the opulent, arranged by street address. Further, a chart is provided with the dates, architects, etc. of dozens of these homes and buildings.
   
   An index is accurate and fairly thorough.
   
   I have to really strain to identify any criticisms.
   1. Wish there was a simpel modern map at the beginning showing the precise boundaries of this University Section, and all other sections in this series.
   2. P. 16 shows a detail of a map from an Atlas of the City of New Orleans, leaving teh reader to wonder about the date of that work.
   
   I would recommend, as a companion and supplement, Lloyd Vogt, New Orleans Houses (1985). Vogt gives even more exacting architectural detail, but does not provide nearly as much on the broader historical context.



3. Growing up in this section of New Orleans, I was pleasantly surprised to see several homes of my childhood friends. No other city in the U.S. has such distinct and diverse neighborhood architecture. Another great volume in a GREAT series.



4. This volume in the N.O. Architecture series by the Friends of the Cabildo is, in my opinion, the best of the entire series. Perhaps it is because this is the section of the city in which I spend most of my time, a place to which I've become rather attached. Anyone who enjoys architecture will probably like this book, not just New Orleanians.

1 comments about Roman Imperial Architecture (The Yale University Press Pelican History of Art).

1. I found this book to be an excellent, even masterly, coverage of the subject. It is bound by its period, but still gives a sense of the continuity of architectural development from the native Italian, Etruscan, Hellenic and particularly the Hellenistic influences on the growth of Roman architecture into and through the Imperial period. It also covers the continuity of architectural styles, technologies and traditions into the Romanesque period.
   I liked the way in which the author covered the regional influences on architecture in the various parts of the Roman world, especially contrasting the East, with its substantial existing traditions, styles and techniques, with the "frontier" type of situation in the West, where the new introduction of Roman technologies and styles all but eclipsed those which had gone before.
   The author's writing style seemed the relaxed intimations of a man comfortable with his mastery of the material and without the need to prove himself. I found a particular enjoyment in the tone of someone enjoying passing on the details of his favourite subject.
   I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone interested in the way the Romans solved some of the universal challenges of a built environment.

5 comments about AIA Detroit: The American Institute of Architects Guide to Detroit Architecture.

1. Let me share a quick anecdote. The last time I was in Detroit was in 1991. What I saw there so depressed me that I wrote the city off as an urban-industrial wasteland, a veritable dystopia. A few years ago I moved to Houston. While Houston certainly isn't a pretty city, I've always told myself, "Well, at least it's not as bad a Detroit."
   
   This guide proved me wrong on both points: Detroit is a treasure-trove of marvelous 19th and early-20th century American urban architecture (albeit, much in disrepair). And while far more prosperous, Houston is, in fact, a very unattractive large American city, save the few remaining structures (perhaps a dozen) by Staub, Watkin, Cram and Finn. Sorry to irritate all my Houstonian friends, but it's true.
   
   Ecclesiasticus! The catalog of beautiful historic churches and cathedrals ALONE is worth the price of the book. Then there are the old skyscrapers and the public buildings (such as the Art Institute). Written in standard AIA format with relatively few (400) exceptionally well-chosen entries, this book will feel familiar to all architecture lovers who've ventured into buying one (or many) of these expensive guides. You're collection is incomplete without this one, if only for the fact that it documents one of the most important and impressive collections of American urban architecture in existence. Many of the most important architects of the late 19th and early 20th centuries worked in Detroit, and most of their work remains. One thing to keep in mind is that the book features more public and institutional architecture than residential, but important residential sites are included.
   
   The book format is perfect. The sites are well chosen. The photography is all monochrome, but the views are good and reveal the buildings well. There are even a few interior shots. Simple maps, introductory essays and architect biographies round out this benchmark entry in the AIA-sponsored series. The book includes excursions to Cranbrook and Grosse Pointe.
   
   Detroit is still a poor and dangerous city (thanks to a completely incompetent government), but the building stock is enough to inspire a revival. And it's all still there waiting to be discovered! This guide is valuable for the architectural historian, preservationist, and armchair traveler. It may even inspire you to take a trip to old Motown for a visit!



2. This guide it very thorough and well done. I consider it up with the AIA guide to Houston and the guide to New York as the best of these wonderful guides. I appreciated that the author also explored outside of the core city and studied Grosse Pointe and the Cranbrook; wonderful history and well researched. I was surprised that the Dodge mansion Meadowbrook Farm was omitted, but that does not detract from the fact that this is a very comprehensive guide. I have never been to Detroit, and quite frankly it has an notorious reputation, but having explored this guide I would consider a trip and that is high praise indeed.



3. This book covers virtually every building of note within the city limits, and many in the suburbs as well. Each building is photographed and its history and usage are described. The author is willing to criticize where he sees fit. An excellent read!



4. Thoroughly researched, this book is a must have. Patterned after the W. Hawkins Ferry book I had decades ago as a student, this book updates and adds significant content about the rich architectural history of Detroit.
   The writeups are informative from both a building and historical context. I loved the descriptions, such as from the Guardian Building (my favorite), "a lightning bolt of spirited inventiveness".
   Take this book with you as you stroll downtown and you'll find new treasures, like the Water Department building.

   Excellent!




5. Thoroughly researched, this book is a must have. Patterned after the W. Hawkins Ferry book I had decades ago as a student, this book updates and adds significant content about the rich architectural history of Detroit.
   The writeups are informative from both a building and historical context. I loved the descriptions, such as from the Guardian Building (my favorite), "a lightning bolt of spirited inventiveness".
   Take this book with you as you stroll downtown and you'll find new treasures, like the Water Department building.

   Excellent!