3 comments about Cliff May and the Modern Ranch House.

1. Excellent pictures, beautiful book and fun to see all the different sizes, areas, and ideas about those homes that were around me in my childhood in Pacific Palisades/Brentwood. Loved the book - it was very well presented! I certainly didn't appreciate how inovative Cliff May's architecture was.



2. I can wholeheartedly recommend this book to all Cliff May owners and prospective owners. Gregory does a wonderful job of balancing academic research and analysis with colorful anecdotes about the man behind the homes. The photography is top-notch, especially the archived images brought to life from the past.



3. I bought this as a gift for my son and daughter-in-law as they live in a Cliff May that they need to update. They need to make changes to the kitchen but want to maintain the integrity of the design. They have both told me that this is a wonderful book and it has given them many good ideas. So, based on their recommendations, I would have to rate this highly. I am looking forward to a visit with them so I can actually see the book in person!!

5 comments about Sun, Wind & Light: Architectural Design Strategies, 2nd Edition.

1. An excellent book. A must have for any architect, builder, interior designer...
   
   Just buy it.



2. This is one of the best books I've seen that address building architectural design considerations that affect heating, cooling, ventilation and lighting. It presents tidbits from real designs, focuses on maximizing the effects of the local climate on the building toward the objective of a comfortable and usable living/working space, and addresses supplemental systems as well. This information presumes a level of knowledge relating to some of these concepts that I don't currently have, making it a pretty hard read in many places. However, the book digs pretty deep into each area, providing enough information to get a good start on a building design. The fusion of engineering and creativity is my favorite feature of this book. It provides insight into creative building designs while also presenting the more quantitative factors necessary to size and evaluate a design for intended use.



3. I thought the book itself was really interesting although a little confusing. Especially when I actually had to use it for class assignments!



4. Although I normally read books in twos and threes on the same topic to gain varied perspectives, this is the first time I am writing a single review encompassing two books. They mesh together so well that I cannot imagine studying this subject without having BOTH in hand.
   
   The two books are Sun, Wind & Light: Architectural Design Strategies, 2nd Edition and The HOK Guidebook to Sustainable Design.
   
   Start with the introduction in the Guidebook, which is blessed with a Foreword from Paul Hawken and see especially page 13 where the cost benefits are shown, with 48% energy savings for Gold, 30% for Silver, and 28% for Certified. See also the illustration on page 15 that I have reproduced in the image I am loading for both books: the old decision model was Cost at the top, with Schedule and Quality anchoring the triangle. the new decision model still has cost at the top, but Schedule and Human Health, Safety, & Comfort are on corners of this new pentagon, and the bottom is achored by Quality and Ecology, or what Paul Hawken would call in his books, "true cost" to the Earth and Humanitas.
   
   NOW shift to the Contents and the Detailed Contents of Sun, Wind, & Light. As one reviewer notes, this is a course book. I did not recognize it as such, I saw it as one of the most gifted complete collection of factors to learn and apply that I have ever seen for ANY topic of study. The content and organization of this book is nothing short of Nobel-level "wow." Finish going through this book.
   
   NOW go back to the first 218 pages of the Handbook, and study the checklists and varied helpful boxes and explanations. The rest of the book (217-459) is case studies of specific buildings, each a few pages, that can be left for last.
   
   At this point, I went into the Glossaries and Bibliographies of both books. Each is distinct, neither supplants the other. They must be taken together. I read Glossaries, and Indices, as content, and use them as a form of "second look" (in extremely complex books, this is actually where I start).
   
   NOW go back to the Case Studies in the Handbook, and read each from the point of view of what "take away" lessons are there for your own building.
   
   Reading these two books was a real treat. Outside my office kitchen is a deck with an 11 point system for attracting birds from bluebirds and bluejays to cardinals, gold finches, two kinds of woodpecker, and a flicker as well as the more common birds. I believe in diversity, and I believe that if we don't get our act together and start living up to the ideals of Natural Capitalism (see other recommended books below), our world will go sterile and dark before out great-grandchilden can share in the beauty of this planet. These two books are part of the solution, and I am in serious awe of those who made them available to all of us, and at reasonable prices to boot. Well done!!!
   
   Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in the World Came into Being and Why No One Saw It Coming
   Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution
   The Ecology of Commerce
   Ecological Economics: Principles And Applications
   For the Common Good: Redirecting the Economy toward Community, the Environment, and a Sustainable Future
   The Soul of Capitalism: Opening Paths to a Moral Economy
   Capitalism 3.0: A Guide to Reclaiming the Commons (Bk Currents)
   The Philosophy of Sustainable Design



5. So instead of getting a manual on how to design a building to maximize sun, wind, and light, what I got was a lengthy math book on how to quantitatively analyze the sun, light and wind in existing conditions.... There are some nuggets of good info but I don't see myself getting very much out of the book in general.

5 comments about Colored Pencil Portraits.

1. I have been hunting for a how to book related to colored pencils, this book more than met my expectations. I am a late in life artist and new to this media. I have played with drawing for many years, but only recently gotten serious.



2. After having spent a great deal of money and time on other books which tend to just showcase only the artists work with little to no value to the budding colored pencil artist, finding this book made ALL the difference. My technique and understanding of the use of colored pencils for realistic painting has blossomed and I credit it to the extensive use of this book.
   
   It is not only a fine book on the techniques used by Ms. Kullberg, but it also encompasses the ENTIRE piece, from structure and form of the background to the tiniest of details on the face, hands and clothing. I cannot sing of its praises enough.
   
   If you are seeking a book on portraiture, you could not spend your money more wisely. I recommend this book above any others for presentation--it's like having an art teacher there whenever you need them!



3. I have taken a workshop by Ann Kullberg she teaches colored pencil so clearly that even I learned something. I have read this book and one of her other books. Colored pencil painting done by showing the importance of layering colors in creating shapes with depth and richness in colors. I've since used what I learned from Kullberg in my other painting mediums. I've got nothing but praise for this book!



4. Colored Pencil Portraits
   I have been a non-professional artist for over 50 years, and I do primarily portraits of people and pets. This book offered very thorough help. For example, the author showed how to create your own guide for skin tones using the brand of pencils she uses. It made it very easy to create the same effects.
   
   She also gave quite a bit of space to explaining how to do a background, and showing good and bad examples of how to place the main subject within the "frame" of the background. Many full color examples of what she is trying to explain make the book enjoyable and easy to understand the points she is making.
   
   All in all, this book is well worth buying if you do portraits--or would like to.



5. For those interested in the colored pencil medium, this is a descriptive reference for portraiture creation.

5 comments about Green BIM: Successful Sustainable Design with Building Information Modeling.

1. As BIM becomes common place in the architectural design community, the tools and thought processes for designers will be transformed. The expectations of those who hire and pay the designer will be heightened far beyond the current standard of care.
   
   It's about time! CADD has held potential to automate, systematize, and streamline the construction industry for decades but has failed miserably to deliver. Currently with the advancement of BIM that potential is becoming a reality. We are on the cusp of a paradigm shift in our industry. Eddy Krygiel and Brad Nies have given us a glimpse of what the future holds. I am thinking every day about the impacts of what I do in my design work and with this cogent book I am more motivated to develop my basis of design concepts in a globally responsible manner. This text informs that basis with processes and theories in a very readable fashion



2. I'm still enjoying to read some of the good advice in this book. Especially helpful is chapter 4 - dealing with the higher organizational values of sustainability.



3. This was a very useful book. The text was clear, easily understood and comprehensive. A wealth of information. Highly recommended...



4. The best book for anyone wants to integrate BIM and Sustainability in their work practice, mainly designers.
   Good for both students and professionals. a step by step procedure to achieve Green Design using BIM technology, with real life examples, procedures, calculations, etc...
   The main program discussed is Autodesks's Revit, wish they used more than one application.



5. This is a groundbreaking exploration of what you can do TODAY with BIM to make your buildings sustainable. Its got a lot of pictures and graphics that neatly explain the concepts. You can tell from reading the first few chapters that these guys really know what they are talking about.

5 comments about Amy Butler's Midwest Modern: A Fresh Design Spirit for the Modern Lifestyle.

1. Amy Butler's quote (love what you love, and don't apologize for it) sums up her gorgeous style book. The photography is beautiful and the feeling of the book is at once modern and fun, flirty and sweet. There are lots of decorating ideas in the book, and if you are already a seamstress, you'll get lots of ideas for your own projects. This isn't a project book, however, and doesn't include patterns. For patterns, there's her "Feather Your Nest" patterns and her two big books of patterns, Stitches, and Little Stitches, both of which I recommend.



2. excellent book I just love Amy Butler. She is very smart and creative. Ilove her patterns. I have nothing negitive to say about this book.



3. This book could stand alone as a coffee table book. There are many beautiful and inspiring pictures. If you like the Amy Butler look, this book will be inspirational.



4. If you have a "vintage-chic" aesthetic, this is the book for you! I am consumed with interior design and love mixing new and old for an interesting, eclectic look. I became interested in Amy Butler after purchasing "Found Style" which is an earlier book put together by Amy and her husband with many ideas of how to mix up interiors with flea market finds. Amy Butler's Midwest Modern is filled with pictures of Amy's current home and shows how she successfully complements each room with new pieces, old pieces and fabrics she designs. A small portion of the book is a portfolio of her textile designs which she uses generously in her home for pillows and upholstery. I find myself referring to this book often for inspiration.



5. A few publishers have finally begun to take heed of the desire of their reading public for books infused with lush photos, brilliant color, and elegant design, in addition to innovative writing that enchants and possibly compels us to try a little something new.
   There's luscious eye candy on every page. Amy Butler invites us into her home to examine her hip takes on art, craft, fashion, interior and garden design, even shopping. With photographs of every room in her house, various collections, the cat, a multitude of aprons, potted plants, and more, Midwest Modern is essentially a Design Lab encyclopedia. It's a lifestyle handbook, a 21st century version of Alicia Bay Laurel's artful 1971 classic, Living on the Earth.
   Today, when DIY is synonymous with cool and "I got it on Etsy" is heard at least as often as "I got it at the mall", artists and designers are blossoming and Amy Butler in full bloom. With a wholesome emphasis on recycling and reinventing, Midwest Modern overflows with exuberant patterns drawn from the natural world. In her epilogue, Amy writes, "Beauty is in the way you live. Enjoy your surroundings. Let them inspire you. Follow your own path, and approach everything you do with love in your heart."
   This book will make you want to get your Spring cleaning out of the way fast, so you can open the windows, crank up the music and make something pretty!

5 comments about Portfolio Design, Third Edition.

1. Make no mistake. This is one book written thoroughly about the process of making portfolio. I will give credit for that effort.
   While some texts and advice are useful, however, there are a lot of written information that seems common sense e.g.) what is portfolio and why it is important.
   In fact, it is ironic that I find this book itself poorly illustrated despite that it is about layout and organization. For example, insertions of images are not well coordinated with the locations of the texts. Quotes are randomly inserted. The images are 99% black and white.
   Only comes useful is the analysis on the featured portfolios by students.
   Here you can find some principles and reasons on why these examples are successful portfolio.
   
   If you are totally unfamiliar with design and layout, get this book.
   If you are already in design field, you may find this book not very special.



2. It's curious that this book is touted as "the bible of portfolio design." Although it passes as an intro, it's value drops off the face of the Earth afterwards.
   
   What "Portfolio Design" is, is a reproduction of outdated portfolios and examples of templates you can find in any page making tool. It lacks any meaty, substantial analysis you'd expect to find in a "bible" of portfolio design:
   
   -nothing on the theories behind print design.
   -no explanation on the "whys" and "hows" of presenting your work.
   -little analysis on proper organization of a portfolio.
   -insufficient info on photography, cropping, margins, etc.
   
   If you've never put a portfolio together, you might get some use out of it in the initial stages of your portfolio. Once you iterate to a certain level, however, "Portfolio Design" makes a better coaster than a guide. Advice: buy it used, if you buy it.



3. lo recomiendo ...es el mejor libro de portfolios a la venta y esta muy bien dirigido al campo d ela arquitectura,,..sus fotos e ilustracion son magnificas..claras y explicitas...comprenlo....vale la pena increiblemente



4. First off, this is a great reference for people/architecture students who are starting up or refining their portfolios. It is packed with some excellent, helpful written guidelines and decent imagery of a wide variety of portfolios. The professional commentary/critiques of the case-study portfolios are worth the price of the book alone. I received the 2nd edition of the book 5 years ago as a gift as I was applying to architecture school (after I'd submitted my portfolio however!) and, after leafing through the book in detail at Borders, I picked up this 3rd edition today as I am preparing to graduate and enter the work force.
   
   Now, with that out of the way...
   
   Several of the negative complaints I've read on here have focused on the "poor presentation" of the portfolios and the quality of the images of them, etc. While those comments are not without merit or completely off-base, they are in fact quite silly with regard to the subject matter of this book. Linton is providing samples of portfolios that were created by various students who volunteered to have their work featured and the fact is that many of the portfolios are quite elaborate fold-outs, spiral bound books, or printed plates...there is really no way for the author to present the images of the portfolios themselves (not their content!) other than photographing them.
   
   You can easily understand the IDEAS that are on display and how they are being graphically represented. That is the essence of what you need for composing your OWN portfolio featuring your OWN work. If you're looking for step-by-step instructions on how to create a slick portfolio, look elsewhere. I will say that the book would strongly benefit from more color imagery, but as for the reviewer who said they simply gave the book away because it was so disappointing and worthless, well, we don't see eye-to-eye on this one.



5. This book is so often mentioned and recommended that I bought it. I have produced some hand-built portfolios of my own, and was looking for more inspiration and practical advice. Instead, I found poor images, much of it in black and white, and the work in the portfolios is more interesting than the portfolios themselves.
   
   This is heavily geared to architects and also to those with the means to have professional printing and a huge cash outlay for materials, cases, etc. I think some of the advice is good, but really for the un-initiated student, not professionals. A professional already knows that if the portfolio is sloppy, that it will not speak well of the designer and that a well-designed portfolio is an extra endorsement for the designer above and beyod the contents. There is little better advice/information in this book than that.
   
   The portfolios showcased are very similar to each other, and there is little that can be produced by someone at home with a computer and a printer. I can tell you from my own experience that there is a lot you can do with a little elbow grease and less reliance on professionally assembled pieces.
   
   A little advice of my own: A portfolio must showcase the work, must not detract from the quality of the work, and must be either changeable or expendable. Your portfolio should not be stagnant, but evolving with the new wonderful things you're doing and adding! Too few of the examples in this book provide for leave-behnids, inclusion of resumes, and the evolution of the contents.

4 comments about Spaced Out: Radical Environments of the Psychedelic Sixties.

1. This is a very well written look back at the "Psychedelic Sixties" with fantastic photographs. It accurately catches the spirit and facts of the age as I remember them.



2. Spaced Out is a far out, wonderful book. Since I'm in it, I'm from the sixties, and the book melds with my mind, this review is biased, telling what it feels like from inside the history and being a small but happily doublepage-spread feature between the covers of the book.
   
   Surprise! I was not alone in developing artwork that hadn't been seen before; I was part of a huge explosion that I can now see and explore in this book.
   
   Amazement! The motive feelings, thoughts, and intuitions that seemed to bubble up creatively in my work are now explained eloquently in strong narrative, yet compellingly poetic text that somehow helps it all come home. Like a finishing of some sort. Making the 60's elements concrete and conceptually available brings the 60's to a new level; makes a new platform and springboard.
   
   The challenge is to continue the Spaced Out threads, keep weaving them together. The dreams so beautifully told in this book still haven't come true. Let's review and revel in our sixties history and then keep trucking.



3. Wow. What a gorgeous book. Full of trippy pix I have never before seen, from psychedelic lightshow images, Haight Ashbury crashpads, domes made from recycled car bodies, naked hippies holding bushels of grass and group hot tubs, communes, to inflatable environments and self built inspiring "green" homes and lots of peace and love. Accompanied by a fascinating accesible narrative that puts the period into a positive light, enlightening as if the sixties were the Renaisance of our time. Alastair Gordon definatively created a piece of historical value here, its a book that feels new and fresh and proves that those who try to make light, or even fun of the sixties are sadly misguided.



4. Alastair Gordon's Spaced Out: Radical Environments of the Psychedelic Sixties is a glorious fresh look at the intentional communities and unusual built environments that grew out of the 60s cultural revolution. The book itself is astonishingly beautiful, with fantastic photographs and illustrations from the archives of still-functioning utopian communities. Gordon's text reads easily even while conveying sophisticated cultural criticism. I recently heard Alastair speak and enjoyed his slide show (from images in the book). I have bought the book as a gift for friends; no one interested in this era could possibly be dissappointed by this book. But, more important, anyone interested in sustainable building practices, the new conservation movement or strategies for living lightly on the earth must read this book as Alastair details important pioneering efforts. Then thought radical, but increasingly today being reconsidered in light of climate change, dependence on foreign oil and degradation and depletion of the earth's natural resources.

5 comments about Building the Timber Frame House: The Revival of a Forgotten Art.

1. My friend is a master carpenter and he saw this book at a recent trip to Hanford Mills museum.
   He is an avid reader and loved the book so much that I am inclined to read it as well!! Enjoy.



2. If you are expecting a book full of glossy sharp pictures, this is not the one to buy.A lot of drawings and BW pictures that inform what they need to. This is a very good manual for those who want to venture in a timber frame project.



3. My husband loves this book. He said he has learned so much and that this was the best book to learn how to build a timber frame house by.



4. The details on this are excellent. Sketches, plans, perspectives, maths, tables, formulas, theory, you have it all. All graphics hand-drawn! Each joint has a photo, a drawing and cutting details and dimensions. Focused too: nothing outside the scope of the *classic* timber frame.



5. I have read all the major timber frame books on the market, including both titles from Jack Sobon. Benson's book is packed with information on how to build a timber frame and has an index in the back that allows one to figure out what size timber is needed. This book is one of, if not, the best on this subject.

No comments about Zen Architecture.

5 comments about Seeing Is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees: A Life of Contemporary Artist Robert Irwin.

1. Robert Irwin has lived his life as both a solitary creator and unrelenting seeker to the same consummate degree that only Dante Alighieri, Agnes Martin, Meister Eckhart, Lao Tsu, and a handful of others have sought. If you haven't heard of him, you should read this anyway. Remember, it even took Bach two centuries to get his proper due. Regardless, this book changed a lot for me. I am forever grateful.
   
   Weschler's prose is Irwin's lighting. His book good as this biography junkie has ever read, and he does it in only 203 pages. As I write this, you can buy this book used for the price of a Domino's pizza - that's all i'm saying.



2. If you're an artist, you need this book. Even if you don't like Irwin's work (or never heard of him.) Remarkably, this biography of the most minimal of minimal artists contains no abstruse language, no mysteriously self-important pronouncements, nor even a single reference to any French esthetic theorist. Not only is this written in clean, straightforward prose; you can hardly put it down. It also raises critical, fascinating questions about the nature of art, and of the way we see. I've recommended this book to several people. It's never what they expect. They've always thanked me.



3. *
   
   I am fascinated by the creative process. I am fascinated by physical manifestations born from the spark of an idea. I am fascinated by the complex psychology, rigorous philosophy and simple backbone evinced by those devotees of method. And I am blown-away by Robert Irwin.
   
   My first contact with Robert Irwin's work came in graduate school when a few friends and I drove from Philadelphia to Manhattan to visit the Dia Center for the Arts. There on an upper floor I encountered a truly shocking, yet subduing, experience. Irwin had taken over the entire level and divided into rooms demarcated with translucent scrim. I walked slowly, from space to space, enclosed but not, silent in presence yet bursting with internal applause, and in awe. I marveled at the solidity of light that slid through the Dia's industrial steel windows, tracing its way across two layers of the thin white fabric and gently landing on the concrete floor. My eyes were tickled by the subtlety of color emanating from the vertical fluorescent lights wrapped in gels. There must have been thirty others there at the same time, meandering like ghosts whitened by one, two, three layers of scrim, yet the space was absolutely quiet. This was the first time that I truly understood the word ?perception.? It came in a space filled with exacted simplicity.
   
   Since then I have tried to follow Irwin's work, both past and present, only to find that it is rarely photographed, as the medium cannot do the work justice. However, Lawrence Weschler's biography on the artist is a tremendous piece of writing that will give you much more appreciation for Irwin than any catalog ever could. Weschler spent years interviewing the artist, tracking down collaborators and researching the works. He exhibits an amazing understanding of Irwin's intentions and adds much needed commentary to keep the story straight while tracing the complex and highly personal evolution of the man and his art. From descriptions of Irwin's self-imposed eight month exile in Ibiza, to his two year long rigorous exercise (and again, exile) to create what amounted to twenty lines, Weschler gives us an in depth look at the zen-like disposition of the artist in his search for the perceptual (and hence, not conceptual). Irwin's diligence and rigor will stupefy even those most devoted to their process, and discussion of his material experimentation will act to spur imaginations. Robert Irwin supplies the majority of storytelling, however, and lets the reader in on often humorous tales of the art world from the point of view of a very personable and highly influential artist.
   
   In short, I highly recommend that anyone devoted to design, be it fine art or architecture, read this book. I also recommend that you travel to San Diego to see the first major exhibition of Irwin?s work since 1993, "Robert Irwin: Primaries and Secondaries" at the MCASD through February 23rd.
   
   Note: The installation at the Dia Center was reviewed thoroughly, with an included history of the artist?s work, in an article entitled "Robert Irwin?s Doors of Perception" by Carol Diehl in Art in America magazine, December, 1999, findarticles.com



4. This is simply the best book about art I have ever read. Like other reviewers, I can say that this book permanently altered the way I see the world (and art). Irwin did it and he still does it.



5. I picked up this book in 1984 because it was on a reading list for an Art History class I was taking at Oberlin College. I stayed up all night in the library that night. I couldn't put it down. My mind has never been the same.
   
   I still often think of it,tell stories from it and give it as a gift. I always say "skip the first chapter-it gets much better." If I remember right, the book begins with a description of Irwin's perfectionism when cleaning the engine of his car. I figure that will bore my friends.
   
   I tell my students about Irwin's many years attempt to make the perfect line, to his wife's chagrin and his painting the back side of his paintings because it matters to him. They like the story of the riots that occured in South America due to the disorientation of his discs-concave and convex-the viewers couldn't tell where the wall started and the disc stopped. I have given the book as a graduation present.
   
   I thought about this book at the mechanic the other day. My engine is very, very dirty.
   
   I will never forget,forgetting. Great book.