No comments about Polshek Partnership Architects: 1988-2004.

No comments about Ultra Light - Super Strong: A New Generation of Design Materials.

2 comments about Microclimatic Landscape Design: Creating Thermal Comfort and Energy Efficiency.

1. This book has a very simple to understand approach to teaching about site design. Although it is a textbook layout...it is a quick read, with lots of images and diagrams and great breakups of points within the chapters...just an absolutely enjoyable format with lots of interesting information. I would recommend this book for anyone who is even considering any kind of landscaping...whether it's on their own home, or on a large construction site.



2. This book was an interesting read. However, I felt like the authors were torn between speaking to a scientific or a more general audience. I believe the book was written for a general audience but there were some algebraic equations in some chapters which I thought might lose some people. I personally was looking for a more scientific book on the subject and so was a little dissapointed by the water-down and sometimes repetative language.

1 comments about Nanoarchitecture: A New Species of Architecture.

1. grood book but i expected more about the writer view about the concept of nanoarchitecture i found most of the book projects of his imagination of future forms ...but i like the direction of his think and expect more in the next days...well done

1 comments about San Francisco Then and Now (Then & Now Thunder Bay).

1. Great book with outstanding photos of the city in progress and then starting over after earthquakes. I missed the city so much I had to find a book that made me feel like I was there again.

No comments about Best Log Home Plans.

3 comments about Spectacular Homes of the Pacific Northwe (Spectacular Homes).

1. I was extremely disappointed by this book, and I'd like to warn potential buyers.
   1. This book is only about interior design.
   Do not expect a single exterior image. When I read the title, I thought I was going to see a good selection of images portraying 'spectacular' homes inside and out. But you only get very few shots of some of the main rooms.
   2. These homes are not spectacular.
   At best, they're average. Unless, of course, you're a big fan of froufrou design, overdone decoration, fake antiques, ribbons, lace and bows, factory made nostalgic gesso decorations and so forth. The designers represented in this book are not aware that we live in the Twenty First Century.
   3. The book is a promotional brochure for interior designers.
   Every project comes with a complete presentation of the author of the interior design, including details about how they most like to spend their money (?!?). It makes me think that probably these designers paid the publishing house to each have one project published (what a coincidence, exactly one each).
   Overall, the quality of the designs is disappointing. This book is not at all what it pretends to be. Not even the inside flaps reveal what this book really is, or that it is only about interior design.
   Anyone interested in good quality architecture and design, beware!



2. I guess there are people who find these homes spectacular, but I'm not one of them. Except for Melody Emerick's work in Oregon, these homes scream, "Designer's been here". These homes look so over-designed. Do people really want to live like this? Obviously, I don't get it.
   
   Of all the zillions of interior design books and magazines I've looked at, this book is one of the most uninteresting and uninspiring. And I live in the Oregon. One would think I would appreciate and value this book. Maybe this book is for traditional, conservative people and I live in a progressive realm...



3. Each designer is showcased beautifully. It's a great coffee table book.
   And don't we wish we all could have homes like those shown? But, we can get ideas!

No comments about Pietro da Cortona and Roman Baroque Architecture.

1 comments about Cooper, Robertson & Partners: Cities to Gardens (Master Architect).

1. This book features the work of a firm that has excelled at both architecture and urban design throughout its existance. That's no easy task. All of the projects featured show a combination of intellectual rigor (the partners have taught and lectured extensively) as well as the practical aspects of good design (firmness, commidity and delight). To architects who have followed the work of Cooper, Robertson & Partners the book is long overdue but worth the wait.

1 comments about Welcome to My Studio: Adventures in Oil Painting With Helen Van Wyk.

1. This book takes the reader through a step by step process, begining to end of creating a painting. It starts out by talking about setting up your composition (selecting your elements) and ends with examples of how to add finishing touches to make your painting sparkle.

   It gives many examples of still lifes but also includes studies of portraits and a few landscapes. This book is especially helpful because the author makes her points very clear through her written instruction along with pictures of her own paintings and the process of creating them.