4 comments about Hariri and Hariri Houses.

1. This book is a woonderfull piece of art. lots of photos and explanation. highlly recomended for those who like contemporary art as well as a good point of view for the city life/



2. Excellent collection of stunning photos by incredible team! I can look at these photos for hours and still find something to admire!



3. Somewhat of a coffee table type book - not much technical stuff...nonetheless the pictures of the great homes are worth the price of this publication. Nicely photographed material that provides much design inspiration.



4. To word it simply, the houses designed by the Hariri sisters are the most dramatic small buildings I have ever seen. Here you will not find gigantic homes built to use size to impress. The Spartan House, built in the Hague, Netherlands was required to have a house footprint no bigger than 26 by 33 feet. Yet even in that small a space their house standa out.
   
   More than just the exterior design, Hariri houses have an integrated feeling that the rooms flow from one to another following the function that is needed with a minimal disruption to the esthetic sense.
   
   Their houses are modern, some even ultra modern, combining the look of steel and glass with the natural look of wood and rock. All appear to be designed to have an absolutely minimal amount of maintenance and a lifetime that will be close to forever.
   
   Some of the houses shown here are just design studies, the Digital House, where the walls are made of LCD's. Others have been built literally around the world.
   
   When you are getting ready to do your new beach house in Miami, here would be a good place to start looking.

5 comments about Creative Techniques for Stained Glass.

1. I ordered this book based on the reviews and was disappointed. It is going into the recycle bin. It is not even worth the shelf space. I don't like the write bad reviews as I appreciated the hard work that went into this book. It's not a book for me, a mid level stained glass person that loves all types of glass. I thought the book contained the same type of projects as most others. It gave an overview of technique. This would not be enough for a beginner and an advanced user would not need it. I did not find any "tricks of the trade" (how to cut circles, how to wire reinforce a panel). For beginners things like "fold the copper" does little to help with details such as making sides even, what to do when it wont stick or wrinkles, and using the word "burnish" with no descriptions is confusing. On page 8 the book describes the different types of glass, with thumbnail pictures. More information is needed on best uses for each and how the different types impact the overall feel.
   
   Projects:
   Flower window, a daisy type flower in a arch shaped hanging panel
   Mirror, perimeter framed with squares of stained glass randomly placed
   Dragonfly garden stake, solder to chanel
   Bird of paradise window panel
   Ornaments, bell, tree, bird, simple snowflake (with zig zag wire laid across)
   hanging picture frame with wire and beads dangling, simple decrotive solder
   earring holder, 3 pieces of glass form a triangle with wire mesh in center
   house number, circle with wire and bead around perimeter, purchase & glue numbers
   rose garden stake, circle with rose design center solder to channel
   light switch plate, 2 pieces with wire decoration
   Purse, for display, has no sides, is just a triangle with a strap. iridized glass
   sunflower in a circle.
   night light. very simple rectangle design
   night light midnight moon, open work, uses nugget and wavy solder
   abstract panel, open areas, nuggets, raw edges
   sunshine mirror, round mirror, triangles of glass and more wire accents
   botanical window, simple design panel
   candle holder, open areas in cube, wire accents, great inspiration--use up old
   pieces of left over glass to make cubes for candles, I would add feet to lift
   up so heat does not damage furniture. Nuggets would make great feet The
   book gave no tips on how to make sure the sides square up, shame shame.
   
   As I wrote this I noticed all the different projects that used wire. Maybe this is why others thought the book to be unique. The wire, often with beads, is soldered onto the pieces, left poking into the air, or decorates the edge. To me it is nothing new, just an extra decoration poking out. It is not a decorative solder technique. In the case of the light switch, the wires poking out would be a problem if you tried to turn on the switch.
   
   Overall the projects are simple, few pieces, and designed for beginners. But key info is missing if you are just starting out. I know the glass store in my area offers classes. And they are always ready to help anyone, provide ideas, give hints, etc. After all, if you love glass they get a new customer.



2. Good book mainly for those that are looking for creative projects in 3D.
   Very good pictures.



3. I have tried stained glass with several different instructors, but without a lot of success. The instructors had their own technique and were busy with a lot of students. This terrific book shows you the way and not only with words but with the pictures and all the steps needed. Obviously the authors are experienced teachers, creative and educated in their art.
   
   I highly recommend this book to anyone from beginners to advanced. You will want to keep it for learning and reference. The book gives education on everything you would need to know about stained glass. Wish my previous instructors had read this book. Enjoy!



4. If you want to venture outside the realm of traditional stained glass creations, this book is for you! There are several projects in this book that take minor steps away from the traditional techniques and far more that go beyond. It was fun from start to finish...a must have for any stained glass library!



5. This was full of interesting, out-of-the-ordinary, ideas.
   There are far better books out there if you are a rank beginner, but if you have started to master some of the beginning techniques and are looking to expand your "repertoire" this is the book. It has some really creative ideas for projects that are beyond the basics but don't require expertise either.
   The directions are detailed and easy to follow with plenty of full-color photos.

5 comments about Design Research: Methods and Perspectives.

1. Creative approaches to research. Well-written. ...even has lots of pictures. Best "methods and ideas" book I've ever seen.



2. A primer for all designers - this book contains many useful case studies that underpin the quintessential need for research before beginning any design process.



3. I enjoy some of her earlier work but this one is misleading, in particular for those wishing to study (methods of) design research. Laurel neither relates nor contributes to the discipline of design research in this book in a direct way. Design postgraduates looking for a good book on design research are better advised looking at Design Research by Peter Downton, which is more difficult to get but worth it and newer.



4. This book is an excellent, comprehensive collection of design-related essays and research studies. It is inspirational and practical (and doesn't hurt that it is well designed)!



5. Brenda's collection is still the most comprehensive collection of diverse design research methods I can find. I use her book to inspire, intrigue, and sometimes perplex students, exposing them to lots of new ideas. I use the book in combination with Kuniavsky's more practical how-to information in Observing the User Experience. He provides too much detail and not enough high concept. The combination ends up working very well.
   
   If I could choose only a single text, I would choose Brenda's design research book. I can fill in specifics about different techniques drawn from many books and web sites, but the creativity of methods and the clear belief in the power of design research conveyed in the book needs to come from real world writers, not just from the professor claiming it is so. Her book makes the case!

No comments about Versatility and Vicissitude: Performance in Morpho-Ecological Design (Architectural Design).

5 comments about The House Book (Architecture).

1. As with all books in this series, its about big pictures and only a small amount of text. Great for browsing. I enjoyed the fact that architectural style on one page has nothing to do with the next since its alphabetical. In the top 10% of coffee table style picture books I've bought.



2. it was one of my favourites until i got the phaidon atlas of contemporary architecture but this book is also a good one. 500 houses over the world. quick guide to have information around the world.
   ayse gokbakan yildiz, architect



3. I was thrilled with this book (and all the other mini-Phaidon books: The Art Book, The Movie Book, The Fashion Book, and The Garden Book -- I think that's all). It's absolutely gorgeous with large pictures on each page and just enough text to make it interesting and informative. I love the alphabetical organization that essentially randomizes all the eras and countries, thus making the diversity more apparent. And, of course, IT'S CHEAP! I love it!



4. This book is absolutley the most amazing book on house architecture I have ever seen. Anyone who is interested in houses and house architecture around the world should have this remarkable work.



5. Fascinating tour of homes, with most of the really rewarding images revealing the indigenous styles of homes across the globe, including the iglu, the long house, dung hovels, and dozens of other styles that incorporate the folk wisdom of humans across the centuries. The modernist austerities were the least interesting, even more boring than castles from the Hapsburgs. Some of the contemporary puzzle pieces were striking, and each page repaid the time invested pouring over the details captured. I wish that they would double page load, and show a representative interior of each exterior captured here.

4 comments about West Coast Bungalows of the 1920s: With Photographs and Floor Plans.

1. Great little book on an interesting subject. Lots of detailed drawings and descriptions right out of the old advertising brochures from the 1920's. It would have been nice to know the size of this LITTLE book - I might not have purchased it even at the very reasonable price. It left me wanting more and at a more convenient size.



2. I was a little bit disappointed in this book. I guess I didn't realize that this is basically a reprint of a catalog, all in black and white. I had hoped for some color photos of interiors and exteriors.



3. E. W. Stillwell and Company was an architectural firm in Los Angeles that started business in 1906 and rode the West Coast building boom, eventually creating their own book of house plans. This little booklet is a reprint of their 1919 plan book.
   
   It's a fun read, with 50 house designs offered in its 64 pages. It's a small book, measuring only 6" by 8" and the print is small, but easily legible.
   
   Some of the homes offered by this firm are very attractive and a few are the classic California bungalows with the oriental peak on the gabled roofs. A few of the houses in this book are really quite unattractive. Many of these houses are quite spacious by 1919's standards, measuring 1,000 square feet or more. A few are the more modest worker's homes, with 700 - 800 square feet. It would not be difficult to take these designs and "puff" them a bit, making them large enough for today's needs.
   
   There are a dozen pages of extras, including testimonials from happy buyers, a street scene of these homes lined up like little soldiers in Pasadena, some financing information and my very favorite part, "Age of The Bungalow," a poem written by Ethel Brooks Stillwell (wife of the architect?).
   
   The photos are pretty clear, the floorplans are easy to read and fun to study and the print is also quite legible and dark. For the price (six dollars), you can't go wrong.
   
   Rose Thornton
   co-author, California's Kit Homes



4. I loved this little book. It's small, but every page contains a photograph of the exterior and at least one floor plan. In many cases, alternate floor plans are also provided. Wilson designed classic California bungalows. His designs are under-appreciated, and in many cases inspiring. If you live in or lust after a California bungalow, you'll spend hours pouring over the ideas and plans presented in this book. I consider it a must-have for the library of the bungalow enthusiast.

1 comments about The Green Building Revolution.

1. I have read nearly half of this book and can't put it down. It is full of valuable information that is easily digested. It really drives home the value of green building, economically, socially and environmentally. It also provides a view how green building is affecting the value of homes and commercial buildings. I would highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to know what LEED construction is, why it is important and what it has done and will continue to do for the building industry at large.

5 comments about Paint Along with Jerry Yarnell Volume One - Painting Basics (Paint Along With Jerry Yarnell, 1).

1. Jerry Yarnell is a versatile and talented painter who has written a number of excellent "how to" books and this one is as good as the rest. Just looking at his beautiful work is enough to provide motivation and inspiration.
   
   The book is divided into several interesting projects / paintings, each of which is supplemented with step-by-step instructions that show how to develop the painting.
   
   A beginning painter will find the insight offered by the the instructions to be invaluable in deciding how to choose a brush, mix paints, apply paint to the brush, execute a brush stroke for a specific purpose, and countless other fundamentals.
   
   It is not expected that the student's painting will be a replica of the master's. But the vast knowledge imparted here by Mr. Yarnell will help any interested and properly motivated person peer into the mind of a great painter and benefit from the wisdom of his life of devoted and passionate artistry.



2. I was terribly disappointed in this book. I can't believe he sells this stuff. Every sky is lurid orange and purple, every landscape is palpably phoney and is created by using every color in the paint box. I never saw him on TV. I wish I had. I would not have wasted my money. Cassie



3. I have already worked through half of the projects in this book and am amazed at the detail and finished quality I have achieved.
   One thing I would highly recommend is to get hold of at least one of Jerry's instructional DVDs as well. I found that once I had watched him using the techniques he describes in the book, a light clicked on in my head and the books became an even more valuable resource.
   If you want to learn acrylic painting or improve your skills by discovering some of the tricks or secrets experienced artists use, then this book is an essential addition to your library.



4. This book like so many so-called beginner's acrylics books follows the usual pattern: a chapter on materials and then an immediate huge jump into technique. It is interesting to note that the author's suggested palette contains eleven colors, three of which are not particularly light fast. After this chapter he dives into the first of ten demonstration paintings. These painting are all extremely complex and large undertakings on 16x20" canvases. I predict that most beginners are going to get lost early on in the first painting a flick it in. Maybe after I find some way to get the basics down, I'll come back to some of the Yarnell books, though I find his style rather garish.
   
   As my growing collection of unsatisfactory "beginner's" acrylics shows (the nearest big bookstore is almost three hours away) there is a huge difference between a gifted artist and a gifted art teacher, though in fairness what is probably lacking are gifted art instruction authors. When writing these books they apparently don't have any reader feedback (why not?) who could slow them down by asking questions like how do I thin the paint, how thing should it be, what's the best way to mix colors, how do I clean the brushes, how do I keep the paint from drying out on my palette or my painting, etc., etc., etc.
   
   The only painting book I've found so far which can truly claim to be a beginner's book is Jack Reid's "Watercolor Basics: Let's Get Started". That book is full of exercise paintings that let the reader learn a technique on a simple painting; the paintings are simple enough so that the beginner doesn't get lost in the detail yet have some artistic character. There are also beginner's drawing books that really do start from zero and build up the reader's technique.



5. I love this artist. I have watched him on PBS for years. The book has every detail to help anybody to get started in painting. The pictures of the paintings is very helpful too.

5 comments about Architect? A Candid Guide to the Profession.

1. The product is exactly what it's supposed to be. There was quite a bit more highlighting in the book than what it sounded like there would be. Shipped very quickly. Decent price overall. Solid 4 1/2 stars.



2. While this book has a few good pointers and general guides to the profession, it is very outdated and focuses on the way architecture and professionals "used to be." The author explicitly reminds readers that those who aspire to be architects should let nothing get in their way and that being an architect enables one to become "immortal" through "his" work. This model is no longer relevant in a work environment where more than ever, architects must be better listeners, civil servants and good designers. It exacerbates the worst parts of studio culture, glorifying them, and telling readers to "enjoy the psychological pains" of architecture school.



3. I recently finished my undergrad in business management, and have decided to return to school to earn an MArch. degree. This book has helped me in making this decision, as well as in knowing what to expect. If it does make you change your mind, then architecture is most likely not the career for you. If it's worth doing, it probably won't be easy. That said, it is not always as time consuming as people tend to think. My fiance is working on her bachelor's in architecture. While she is often very busy, there are times that she has a lighter load than I did in business school. It depends on the prof. and the project.



4. In this book Roger Lewis outlines the most important considerations in pursuing a career as an architect. I have always loved architecture, and have read extensively on the subject at the level of an interested amateur. When I was preparing for college in the 1980s, I wanted to pursue a five year professional architecture degree, but was dissuaded when I received a full scholarship in biology. That was an unfortunate decision in the long run, although I have been doing well professionally until recently, when my career field went into steep decline. I never forgot my interest in the subject, and while considering a mid-career occupation change, I have carefully considered returning to school and attempting to be admitted to a 3-4 year M.Arch. program.
   
   I am very glad that I read this book (and several others) prior to embarking on a career in architecture. The book is very honest about the rigors of school and the relative lack of money to be obtained in the field, unless you are uncharacteristically brilliant in design (and in selling your services). People like Michael Graves are definitely the exception to the rule. I appreciated Lewis' candor, and honestly the book has made me reappraise my desire to pursue this particular career transition. He repeatedly emphasizes that you should become an architect because of a love of architecture. I also have to be practical in considering that between three or four very expensive years of school and at least three years as an underpaid intern, it is at least seven years to becoming a licensed architect for me, and at this stage of my career that is difficult. Not impossible, but very difficult.
   
   I have not decided what professional avenues to pursue yet, but I will always appreciate the practical nature of this book in educating me about an architectural career. This is the most important book a prospective architect can read prior to committing to the arduous path leading to licensure.



5. I read this book when I was a senior in high school applying to colleges. It was helpful. I applied to architecture school and got into one of the best programs in the country. I graduated and got my dream job. When I was visiting my parents over Christmas I found this book on my shelf and read it again. This time I had an entirely different view after having gone to school and having worked for three different firms. This time it really hit the gut. I gave my notice at the firm and I'm going to pursue a different career for the next year. I'm not sure if I'm burned out on architecture and need to leave so that I can miss it and come back, or if I really don't want to be an architect. I have to say, the pay is bad. Really bad. That's what got to me. Expect to be paid HALF of what you're worth. That applies to the lowest intern all the way to the top partner. You just don't get paid what you're worth. Then again, it is a really incredible profession. It's a tough choice. So my advice is to buy this book and read it every couple years to make sure you really want to do this. Life is too damn short to do something you don't love with all your heart.

2 comments about Building with Earth: Design and Technology of a Sustainable Architecture.

1. The Hand-Sculpted House: A Philosophical and Practical Guide to Building a Cob Cottage (The Real Goods Solar Living Book)
   This is a great book..artistic and creative as well as practical. Lots of hands on information



2. This Gernot Mink's book is a great purchase. Its a practical technician book, with all needed information about buinding with loan, clavey soil, prefabricated panels, etc.. I think it is designed to builders and architects, but it is very easy to understand and can be read by everyone.