5 comments about Building Construction Illustrated.

1. Book is very good for research and beginners learning building construction. I have used the earlier editions often for research. But the 4th ed. the print and the size of font is smaller and lighter in color and is hard to read even which my glasses on.



2. I am a 40 year + commercial real estate appraiser, real estate broker, property mananger, have participated in developing and remodeling offices and industrial properties. Have seen almost every publication offered by professional organizations, schools, public publishing companies. From beginners to those who have reached their business goals in real estate, this publication in in the upper ten percent. If I had to choose a single publication covering building construction, this one would be it.



3. Confusing is the word I use to describe this book. I guess if you are familiar with all this stuff, it may be ok, but I spent the whole quarter looking for stuff that I never found. I had to rely on internet search to help me with terminology and lingos.



4. Please dont let this simple architectural graphic resource book that has been around now for decades be viewed as unworthy of your time, because it certainly has been beneficial as part of the resoureces needed for me to pass the ARE's and for a quick review in my professional life as well.
   
   This current edition is now updated with the needs of the 21st Century architectural firm and forward thinking, technological and sustainalble prcatices.



5. This book explains most everything about the stucture of a building. From the foundation to the roof. It also touches on basic mechanical and electricial systems. Plus, the book reviews site location and layout. The isometric drawings provide a high level of clarity. This book is a good refrence on home building, as well as explaining commercial construction fundamentals. I would highly recommend this book for anyone in the Contruction Industry. Construction students would also benifit from owning this book. I have my Degree in Building Construction. Man, do I wish I had this book when I was taking classes. It would have cleared up most of my questions. Buy it, you'll be glad you have it.

4 comments about Universe of Stone: A Biography of Chartres Cathedral.

1. Why would someone write a biography of a BUILDING? Well, if you've ever been to Chartres Cathedral just a few dozen miles south-east of Paris, you'd know why. Chartres continues to provoke us with its emotive power, and its place in the history of Gothic architecture is firmly secured at "page 1" in our texts. That's why it was so exciting when we found out that there was a new treatment of Chartres being released this summer, and many reviewers, including those at The Economist and The Financial Times, took time to present the book to their reading audiences worldwide.
   
   Ball's treatise on Chartres is a truly wonderful additional to the evolving library of Gothic. As a person who is familiar with the literature, I can easily say that his work here will make possible the introduction of this topic to an entirely new generation of people who are captivated by this most evocative of art forms. Ball has done what can be classified as nothing less than a superb job of collating, digesting, and then restating in clear, meaningful words the voluminous amount of material that is available on the subject. And this is no small task: the topic is the subject of attention of everyone from mechanical engineers, masonry experts, art historians, medieval historians, and even education historians. I've read many of these books, and most are fascinating, insightful, and tremendously enjoyable to read. But you will find yourself having to put on your "engineer's hat" to read Heyman's "The Stone Skeleton," then put on your "art historian's hat" to read Coldstream's "Medieval Architecture," and your "photographer's hat" to read Schultz's "Great Cathedrals." There are dozens and dozens more books still on the open market just like these, and they all play an important role in helping us further understanding this fascinating topic. But Ball's book deftly summarizes and explicates many of the major themes of this content, and allows us to absorb it all in one text. I must confess that the book exceeded any expectations I had. I am thoroughly impressed.
   
   Ball's book covers far more than the physical elements of Chartres cathedral. We peer into the world of medieval scholasticism and Platonic thought in the cathedral schools of the 12th century to investigate what role, if any, such thought had on the development of the Gothic style. We read about Chartres' predecessor building, St. Denis basilica, just north of Paris, and the impact Suger had on this form there, and consider the potential linkages between these structures. We also take a quick course on medieval construction techniques, and listen to some of the hypotheses which engineering architects have devised to explain how such buildings could be constructed without electricity or power tools. We see how stained glass was manufactured, why the blue windows of Chartres are so unusual, and even hypothesize that "Chartres blue" may have been imported from other glass foundries.
   
   There is much, much more. But all along the way, we are provided a wonderful, comprehensive introduction to the times, history, and settings of that "vulgar style called 'Gothic,'" which is regarded as one of the pinnacles of architectural and artistic achievement. If you are a Gothic enthusiast, get this book to enjoy and savor, the first new book on the subject in some time. But also buy a copy for a friend. There is probably no better way to introduce Chartres cathedral and Gothic architecture to today' audience.



2. Philip Ball's "Universe of Stone: A Biograpahy of Chartres Cathedral" seeks to explore and explain the philosophical roots of a society and culture that produced Chartres Cathedral, an archtypical masterpiece of Gothic architecture. Balls himself admits the hurdles he faced: "Arguably, then, it is a foolhardy eneavour to say anything about 'why' Chartres Cathedral was built, which in the end what this book attempts to do. But to my mind, it is only by confronting that question that we can fully experience what this most extraordinary, most inspiring building has to offer."
   
   Ball is inevitably limited in his efforts by the lack of extensive detailed records from that distant era, as well as by the profound differences in our perceptions of the world than those held by people of the 11th and 12th centuries.
   
   The first half of "Universe of Stone" is especially challenging to the reader as the author lays out the background to the medieval mind: Aristotle and Plato and Augustine and Bernard of Clairvaux and Peter Abelard and the rise of Neo-Platonist philosophy with its emphasis on rational order. The pace of the book's narrative picks up when practical matters of design and finance and construction are considered, with the author citing records of numerous other Gothic building projects to explain what must have happened at Chartres. Along the way, Ball addresses and discards many popular myths, such as the design of the Cathedral incorporating mystical knowledge and that cathedral-building was a manifestation of popular civic enthusiasm.
   
   The attentive reader of "Universe of Stone" will be rewarded with a better understanding of the medieval mind as well as the practical realities of constructing such marvelous buildings.



3. The Crusade of European Christians to overtake Jerusalem and Constantinople is famous. There was another crusade at the time, though, a "cathedral crusade" between the mid eleventh and fourteenth centuries. In France alone over eighty cathedrals were built, not to mention large and small churches. Arguably the greatest of all the cathedrals is the one at Chartres, beneath the vaults of which, according to Napoleon, even the atheist would feel uneasy. To examine just how Chartres works and how it can impress anyone with a sense of reverential awe is the purpose of _Universe of Stone: A Biography of Chartres Cathedral_ (Harper) by Philip Ball. Ball, who has written about diverse subjects like Renaissance medicine, water, and the history of pigment making, says that understanding Chartres is made difficult by all the centuries that have laid on since its construction and all the different academic and philosophical views that have often made confusing issues even less clear. Ball writes, "It is only by embedding the church in the culture of the twelfth century - its philosophies, its schools and its politics, its trades and technologies, its religious debates - that we can begin to make sense of what we see (and what we feel) when we pass through the Royal Portal of the west front." His book accomplishes this goal, clearly laying out spiritual, social, and technological trends of the era in a thoughtful and entertainingly discursive book of architectural history.
   
   There is much we do not know about how the cathedral was built. We do know that it was built quickly, in the first 26 years of the thirteenth century. We don't know the architect who planned it all out, or if an architect actually did so, nor how educated the planners and builders were. There are no plans or models. We do know that it represented a change from Romanesque to Gothic architecture. Romanesque builders piled stones for the chief purpose of having them not fall down, and their resulting vast walls and narrow windows were a reflection of darkness and monastic seclusion. Chartres was in the vanguard of Gothic construction, changing the way the church regarded itself. It is not likely that the builders had in mind a celebration of the light of reason, but it is not far-fetched to imagine that the increase of light and banishment of the old gloom both reflected and inspired a process from fearing God to investigating with wonder God's works. Most of the hundreds of stone carvings in Chartres were done by masons who knew the stones would then be hoisted to a high nook where human eyes could never again see them. Only upon the invention of powerful spyglasses, tools the masons could never have imagined, were these sculptures seen again. The erection of the cathedral was not always so idealistic, however. Ball makes clear that those who worked on it expected to get paid, and that the those who got paid did not like the idea of volunteers doing the work for free in religious ecstasy. There is a legend of the "cult of the carts", whereby spontaneous fervor caused laymen to harness themselves to bring stones from far away, but much more likely is that any such show was organized by the clerics. Certainly, surviving accounts show that all unskilled manual work went for a fee, despite any bouts of fervent free labor.
   
   Ball writes that Chartres is "nearly a pristine document, miraculously preserved from a distant world, bearing a message that is barely diluted." There has been a bit of remodeling and a huge baroque sculpture of the Assumption in the choir, and it is alarming that what Ball calls "the arrogance of eighteenth-century artistic chauvinism" permitted the interior to be completely whitewashed. The building never did get finished according to original intentions, because it got only two spires rather than the nine that were proposed, but it still has a unity and a clarity that few structures of the time can claim. It was also a showpiece for the era's understanding of flying buttresses, pointed arches, and ribbed vaulting, all of which are pictured and diagrammed here, along with illustrations of what might go wrong if stresses on the structures were not in balance. If you can't get there to see the cathedral itself, Ball's book is the perfect vehicle for informed armchair traveling.



4. For anyone who has stood in awe of the splendid architecture of Notre Dame de Paris, Saint Denis, or Chartres itself, this is a delightful book. In his engaging and smooth prose, Philip Ball guides the reader through the religious, social, and philosophical milieu that produced the quintessentially Gothic cathedral at Chartres.
   
   The essence of Gothic architecture is hotly disputed (Ball navigates neatly through the variety of scholarly opinion), but it certainly incorporated into a unified whole a number of different elements that had previously existed--all for the purpose, it seems, of achieving a soaring height and lightness inside, heaven on earth. Contrary to what the name suggests, Gothic was really a French style, and Ball discusses Chartres in the context of the nearby and near-contemporary cathedrals, especially St Denis, Sens, Soissons, and Strasbourg. (He occasionally brings up the adaptations of the Gothic style further afield.)
   
   Like many other important churches, Notre Dame de Chartres was erected on an even more ancient sacred site: a sacred well (not a druidic temple, which is a Renaissance misinterpretation of Caesar's writing). The earliest churches that stood over Chartres's sacred well (which can still be seen in the crypt beneath the cathedral) were wooden and burnt down repeatedly: rebuilding was undertaken in 743, 858, 1020 (at which point the bishop Fulbert decided to make it an impressive Romanesque cathedral), 1134, and finally in 1194. At this point, it was decided to rebuild in the new Gothic style--a style introduced in the west front and choir of St Denis that had been completed a half-century before.
   
   In a long middle section reminiscent of Ross King's Brunelleschi's Dome, Ball keeps the reader waiting to find out the answers to some key questions: Who built it? How long did it take? He explains thoroughly the intellectual context of the Gothic cathedral and its material features in alternating sections not in chronological order.
   
   The monastic trends of the era are pointed out, together with the structure of the cathedral's ministry (and the tension between Chartres's and the local bishop); and the cathedral's original interior colors, ochre and white, are revealed. The Aristotelian, Platonic, and Augustinian foundations of medieval philosophy and theology are laid; and important figures such as Bernard of Clairvaux and Peter Abelard are profiled. The state of the art in medieval science is discussed, and its incarnation at the cathedral school in Chartres; and Geoffrey of Leves and Bernard and Thierry of Chartres are profiled. The roles of architects, masters, and builders are discussed, together with their building materials (chiefly limestone in the Isle-de-France); Villard de Honnecourt and his drawings are discussed, as are the uses of military technology in building projects. The engineering challenges of a Gothic cathedral are presented, including forces and stability, cracking and buttressing. (It seems that the argument over whether to buttress or to vault first was never really settled.) And in a chapter reminiscent of Ross King's on pigments in Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling, the making of colored glass is discussed, and it is revealed why blue and red were the dominant colors in medieval stained-glass windows.
   
   In the second-to-last chapter, Ball describes the actual building of the cathedral at Chartres, and he debunks the legend of the townspeople putting their shoulders to carts of stones in a frenzy of enthusiasm. As for the cost of the project, Ball estimates that perhaps 5% of the total cost (around 4000 livres) came from the town; maybe another 5% from the French king; a little could be expected from pilgrims who came to see the town's prized relic, the Blessed Virgin's Sancta Camisa; but most of the funds probably came from the bishop's own salary and the rents on church lands. Ball addresses the age-old question of the order of construction--east to west? west to east?--amusingly, observing as evidence against the west-to-east theory that "the nave doesn't so much join up with the west end as crash into it." The question hasn't been settled, but in any case it seems that the architects had thought they would be able to replace Bishop Fulbert's two western towers. (Just one remains--the southwest, less elaborate one.) But funds ran out, and it was in retrospect a happy accident, because it forced the architects to simplify the design (nine spires were originally planned), thereby unifying it and providing a template for the great cathedrals that followed. One wonders how things might have turned out otherwise--would the great Gothic cathedrals all be like the colossal Duomo in Milan?
   
   This was a very enjoyable book, filled with great pictures and diagrams (unfortunately not indexed, though) and eventually answering those key questions: No one knows who the masters or architects were, but there were probably a number of them. And it took just 26 years to build, much less than the century or so needed for Amiens or Reims. This is a great book for the traveler--armchair or otherwise--who is interested in Chartres or medieval architecture.

5 comments about Brunelleschi's Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture.

1. No, this isn't a book about an Italian guy with a big head, although Filippo Brunelleschi certainly had a massive ego. Brunelleschi's Dome is about the city of Florence generally during one of the greatest periods of genius and creativity in human history. It is also, specifically, about the life of Filippo Brunelleschi, a classic genius of the Italian Renaissance, and his magnificent dome which dominates the skyline of Florence to this day. Like so many of his contemporaries, Brunelleschi had a high level of expertise in a variety of fields. He was an artist, an engineer, a craftsman, a philologist, and an overall solver of impossible problems. He was also a bit of a whack-job whose failures were nearly as spectacular as his successes.
   
   With this book, Ross King has penned an engrossing popular biography of Brunelleschi, as well as a history of the construction of his famous dome. While the book goes into some detail regarding the engineering behind the construction of the dome, the prose is never heavy and is written so that the layman, such as myself, never gets bored or lost.
   
   My wife and I visited Italy in 2000 and climbing to the top of the Duomo was one of the high points (literally!) of the trip. I wish I had read this book beforehand! I therefore highly recommend it to anyone who is planning a visit to Florence. It will give you that much more appreciation for the amount of work--and genius--that went into the construction of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore.



2. King's book is historical, but it reads like a novel as it weaves Italian history in with the fascinating account of Brunelleschi's rise from nowhere to become one of the greatest architects and engineers in history. Having toured the Florence Duomo and wondered "How did they build that with no heavy equipment," it is amazing to find out how they really did. This book is reasonably short; well written; and very informative. Highly recommended.



3. No need to get long winded here. It's simply a must read before exploring the dome. Read it in one evening and couldn't put it down. Added immeasurably to the experience.



4. I picked this book up solely because I'm going to Florence in just under two months and I am trying to read as many fiction and non-fiction books that take place in Italy before I go!
   
   Brunelleschi's Dome describes in detail the building of the Duomo. Not just the building of it, but from idea to conception, everything about it. The author provides you with great back story on the main campomaestro, Filippo, his life before the Duomo and during the Duomo as well as on Florence itself and what was happening in the city and the country during the time the Duomo was built.
   
   My only complaint is that as a lay person, a lot of the engineering and architectural talk was a little bit over my head. I'm a very visual person so reading descriptions of how machines were built to carry heavy marble and how each machine worked, etc at times was difficult to follow and really picture.
   
   I did come away with a complete appreciation of the magnitude of a project like this - how much materials were needed, how many people it took and the new techniques that were created just to build this magnificent building. I look forward to learning more when I arrive in Florence!
   
   Definitely worth the read if you're visiting Florence soon, or if you are incredibly interested in building, architecture and engineering.



5. This slim volume contains a lot of detailed information - both on the construction of the dome, and on the politics and rivalries behind the scenes. It is well presented and makes for an absorbing read.
   The drawings of the unique hoisting equipment developed by Brunelleschi showed that he was as much an engineer as an architect.
   I'll be visiting the dome this fall and now have a wealth of information to make my tour more meaningfull.

5 comments about Solar Water Heating: A Comprehensive Guide to Solar Water and Space Heating Systems (Mother Earth News Wiser Living Series).

1. This is a very well written book. Bob Ramlow has done a lot of work on the subject of solar heating and makes the subject fun to read. I highly recommend that if you are interested in solar heating you also read "Build Your Own Solar Heating System" by Kenneth Clive. Build Your Own Solar Heating System



2. Very good and useful book if you want to understand/evaluate offers/tenders of companies that will construct your solar water heating system. Contains all the rules of thumbs and all the subjects really you need to know (system components, scaling of the system, types of solar water heating systems, system maintenance, system installation, cost calculations, etc.). My only real disappointment is the pervasive use of non-metric units (btu/therms, feet, gallons) throughout the book. This makes it hard to read for non-American readers. There is a unit conversion table, but it would have been better to include the second unit system between brackets or just to use the international metric system. Also a decision diagram/tree for helping to decide what type of solar heating system you would best go for depending on your climate/freezing conditions or not, etc. would have been a useful addition. This information, though, is in the text, but you just have to read it all.



3. This book is practical and written in a very easy to understand manner. The author has extensive experience in the area of solar heating of water and conveys that knowledge to the reader very effectively. This book goes beyond hot water for household use and into radiant heating with the use of a heat storage system using a large sand bed which is the GEM of the book! I am planning on building a cabin in the Colorado Mtns and wanted this retreat to be self-sustaining and not a warm cabin that was sucking power or energy while not in use. This book has inspired me to design into the cabin solar hot water for household and radiant use. Now if I could just find a decent book about radiant heating for less than $100...........



4. Content wise this is an excellent book. The level is just right for individuals that need to make the right choices to provide renewable Domistic Hot Water and Space Heating for their homes without having to sift through many non insightful therory and math. It has good collection of rules of thumb for a quick design. I have one criticism for this book. In my copy pages 113-144 are printed twice. The book is really only 240 pages and not 288 as stated in Amazon by the publisher. Not that the 40 extra pages would have completed the book. The book is fairly well written and complete as it is. I am just for saving paper/trees.



5. Great reference on solar water heating. Lots of options and details. The item is as described. Shipping was reasonable and prompt.

5 comments about Green from the Ground Up: Sustainable, Healthy, and Energy-Efficient Home Construction (Builder's Guide).

1. A great book that covers everything. A good checklist of things to consider. The graphics provide highlights from different viewpoints -- green design, construction, would I do this? Lots of photos and drawings. A good book to have on the shelf for reference.



2. Anyone who is interested in or is looking to build green should read this book.
   It's very well organized, the detailed information is understandable and easy to read. The visual aids are priceless.
   Great chapter summeries and end of book recap.



3. This book does a good job at setting up a working definition of "green building" as a decision making process that occurs at each point in the design of a building, with an emphasis on residential construction. The book has a lot of pictures and pop-up bubble sidebars that make each page seem more like a design school presentation poster (that's a good thing). It presents a lot of basic information and principles about each part of a building, from foundations, insulation, windows, framing, flashing, natural building, etc. and how they come together as a "green building system."
   If you are an architect or drafter who is looking for a book with technical details and explanations about specific construction methods or materials notes do not buy this book. If you would like to learn about green building science principles as to how they relate with each division in a building then buy this book.



4. Too many contractors operate on a "if it ain't broken don't fix it" and "I have been successfully doing things (the old way) for 25 years." It is difficult to get the average contractor to think and act green. Johnston & Gibson lay out and walk through the key ideas . . . in plain English with lots of excellent photographs. Every architect, county planning department, planning inspectors and utility district should have this close at hand. This provides the average person what realtors and homes for sale newspaper features don't know and don't get.
   
   Because there is so much hyperbole, many do not know what to accept, reject, believe or move forward with. How do you speak intelligently with an architect for schools, homes, churches and business and clearly communicate what makes up a functional, sustainable, energy conserving and site appropriate structure?
   
   Planning and Design is a whole system, not a one shot effort. This includes siting, aspect, elevation, lighting, landscaping, plumbing, materials, construction techniques, heating and cooling, interior and exterior finishes, decking, roofs and attics and basements. "Form follows function," taught in design schools, but too often ignored, permeates every thought. Collective wisdom reaches back to the Anasazi in the Southwest. This explains why you insulate under a foundation, how fly ash makes concrete stronger and takes care of an otherwise waste product requiring less Portland cement for walls and floors. Advanced framing techniques or use of Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs), alternatives to wood steel studs reduce waste and cost and increases thermal efficiency. Tubular sunpipes are shown illuminating interior space (a much superior alternative to leaky skylights).
   
   Whether you are thinking of new construction or a retrofit, this is a key guide. As we enter "Peak Everything: Waking Up to the Century of Declines (Heinberg, 2007)," this is a guide to quality, high expectations and cost effectiveness with emphasis on sustainability and durability. When I look at a building, these are the critical thinking thoughts and questions in my head. This should be close at hand in every home construction and hardware supply store. Superbly written, well laid out, easy to find information.



5. This is a excellent overview and introduction to a very complex subject. The authors do a great job of explaining "Green" concepts and how they relate to all of the processes and systems in residential construction today. It's not really a "how-to", but that couldn't fit in one book. But it does outline all of the green technologies and choices available. "Green" is kind of a moving target. This book gives you the framework you need to figure out a "Green" approach to any project and all the information you need to get started finding the most appropriate systems and technologies. It's a great starting point, very well written, practical, and not a bit preachy.

5 comments about Axel Vervoordt: Timeless Interiors.

1. Vervoordt's peaceful environments invade space with mood. The resulting grandeur of such tranquil beauty and gentle sophistication is most admirable and thoroughly revealed in this beautifully accessorized volume. Leafing through this book will calm your design sensitivities, as period inpressions drift from page to page. The dramatic and dimly lit photos featured here capture the essence of time. The historical significance of such a talented artist can not be denied, as Vervoordt's careful selection and discerning eye for arranging will be learned from for years to come. There is an art to assemblage, and this designer definitely defines it!
   
   As a professional in the interior decorating field, I chose this book along with another,Your Home A Living Canvas: Create Stunning Faux Finishes & Murals with Paint, by Curtis Heuser, and was pleasantly surprised by each. As I work mainly with customers who wish to develop time worn feeling and comfortable living spaces, both of these books proved wonderful additions for helping with that thought process. "YOUR HOME..." follows the creative rebirth of the author's/decorative artist's historic 1890's home, with hundreds of beautiful full color before/after and during renovation illustrations, accompanied with full spread finished room concepts. I would love to see the two of these talents in collaboration - as both artist have a keen sense of using color, texture and light to bring a space to life. Though these books are so different in energy level (Heuser uses dramatic color and unique murals and specialty paint finishes to stage the scene), both offer immense inspiration for helping one to envision and recreate "timeless interiors"!



2. This is classic beauty. Quiet, vast interiors filled, not with too much gilt and chintz, but a few pieces of wonderful antiques. The best thing about this book is that the rooms never looked decorated. Everything looks as though it grew in place.
   
   Personally, I fell in love with the ocean view and eternity pool on page 79. Amazingly, even the eternity pool doesn't seem too brash and new.
   
   Wonderful designs.



3. I have heard American decorating described as "Cheerful Comfort" which doesn't mean much in the overall scheme of things.
   If the concepts learned from Axel Vervordt were incorporated into American decor we would be the envy of the world. Mr. Vervordt's talent lies in combining the elements of form, time, and substance and lets them breath together to create a pallete of breathless beauty. He is humble in his choices and shares it all with the reader in an effortless way which is the mark of great talent. The photo layouts are exquisite and the text is like a novel. So worthy of a great talent.



4. If you are a fan of Mr Verfoordt's restrained timeless chic, this book is for you. Full of beautiful photographs of the timeless interiors the book was named after, this is a lovely edition that will provide endless inspiration.



5. Simply fabulous. You can hear a pin drop in these hushed interiors. Beautifully presented and photographed. Rush to buy now, dahling!
   Stylemaven

5 comments about Mary Emmerling's Beach Cottages: At Home by the Sea.

1. As a longtime Mary Emmerling fan I can hardly wait for each book to come out; as a beach fan I was not disappointed; a lovely book. I enjoyed seeing her old beach cottages and how they have evolved. I think she missed some great old cottages in my northwest florida area; especially at Grayton Beach; but otherwise this is a very nice book representative of her great taste. I'm looking forward to her work with House Beautiful.



2. I'm a longtime fan of Mary Emmerling's work, and was thrilled to find BEACH COTTAGES. I've dog-eared favorite pages, and find myself returning to them over and over again for inspiration. I loved the diversity of design styles, and even when the homes shown are waaaay out of my own budget, I enjoyed seeing how the other half lives. This is a book for dreamers as well as doers.Of course, it doesn't hurt that she recommended one of my books, SAVANNAH BREEZE, in her list of great beach reads. I'll be buying more copies of BEACH COTTAGES for my beach dreamer buddies.
   Mary Kay Andrews



3. I have been waiting for this book as I am one of Mary's devoted fans. After reading the reviews from other customers, I was feeling let down before I even saw the book. I have to say that I was happily surprised and thought it was BETTER than her previous books. I love the size of the book - it has a cozy feeling - and the photographs are perfect. I, for one, enjoy seeing pictures of people's swimming pools (even if they are part of a beach house). I loved her choice of homes and don't really care if some are redundant (Rachel Ashwell) because a lot of these designers/homeowners move all the time and there is always something fresh to see. Count me in as a continuing huge fan of her taste and joie de vivre. So many books today (in the dying era of coffee-table tomes) are sterile and boring. You can tell she cares about her subjects - both the homes and the people who inhabit them. Go Mary!



4. as the previous reviews. I found the book to be full of wonderful pictures and very evocative of a wonderful stay by the seashore. The houses were not the usual beach cliches.... they were very elegant and had a lot of personality and individuality. I would recommend. A concise, nice little volume.



5. As much as I love Mary and her work, the title 'beach cottages' is misleading. The pictures of the homes did not lead me to believe there was a beach nearby and most I would not consider cottages at all. My favorite was of a shingled shack with no heat and laid back beach charm. This one falls short and is disappointing. Please don't show me pictures of pools in a beach book! Mary's charm is missing from this one.

5 comments about Design Like You Give a Damn: Architectural Responses to Humanitarian Crises.

1. Okay, so I havent actually read the book but Cameron Sinclair came to my school a month ago to give a lecture based on the book. It was one of the most motivating and perspective changing experiences that Ive ever had. It gave me a totally new perspective on architecture. People in studio were pinning up signs on their boards that said "Design Like You Give a Damn." Cameron Sinclair is an amazing guy. He started off the lecture talking about how he got out of architecture school and was completely dissatisfied with being a "CAD monkey," so he quit, raised money for the poor and distressed, and designed and built places for them with the money. anyways...just buy this and im going to buy it too



2. We purchased this book for our son. He is deeply committed to 'green' projects. This will give him testimonials of others in his field to aid him in his own work for clients who have the desire to lessen their carbon footprint.
   
   Sincerely,
   F. Albuquerque



3. Great book. Very cool practical applications to problems using environmentally sound solutions. Beautiful pictures and I especially liked the $8 tent clip. Brilliant.



4. I'm not an architect, but I enjoy the craft as a whole. I saw this book on a PBS science show and had to check it out. Once I finish reading it, I'm passing it on to my architect friends to inspire them to think of the more basic level of need for their talents. Living in the US, I have always taken for granted having a place to live, but seeing how many people around the world need homes is staggering. Kudos to those architects that face the problems of these people. They should be recognized for their innovative uses of stuff as simple as PVC pipe and tarp.



5. This book is an important counterbalance to the plethora of glossy coffee table books about architecture that glorify starchitects and their creations, which usually only benefit their wealthy clients. If only the architectural journals would plaster these projects on their front pages instead of oh-so-chic homes and corporate headquarters. The world is facing a housing crisis, but most architects are not trained to respond to this crisis in massive, innovative ways that go beyond the feel-good student trips to build a couple of houses for people in need. This book should be required reading in all architecture schools, architecture practices, and architectural publishing offices. The profession - as with so many other professions - has lost its way. This book can be one small step toward recovering the reality that architecture is a collaborative endeavor that entails public responsibilities.

5 comments about A Field Guide to American Houses.

1. I bought this book as reference material on the advice of an architect friend. He told me "If you need help figuring out the style of a house then buy this book" and he showed me his copy. He was right. The book is well organized which helps compare styles quickly and the many black and white pictures of houses that the author uses as examples are great because the b&w contrast helps your eye focus on details. This a great book to have in any architectural office. Its great for novices and experienced alike.



2. As a writer, you need lots of details to keep the reader interested, and this book has details on houses most people wouldn't know. Of course, if you give no details the story is not interesting, and if you give wrong details, some reader will know it and be disapointed. A book like this can be invaluable.



3. After some introductory chapters on the history and theory of homebuilding, the McAlesters commence with descriptions of the different styles. Each major style is described with a large stylized diagram with its identifying features labeled, a description of the major subtypes, descriptions of the style's unique elements, a paragraph on the frequency and locations of its occurrence, some historical comments, and then dozens of black and white photographs. The styles are ordered roughly chronologically, from native dwellings and colonial houses in 1600 to the neoeclectric houses of the 1970s and 1980s. (Even my 2006 printing ended with the 1980s.)
   
   I read the field guide cover to cover - something I never before done with a field guide. By the end, it seemed repetitive, but overall I was impressed with almost everything about this book from the introductions to the last diagrams. Every time I travel though a historical neighborhood, I am glad that I read this book.



4. Great book!!! I'm using for my company to get a true representation of many styles for many of the house I'm designing. A great resource for any firm!!!



5. great at housing history
   great describe for the house component
   good picture to show handy book to show at real estate

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