2 comments about Phylogenesis foa's ark: foreign office architects.

1. The Best: The proyect, the inteligent calisification, the graphics, the perspectives, the images of the proyects (amazing), the view and of course, the architecture.
   
   The Worst: The size of the plans inside the book, and the information on it about planimetric and detail construction.
   
   Conlucion: Buy it... is really good book



2. Very good book with an interesting structure/classification system for their projects. Projects are well described in text and graphics, and the essays that are inserted between 'sections' add an interesting perspective towards architecture and artistic/cultural theory in contemporary practice from several authors viewpoints, not just the firms. This is FOA's S,M,L,XL (with less bulk) with all projects (to date) presented and explained in detail.

5 comments about Building a Deck (Build Like A Pro).

1. I bought this product because one of the reviews of the other deck books said that this was the best book. My husband has learned a lot from it, and hopefully one day, we will actually have a deck in our yard :) Seriously, this is a good book, it is very thorough from beginning to end of the project. Highly recommended.



2. Building a Deck (Build Like A Pro)
   
   My construction experience includes home additions, house remodeling/renovation, and many indoor upgrades, but only one deck. So, when we decided to replace our own old deck with one using the latest materials, a how-to book was in order. After reviewing deck books at local stores, this one stood out as the most useful.
   
   Cons:
   
   - This book was written in 2002 and needs a major revision to incorporate current building materials. For example, the deck railing chapter talks mostly about building railings out of wood. The same is true for decking, where almost the entire focus is on wood. The author devotes a page or so to Trex and a few other materials available in 2002, but a host of newer products are now available. Today, there are a wide variety of composite planking (plastics & wood) choices; all synthetic decking such as Azek deck "boards"; PVC and perma-cast balusters; and metal-reinforced vinyl/PVC railing (stainless steel cables, aluminum, steel).
   
   - The book explains attaching the top of a staircase to the deck and methods for anchoring the stairs bottom to a concrete pad; without addressing the frost heave issue. In my area, outside concrete pads frequently frost-heave upwards up to an inch by mid-January. If the author's approach was used here, heaving would jack up the stair bottom, weakening or destroying stairs-to-deck connections. This was inexplicable since the author addresses the frost issue in other places.
   
   - There were a few techniques described that, lacking a diagram or photograph, were too ambiguous to be useful.
   
   - One book can't cover every construction scenario, but it was frustrating that it didn't cover some of the things I needed. E.g., in the section on how to flash the ledger board, the examples show houses with siding above and below the ledger. There were no examples of having siding above the ledger and a masonry wall below.
   
   - If a ledger is lag-screwed against the house sheathing (through to a rim joist), our county building code requires flashing (metal, butyl rubber, etc.) between the sheathing and the ledger. Following the book's approach of having nothing at all there wouldn't pass inspection.
   
   Pros:
   
   - The main focus is teaching the reader how to build a deck, rather than how to deal with a contractor that will build your deck.
   
   - Intelligently organized, with excellent "pro-tips", details, safety tips, building codes, diagrams, and photographs throughout.
   
   - I didn't want a deck book for the novice. Not to worry; the author uses a writing style that worked for me, but should still work for a novice. The book may be too basic for a decking contractor, but it should be helpful for anyone else.
   
   - Multiple approaches are described for most aspects of a deck project, versus having one this-is-the-way-to-do-it, approach.
   
   - Occasional mention of the applicable building code (e.g., balusters can be spaced no farther than 4" apart), with advice of how to exceed standards, when the author believes building codes are too lax.
   
   - Every aspect of a deck project is well discussed, except for financing. It starts with deck planning, and things you should consider, and progresses logically through foundations, ledgers, posts, and beams, joists, decking, railings, stairs, and custom details.
   
   Summary:
   
   This book was clearly worth its small cost, even though it didn't [adequately] cover newer materials or all construction issues. I improved several aspects of our planned deck, based on ideas in this book, and, found out most of what I needed to know in order to do the detail plans required by our county building inspections department.



3. This is a good book for beginners. Wish there was a little more variety of design style. Haven't built my deck yet, but either way if you follow this books suggestions I imagine it will be a very good deck.



4. My wife and I successfully built a deck using this book 2 years ago. Planned, submitted plans to village got building permit and final inspection. It felt good to accomplish such a large task with only 2 people who are not carpenters and haven't built a deck before. The deck is around 300 sq. ft. so it is not small. The book has all the information you need to build a solid deck. It also includes information on problems you could run into and ideas for customizing the deck. We are now building a smaller 100 sq. ft. deck for the front of our house. Believe me, we could not have done this without this great book.



5. I am a firm believer in the KISS method of doing things. (Keep It Simple Stupid") Every step is covered in this book so that anyone can learn from it. The "Build Like A Pro" series of books are all laid out like this one. The "Expert Tips" are great. They show you short cuts to help you do the jobs right, but in less time. This is stuff you only learn by doing the job everyday. They are trade secrets.

5 comments about Serious Straw Bale: A Home Construction Guide for All Climates (Real Goods Solar Living Book.).

1. Really good book with plenty of technical information, drawings, schemes. I would recomend that item for architects interested in this technology. It's one of few books on the market which are really "serious" about straw bale. It's not for people interested in colourful images and photos of buildings... it's not for design inspirations.



2. I hope to build a natural house some day and am still in the research stage, looking at various alternatives. Straw bale is of course a serious contender. I am not a builder or a handyman; as a lay person I found this book satisfyingly detailed. "More Straw Bale Building" by Chris Magwood is another worthwhile read on the subject and balances this ones anti-Nebraska and pro-cement stucco biases somewhat. Anyway, what both books do is make it clear that building with straw bale isn't like Lego. It is serious stuff and requires a professional builder, and the money to pay them.
   
   One other thing: I really liked this book's introduction to other alternative building materials. It has given me other things to research.



3. This is a great book and for anyone thinking of building in a damp climate a must have. Great information about the various ways of doing things, allowing the reader to make the best choice for their site, budget and level of skill. Covers wet weather considerations better than most other books. A good addition to your straw bale library.
   
   One warning, in this book the straw bale slab system is detailed but has since been shown to be a not so good idea so I would reccommend separate research on that subject.



4. I've been doing research for a house I'm hoping to build in 5 to 10 years, and straw bale is one of the wall systems I'm seriously considering. This book was extremely informative. I confess I often skimmed past sections dealing with cold, wet climates (I live in Arizona), but sometimes I read through them just because they were so interesting. If you're considering using this wall system for your own project, this book is a good place to start.



5. Everything you ever wanted to know about building a straw home from the ground up can be found in this manual.

1 comments about How to Read Buildings: A Crash Course in Architectural Styles.

1. I have read many books describing architecture and this one is the best by far. It breaks architectural terms down into everyday language that is so easy for the reader to understand and to know what the author is talking about. So many books like this use stilted language. This book reads more like having a conversation with someone. The break down of sections is very specific and doesn't throw too many things in one section. The illustrations are excellent--clear and precise. There is no confusion as to which description goes with which illustration.

No comments about Toward an Architecture (Texts & Documents).

5 comments about Outside the Not So Big House: Creating the Landscape of Home (Susanka).

1. I am an interior designer and thought this book was great for exterior ideas. I highly recommend it.



2. It is a beautiful book that is well written and illustrated. So I'll give it 3 stars. But I don't believe it belongs in the Not So Big series. It feels like false advertising or misrepresentation. I appreciate the concept of connecting the outside and inside, but I expected to see ideas for small gardens/yards in small lots, not small planting areas within large lots and acreage attached to large houses.



3. I agree with many of the poor reviews by fellow "Not So Big House" thinkers. I was very, very disappointed by the lack of practical information and very few useful principles for "creating the landscape of home".
   While I agree with and have used so many of the principles in her other books, this one left me with nothing I can use to landscape my property.
   While some of the examples are quite interesting, most are also quite unusual and there is not much to take away for those of us with average-sized, rectangular-shaped lots living in subdivisions filled with tract homes.



4. Prerequisites: You have a house with some space for plants.
   Pros: if you wanna block your not so eye-entertaining neighborhood.
   Cons: French (glass) windows/doors may have security concerns.
   
   You don't have to have a million-dollar house and 10 acres to have a nice view. The point of this book is "a look from inside out."
   
   Your windows and doors can be a frame looking through your garden, hence the garden/landscape is designed from an inside view of your house, as far as your eyes can reach.
   
   It teaches you how to create a relaxing enjoyment by using your current limited space, landscape, or even a slope with proper plant arrangements.
   
   It greens your house from inside out!!



5. A house and its garden are different parts of the same overall design. Bestselling author Sarah Susanka and acclaimed landscape designer and award-winning writer Julie Moir Messervy understand this concept. They describe it as "opening up the relationship of indoors and out" and demonstrate it with actual case studies in "Outside the Not So Big House: Creating the Landscape of Home."
   
   "Outside the Not So Big House: Creating the Landscape of Home" covers the landscape of home, embracing the habit of home (playing up the corners, borrowing the landscape, the attraction of opposites, a stream of one's own, shelter and embrace), composing journeys (variations on a theme, Japanese journey, parallel paths, the territory of home, the world behind the walls), linking the inside with the out (living lightly on the land, easy living, a landscape of stone, good fences, rooms inside and out), and crafting the elements of nature (gardens of earthly delight, three cabins in a forest, at home on the range, terraces of grass, a cottage in the city). This book does show the influence of Julie Moir Messervy's training with the well-known Japanese garden master Kinsaku Nakane as a Henry Luce Scholar.
   
   "Outside the Not So Big House: Creating the Landscape of Home" has 216 pages and many dazzling color interior photos and plans. It is a good gardening ideas book for both design professionals and ordinary gardeners.
   
   Gang Chen, Author of "LEED AP Exam Guide" & "Planting Design Illustrated." LEED AP, AIA

5 comments about California Romantica: Spanish Colonial and Mission-Style Houses.

1. I bought this book for my wife on her birthday. She had seen it at SFMOMA and I thought it would be a nice, coffee table-type addition to our modest book collection. What I found, however, was a marvelous portal to a California I had only dreamed about. As orchestrated by Diane Keaton, a singular artist in film, the photographs here perfectly present the amazing Spanish and Mission architecture of Southern California while the text, by D. J. Waldie, tells the stories behind the stucco, wood and iron of the structures. The homes and furnishings presented here are at once simple and elegant; ornate and plain; expansive and private. A seemingly simple room can be a frame-work for a splash of color that takes the breath away while ornate ironwork or colorful tile nestles in a quiet setting like a found treasure.
   My wife and I are currently planning a vacation to Spain where we will no doubt encounter the original inspiration for the work here. But growing up working-class Chicano in L.A., our families used to drive through the rich neighborhoods to gawk at the houses and I remember thinking, "This is Hollywood; these can't be real houses for real people." The amazing structures and spaces in this book are all the more beautiful for being real places in the land of make-believe. What I thought would be an interesting diversion turned out to be much, much more.



2. I love looking at Spanish colonial architecture. I have a viceral reaction to it, as does/did Diane Keaton, who is also a Californian. I would love to look at each and every photo in this book but it's very very difficult because it is so huge and heavy. You can't hold it in your lap to enjoy the pictures, so you must lay it on a table and look at each page using both hands. The black and white photos show details in the various grand houses mentioned but I was able to look them up online so I could see each house featured in the book inside and out, and in color, e.g. Leo Carillo's house, Los Quiotes. All in all, very very beautiful photography rather than inspirational. What I thought I was getting was something like a wonderful book called Red Tile Style. I can look at and read that book for hours and get the intense feeling that is somewhere in my early psyche and is brought out by seeing the Spanish Colonial and Mission Style houses, some gone, some that still exit, like those in Long Beach and Ventura, CA. I did not get that feeling from this book, but I liked what little writing there was. How I would have liked more to read. But for me, this book is not a keeper. Too much of a physical commitment to pull out and enjoy. I wonder if this book would have been published if the photos were taken by a non-celebrity. Oh well. I have always loved California architecture and Diane Keaton can do no wrong as far as I'm concerned. I hope she can get into Falcon's Lair, the last home that Rudolph Valentino owned. It still exists and I'd love to see photos of the inside of the house he loved so much at the time of his death at age 31.



3. I was disappointed with California Romantica. The use of a black seems to dominate. The photos are framed with a black border and pages with text are black with white lettering. For me,some photos were difficult to appreciate due to the darkness. One,in particular, the photo of huge old tree, using two pages,the foreground on the right side was black with just an outline of what one knew was a cactus. The left page had a dirt road lite by the sun giving a cooperish glow. The tree is underexposed making it very dark, therefore the focus is the cooperish dirt road. I love trees and I wish this one did not look dead since it seems to be a
   beautiful place to sit and stay awhile, to read a book or meditate. The architectural features of the villas,the walls, floors, ceilings, stairs, balconies, tile work, doorways,wooden doors, pools, windows, wrought iron work, the furnishings, were creatively portrayed. I did enjoy photos showing what one would see out of specific windows, such as the window on the all black page with just a patch of blue which we know is the ocean!
   
   I will keep the book since I love old houses and I have a great respect for Diane Keaton's efforts to renovate and restore these wonderful homes preserving California's past. Thank you Miss Keaton. Keep up the good work.



4. Just a bunch of art photos. Sure, some of them are beautiful. But this book is classified in the home section. If you are looking for ideas or inspiration for your house, this is definitely not the book. Casa California is far better for that purpose. Many of the photos in this book are of a tiny tiny detail. The book itself is gigantic and very heavy. It's a very self-indulgent work by the author and publishing house.



5. The photography in the book is "Breathtaking" ! Learned so much about my new home , California , early architecture ! A great help for restoring homes here in Southern California !

2 comments about Forgotten Modern.

1. This book has some great photos but the content is very middle of the line. Some of houses included really don't need to be in the book. I was hoping to find more relevant examples of structures that qualify as "Modern" or as part or as part of the modern movement.



2. Modern is not new. It has a history and this book remind us about it.
   The language of Modern Architecture change in time but au fond remains the same. The book is nice, good photos and has many examples of old modern.

5 comments about Practical Pole Building Construction: With Plans for Barns, Cabins, & Outbuildings.

1. This book is fine, as far as it goes, but does not address the trend towards using cast concrete pole bases and untreated poles rather than using direct-burial treated poles.



2. This is a very complete book that doesn't leave the reader asking for details like so many others. It's written so beginners can understand it and it contains all the design criteria, load tables, joint details, and so forth that an experienced builder needs to get a building permit and construct a building. Seddon inlcudes practical "how to" answers beginning with construction of a temporary frame to lift tall poles into holes in the ground without killing yourself trying. Framing and jointing details, connections, siding, windows and finish are all here. I built many stick frame homes over several years and was looking for information on construction of a pole frame home. I found it very useful and practical.



3. Although the book had some helpful hints I was looking for more practical instructions on how to build a pole barn. The book did not go in deepth enough and had little information on pole barns. I was looking for ideas to help setting the floor grade and where to get started after lay-out is finished



4. This book is very good. The information is presented in great detail in a very useable way. I found myself wanting to build with poles! Highly recomended.
   Sincerly, Adelbert M. Vinal Jr.



5. I'm 2/3 done with a garage that's based on a plan in this book. I'm using this book for pole barn-specific info, and "Building a Multi-Use Barn : For Garage, Animals, W..." for the rest. Together, these two books give me enough information, without going overboard. Good luck to you; I'm having a blast!

No comments about Private Views: Inside the World's Greatest Homes (Architectural Digest).