2 comments about 100 of the World's Best Bars.

1. I just received my copy of this book and the pictures are absolutely beautiful! It has great inspiration if you are thinking of opening a bar/lounge/restaurant. Some bars even have the blueprint along with pictures.



2. This is a great resource book. And this group out of Milwaukee, FLUX DESIGN
   is really doing some wonderful interior design and full out building of there designs, making for truly unique spaces. Buy it.

5 comments about 10 X 10 _ 2 100 Architects 10 Critics.

1. The publishers did a fine job on the quality of this book. Although 10x10 was not at all what I was looking for others may find it useful. I found that it had extremely contemporary design throughout, current and old. Its focus was more on the very soul and defenition of contemporary that is shown in form. I am not a designer or architecht, but am sure that type of person would get more from the book than I did. Basically I was looking for a collection of ideas that could some how be implemented into other forms, but I was not successful. All I could see was page after page of a revolving theme that I now know does not appeal to me in its purest form..



2. Im an architecture student at the University of Florida and this book, including 10x10 are a must have. Simple as that. Full of pictures and small captions describing projects. Great for a student in design courses.



3. As a web designer, going through this book of beauifully designed homes and buildings give me layout and design ideas. Full color with large pictures and descriptions, I would reccomend this book for starting architects.



4. I am currently a design student - and this is an indispensible resource for recent and fairly obscure architecture. Has full rich photos and a wealth of information inside. Great selection of buildings as well. The photos can be used for ideas on detailing to spacial organization. I highly recommend this to anyone who needs to get a fresh breath of air and clean out the cobwebs. Everytime I close it I am ready to design.



5. I was thrilled when I received this book. Being an architect myself, I appreciated the excellent photos and disussion of the featured persons in my profession. A wonderful book that will be a worthwhile read for anyone with an admiration or even mild curiosity in the subject. Highly recommend.

5 comments about Lady on the Hill: How Biltmore Estate Became an American Icon.

1. This book is a good means of learning about the Biltmore family, its history, notable members, the means through which the clan's wealth was acquired, and also about its magnificent chateau near Asheville, North Carolina. (An awe-inspiring place, but staffed by some of the rudest human beings who ever drew breath.) This book's flaws relate to the fact it seems padded to fill out its length and does come close to re-using the same material more than once: and sadly the most dry parts are the ones re-used.



2. I've read and studied regarding the lives of the Vanderbilt families and the Biltmore inparticular. This is truly one of the BEST books I've read. We've all learned about the house and George Vanderbilt's ideas and thinking on building Biltmore. This book describes the life of his wife Edith and their daughter Cornelia after his death and what they had to go through to keep Biltmore after his death. The research is absolutely amazing. For anyone who is interested or obsessed with The Biltmore, this is a MUST read.



3. Half way through the book it just becomes tedious. There is a fair amount of repetition. I had to purchase another book because this one lacks enough photos. We are planning a trip there in the coming weeks
   and now I think I know more than I need to know.



4. This book is intriguing for those who enjoy nonfiction. It describes how Biltmore formed a business to keep from being sold and subdivided, what happened to the family members since George's death, and the relationship between Biltmore and the city of Asheville, among other things. It is extremely interesting if you would like to know more about the history of the estate and its families.



5. There is not a whole lot of literature around when it comes to the Vanderbilts and the Biltmore. SO this book is a refreshing and very easy to read story about the Vanderbilts and their successes leading up to the building of Biltmore taking 6 years.
   
   Everyone that can find the time and is planning to visit the Biltmore should read this before going. The Biltmore is so large and there are so many things to see that a visit requires some advanced planning to get the whole picture about this family and this American marvel. After our first visit to the Biltmore during this year's Christmas lights, we bought an annual access pass (upgrade while your day pass is still valid and you save a bundle), this and a picture history book. Now we are planning to go back and be prepared to really udnerstand this marvellous site.

5 comments about Big House, Little House, Back House, Barn: The Connected Farm Buildings of New England -- 20th Anniversary Edition.

1. This book has some interesting stories about houses that are unique to this area of the country. I especially liked this book because it features a homestead that has been in my family since it was built. This is a good book to read about the development of the concept of the Big House, Little House, Back House, Barn where all the elements are connected.



2. The author gives the "how and why the connected farm emerged in the mid-to-late 19th century and the story these buildings tell about the common New England farm and the people who made them."
   Hubka has written extensively about traditional American buildings and architectural design methods and teaches at the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
   I love the old pictures like the one showing a family and horses in front of a Saco house and barn.
   "According to Hubka, the primary reason for connected farms was agrarian reform, which was spurred in the 1840s and '50s by competition from new, larger farms in the Midwest. Connected buildings allowed New Englanders to take on home-based industry, such as candle- and cheese-making, while continuing to farm and still have everything centralized. Fashion also played a part: Connected farms became the latest thing, and keeping up with the neighbors was important even then." (This Old House)
   "An important pioneering effort. The book commemorates both an unique indigenous architectural expression and a way of life that has become extinct . . . The style is economic and clear and Hubka's affection for architecture binds the buildings to their people and their times." -- Maine Sunday Times



3. Very imformative. The images of the older New England homes are very interesting and useful.



4. Lets get this straight, this is NOT a coffee table book - if you want lots of colour pictures of old farms and barns - look elsewhere. What it is though, is a well written, brilliantly researched and documented assessment of a largely by-gone way of life in rural New England. Look - I'm even British and I loved (OK - I do have an interest in New England and architecture)
   
   If you are vaguely interested in old rural life, agriculture, history and social history, or vernacular architecture (or any combination of these) - buy it you won't be disappointed.



5. If you have ever wandered around Maine, you will have noticed a unique form of farm architecture. But ask most people why 19th century Maine farmers made such a concerted effort to physically connect the structures on their farms and the answer is "they needed a way to get to the barn through the winter snow." Trust me, I have gone around and asked current dwellers of Maine farmsteads. Thomas Hubka carefully points out that if that were so, we'd see similar connected farm architecture in parts of the nation where winters were even more inclimate and snowier. Yet Maine farm architecture remains almost totally enigmatic. Hubka's diligent field work reveals that forces were at work in mid-19th century Maine that conspired against the rural farmer: industrial competition for hand-manufactured goods produced at home for cash suppliment, a labor drain to other more prosperous farming regions, and unyielding land. The brilliance of Hubka's work is that he evokes how, despite all this, Maine farmers strove to adapt by creating resilliant islands of industry with the structure of their homes that defiantly sheltered year-round dooryard work efforts from wind and snow, but also change abroad. This book is also a perfect source of pithy detail and illustration regarding 17th century cape-style house architecture which, it turns out, is still ubiquitous in New England. Highly recommended, a stiking work.

4 comments about Japanese Detail: Architecture.

1. My greatest source for researching detail to incorporate into my Japanese design based furniture. A wealth of images!



2. Japanese architecrure was firstly influenced American master architect----Frank Lloyd Wright,which you could occasionally find such trails of a natural simplicity acted super perfect in his mid-life works.Wright had using many of Japanese architectural tecniques within his residential projects:for example,the garden sitting,that he agreed traditional Japanese architectural philosophy-----the private garden may bestly mirrored owner's taste of life.Consquently,Wright was a picky architect that especially paying more attention on the rendering of a small enviroment.I am appreciated the choises of materials for Japanese architecture,no more greed,just got sufficient things they need,even for the palaces,still builded without any wasting,it must be hard to looking for another country to comparing with.The structures of Japanese architecture were mainly copied from China.In the same way,it added some new thing different with Chinese architecture.Like wells,beams,doors.lanterns...etc.,Japanese improved those details,and involved in their cultures.The architecture surely centered Eastern intelligence ,moreover,the love of the life.....



3. The book is Excellent. It is filled full of high color textures. This is one wonderful reference book for anyone interested in Japanese Architecture. The book is the closest thing to actually being in Japan and looking at the architecture on these buildings.



4. If you are an architectural students or professionals, you must get this book for your visual reference. Beautiful photographs of details and traditions of Japanese architecture... you will know why it's so influential to world and modern architecture.

3 comments about Native American Architecture.

1. This book is well written, and finely illustrated. Historical photos and accurate descriptions of the structures illustrate not only how Native Americans lived, but how they built their homes, shelters and camps. This book is valuable for the historian, survivalist and primitive technologist among others. Well worth the cost!



2. More than a testament to Native American artistic vision and ingenuity, this book is a delightful resource for survivalists as well as historians - and for those who would just like to find ideas for less technological ways of building simple dwellings. Well illustrated with diagrams, photos and how-to drawings for constructing shelters in many different climates and with various resource limitations. Excellent, fun to read and full of eye openning ideas.



3. This book is an excellent bioregional overview of Native American structures. What I appreciate most is the way the authors have actually shown HOW the structures were made, sometimes in actual step-by-step procedures, which would allow someone to actually build in that style and using many of the same natural materials today. Another thing I love about the book is that the authors have sincerely tried to understand my Native American relationships to all the materials and the sacredness of the spaces we created. The authors treat that understanding with respect and honor. In this day when material resources are dwindling at alarming rates and the Earth is being devastated by the mindless rape of resources, it is a reminder to us all that we can choose alternatives to conventional wood-frame homes and return to more sustainable and natural housing for our respective bioregions. This book, though maybe not necessarily intended as such, is a hands-on, how-to book for us all. It reminds us that Native Americans lived in harmony and balance with our lands and our local plant and animal family for tens of thousands of years without destroying the places in which we lived. The photographs are instructive and beautiful and the architectural-type drawings are a delight. They make the actual building of these structures possible. I use parts of this book as required reading for all my students, especially my graduate students, and have taught actual classes using this book as the text, though it is not written in a "textbook" style. It is a very readable book and most useful for these times. I recommend it highly to all.

5 comments about Living in Bali (Taschen's Lifestyle).

1. Since it is legally impossible for foreigners to own real estate on the highly protected island of Bali, this book contains a list of law-breaking millionaires who cannot enjoy beauty unless they own a part of it...



2. Having visited Bali many times over a period of 35 years and being very familiar with life and housing there, it is important to mention that this book is not about living in Bali for the Balinese. The homes in this book are exceptional for Bali and for the most part would be special almost anywhere.
   
   The book covers some breathtakingly beautiful houses and the photography is excellent. Whether one is interested in Bali or not, architects, decorators, and those who appreciate creative design will thoroughly enjoy this collection of gorgeous photos of stunning architectural creativity. Those who do not know Bali will likely be blown away by its natural tropical beauty. For those who know and care about Bali, this work artfully ties all of the above together in a most satisfying volume.



3. Great photography and awesome scenarios. It really brings the feeling of being in Bali. And the decorations show the artistic side of the new interiors of the open living. It inspires my clients when they come inside my furniture store. Of the books I have from Bali, this is certainly the best!



4. Overflowing with inspiring photography, this is a beautiful book! We also love the text appearing in English, German and French as well - it adds to the international appeal of the content. It is an incredible value for the price - we expected to pay twice as much. We have recently visited one of these homes, and the photos actually do it justice!



5. LIVING IN BALI is more than just a pretty picture book, though the lush photography by Reto Guntli is superb. This is a romance with a place few have had the pleasure of experiencing - the tropical paradise still very much in place in Bali.
   
   Author Anita Lococo wisely leaves most of the journey to the level of serenity encountered by the way of life, the state of mind, the natural beauty of the landscape, and the plethora of flowers and exotic foliage to the images that flood the pages of this very beautiful book edited by the always sensitive Angelika Taschen. Here is a mood, a spirit and a place that indeed does exist and the book allows us to enter the secrets of the contemplative life that results from the communal life with nature that rules the homes of Bali.
   
   The writing is informative and gentle and the many full color photographs manage to transport the viewer in time and sensation to a Paradise Available. This is yet another in Taschen's fine collections of books intent on making us open our eyes and minds to the levels we all can achieve - with a little help from books like this. Grady Harp, March 06

1 comments about Barn: Preservation & Adaptation The Evolution of a Vernacular Icon.

1. Excellent book, if the other book, Barns: Living in Converted and Reinvented Spaces is the ying, then this book is the yang. A good inspirational design book if you're interested in reusing an old barn for modern day use and staying within the original design. The text is interesting and informative with the accompanying photos following along with the text. The pictures are overall excellent, sharp, clear, in detail and professionally done, with very very few exceptions. Some buildings are shown with structural drawings that help visualize the internal timber frame or stone structure with the accompanying photogaphs. The authors seems to be a die hard traditionalist, very critical and at times mildly insulting to designers that chose to remodel the old barns in the modern way and deviating from what the original builders did. But at times understanding that the modern style is a better fate than total destruction of a old old structure.

1 comments about Art and Architecture in Italy 1600-1750, Vol. 2: High Baroque (Yale University Press Pelican History of Art).

1. This is one of the most intelligent book I've ever read about art. It's simple, complete, full of original point-of-views. In asingle word: you can't miss it if you like the Art History!

2 comments about Living in Tuscany.

1. I bought this for my wife, after visiting Luca, in Tuscany! This book captures the memories! Excellent book!



2. A very beautiful and detailed book. A place to think about living out the golden years there. Becoming part of the local living.