No comments about Digital Infrastructures: Enabling Civil and Environmental Systems through Information Technology (Networked Cities).

No comments about Guadua: Arquitectura y diseno.

1 comments about Plaster, Render, Paint and Coatings: Details, Products, Case Studies (Detail Practice).

1. I've always been pleased by In Detail publications and own a few of their titles in English - books I often refer to while designing my work. I was intrigued by this one while researching stucco techniques for a new project - my first such.
   
   For the first time - and in a bad way, since expectations were high - In Detail has let me down. Every case study presented in this book is for plaster applied over concrete substrates. Not a single example of plaster applied to wood frame construction! To add insult to injury, all the window/door head and jamb details are way too similar to really be worth including for "variety". The entire book could be reduced to an article in their magazine!
   
   I wish I had an alternative title to recommend to you. For now all I can tell you is: if you're looking for a good range of information regarding finishing walls with stucco, this isn't it. If you just want to complete your collection of In Detail issues, try checking it out in person to see if you still think it's worth the shelf space and its price.

No comments about Environmental Planning for Site Development.

No comments about Foundations: Site Investigation & Design.

No comments about Architectural Supermodels: Physical Design Simulation, Physical design simulation.

No comments about Drawings by American Architects.

1 comments about Stone Buildings.

1. In connection with a construction project at Princeton University I searched hard, with assistance of the University's Library and interlibrary transfers, to identify the BEST resources on traditional masonry construction. STONE BUILDINGS, and its cohort IRISH STONE WALLS by the same author and publisher, are truly outstanding. One should not be distracted by the word Irish in a title. I'm not an art historian, but expect the principles and techniques described apply to any traditional masonry construction with English or Irish (and to some extent any European) cultural heritage. These are NOT field manuals for modern masonry construction using portland cement, steel reinforcing, assemblies and details now in widespread commercial use. Rather McAfee focuses on load bearing stone, dry laid or with lime mortar. Thorough knowledge of these "outdated" materials and techniques are of critical import in conserving and restoring old buildings. But the value of McAfee's work is not exclusively historical. Some of the principles we admire in old stone walls and historical buildings are properly applicable to new construction. McAfee's books will benefit any architect in using (or recognizing) traditional and "vernacular" building styles; to any mason working in stone; to anyone concerned with quality craft in masonry construction; to anyone else who appreciates historical building forms, materials and methods of construction. If bigger, Patrick McAfee's books would qualify as "coffee table" items; they are certainly beautiful enough. For those who are interested they also appear intensely practical, whether or not one is in a position to use the methods elucidated. The author dares to posit (rarely) a few aesthetic judgements, with which a reader might disagree or might find inconsistent with local project considerations. But even these opinions are valuable to anyone who strives to understand, or judge the qualities of, historical structures. Architects, trade craftspersons, preservationists, and all others interested in traditional masonry should have STONE BUILDINGS, along with its sibling IRISH STONE WALLS, in their libraries.

1 comments about Construction Specifications Portable Handbook.

1. Once again Mr. Stitt helps make sense of an all too often arcane subject. He starts w/ problems common to specifications writting & helps you on through how to create a set of specifications, efficient writting, why use a check list (he provides examples of both short & long formatts), master specifications, an introduction to CSI, thoughts about service level & how they effect specifications; then on to research, checking & common errors to avoid. As per Mr. Stitt's numerous other published work on the less glamorous & often overlooked aspects of creating legible, cogent construction documents, this book is a must have for anyone w/ a deadline & a set of specifications to write.

No comments about Prison Architecture.