2 comments about Structure Systems.

1. This is ASTRONOMICALLY THE BEST architectural structures book of all time!! This is the second book for a serious architecture student or architect to buy after Deplazes' foundation book. My structures education was so frustrating because it was not VISUAL. I longed for a book like this 20 years ago!! But better than I could have ever imagined, this book is intensely visual, almost no numbers, instead an encyclopedic catalogue of structural spanning options in a maniacally ordered logic, drawn with a sweet German version of Ching's style. Just skimming this book several times will aquaint you with the logic, the systems, the options, and the breathtaking possibilities this great book throws at your feet. "Take that", it says, "and go do something great!"



2. This is almost the only graphically illustrated book on structural principles for architect.
   
   Most of the structure book concentrate on calculation which are more important to structural engineer than to architect. However, this book put emphasis on structural principals and structural typology. The author uses very clear drawn illustration + table + text to illustrate different structural types.
   
   This is a helpful resources if readers are architects interesting in structural design. The book could be more complete if real building examples are illustrated together with the diagrams.

1 comments about Switzerland - an Urban Portrait: Vol. 1: Introduction - Vol. 2: Borders, Communes : a Brief History of the Territory - Vol. 3: Materials.

1. It's a really productive study of Switzerland. A highly graphically developed book, but also in terms of the text, explanations and in terms of chronological terms about history of Switzerland. A unic set of books to understand Switzerland in aspects of: History, culural and linguistic diversity, bringing all this together in terms of an Urban Portrait.

No comments about Managing Growth in America's Communities.

No comments about Urban Transportation Systems.

1 comments about Building Type Basics for Places of Worship (Building Type Basics).

1. A useful primer for anyone involved in the design of places of worship. Covers a wide range of design considerations and uses sophisticated examples.

No comments about Streets and Patterns: The Structure of Urban Geometry.

5 comments about A Better Place to Live: Reshaping the American Suburb.

1. Langdon describes why modern American suburbs, with typical cul de sacs, feeder roads, and strip malls, rob us of our sense of community and of our connections to our neighbors. He explains how the over-reliance on the automobile is both a cause and a result of these suburban designs. But he goes further, describing why older neighborhoods feel so much better to us-- neighborhoods with grid layouts, houses with front porches, homes placed fairly close to tree lined streets. If you've ever looked around at modern American developments and wondered why they feel alienating and uncomfortable, this book will answer your questions in fascinating detail. Langdon's prose is beautifully clear.



2. There are more books that I can count that address American suburbs, and of the dozen or so that I have read this is by far the most comprehensive, best written, and most illuminating. Far from simply being a 250+ page rant about how bad suburbia is, Langdon offers an immense amount of very specific advice about how it can be made better. You don't have to be a landscape architect or planner to appreciate and enjoy this book. Anyone concerned with ensuring that we all have great places to live will benefit tremendously from reading it.



3. Langdon's book is a gentle and articulate introduction to New Urbanism - the notion that our cities and our suburbs are a mess, and that in their place, we should have higher residential densities, mixed-use zoning, and pedestrian-oriented design. Langdon extols the benefits of the traditional street grid, and bemoans suburban developers' fascination with "pods" (i.e., clusters of cul-de-sacs). The author highlights the design of individual houses, and describes various ways of hiding garages and "granny apartments." Places given special attention include Seaside (Fla.), Kentlands (Md.), Laguna West (Cal.), Portland (Ore.), Kirkland (Wa.), and Bellevue (Wa.). The book is profusely illustrated with well over a hundred photographs and diagrams, a welcome change from authors who feel they can discuss this topic at length without a single illustration.



4. Mr. Langdon has some excellent points in his book. For instance, he makes a very convincing case that modern suburbia is sterile and that it encourages heavy reliance on the motor vehicle. He also offers good solutions, including more mixed-use neighborhoods, higher architectural standards, and different street layouts.

   However, Mr. Langdon never adequately addresses a significant objection to his ideas: they are *expensive* to implement. At times, he does concede that his ideas would require higher expenditures on housing. Usually he counters this with arguments resembling "well, Americans don't need wet bars and a television set in every room. If only they would give that up, we could have more intimate communities." At times it seems as though he is actively encouraging Americans to consume less, an idea that could form the backbone of another book. In this book, it only detracts from his argument.

   Sorry, Mr. Langdon. While Americans may want better communities, you can't force them to give up their television sets and wet bars in order to get them. Come up with a better way to pay for your ideas; otherwise, concede that the market has given modern Americans exactly what they want.




5. Reading this book started out as a requirement for my Urban Planning class. However, I became so interested in what Langdon had to say, and his easy to read diction, that I couldn't put it down. I would recommend this book to anyone who lives in the city, in the suburbs or anywhere in between. Everyone can relate to the issues that Langdon brings up, and they are truly interesting and relavent in today's society. A great book to use as an introduction to issues of urban planning and urban improvement.

No comments about Origins of Architectural Pleasure.

1 comments about Life between Buildings: Using Public Space.

1. Few books - if any - have had a stronger impact on Scandanavian architecture and planning in recent years than this one has had.
   
   Jan Gehl, senior lecturer in urban design at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architectiur in Copenhagen, has widely and extensively studied how people use public spaces and how planning and architecture encourage or discourage social activities and public life.
   
   His strong advocacy and detailed proposals for a humanistics approach to architecture, as presented in this book, is now available for the first time in English.
   --- from book's back cover

No comments about Energy Efficient Buildings: Architecture, Engineering, and Environment.