Reviews (4)

The Moral Impetatives of Architecture in the 21st Century
This book is a credit to Princeton Architectural Press because, rather than recite simplistic platitudes about green architecture, it illustrates green buildings that not only reflect the ecologically and socially responsibile principles of sustainable architecture but that serve the needs of, and indeed uplift, their inhabitants through the promotion of health and spirit.Indeed, as this book informs its readers, green architecture is more than energy efficiency and preservation of natural resources, it is the creation of beautiful environments that integrate cost-effective design and materials to better the well being of their inhabitants.As our consumption of natural resources threatens the vitality of our planet, these principles deserve far more consideration and application.

Excellent incubator for ideas and more
The book is more than a good addition to a coffee table to tempt your unsuspecting guest.The book begins with a short philosophical journey on the definitions of sustainability.I was surprised to find how the word has eveolved as well as its application to architecture.Following the introduction is an excellent breakdown of a wide range of houses and buildings created in diverse environments.The creative ways in which "greenness" was incorporated into the construction of the buildings was fascinating.My wife and I want to build a "green" house, but I realized as I read this book that I really didn't know what that meant.The book is not a how-to manual for direct applications, but offers important perspectives that will likely apply to whatever project one may consider.The book serves as an excellent incubator to reflect on how you create a "green" house.We have a folder of ideas for our "green" house.This book dhowed us how we can make it happen - but without the final blue prints.The book also provided names and examples that provide key references to realizing "green" architecture.For example, we have names and ideas that we can incorporate into our collaboration with an architect for our house design.Overall, I highly recommmend it.

Over twenty residences are featured
Any home builder who would learn better ways to fit a home within a landscape or ecological environment would do well to consult The Green House: New Directions In Sustainable Architecture first: from tropics to urban jungles and arid Arizona deserts, the authors have traveled around the world studying sustainable or 'green' homes to determine which fit best into their environments. Over twenty residences are featured: the best of those which not only fit into their surroundings and are sustainable, but are also the best places to live. Color photos, blueprints and design specs, and comments on the unique features of each offer plenty of opportunity for learning what makes a home 'sustainable' and 'green'.
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Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Domestic    3. Ecological houses    4. Exhibitions    5. Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning    6. History - Specific Styles    7. Sustainable architecture    8. Architecture / General    9. Non-Classifiable   

Reviews (5)

Arcadian splendor
Bohlin Cywinski Jackson have a long illustrious history stemming from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, to Seattle, Washington.As such, this beautiful collection of twelve "arcadian" homes represent the tip of the iceberg of their collective work.In these immaculate residences you will find their signature details, many of them by James Cutler, who worked with Peter Bohlin on the Gates Residence and other projects.You will marvel at the romanticism of the Adirondack Retreat on Lake George, New York, with its granite boulder fireplace and natural cedar and fir interiors.Then there is the Endless Mountain House, located in Northeastern Pennsylvania, with its projected balconies atop crumbling fieldstone walls with a towering chimney anchoring one end of this evocative residence.The house appears as though it were built over ancient ruins.Nestled within these idyllic residential projects is the Pacific Rim Estate, co-authored by Bohlin and Cutler for Bill Gates on Lake Washington, near Seattle.It is a stunning work, not so much in its assemblage as in its marvelous kit of parts, from a barrel-vaulted garage buried into the wooded landscape to the beautiful timber connections in the main body of the residential complex.Here we see brute concrete and heavy timber blended naturally into the landscape, making for a surprisingly unassuming compound that incorporated many sustainable design features, including recycled heavy timber posts and beams.

Stunning Hardcover on Top Architect
This is one of the most well crafted books on a single architect. The scale and quality of the photographs, the packaging, it is the best gift you can offer to someone who has a passion for materials and detail.

outstanding!
an absolute treasure.this quite weighty volume covers thetop-notch residential work of BCJ in great detail - beautiful drawings and photography all work together to illustrate these wonderful buildings...highly recommended! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architectural Firms    2. Architecture    3. Domestic    4. Individual Architect    5. U.S. Architecture - General    6. Architecture / Individual Architect    7. Residential buildings, domestic buildings   

Reviews (9)

Should you buy French By Design?
I just did. The homes & rooms featured in this book indicate that money is no object and these homeowners want you to know it. Subtlety is non-existant. Rooms are very "we had a decorator & we spent a LOT". Most items looks too new, too ruffled, smocked, tucked and otherwise adorned. HOWEVER, if you can get past the pictures & READ THE TEXT- Phillips has a lot to say that is excellent. She lists sources & frequently shares fascinating comments on everyday details of French style (who knew about brass hardware vs brushed nickel?). If you read; buy it. If you look only at photos, don't! Charles Faudree is much better in the genre in my opinion.

Beautifully presented.
Another of Philips' beautiful French decorating books.Homes presented in this book, as with her other books are high end showing us the sumptuous fabrics, and lovely French furniture she specializes in.Homes shown are mostly mansions, not the average house. Good coffee table book.

Brilliant, Great Sense of Design, a Visual Delight
Not unlike all of Phillips' books, this book is a masterpiece of European syle and design.No detail is left unnoticed.The furniture, fabrics, antiques, architecture, artwork, and carved stone are each carefully considered and beautifully photographed.Every page is a visual delight.I cannot recommend it highly enough! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Architecture    3. Decorating    4. Decorating - General    5. Decoration and ornament, Rusti    6. Decoration and ornament, Rustic    7. Design & Construction    8. France    9. History    10. House & Home    11. Influence    12. Interior Design - Style Books    13. Interior decoration    14. United States    15. Architecture / Interior Design    16. Home furnishing & decoration    17. Interior design    18. c 1600 to c 1700   

Reviews (1)

Inspiring photos
We are considering a move to pacific Costa Rica (As the native ex-patriots call it "Hawaii for half the price") and this book is loaded with design ideas. In every way this book is a gem and I look and buy architectural design books quite frequently... this one blew me away. I often look at books on contemporary Mexican design as well as books with an Asian theme; Thai, Bali and Ibiza, Greece, in general homes with a coastal or tropical feel and with lots of mystery and sun. This book fulfils my requirements and without any waste. Some books will have a few great photos and alot of duds thrown in. Either photos that don't radiate much excitement or drama or are of mundane ho hum same same you have seen elsewhere and probably better. Or shots of mediocre furnishings ... This book firstly doesn't have one wasteful photo and it displays some of the great contemporary (Mexican) architects who you may want to design your next home... furthermore, it was wonderfuly edited so that you feel a great flow thoughout. You will also be impressed with some of the textiles and ideas for built in furniture. These homes have drama, mystery, and reflect a wonderful coexistence with the majesty of this beautiful coastal rocky terrain. They are homes which truly integrate into the surrounding nature with greatrespect for their environment rather then being ostentiousmonstrocities. These homes have a Wow factor as they are commanding but have subtle grace at the same time. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Design & Construction    3. Interior Design - General   

Reviews (15)

best bungalow book
Together writer Jane Powell and photographer Linda Svendsen create the best bungalow books on the market. Whether you are thinking of remodelling your bathroom, changing a few details, or just want to understand the history of your bathroom, this is the book to buy.
Four stars
The book has lots of photos for ideas and is interesting for renovators of bungalows.

ok, not enough variety of styles of bathrooms shown
I needed a good book to review lots of craftsman/bungalow bathrooms as we now own a 1911 bungalow and are restoring the bathroom. My husband is a tilesetter and I worked in architecture for years.
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Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Bathrooms    3. Decorating - General    4. History - Specific Styles    5. Home Improvement / Construction    6. Interior Design - General    7. Interior decoration    8. Remodeling    9. Remodeling & Renovation - Bathrooms    10. Architecture / Decoration & Ornament    11. Interior design   

Reviews (2)

Very Similar to Houses
I thoroughly loved his first residential book "Houses." With the amount of work he has done I expected this book to focus on new work but many of the same projects and pictures from the first book were used in this one.

Stern Yet Elegant
This book on Robert Stern, the latest in a series, is very well executed.Mr. Stern really has a knack for anachronistic grand homes, they are a throw back to another time, but with all the modern luxuries money can buy.Stern has a real feel for the kind of gardens that complement each type of home, and the interaction between the two is often quite breathtaking.The images in this book are first rate and the homes are amazing.If you appreciate excellent photography, elegant architecture, and spectacular homes and gardens then you will love this book ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Design & Construction    3. Individual Architect    4. Individual Architects Of The 20th Century    5. Residential Buildings Architecture    6. Architecture / Individual Architect    7. Individual architects   

Reviews (6)

Tuscan & Andalusian Reflections
Excellent source of Tuscan & Old World Architecture. Has helped the Design Dept. of my firm understand & grasp our clients ideas better and has allowed us to broaden our job market more with Better Renderings.

Beautiful Book
This is a great book to get ideas for building a Tuscan farm house.Also great ideas for interior decorating.

Tuscan - Californian class!
The Lagoni/Bassenian team knows how to put together unique Tuscan design with a domestic flair.I have purchased most of the other Tuscan design books currently available, and this book is one of the best.Complete color photographs make it easy to imagine. Gorgeous just to use as a coffee table book even if you are not using it for ideas! I LOVE this book!Their other book, Pure California, is also worth the money.These guys know what they are doing, and with class!BRAVO! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Decoration & Ornament    3. Home Improvement / Construction    4. House Plans   

Reviews (1)

A must read for construction people.
This is an excellent book that covers all aspects of building construction.The layout and content of the book are designed for easy reference and reading.A must for those who plan to take the Virginia Contractor's license exams. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Carpentry    2. Construction - Carpentry    3. House construction    4. Manufacturing    5. Science/Mathematics    6. Technology    7. Schools    8. Technology / Manufacturing   

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Art    3. Decorating - General    4. Design - General    5. Domestic    6. Handbooks, manuals, etc    7. Interior decoration    8. Art / Design / General    9. Decorative arts & crafts    10. Fashion design   

Reviews (2)

Very Poorly Written
This book is very poorly written. It also does not adequately discuss estimating materials.

Broad Outlook on Interior Products
This book is a good reference for anyone who is currently designing or building a luxury home, but for a general education on construction interiors, this is not the book.There are many references to the latestproducts, which include both color and feature description that will bequickly outdated.Most of the discussion centers around materials thatwould be used in an affluent home rather than your typical familyresidence, and product descriptions focus on the unique product, not thetypical.Dimensions for comfortable clearance and layout hints are usefulfor residential layout, but the commercial references are very limited. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Building materials    2. Construction - General    3. Decorating - General    4. Do-It-Yourself    5. Equipment and supplies    6. General    7. House & Home    8. Household appliances    9. Interior decoration    10. Plumbing    11. Technology & Industrial Arts    12. Art / Design / General    13. Home furnishing & decoration   

Reviews (4)

The new, new testament
This book is a must have for anyone in the crane industry, I train crane operators and the information is an invaluable resource which covers all aspects of cranage. It is well set out and concise, it covers everthing from basic safety principles through to complex engineering solutions. Save yourself some money in the long run by owning this book & teaching your operators and planners from the lessons learned by these guys. Your equipment will be preserved & costly mishaps will be avoided.

Excellent-
Good overall technical writting, Excellent, authoritative text on the subject
Well written, using language easily understood by the average technical reader with an interest in the field ( unlike many engineering tomes in my experience ).Also unlike many texts, proofreading and editing are skilled and thorough.Shapiro ackowledges in the preface to the first edition the roles of his co-author sons as "militant proponents of the clearly expressed thought".The success of that effort is obvious.Read more

Subjects:  1. Construction - General    2. Cranes, derricks, etc    3. Engineering - Civil    4. Machinery    5. Science/Mathematics    6. Technology    7. Technology & Industrial Arts    8. Tractors And Heavy Equipment    9. Building construction & materials    10. Mechanical engineering    11. Technology / Construction & Construction Trades   

Reviews (5)

Wow! Nice book and for a nice price!
For anyone who loves to do the Sunday-afternoon-drive-around-and-look-at-old-houses thing, this is the book for you. The quality of the photos is really impressive and while I suppose it'd best be described as a coffee-table book, it also contains a fair quantity of information about the houses and their style and influence and history of design.
You have to be out of your mind to like this book
This book is the evident that the housing projects in the United States are mere products of the market force that lack inspiration, imagination, and progressive attitude.People who praise this book for its beautiful photographs only expose the biggest flaw in this book: there is no content.All the homes in this book are built on false premises of consumerist culture.There is no attempt to make the houses affordable or challenging the notion of domestic living.People may have bought the book because they like the drape or the furniture in it, but you will be better off buying yourself a copy of Martha Stewart's "Living" for that purpose.Don't waste your money on propelling the cycle of our wasteful culture, give that money to the charity and you will sleep better at night.

Multo-Bene! Aram
This book documents what I have understood for many years. BLA is one the premier american residential architectural firms. Beautiful work! Fabulous projects! A joy to peruse. The book has interior and exterior photos of several "Pure" California design approaches from Spanish, to Coastal, to Tuscan style. If you are building a home, or enjoy good architecture, you will not be disappointed. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Domestic    3. General    4. U.S. Architecture - General   

Subjects:  1. Construction - General    2. Corporate Finance    3. Engineering    4. Engineering - General    5. Engineering Economics    6. Estimates    7. Science/Mathematics    8. Technology    9. Technology & Industrial Arts    10. Budgeting & financial management    11. Quantity surveying    12. Technology / Construction & Construction Trades   

Reviews (11)

Terrible
This book is full of errors. The publisher will do great service to the engineering profession (to humanity by extension) by immediately withdrawing this book from the market. Unorganized, incoherent, almost schizophrenic.

A great book for design
There are seven of us (structural engineer / bridge designer) have been using this book successfully for our daily bridge design. Very Badly Written
Like all of Professor Nawy's books, this one is extremely badly written.There are numerous typos and mistakes, although some are kind of entertaining.The Reinforced Concrete Book for example discusses the "modulus of rapture" of concrete.The chapter on Unbonded Post-tensioning in the Concrete Construction book discusses "prostrating tendons".Read more

Subjects:  1. Engineering - Civil    2. Prestressed Concrete Structures    3. Prestressed concrete    4. Science/Mathematics    5. Technology    6. Technology & Industrial Arts    7. Building construction & materials    8. Civil Engineering, Surveying & Building    9. Technology / Construction & Construction Trades   

Reviews (4)

Mediterranean Architecture At Its Finest
I love these elegant books put out by Acanthus Press.This book has vivid period black and white images of great american homes in the Mediterranean style.This is a reprint of a book first realized in the 20's.The images and text really make one appreciate the craftmanship and grace of the era.They really don't build buildings. like this anymore, whether they be for residential or commercial use.If you have any interest in wondeful period images, or singular craftmanship, then you will love this book.

Primarily southern CA architecture.
This was a good coffee table book.Or, if you're interested in the "Mediterranean" look that would be more precisely refered to as "spanish revival" or "Santa Barbara" this is a great example of the architecture of southern CA in the earlier part of the last century.A very popular and good looking style.Only thing, for a style reference it could have used more floor plans of the homes.

Shadows on Stucco Walls
I find this book a compelling record of a style and period of architecture I love. This is a reprint of a 1929 book, the period black & white photos and drawings are well realized and reveal a lot detail. There are also plans shown for most of the houses illustratedRead more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Architecture    3. Architecture, Domestic    4. Design & Construction    5. Home Improvement / Construction    6. Italian influences    7. Spanish influences    8. United States   

Subjects:  1. Buildings    2. Construction - General    3. Science/Mathematics    4. Standards    5. Standards, Engineering    6. Technology    7. Technology & Industrial Arts    8. Building construction & materials    9. Reference works    10. Technology / Construction & Construction Trades   

Subjects:  1. Architectural Drawing    2. Architecture    3. Building Details Finishing    4. Ceilings    5. Construction - General    6. Design & Drafting    7. Engineering - Civil    8. Flooring    9. Paint    10. Paneling    11. Public, Commercial, or Industrial Buildings    12. Reference    13. Standards    14. Architectural structure & design    15. Architecture / Reference    16. Building construction & materials    17. Reference works   

Reviews (1)

Excellent Reference Book
I have many years of architectural drafting experience. Although this book says "Basic Skills" on the cover, it is much more than basic. It's an excellent reference book, covering everything that is needed for interior design drafting: from line weights to scale, dimensioning, plans, elevations, sections, checklists, furniture and finish schedules, contract documents, and the list goes on. I highly recommend this book for students of interior design and practising designers alike. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Building    3. Building Construction    4. Construction - General    5. Decorating    6. Details    7. Drafting & Mechanical Drawing    8. Drafting Technology    9. Drawings    10. Interior Design - General    11. Interior architecture    12. Structural drawing    13. Technology    14. Architecture / Interior Design    15. Computer aided design (CAD)    16. Engineering graphics & technical drawing    17. Home furnishing & decoration    18. Interior design   

Reviews (36)

An Excellent Reference
As an architect, I use this book as a reference tool. The library of photos contained within this book sometimes help when trying to develop the characteristics of a certain style of building.I have even used to with a few clients who say thay want this or that look. I then have them thumb through this book and show them the style they have mentioned only to have then say "No, this is the style I'm talking about" pointing to another style.
And it has a Sears Home inside!!
For many years, I've written about historic architecture and vintage homes and have also written four books on this topic (including "The Houses That Sears Built").
Excellent Primer and Reference
"Field Guide" is the first reading required of all graduate students in at least one highly esteemed university degree program in historic preservation.It is also one of those rare books that serves well as both an introduction to and a reference for its subject.
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Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Architecture, Domestic    3. Description and travel    4. Domestic    5. Guidebooks    6. Guides    7. Reference    8. U.S. Architecture - General    9. United States    10. Architecture / Reference   

Reviews (13)

The Not So Big House Collection
Quick and easy transaction.Fast to get it shipped out.Very satisfied with condition and entire sales process!

Good Reference
Nice reference and will hopefully be useful on our next project.Good photo ideas.

Unique Slant
It's evident Ms Susanka has fashioned a niche for sleek, tasteful and refined living. She seperates style from fashion with a keen eye set for timeless architecture. She stresses quality over quantity in square footage. I was pleased with the quality of these books. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Design & Construction    3. Do-It-Yourself    4. Domestic    5. House & Home    6. House & Home / General    7. Interior design