Book Description

This volume provides the opening work in Christopher Alexander's seminal trilogy on architecture (continued in A Pattern Language and The Oregon Experiment).Here he provides a fascinating introduction to the ideas behind the succeeding two books. ... Read more

Reviews (14)

5 stars for software building 3 for architecture
This is the book that set the whole software patterns movement in motion. It's a great read. It made me realize how the builder blew it when they made my house. One small design change, the house is 1 ft too narrow makes it impossible to put a screen door on the front door. It made them build a extra platform which causes people to fall down into the living room.

On the other hand, if I was building a building I'd use his visualization techniques before I drew plans. But I wouldn't use this technique to actually construct a building. It would triple the cost. (The essence is to build it as you need it.)

On the other hand he explains why swiss barns look "alike" without the need for a design review committee. (Or barns in general.)

As for software, Design patterns give programmers a way to talk about problems and solutions without talking about code. Its a great idea and I use software patterns all the time. (Get the GOF book for actual software patterns.) Read this one to understand how they came onto this idea.

this book blew me away
I bought this book because i am about to build a house. Coincidentally, i am also a senior software engineer and very familiar with design patterns in my field - i use them every day. They work very well for programming computers.

This book, however, literally takes the concept of living patterns to architecture, and, by extension of the act of creation, to life itself.

At the same time as being a great philosophical read, it's also a handy guide to building a house. Bonus points for the author: The book can be read in 15 minutes (reading the "detailed table of contents"), in one hour (reading only the headlines), or in the full. These modes of reading the book come from the author's emphasis of the whole over the parts, e.g. the whole is more than the sum of its parts.

I am not entirely sure that, as the author promises, i will now be able to go and build a house, without drawing a plan... but that this idealistic goal is in practice hard to attain does not make the incredibly deep insights in this book any less true or any less practical.

Like another reader said - the book changed the way i think about... everything!

Patterns as described in this book are far more refined than anything we use in computer science, and that he sees them in a much broader light. The central grandiose idea is the one of complete interconnectedness of the patterns - the whole, which is more than the sum of its parts.

The Etymology of Software Architecture
I found this book so mesmerizing that I read it twice. During the first pass, I was surprised that the book was so philosophical and poetic in describing architecture. I expected something more technical. Later during the second pass, my goal was to find derivatives and analogies in software architecture. Based on what I found, I think every software architect would enjoy this book.

The writing style that I noticed in my first read of the book made me feel like I was reading an architecture bible. I hesitate to describe the book as religious, but the book's description "the power to make buildings beautiful lies in each of us already" and the description of the word "alive" giving architecture "the quality without a name" triggered an epiphany when recalling that the Bible says "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." and, "So God created man in his own image." This is why I'd say this book has a primal, sacred aspect, and this is why we like to build. Additionally, the book especially moved me so my mind's eye was opened to see "alive" patterns and to think about the morphology of architecture filling voids and generating towns.

On the second pass of reading, I was struck by this software architecture analogy in the table of contents: "16. Once we have understood how to discover individual patterns which are alive, we may then make a language for ourselves for any building task we face. The structure of the language is created by the network of connections among individual patterns: and the language lives, or not, as a totality, to the degree these patterns form a whole." Could this be the guidebook for designing enterprise software architecture?

Obviously this book was the inspiration for the philosophy and vocabulary for software architecture, and I thought some of the following excerpts were noteworthy paradigm shifts.

"The patterns are not just patterns of relationships, but patterns of relationships among other smaller patterns, which themselves have still other patterns hooking them together---and we see finally, that the world is entirely made of all these interhooking, interlocking nonmaterial patterns." This sounds like the difference between patterns of software architecture and object-oriented software design patterns.

"Each pattern is a three-part rule, which expresses a relation between a certain context, a problem, and a solution." Deja vu for software patterns.

"You may be afraid that the design won't work if you take just one pattern at a time...There is no reason to be timid...The order of the language will make sure that it is possible." Likewise in software architecture design, as one design pattern is considered at a time to see how it fits needs into the large picture of design. If this pattern is later deemed to be dead, it can be replaced by an "alive" design pattern.

"Next, several acts of building, each one done to repair and magnify the product of the previous acts, will slowly generate a larger and more complex whole than any single act can generate." This correlates to software refactoring.

"It is essential, therefore, that the builder build only from rough drawings: and that he carry out the detailed patterns from the drawings according to the processes given by the pattern language in his mind." When I read this, I thought about the metaphor to the software architect's vision and design. The software architect's design needs to be abstract enough to accommodate change easily, but yet simple enough so software programmers can understand it, finish the detailed component design and build the component to fit the architectural whole.

A Powerful Way of Thinking
Alexander's "A Timeless Way of Building" is a philosophical treatise which has informed my thinking profoundly. Without any formal training or interest in architecture, per se, this book has opened a world of awe for me. Awe of language, of systems, of people. It almost reads as a spiritual text - but with the credibility afforded only to those who clearly address specific content (architecture and city planning, in this case). Alexander's writing is clean and precise. His ideas are powerful, they are more true today than in '79 and in more domains than architecture. I recommend this to anyone who is curious about how systems work.

Very much worth noting
Towards the end of his life, the philosopher and teacher Jiddu Krishnamurti enjoyed having sections from the Timeless Way read to him each evening. ... Read more

Book Description

The 20th edition of Sir Banister Fletcher's A History of Architecture is the first major work of history to include an overview of the architectural achievements of the 20th Century. Banister Fletcher has been the standard one volume architectural history for over 100 years and continues to give a concise and factual account of world architecture from the earliest times.


In this twentieth and centenary edition, edited by Dan Cruickshank with three consultant editors and fourteen new contributors, chapters have been recast and expanded and a third of the text is new.
* There are new chapters on the twentieth-century architecture of the Middle East (including Israel), South-east Asia, Hong Kong, Japan and Korea, the Indian subcontinent, Russia and the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe and Latin America.* The chapter on traditional architecture of India has been rewritten and the section on traditional Chinese architecture has been expanded, both with new specially commissioned drawings
* The architecture of the Americas before 1900 has been enlarged to include, for the first time, detailed coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean
* The book's scope has been widened to include more architecture from outside Europe
* The bibliography has been expanded into a separate section and is a key source of information on every period of world architecture
* The coverage of the 20th century architecture of North America has been divided into two chapters to allow fuller coverage of contemporary works
* 20th century architecture of Western Europe has been radically recast
* For the first time the architecture of the twentieth century is considered as a whole and assessed in an historical perspective
* Coverage has been extended to include buildings completed during the last ten years
* The coverage of Islamic architecture has been increased and re-organised to form a self contained section

This unique reference book places buildings in their social, cultural and historical settings to describe the main patterns of architectural development, from Prehistoric to the International Style.Again in the words of Sir Banister Fletcher, this book shows that 'Architecture ... provides a key to the habits, thoughts and aspirations of the people, and without a knowledge of this art the history of any period lacks that human interest with which it should be invested.'

*Winner of the International Architecture Book Award, The American Institute of Architects Book of the Century.

*THE source book for the historical development of architecture ... Read more

Reviews (6)

The Best Complete Book on Western Architecture
Without a doubt, this text is the Quintessential Gold Standard for introductory Western Architecture. A must have for anybody who is serious about learning about how Western Architecture has evolved over time, and with little if any bias. Its only weak area is with architectural development in Asia and South/Central Meso America. Other than that, this is my third copy of the text and it just keeps getting better. Believe me when I say, this is one book you may never want to loan out, for it may not get returned. I know, it's happened to me once already.

The Best
This is the best book written on architecture history. I have used it many times and I'm not an architect nor an architecture student. You can't go wrong with this for anyone who enjoys architecture or an architect. A wonderful gift!

Full of historical detail
Mine is a new 1975 edition (which was a small fraction of the new price). It is as much a history of the world--and an incredibly detailed one--as a history of architecture. It opens each of its 40 chapters with a discussion of a civilization or era, then describes the buildings very matter-of-factly. Sometimes opinions emerge: Louis Kahn is cited as an example of a flash-in-the-pan; FLLW's Guggenheim is criticized as impractical.

The photos are top quality B/W, often very old. Its real strength is early architecture; by chapter 35, it is only finishing up the Rennaissance. The authors are so knowledgeable, the writing so effortless, all others pale by comparison.

I don't think there's much of a market for these books outside of libraries, but those who read it will marvel at its erudition.

It's just so.....juicy!
For over a century, this has been THE classic study of the history of architecture. It is a work of art in it's own right and worth owning simply for the joy of hefting it's not inconsiderable weight and browsing once in a while - even as a layman. The text is extraordinarily readable and the illustrations are a delight. It's so packed full of information - believe me, even if you have only a limited interest in architecture you will learn a great deal that will surprise you from this book! Enthusiasts for classical and other older branches of architecture may wish to consider purchasing second-hand copies of older editions - they're somehow nicer, and devote less space to the debased modern form of the art. (Yes, I'm biased and proud of it!:) Of a reasonable collection of architectural history books, (including several larger-format, beautifully-illustrated coffee-table books in the modern style)this book is easily my favourite. It has class, style and above all, character. Buy it!

Wow! Wow! Wow!
If there ever was a book on the history of architecture this is it! So very well documented with numerous pictures and chronologies. Wow! the mother of all architecture books-well worth the price. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

One of the best.
A very informative and usefull book for all designers.

DO NOT BUY! it's hard to imagine a more worthless book
This book is a fiasco. As a professional in commercial space planning for many years, I picked it up based on a 'glowing review'. I find another few good ratings here on-line. The authors mother must be writing them, because no one who actually attempted to verify the faulty and incomplete information within, could ever see this tome as worth the paper upon which it is printed.

One reviewer was accurate though; it isn't a bad door stop.

Interior Graphic and Design Standards
This is a very good book. Deals with the in and out of the interior design standards

* WARNING: THIS BOOK'S BEST USE IS AS A DOOR STOP! *
...so S T O P; don't buy this book. It's Junk. Anyone who's been in the profession a while knows it because many of us received it as a Designer's Book Club intro title in the late 80's or early 90's. It wasn't worth the cost of its S&H! Ask around to people in the profession and look it over first. I received mine while having just a few years of experience in practice. Initally excited and impressed with myself having identifed a clear technical error, my feelings quickly changed to surprise and then anger as I began to realize the whole book was packed w/ errors and critical omissions. It was generally a frustratingly incompetent presentation with widely incomplete information on its proposed subjects. That the editors and publisher let this trash out, and were, I presume, making their livings with this level of incompetence was disheartening.

Interior Graphic and Design Standards
An excellent book for "standard" measurements and dimensions of both commercial and residential spaces. A wonderful teaching tool! A book that should be on the shelves of every interior designer, architect and design professor. ... Read more

Book Description

Since its release in 1946, this has been one of the most widely recognized and respected resources for architects, engineers, and designers, bringing together the knowledge, techniques, and skills of some of the most well-known experts in the field

The new Eighth Edition takes a fresh, visual approach to the information architects need to access quickly, helping them save time and money by assuring they get it right the first time.

Readers will find timely, new chapters on building security, natural disaster mitigation, building diagnostics, facility management, and much more. The accompanying CD-ROM contains the complete contents of the Eighth Edition. ... Read more

Book Description

Even in the earliest stages of the design process, architects must be aware of the impact that environmental factors, building codes, and structural demands will have on a building. Newly revised and updated, the "rules of thumb" in this valuable reference make it possible to complete preliminary design work without spending too much time investigating technical issues. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Great choice for architecture students!
This book offers a great way for architecture students to get a handle on some of the issues related to building design. It deals with basic issues of construction including structural systems, mechanical systems, and code considerations. It gives "rules of thumb" and basic descriptions which are great for preliminary design. For example, if you need to roughly size a truss or floor system during schematic design, go the appropriate section for the system you are using, and you'll find handy charts for basic sizing. This is a great book for students who need rough "guestimates" for studio projects.

For professionals and students alike!
Having this book is like having a half-dozen of the best engineering consultants at your elbow-ready to answer any question that may come up during design. It reduces all the complex technical issues in building design to simple formal elements of know size that are easily merged into the architectural design process. A must-have for professionals and students alike!

Students opinion
As an Architecture Student this book has come in very hand. It gives many details of design guidelines and is a wonderful resource book to own. ... Read more

Book Description

An all-in-one architectural practice toolkit! AIA Kemper Award winner James R. Franklin'sArchitect's Professional Practice Manual is a no-nonsense compendium of well-tested methods, valuable tips, and contracts, forms, checklists, and other tools in a graphics-oriented, at-a-glance format. Beginning with how to position yourself in the marketplace, it takes you through the entire process of marketing, pricing, negotiating, designing, and carrying out projects, showing you how to build repeat client business while maintaining your joy and profitability through exemplary practices. This lean-and-clean fieldbook stresses the project-driven principles of good practice, emphasizing collaborative behavior, doing right by the client and the people you work with and for, as a key to upward mobility. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

REAL FROM THE TRENCHES ADVICE
If you are opening or running a small architecural practice, this book is IT! Real life- from the treches advice, that I used right away. The format is readable and visually clear. More than worth the price. I hope my competitors don't buy it. Franklin is the guru of good practice!

By an architect for architects
Excellent grouping of ideas. The author doesn't talk down to you, doesn't talk over your head, and doesn't have the ego of saying he knows everything. This is current, timely, and easy to read. The adhoc diagrams are exactly the kind of medium that is effective to architects. I'm buying another and requiring the entire office to read it.

Great source for any professional architect
This book is a wonderful source for architecture firm owners, and employees working in small firms. The "hands-on" diagrams give you the clear vision on proceedures, rules, and guides. Included in this book are tips, and tools you can use to organize yourself, understand cause and effect relations, and help you work more efficiently. Great not only to read, but I use it as a reference often. I have hundreds of books, but this is one of the select few that resides on my desk!

Great Book for architect negotiations
I really enjoyed this book. It is a great book to reference for business negotionating. It is put togther so very well that makes it enjoyable to read as well as an extremely awesome resource. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Great book
I am a Graphic Design student in Kansas City. Finding anyone to teach you marker rendering is impossible, yet the field demands you have this talent. This book is a great start. I've looked all over for good books on this subject and they are rare. The book is in FULL color, with plenty of exercises. He also tells you the exact marker he used in each drawing, to keep u on track. And works through all perspective problems. It's inspiring just flipping through the pages. However, it still demands practice and discipline, but with this book it will help. If you've been scared of marker rendering, start with this book, it will get u on your feet.

This is a great learning tool.
I had been looking for a book on marker rendering for some time. I researched many and checked them out before purchasing this one. This book is great for "how to" learning. The author shows the steps in three sequences from your black line drawing to fully colored using Prismacolor pens. I highly recommend this book if you look at drawings and wonder-How did they get that effect? I have always been afraid of markers and I just did my first presentation with them and felt great! ... Read more

Book Description

This unique guide provides a systematic overview of the idea of architectural space.

Bryan Lawson provides an ideal introduction to the topic, breaking down the complex and abstract terms used by many design theoreticians when writing about architectural space. Instead, our everyday knowledge is reintroduced to the language of design. Design values of 'space' are challenged and informed to stimulate a new theoretical and practical approach to design.

This book views architectural and urban spaces as psychological, social and partly cultural phenomena. They accommodate, separate, structure, facilitate, heighten and even celebrate human spatial behaviour.

* Helps to reconnect your everyday implicit knowledge with your professional conceptual knowledge
* Gain a greater understanding of clients by questioning the values you commonly hold
* Promotes easier communication by taking the abstract idea of 'space' and placing it in real terms ... Read more

Book Description

The distinguishing feature of the construction manuals from Edition Detail and the internationally renowned journal Detail is the exceptional quality of the information it imparts. These books have set new standards and become indispensable in the daily work of planning and building. They are now being published in English for the first time. This volume shows the wide range of possibilities for using glass in construction, beginning with a historical overview of glass in architecture. It goes on to explore the principles of construction, providing information on the physical properties of glass together with the practical aspects such as fixing systems. Also investigated are different types of glass, energy-saving aspects, norms and guidelines. The entire spectrum in contemporary glass building is documented with a large number of international examples. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Professional grade
This is a complete compendium of engineering information for the most typical use of glass--as a window. Everything needed to analyze a building's energy budget--at least for the German climate--is presented and well explained, as is daylighting. Atria and double leaf facades are discussed at the end to summarize the principles. There is also a comprehensive section on the mechanical properties of glass: resistance to wind loads, how to attach it, etc.
Only downside is the quality of the translation (I assume), which results in an occasional unusual sentence: "As no energy can be lost from the total system, the balance of the incident energy must be able to be resolved mathematically."
Nothing that impairs understanding though.

Beautifull, Informative, and well done
This is one of the better books that I have seen on the topic of curtain wall design. It is full of very accurate amd well explained techincal information as well labeled details. The project section is a comprehensive study of some of the most complex curtain walls built. This section is full of detail drawings and color images of the built details. This is a MUST HAVE book for anyone working on complex wall systems, or anyone interested in the state of the art in curtain wall design. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Disappointingly scant content
I know I'm going to anger some of the folks who really believe in this book, but I was really disappointed with how slim and scant the educational content was. There are very many black and white illustrations of the students' work related to Itten's teachings. And his outlook is very pure and creative. I really enjoyed that aspect of this book, but expected more meat! I wanted to know more specifically about conflict. I wanted him to go deeper. As it is, he brings up a well ordered set of concepts, explains them clearly and then moves on. In my opinion this book is wildly overpriced. I probably would give it four stars had it only cost me between seven and fifteen dollars. At thirty and change it's not worth it.

lighting the creative spark in everyone
This book is not a step by step syllabus to follow blindly. Itten wrote this book to share the fundamental principles that he taught all his students (no matter how advanced) before allowing them to pursue higher classes and goals at his school.

The book is broken down into sections that (to anyone who's had art training) seem simple enough: chiaroscuro, form, color, rhythm, etc. but Itten teaches not so much the technical aspect of art as a new way of seeing the world, a way of creating from the whole body and mind, not just with a paintbrush (or computer graphics program).

The sections are all punctuated with many examples of student work that relate to the topic covered. Often, it is these examples that really drive his points home.

Just as Itten believed that everyone was capable of being creative and thought the basic course was valuable to all levels of art students and even teachers, this book is applicable for both those who are looking for an introduction into creating, and those who consider themselves expert artists already. I guarantee there will be at least one idea in the book to make you stop and ponder and suddenly challenge your way of thinking on the matter.

Itten is a god, bow down.
Itten made the world as we know it today. Without his guidence, none of the products you buy, art you look at, or anything else would be what it is today. If you are a designer or art monger, you owe it to yourself to read this book. It is a discription of his Basic Course (everyone had to take it...) at the Bauhaus in Weimar written by Itten himself. ... Read more

Book Description

Detailing production design for theater, opera, and ballet, Designing and Drawing for the Theater provides a professional picture and encyclopedic reference of the design process. Lavishly illustrated with detailed lined drawings and photographs, the book conveys the beauty and excitement of production design. To further convey a real-life picture of the design process, each chapter is followed by a conversation with an outstanding designer working in today's theater. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

A great general reference
The text provides names of existing professionals in all the fields of theatre design. It provides many production photos and technical drawings to use as examples. The book also provides something unique: interviews with designers and draftspeople. If you are looking for a general guide to design, this is a great source for visuals. It contains a step by step guide on the design process, but in reality it is a general guide on how to design without messing up royally.

The word "design" doesn't belong in the title
I ordered this book after reading evryone's raving rviews, and expected to get a really great book. I must say, though, that I was disappointed. Depending on what kind of book you are looking for, it can be good or bad. What the book does have is immense collections of details for different objects - dozens of different window frames, for example, or many options for stair railings. What I found missing from this book is theory. The author talks lengthly about all sorts of details such as how long it takes to strike different kinds of sets, or what kinds of specifications a scenic shop needs in order to build a set. All of this stuff is pointless if you haven't yet designed a set. I think that the author should either have talked about different scenic styles, disscussed the use of color and proprtions and talked about the creative process involved in designing a set and being part of a whole production. Since she did not do this, I suggest that in her next edition of the book she remove the word "design" from the title. I also suggest that she arrange the pictures (which are actually great) so that on the page where she writes about a certain kind of scenery, there are pictures of those kinds of sets - especially since she had the right pictures stuck in different parts of the book so it is just a matter of putting them onto the right pages.

One thing that I found exclusive to this book as opposed to other books (aside from the lack of solid content and over-abundance of pointless precticalities) was the extensive interviews with designers such as Ming Cho Lee and John Napier. All though her questions as well kept on missing the point and dealing with irrelevant pracicalities, it is amazing to find such a collection of interveiws. Though you must agree with me that it is very stupid to have a chance to talk to some of the greatest designers of the century and then ask them questions like "So how many inches apart were the backdrops hung when the were flown?" or "What were the exact dimensions of the conveyor belts that you used in 'Annie'?". The questions that I would have liked to hear the answers to are things that you couldn't ask anyone else, such as "So what made you decide to use that particular style?" or "What kind of artists, if any, have effected your designs over the years?".

So this is a great book if you already know what you are doing in theater design and need some workshop techniques and to copy Ms.Pecktal's doorframes and wallpaper patterns.

www.earthcorp.com/ELInet

excelent for the student studing scene design
excelent for the student studing scene design, it goes over all the basics a person will need to know when coming into this feild, like how to book your self, how to arive at a concept and tools, skills and knowlege you will need to have to be a great scene designer.

A must-have designer's reference...
This wonderful book, though pricey, is worth every penny. It's full of hundreds of pictures, great interviews with designers, and lots of reference materials (pages of doors or windows or chairs or whatever else it is that you need). Whenever I'm stuck on a design, I can always find inspiration--or at least hours of distraction--in this book. Especially useful for the begining design student.

A "must-have" book. Expensive but invaluable.
There is simply no other book available today on this subject that can compare. Every library and serious professional needs to own a copy. Put it on the shelf with the priceless (and long out of print) "Stage Design Throughout The World" series. Included are hundreds of illustrations of the work of the best American theatre designers: undeniably the most influential and dynamic designers in world theatre during this period. It illustrates what is likely to be known as the high-water mark of American theatrical design. Anyone who has ever done compelling design work in the theatre is here. Students, professionals and amateurs, indeed, anyone who loves the performing arts, will devour it at one sitting then browse with deepened pleasure over a lifetime. A "must have." Get it before it goes out of print! ... Read more

Book Description

The architecture student's bible, revised, with expanded coverage of digital portfolios and seventy new illustrations. A portfolio is the essential tool for a job search, graduate school or grant application, or competition entry. This new edition of a bestseller continues to cover every aspect of portfolio planning and production, with increased emphasis on digital strategies, and it includes reviews of actual student portfolios by three industry professionals. 23 color illustrations. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

I found this book to extremely well-organized and wonderful!
Portfolio Design is probably the best book on the subject for those involved in architecture and the related disciplines who are looking for support and guidance on how to design their portfolio with artistry and a clear sense of legibility and organiaztion. I found it to be highly recommended by faculty and students and then purchased a copy for myself to see. I graduated this past spring and i know many people who have similar experiences not knowing what to do about your work for grad school apps or employment interviews - this text helped enormously. The author is a well-respected artist and professor of architecture with many other books to his name.I heard him lecture at the AIAS National Forum this past week - and wow - everyone was really interested in what was presented - how to approach the problem - its all broken down for you. I think it would help anyone who wants design guidance with artistry.

AWESOME
Simply put, it covers everything about potfolio DESIGN...it's just that. With excellent info. for layouts with creative styling. It's a fresh approach to building your portfolio with great illustrations to help you along the way. I would strongly suggest this book to anyone!

Remember this book is about the DESIGN aspect...you will not be disappointed if you keep this in mind.

Thank you
I'm preparing to transfer 4 year college and I didn't have any idea what do I have to ready for portfolio. This book give me a lot of idea to help get ready and find way of out line.

Inspiring !
The best thing about this book is its mind-opening perspective ! It helped me set a new standard for myself and my portfolio by providing me with the best information and insight.

I immediately became inspired. I would recommend this book as a "must" for any creative person trying to communicate the body of their work.

A portfolio has never been easier
This book is clear and concise in its goal to help its reader develop and design a portfolio which best displays their work. The many pictures booth color and black and white, only futher exhibit the extreme knowlege of the author, when it comes to the portfolio design. All I can say is "where is Portfolio Design Part Two"! ... Read more

Book Description

Architecture Exam Review, Volume I: Structural Topics offers a comprehensive review of the ARE structural exam topics, including structural systems, building loads, wood and steel construction, soils and foundations, and lateral forces. The book provides 160 practice questions, with solutions, and test-taking strategy. The text is enhanced by illustrations, figures, and tables, along with a detailed index. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Targeted to Actual Exam
I found the Ballast guides to be concentrated specifically on the exams that we are acutally going to take. The subjects were organized and concise. Not too much time was spent on "advanced" topics not necessary for the structural topics tested in the exam. It provided most of the rules of thumbs that can be used by architects not only for the exam, but everyday practice. One could purchase the guide strictly as a desk side companion.

Informative and concise.
This book is a complete study guide for the major structural topics and questions for the architectural licensing exam. My overall enthusiasm for this book was average. I found that there were chapters that were too vague or simply did not have enough information on specific equations. I also found that I did have to supplement the studying from this book with my own notes from my structures courses along with additional study material from other sources. I do recommend this book for anyone wishing to brush up on thier studying for the Lateral Forces and General Structures portions of the ARE/NCARB. Keep in mind, as with any other division of the exam, this would not be a single source for study material.

This book is a great helper in the study of the ARE
This book offers a great summary of the main issues tested in the A.R.E. Although it should not be used as the only resource to study from, it explains most of the terms in a clear and concise manner. Be forewarned, the book does not provide enough information to pass any of the 9 parts. The test taker must use other resources to find and understand all of the required information to prepare successfully for the exam. ... Read more

Book Description

Architectural students have for generations learned the essence of building design through the pages of "Graphic Standards": the drawings, charts, detailed illustrations, originally developed by architects George Ramsey and Harold Sleeper, that represent building components and systems, including everything from door frames to roof designs, to air ducts to outdoor sports facilities. Beginning ten years ago, Wiley began offering a student edition of the primary book, Architectural Graphic Standards, which was created as an abridgment of the prior edition of that book. This new student edition will be an abridgment of the present 9th edition, offering all the essential features of that very successful edition in an easily accessible and affordable format. Also, new to this student edition will be a greater offering of "Design guidelines," giving the student and instructor alike greater opportunity to use this publication as a teaching tool. ... Read more

Reviews (17)

The Big Red Book
It has 154 more pages than the 9th edition, so it has new information, but as you page through it you will find it seems almost identical. They need to keep most of the old data, so I wouldn't take off points for that. You can see the publisher's review for all of the new features: I noticed that the Historic Preservation chapter has been shortened a bit.

Potentially, the biggest addition is the CD-ROM, which has CAD files ready to use, and includes pretty much everything from the book. You might think that you are getting all that for the cost of the book, but...no. The "demo" CD comes in a sleeve inside the back cover, and is noted: "Full functionality, Limited data." You can access a drawing of a bar joist, for example. It exports a DWG or DXF file with layers based on line weights. The interface is pretty clear; you don't have to read any instructions to start using it. The CD actually has all of the data, but you have to pay another $425 online to "unlock" it. That could be a bargain, but I suspect that most firms will feel that their own detail library is more applicable to the work they do. Still, $425 represents less than a day's worth of billable hours.

Every architect knows the value of this book, and most every architecture firm (in the U.S. anyway) will want at least one copy just to stay current, and because the old one is getting worn out. You might as well get it now, and decide on the CD-ROM later. I'd love to have a special edition set with each page ever published in all of the AGS books, or even just the last 3 or 4. I'd give that 6 stars.

An Architect's Best Friend
This book is one of the best reference books an architect will ever use. It contains the necessary information for the beginning and advanced architect. Inside the 568 pages in this book one will find from the most basic to the highly complex architectural graphics. The book provides reference for the various arcchitectural plans such as the floor plan, elevation and perspective drawings. No other reference material can surpass the amount of information provided in this excellent book.

Be careful, this is the 1932 edition!
I bought this book thinking that it was the recent version, but it's a reissue of the 1932 edition! The publishing date is 1998 and the title makes no mention of the antiquated material. This book is an interesting historical work but is useless as a contemporary reference. Make sure you get the "10th Edition" published in 2000 if you want the recent one. I'm trying to return my 1932 antique now.

Lots of Hay, but Very Few Needles
Once again the editors of Graphic Standards have promised a useful reference for architects, and have fallen way short. In architecture school (1972), I purchased the sixth edition and found it better than most reference books for students of architecture. However, even then I noticed many sections of questionable value. Pages and pages of dimensions of designer furniture and kitchenware fall into this category.

Recently, after practicing architecture for 20 years, I was suckered back by publisher Wiley's siren song of how the new tenth edition is new, informative, refreshing, up to date, etc. Fooled again. Sure, the Graphic Standards is a fair source of information, but I question the editors' judgement as to what is worth publishing between the wonderfully bound front and rear cover. For example, look up "R-value" in the index and you are directed to 55 words on page 486 how R-value relates to windows and that it's the inverse of U-values. Nothing on the R-value of all exterior skin construction materials or how the R-value relates poorly to thermal massing materials. These things should be very important to architects and are disappointingly absent from the Graphic Standards. However, if you ever need to know what a Zamboni looks like, or need to know the dimensions required for a rodeo barrel race, this is your book! Want an entire page showing ten pieces of gymnastics equipment (pg. 777) or how to draw an ellipse using pen or pencil (pg.999)? Seek no more. Twenty four pages of kitchen utensils and garden tools are still there. This is the best place to find loads of pages of barely useful information of dubious worth.

Once the editors of Graphic Standards discover that a meaningful discussion on R-values in building materials deserves more space than the dimensions of a belt sander, then I might reconsider purchasing a later edition, but I won't hold my breath. Oh, one more thing, for you architects out there working on a Macintosh platform, the accompanying CD-ROM is useless.

Disappointed from Texas
If I had read some of the reviews I would never had purchased the book. When I looked at it closely I realized that it was something I really couldn't use because it did not include the up to date building requirements. If the title shown had mentioned 1932 edition it would have helped in my decsion whether to purchase the book or not. One thing I learned was that I need to check and double check before I purchase. ... Read more

Book Description

Finally, a definitive text that reveals the art and science of golf course architecture. It is also practical for it explains tee, green and bunker construction, turfgrass establishment and maturation, as well as drainage and irrigation trends and techniques—generously supplemented by hundreds of color photos, drawings, and architectural plans. Dr. Hurdzan is refreshingly frank in his discussion of golf and the environment, and golf course improvement and restoration. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

All does not read well that starts well and ends well
Starts off very well with the hope that it will get more technical but instead becomes more theoretical in areas such as aesthetics and fine art, areas which the author seems to not have a background in. ie, his discussion of perception, symmetry and balance etc. If you can skip the middle chapters its not bad but again I had hoped for more technical insights. Perhaps I needed a book on golf course construction. I just assumed from architecture courses that construction issues and recommendations as well as more detail of layout relative to game play would be discussed.

Amazing!
This is one of five best technical books I ever found. As a beginner in golf course design, I found in this book all I needed to realize my projects.

Fascinating,
This is a fascinating book for any golf enthusiast or historian, as well as an essential practical resource for anyone actively involved in golf course design, construction and maintenance.

The design process progresses from the green to the individual hole to the entire course. Detailed technical information is well integrated with aesthetic and theoretical concepts making the entire book interesting & readable.

The book is packed with color photos of individual holes to illustrate design concepts, sites under construction and wonderful historical documents. The technical drawings & plans are well done and very useful.

This book is a great example of making a technical manual a joy to read. Any golfer who appreciates the background of the course he or she is playing on will love it.

It makes me want to become an architect
This book is filled with wonderful pictures from cover to cover. An incredible collection of the worlds most famous golf courses and designers.

Comprehensive overview of designing and building courses
Simply an outstanding look at the fascinating process of taking a piece of land and sculpting a chapmionship layout. A step-by-step process that details the many intricacies and disciplines involved in creating a golf course. Any golfer will more fully appreciate the not only what they see on a course, but also what they "don't" see. The photos and illustrations are plentiful and precise in leading one through each phase of construction. Must reading for an serious student of the game. Kevin Burke ... Read more

Book Description

Make your next presentation a winner--it's easy with this four step guide! Your presentations become more persuasive when you rely on this uniquely thorough guide to building highly professional models. Knoll's Architectural Models covers every step of this make-or-break process. FIRST you'll gain insight into the many types of models, including building, site, landscape, garden, and special models. SECOND, coverage of materials and tools then helps you determine which media are best suited to convey your specific idea. THIRD, you discover effective new ways of setting yp your work area and preparing the work, with the aid of an extended checklist. FOURTH, you're taken step by step through the fabrication of the components--from base plates through building up sites to soldered structures. And, along the way, hundreds of photos and drawing highlight techniques and offer innovative model ideas. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

I am glad I found this book
Even though this is meant for graduate level and professionals, I ordered this book for our jr. high-aged homeschooled children, who are very interested in architecture and building models of their plans. I am happy with the way this book presents things simply and clearly, but does not restrict itself to only foam core board constructions. It introduces other ideas and techniques for models that my kids are excited to try. This book fulfills my wish to find a resource that will be of use to them for years and years...no matter how far they go into the field of architecture and model building.

Good insight
A good insight into the diffreent types of materials available for the construction of several types of architectural models. I particularly liked the way in which the book is divided and the several practical hints wihch the author gives to the beginner -- a good book. ... Read more

Book Description

The Land Surveyor-In-Training Sample Examination is a practice test divided into 2 sections, each 4 hours, each containing 85 multiple-choice questions-just like the real exam. By taking the practice exam and then consulting the book's detailed solutions, you can determine your strong and weak points. This edition has been updated to better reflect the current exam. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Wright Review
This book kept me challenged. There is good representative material for Surveyor's in training.

Very good sample exam
This book is loaded with very relevant exam questions. Most of the topics covered by the test are addressed in this book. The mathematical type problems in this sample exam are very representative of the actual test problems and serve as a good review for general surveying review. The solutions to the problems are straight forward and easy to decipher.

I would recommend this book to anyone taking the LSIT or PLS exam. This was my main study tool when I took the surveying exams. It will really help you out!

Good luck!

Good starting place for LSIT
While this book will not totally prepare you for the exam, it will give you a basic idea of the format and content. The Land Surveyor Reference Manual is a very good book for in-depth study.

It's not worth the money
I also took the review test and passed it with ease. however the SIT exame was nothing close to the sample test

was a poor representation of the real test
I PERSONALY FEAL THAT IT WAS A MISLEADING REPESENTATION OF THE TEST PASSING THIS WITH EASE.THEN HAVING THE FALSE SECUTITY FOR THE REAL THING ... Read more

Book Description

Foreword by Michael Sorkin

Introduction by Richard Guy Wilson

"This excellent book makes a strong case for a renewed appreciation of regional modernism." -- Erika Belsey, Art New England

Inflected by local climate, construction practices, regional culture, and Florida lifestyle, the work of the Sarasota school of architecture marks a high point in the development of regional modernism in American architecture.

Although the Sarasota school wasn't a consciously organized movement, it was an important chapter in American modernism that, unlike the earlier Bay Area school and Chicago school, has received little study or published scholarly treatment. John Howey provides the first solid documentation of the Sarasota group's designs and theories. He has interviewed all of the surviving architects and original clients and has included a rich archive of photographs by Ezra Stoller, Alexandra Georges, and others. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

GOOD Mid-Century Modernism
This is the story of a group of talented young architects who were in the right place at the right time. The time (1946-66) was when America was in a building boom, the public wanted fresh, clean designs. Sarasota was a growing town and Modern Architecture was going to change the world. The Father of it all was an architect named Ralph Twitchell. In 1940 Twitchell hired a young intern architect named Paul Rudolph. Rudolph would go onto Harvard GSD, serve in the Navy and return to Sarastoa in 1946, and then become Twitchell's partner in 1950. The two of them, with a group of other talented architects (most notably Victor Lundy) would go on to design some extraordinary custom homes, churches and schools. Their architecture stressed the tectonic (the use of new technologies). Although the Sarasota aesthetic was in similar vein to the California post- war architecture, it also was heavily derivative of a Florida vernacular architecture. Rudolph's early philosophy stressed five points: the Clarity of construction; Maximum economy of means; Simple overall volumes penetrating vertically and horizontally; Clear geometry floating above the Florida Landscape; Honesty in details and in structural connections. It is always a treat to see his pen and ink renderings. A must for the serious student of modernism. ... Read more