Book Description

Pierre Koenig (b. 1925) is a leading figure of the Modern movement in America, and a guiding influence in the "Case Study House Program".

This is the first full study of Koenig's career, providing an unparalleled insight into the evolution of Modernism on the West Coast. Koenig designed and built his first exposed steel house in 1950. In 1957 he was chosen to design Case Study Houses #21 and #22. These houses have become iconic, capturing the excitement and optimism of the period. This book includes new and vintage photographs together with the architect's original drawings. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Great Book
This book presents Pierre Koenigs work very well. James Steele has written many great architecture books and this one is as good as his others. In the book is the most complete and extensive representation of Pierre Koenings work I have ever seen printed. The pictures are large, and very nice. It is a very good book with his work well documented and insightful articles written by James Steele and others.

Pierre Koenig
Excellent book, I wanted to see more.

Koenig, the King of SoCal Architecture
This book shares with the reader the highlights of Koenig's career with breathtaking shots of the case study houses, blue prints, and narration accompanying each. Truly, one of the most spectacular collections dedicated to this incredibly gifted, ground breaking architect.

Modernist master Koenig well represented here.
Some books are so good you can't put them down. Some, of course, are so bad you can't wait till they end, and the going is slow. The going is slow for James Steele and David Jenkins' book Pierre Koenig... for the opposite reason. After a quick glance at the magnificent pictures and some of the text, I wanted to take my time. I dreaded the moment I'd have to close the back cover and say goodbye to this book. Koenig designed mostly in steel... but throw away your notions of an "industrial" look.. for Koenig, steel was a means of building, and a way to express a contemporary style. As someone who was born and raised in and amongst Eichlers, I was very gratified to discover how wide spread the "California style" was for a period. The style seems to have lasted -and evolved- in public buildings, but residential builders lost their nerve and returned to something more conventional. Since many of my architectural heroes have passed away, or changed styles, it's nice to know Koenig is still around, still designing, and still promoting the use of steel as the palette for expression of this Zen-like style. As for completing the book? Well, I understand now why we have "coffee table" books... so you can re-live the first time you read a book like this, through the eyes of someone else. ... Read more

Book Description

The success of the first edition of Sunset Western Ranch Houses led Sunset and Cliff May to bring out a second edition in 1958. Very different than the first edition, this too proved to be a best-seller. In addition being more thorough than the earlier work, the second edition also showed that May's architecture was going in new directions. He still preserved the rustic traditions and materials of the ranch house, but his designs were more open and flexible. The houses show that May had absorbed many of the modernist advances in domestic achitecture taking place in Southern California, while still maintaining his esthetic roots in the Spanish ranch house. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Interesting book as I own a Cliff May home.
We live in a small neighborhood of Cliff May homes.Many have been remodeled, inside and out, but you can't change the bones of a May home.Unfortunately, we have had to make many improvements to ours as the May homes don't always translate well into the 21st century.X shaped framing makes finding a stud nearly impossible, and the numerous floor to ceiling windows are drafty and lack tempered glass and are extremely expensive to replace, so many of us replace with "normal" windows, walling up many altogether. This also deals with the lack of wall space for furniture or artwork, pictures, etc.

It is a spectacular compilation of his work....
I adore his homes, and this book gives you the complete layout, including the floorplan---something I love in architecture books.If you can't visit the homes in person, this is the next best thing. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Does America have its equivalent of Notre Dame or Chartres? In a way, it boasts just the opposite--no monuments to monolithic splendor, but instead has humbler tributes to cultural diversity. This volume, a kind of photo-history, reveals Marilyn J. Chiat's passionate advocacy for the preservation of our nation's religious architecture. Places of worship are for her "... the most visible and defining features of our rural and urban landscapes. From the Lower East Side of New York, where the decaying remains of synagogues still speak of the Jewish immigrants who once filled the tenements and labored in sweatshops, to California's coast, where Spanish missions still serve as reminders of the earliest Europeans to settle here, places of worship bear witness to our nation's diverse heritage." In large part, this volume is a celebration of America's immigrant past.

The churches, synagogues, and meeting halls featured in America's Religious Architecture meet specific criteria--all are listed on the National Register of Historic Places; all represent an ethnic culture; all played a vital role in their communities; all have architectural merit. Chiat takes the reader on a tour through nine regions in the U.S., pointing out the creative combining of ethnic traditions with local building styles and materials.

The entry on Maine, for example, reveals a diversity of that region that may surprise the reader. A province of Massachusetts until 1820, the Congregationalists were the bedrock, to be penetrated in the 1770s by the hardy German Lutherans (Maine's rough weather and terrain and its territorial battles discouraged settlement). Its two Anglican parishes would later blossom into an elaborately architected Episcopaleanism, and it would see the migration of Acadian French Roman Catholics from Nova Scotia. This is a good representation of the book's format--a discussion of the significant ethnic arrivals, their faiths, and the subsequent buildings. There's a photograph (black and white) on every page, with the address of each building and the name of the architect and builder.

In such a compilation, there are bound to be omissions which will jolt any reader who has his or her own favorite historic haunt. For example, there is no mention of the Moravians who settled Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the 1700s and no images of their elegant, strikingly simple form. That religious community left behind a wondrous core of civic and religious buildings still vital to the community's spiritual and educational life. But America's Religious Architecture is an otherwise informative and well-organized tour, replete with fascinating tidbits such as this comment on the Rodef Shalom Temple in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: "The Moorish style began appealing to Jewish congregations in the latter half of the nineteenth century, a time when Jews were seeking an architectural style that would not be confused with Christian church architecture." A noble reference work, belonging somewhere between your crafts shelf and your coffee table. --Hollis Giammatteo ... Read more

Reviews (2)

An author responds to reviews
As the author of America's Religious Architecture, I would like to thank Hollis Giammatteo for the thoughtful comments on the book. I would also like to suggest to the anonymous reviewer from Pittsburgh that she/he read a book's preface and introduction before writing a review. Two errors to be noted: Bill Moyers did not write an introduction, and I am not the Director of the National Conference of Christians and Jews. I am the Director of the Center for the Documentation and Preservation of Places of Worship, and affiliate of the NCCJ, MN-Dakotas Region and adjunct faculty in the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Studies at the University of Minnesota. One last comment, as I noted in my preface, there are over 250,000 places of worship in the USA; I am quite sure I have around 249,500 of them angry at me for not including them in this book. I can only hope they will understand that the few represent the many.

Disappointment.
It is hard to determine what America's Religious Architecture is supposed to be. The survey of religious buildings is idiosyncratic, to say the least. People who know a community likely will be puzzled why certain buildings were included, and other, better, candidates excluded. Many of the photographs are so poorly composed, exposed, or reproduced that they are useless for revealing architectural detail. I bought the book based on a flyer from Preservation Press implying it was an architectural reference, and returned it to Amazon.com beacuse it is unusable as such. My apologies to Amazon.com for the inconvenience. ... Read more

Book Description

A Thriving Modernism celebrates the remarkable careers of architects Wendell Lovett and Arne Bystrom and their contributions to modernism and to the architectural legacy of the Pacific Northwest.

Wendell Lovett joined the University of Washington faculty in 1948; Arne Bystrom was one of his first students. Their work, now encompassing half a century, has been published in Germany, Spain, Italy, Japan, Denmark, England, Brazil, Switzerland, and France, and their reputations in these places are established. Yet in the United States, despite their being elected Fellows of the American Institute of Architects in 1978 and 1985, respectively, they remain little known outside the Northwest.

Both men believe deeply in the emotional dimension of architecture; both are dedicated to expressive detail, executed through exquisite craftsmanship; both have been offered remarkable sites on which to build. In a series of domestic projects, each has found, in his own way, a much enriched modernism. Lovett draws influences from modern Scandinavia and Italy, from Alvar Aalto and Santiago Calatrava. Bystrom acknowledges debts to medieval Scandinavia and the ancient Far East, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Greene and Greene. Lovett’s dedication to industrialized materials and methods is informed by gesture and anthropomorphic metaphor. Bystrom, devoted to the natural and the handcrafted, develops an abstract discipline of geometry and physics into a crisp structural concept. Lovett’s manipulation of space, light, and mechanistic detail yields a richness undreamed of in early modernism, while Bystrom’s delight in wood as inspiration is comparable to that of ancient Asian crafts.

This lavishly illustrated book sets forth the extraordinary work of these two architects. It will appeal to practicing architects, as it will to any reader interested in a vital tale of architects and architecture helping to define the cultural history of the American Northwest. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (4)

complete but black and white pictures
This is an historical books about this house but all the pictures are in B & W. And it's so sad for such a masterpiece of frank Lloyd Wright.

The Awful Problems of Turning Genius into Reality
This book is one of the best I have seen for describing in detail the challenges of creating one of America's architectural landmarks. Anyone who reads this book will be reminded of Thomas Edison's comment about genius being 99 percent perspiration and 1 percent inspiration.

Fallingwater came as a commission after one of the longest dry spells of Frank Lloyd Wright's career. Despite having no work to do, no money, and few prospects, Mr. Wright dawdled with the project while trying to sell his client, Edgar Kaufmann, as many other projects as possible. Contemporary accounts suggest that Wright only began sketching something on paper when Mr. Kaufmann was about to arrive at Taliesin in Wisconsin, where Wright did his work.

Mr. Kaufman was not an easy client. He was the head of a major department store, and was used to getting his own way. Client and architect often clashed, with bent feelings on both sides. Independent "experts" got involved who also added to the controversy, mistakes, and misunderstandings. Mr. Kaufmann deserves credit, though, for sticking with Wright as the costs soared way above the original budget for this most unique house.

Interestingly, the two were brought together by Mr. Kaufmann's son who had come to study with Wright in Taliesin. The book contains a brief introduction by Edgar Kaufmann, Jr. who ultimately gave the home to a local nature conservancy.

Even without the challenges of the human relationships, Fallingwater was a most ambitious commission. In a remote part of the Allegheny Mountains in Pennsylvania, Fallingwater is sited on top of a waterfall. The potential for the water to undermine the house is enormous. Mr. Wright also wanted to keep as many of the original rocks and trees as possible. The site survey was often wrong, and the designs had to be adjusted to reflect the reality. The design also provided other unusual problems, and the first cantilever was built incorrectly due to changes made under Mr. Kaufmann's direction.

The book contains a wealth of maps, letters, summaries of interviews with those who worked on the project, drawings, plans, and photographs of the work in progress in black and white. This detail brings the challenges to life in a very real way.

The fascinating part of this book to me is that Fallingwater's final effects are the opposite of its creation. The home seems to float above the water, like a mirage. It seems to exude tranquility and peace. Yet, its every stage of movement toward becoming a reality was like a Sumo wrestling match with enormous heavyweight egos and ideas colliding at high speed and with little regard for the impact on the other fellow.

As much as I love Fallingwater, I love understanding more about how it was created even more. Anyone who wants to leave a mark of greatness behind should read this book.

After you finish thinking through the implications of Mr. Wright's vision and ways of implementing it, I suggest that you think about your own personal life and work. Where are you lacking in vision? Where are you lacking in the processes to implement worthwhile visions?

Turn your dreams into beautiful realities . . . for everyone!

History book on Fallingwater
Of all the books on Fallingwater, this is the best when you want to know about how the house came into being. I have 2 copies of the book, one that accompanies me on all my travelling, and one to keep in my library. I have at least read it 8 to 10 times, and already look forward to the next time. The black and white photography is quite good, although the book would even be better with some color takes. Hoffman did a great job researching on the subject, and reading the book, it occurs that this was no easy task to get everything in order, chronoligically.

Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater: The House & It's History
There are a number of books on Fallingwater, considered to be the most famous private residence next to the United States presidential White House. The book written by Donald Hoffman, with an introduction by Edgar Kaufman, Jr., son of the owner Edgar Kaufman, is informative with details about the history and geographic location of the house in Western Pennsylvania. The book includes preliminary drawings of the early phase of the project and letters written between Wright, Kaufman and the builder describing problems encountered during construction. Over one hundred photographs picture the construction and its exterior and interior detailing. ... Read more

Book Description

The nation's largest retailer wanted the largest headquarters in the nation, and they got it. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), the 110-story anodized aluminum-clad Sears Tower occupies three acres. The bundled-tube construction allowed for more windows and more corner offices per square foot. The total area within the Tower is 4.4 million square feet; the Sky Deck on the 103rd floor offers tremendous views and welcomes more than 1 million visitors yearly. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

good overview of Sears Tower
As an occupant of Sears Tower, I find that Pridmore provides an easily-understandable overview of Sears Tower with an especially good focus on how the building was conceived and developed, with dozens of color pictures.There are also a few pictures of the Tower's offices, including Sears Roebuck's old offices, though the offices are mysteriously devoid of human inhabitation.Too often people think that towers like Sears are built by Cities wanting to be boastful rather than private enterprise seeking profits, and in that sense Pridmore tells the story of the tower very well except the sterile interior pictures.He also avoids the cliches like how many toilets are in the Tower.

I have only seen one good discussion of the daily life in a skyscraper, and this is not it.(See the Feb '89 National Geographic if interested.)Pridmore's discussion of the Tower post-construction is limited to discussing renovations and neglects other aspects that my friends usually find much more interesting.For instance, Tower occupants often see amazing sunsets--that is, when the upper floors aren't enshrouded in clouds.Some Tower occupants become motion-sick when the building sways and creaks in windstorms--also not discussed.A man can punch the windows with his fist but they will not break.(I've seen it tried--but don't you try it.)Finally, rumor is that although Sears Roebuck lost its ownership of the Tower a decade ago, they still own the giant Calder sculptures and mobile on the Wacker side.Sears was unable to move the artwork when they left, and because they are screwed in place, the artwork is not technically part of the building. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

This book is MONEY!
The book rocks, so does the city. Buy it!

Buffalos Rich Architectural Heritage and more...
This book acts in many ways as the unofficial guidebook to exploring what is one of the most important architectural cities in America.Forthose who are familiar with Buffalo and those who are not the book is filled with asplendid variety of both well known Richardson and Wright masterpieces andsome not so well known masterpieces. Its divided into sections based on thegeography of the city so it makes the perfect book if one wants to set outexploring. Buffalos neighborhoods and amazing housing stock areunparalleled in size and preservation nationwide. Its American Indianinspired art deco city hall, perhaps the finest building of its type in thenation is just one of buildings you will find profiled. Reyner Banham ,theeditor,was at the time was on the faculty at the State University of NewYork at Buffalo School of Architecture. His wonderful book about theorigins of the modern movement and its ties to Buffalos grain elevators, AConcrete Atlantis could act as a supplement to Buffalo Architecture: AGuide if you are interested in Buffalos industrial buildings as well...

Must see book for achitects and students and Americans.
This book and the city it shows us are a must see for architects, students, and architectural buffs alike. The book is packed with wonderfull black and white photos showing a suprising array of high quality though little known American architecture. It is refreshing and informative to see and learn of architecture which has been passed over by the traditional architectural press solely because it is not in the typical bigger cities.The buildings presentedform a rich and diverse portfolio ranging from masterpieces by Sullivan, Wright, and Richardson,to the simplest of victorian cottages, to a magnificent cathedral or a delicate greek revival temple.This book presents the unknown and forgotten richness of American architecture and releases the reader form the monotony of seeing the same cities and the same buildings published over and over agian. The writers of this book ventured out into the great american wilderness and and showed us its refinement. ... Read more

Book Description

Pure California: 35 Inspiring Houses In The New California Tradition is a beautiful new hardcover book of photography and text that provides a personal tour of 35 of the most influential and important houses designed by Bassenian/Lagoni Architects (BLA) over the past 5 years. From an Early California home in Coto de Caza to a California Cottage on the Balboa Peninsula to an Old World Tuscan Adaptation in Rancho Santa Fe, this milestone book takes the reader on an adventurous, inspiring journey through some of the finest luxury production homes in California. Along the way, the reader will discover and enjoy spectacular examples of what admiring critics are calling "The New California Tradition" in American housing.

For consumers and lay readers, Pure California will serve as a splendid work of ideas and inspiration for the latest in California home design, floor planning, landscaping, interior and furnishings. For professionals and students, the book will help define the techniques and demonstrate the execution of a land use method that is having major impact on housing in America.

The 160-page hardcover book features over 200 glorious color photographs of the outside and inside of 35 different houses, as well as a detailed floor plan and site plan of every residence. A narrative tour leads the reader on an inspiring walk through each house, pointing out the architectural, design and furnishings elements along the way. The book also includes a Foreword by Howard Englander, a noted housing marketer and forecaster, as well as an Introduction by Aram Bassenian, CEO of BLA, and an Afterword by Carl Lagoni, President of the firm.

This book is a "must" for anyone interested in viewing and understanding the most recent developments in California architecture, as well as design trends and land-planning methods that are having major influence across the United States. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

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.

INTERIOR DESIGNER / ARCHITECT
This book will bring give you a lot of inspiration whether you be an architect or interior designer. This is one of the best architectural/design books i've ever come across. great photography.

california homes
We are building a new house. The pictures and home layouts in this book inspired many new ideas. It was a great resource when feeling overwhelmed with so many options to choose from. Everything in these homes are first class. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Pulitzer Prize-winner Ada Louise Huxtable meditates on modern American architecture and its implications in The Unreal America: Architecture and Illusion, a book based on a lecture she delivered to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Huxtable argues that theme parks, shopping malls, historic restorations, and towns like Disney's Celebration create "surrogate environments" detached from the reality of everyday experience. She rails against historic preservation, claiming that attempts to re-create the past in such places as Ellis Island and Boston's Faneuil Hall result in hollow shadows of the originals that have little to offer the modern viewer. The marriage of culture and consumerism in these places also gets Huxtable's gourd. She seems to feel that much of this architecture is designed for the sole purpose of impelling consumerism. In the preface, Huxtable writes that as a young journalist she was told to "tell the reader what you think," and here she does exactly that with fervor and clarity. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Must Reading for Serious Architectecture Buffs
The main thrust of The Unreal America is that commercial interests are choking out our experience of genuine regional and cultural diversity--in architecture, travel and even our knowledge of history.The first threequarters of the book is devoted to the theme parks, shopping centers andarchitectural restorations that Huxtable abhors, including Disney World,Celebration, Florida, Las Vegas and colonial Williamsburg.The lastquarter of the book is disjointed from the beginning because she abruptlyswitches gears and lauds buildings that she finds exhilarating and whichproperly integrate materials, use and environmental context.

The book ismust reading for anyone who has a passion for architecture and is concernedabout how commericalism and real estate development affects our society. Although the tone of Huxtable's writing is haughty, angry and sometimesrepetitive, her message is an important one.Huxtable rails against TheDisney Company and its penchant for creating fake, idealized versions ofreal places.Walt Disney's dream was to create clean, controlledenvironments where happiness abounds, but in the years since his death in1966, the dreams and fantasies of children of all ages have becomemass-merchanidised and channeled into a narrow focus of personalities andproducts.Huxtable maintains that Disney has become a mass dispenser ofschlock-from amusements to art to architecture.

Huxtable also decriesthe way that shopping center malls and superstores such as Home Depot andWalmart have choked out diversity in retailing."In the reality ofsuburban America," she writes, " there is no place else to go", becausemalls and movie megaplexes have replaced downtowns and streets.Huxtableacknowledges that architecture is largely influenced by investmenteconomics.She is a realist that does not expect that strip malls andshopping centers should go away, but she denounces the banality of theirdesigns and how our collective experience of that stifling sameness makessociety more homogenized.

This book is awesome baby!!!
This book was awesome from the beginning to the end.The way she wrote was breath taking.I like cheese and pasta.Cheese is good on asparagus.I like the cheese on this book.

A Little Too Smarmy
Though her thoughts on what she thinks are "good" modern architects are very illuminating and insightful, her rants against Disneyfied structures and environments are tiresome, pithy and repetitious.She seems like she's trying to sound like a hip, streetwise rock critic orsomething. Forget the first 50% of the book (or skim), and save your timeand energy for the last 50%.

A fine introductory text, but little new for the initiated.
The Unreal America: Architecture and Illusion, by Ada Louise Huxtable, is a book that is inviting to a non-academic audience.Huxtable makes case studies of structures that she has experienced and groups them into two categories- 1) What she finds reprehensible, the theme architecture discussed in the beginning chapters-2) What she finds enlightening and exhilarating, the extension and modification of modernist ideas in contemporary works.Because of this categorization, the book is a bit disjunctive as Huxtable switches gears from complaining to lauding.Her approach to all structures is personal.She tends to incorporate her own reactions into her criticism and back up her feelings with formal description and by citing philosophers of culture such as Baudrillard and Eco.It is refreshing that Huxtable does not invoke a Marxist critique to indicate all that is wrong with corporate theme architecture and all that is right with public projects.On the other hand, her subjective disdain or praise is convincing only insofar as one acknowledges these opinions as expert.The first part of her book comes off as a social critique of theme parks, malls, and consuming venues that take their forms from the past.The second is more descriptive of how architects control materials and space to successfully fit a use/purpose while also creating new structural forms.This book deals with complex issues of simulacra and new history, but Huxtable keeps the language simple and approachable to the non-academic reader.Unfortunately, those already familiar with Baudrillard, Eco, Barthes, et al will find these arguments long dated.This book is a quality introduction to contemporary architecture for the uninitiated.The cognoscenti, however, will find the book unremarkable.A more comprehensive book that is excellent complementary reading to The Unreal America, is Architecture After Modernism, by Diane Ghirardo, which achieves more objectivity and depth.---William V. Ganis (WillemG@aol.com ... Read more

Amazon.com's Best of 2001

The beach house was "the sonnet form of American architecture," writes Alastair Gordon. "This was where the revolution began." In his gracefully written, stunningly illustrated book, he shows how the evolution of summer housing on the once-rural eastern end of Long Island, New York, heralded key developments in architecture.

By the late 1920s, the sprawling Southampton mansions of Stanford White and others were passé. The new style was a modernist box, raised up on supporting columns for protection and a better view, with a sun deck and floor-to-ceiling windows. (See Palm Springs Weekend: The Architecture and Design of a Midcentury Oasis or Palm Springs Modern: Houses in the California Desert for a West Coast version of modernist vacation home design.)

After World War II, the Hamptons became a favorite destination of New York artists, architects, and writers, who ushered in a period of fanciful experimentation. Then came the deluge. Gordon's own family, who bought their prefab beach home in the '50s, was part of a trend celebrated by Life magazine in 1959, the year Nixon and Khrushchev held their Kitchen Debate at a Leisurama house.

Gordon vividly describes the innovations of the '50s and '60s, from the stunningly pure Blake House (two square, ground-hugging sections with a central breezeway framing the ocean view) to the proud verticals of the Gwathmey House, clad in vertical cedar siding approximating the look of carved concrete. In the '70s, as ocean-view lots became scarce, some architects ignored the natural setting, creating imposing sculptural statements craning to isolate an elusive view. Others, including Robert Venturi and Jack Lenore Larsen, gave vernacular styles a postmodern twist.

Rightly decrying the neotraditional behemoths built in the '80s to satisfy the insecurities of the megarich, Gordon takes the long view. Each wave of newcomers remade this flat land in their own image, yet "something about it resists change." --Cathy Curtis ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Warmed Me Up on Winter Weekend
Finally got the chance to sit and read Gordon's excellent text in Weekend Utopia. The book goes way beyond an illustrated coffee book. Gordon manages to weave together stories about the characters who shaped the place (like developer Carl Fisher who created Montauk to be the "Miami Beach of the North")with stories about the flamboyant architecture, post-war artists like Pollock and Motherwell and his own personal memories as a boy spending summers there. While the book has a large format with hundreds of illustrations it is most readable and explains so much about how a rural American landscape was transformed into a resort for show-offs. I loved it and can't comprehend what reviewers from Hong Kong and the Netherlands were talking about. It is neither trying to be a professional book on architecture nor a cheap gossip book about pseudo-celebrities. It is an intelligent cultural history that also happens to be well designed and illustrated. It warmed my soul on a chilly winter weekend and made me want to go to the beach as soon as possible.

Historical Monograph
Wonderfully written and researched. Architecturally lacking photographs, drawings, or any substance for inspiration or idea generation. Cover and size of book suggests more pictorial content, but fails to deliver.

Don't let the cover mislead you
When i saw the cover of this book i thought this would be a great book. I wanted to find pictures of beautiful decorated houses,nice gardens and offcourse the habitants of the mansions. Well, that's not quite what's inside this book. For the most only pictures of houses taken in the 50's and 60's and a lot of text!! I want pictures of Aerin Lauder and the Miller sisters!!

Don't shoot the messenger
I'm a bit mystified by the comments below that seem to implicate this book and its author in what the Hamptons have become. To the contrary, Weekend Utopia celebrates happier days pre-mega mansions: when culture and architecture and some fascinating characters created some truly exceptional houses, most of them modest in scale. In fact, today's Hamptons home-builders could learn a lesson or two from this book (like small can be very beautiful), and stop the further despoilment of what the Hamptons used to be: something Weekend Utopia shows with great clarity and style. This wonderful book is certainly no apologia for the mess that awaits you at the end of I-495...

An interesting if sad look back
I agree with the reviewer who said that the Hamptons were ruined long ago -- by the very succession of waves of development that this book touts. I do love looking at some of the quality design of the past that this book shows, but the new reality is overbuilding and, even worse, tasteless building. The feeling of getting away to a charming, easy-going, and low-key place with rural roots is gone forever in the Hamptons. We left because of the continuing intrusion of the nouveau riche who are more interested in showing off than in quietly relaxing-----peoplewho have now made the Hamptons a decidedly UNCOOL place to be. ... Read more

Book Description

Essays by R. Buckminster Fuller, Claude Lichtenstein and Joachim Kreusse.

6.75 x 9.5 in.
600 illustrations ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Exploring Bucky¿s Archive is always a treat.
Because Bucky did his best to get his message out to as many people as possible, at a cost of $65 I am sure that this is not the type of book he would wanted to see produced. It seems like the book could have been printed in a less costly form and many of the graphics which were clearly just taken from video eliminated so that the material could be made available to more people at a lower price.

That said, I thoroughly enjoyed the glorious visual aspect of this book. In my years spent researching my book "Buckminster Fuller's Universe" and working on other Fuller writing, I had not seen some of the photographs and illustrations displayed here. This is a must have for any Bucky fan.

I don't recommend it as an introduction to the ideas and wisdom of Fuller because, as is true with almost all of Fuller's writing, the ideas need to be studied not read over once, and this book does not provide a complete enough picture to be a good study guide. Look to the writing of others for your introduction to Bucky, and look to this book to add to your understanding of a man who is recognized as one of the great thinkers, geniuses and Renaissance men of modern times.

Superb - organization, production, and editing
"Your Private Sky" is a must-have book for Bucky fans. In addition to presenting a wealth of new material from Fuller's archives it also arranges and presents Bucky's life and works in an innovative format that emphasizes the larger view of his work and the natural progression of his thoughts. The authors have taken the time to do the re-search which allowed them to see the larger picture. This book about Bucky's life and inventions goes from the whole to the particular.

One example of the thoroughness of "Your Private Sky," compared to earlier books, is in it's handling of the Dymaxion house. This is the first book, I've seen, that includes drawings and photos of the initial square or rectangular 4D home. The authors have done a great job of ransacking Fuller's archives to find just the right images and words to convey the flow or progression of Bucky's designs. This was the first time I grasped how the work on the Dymaxion home designs was related to the latter invention of the Geodesic dome.

Most of the never-before-published photos, drawings and writings in "Your Private Sky" were found in Bucky's Chronofile, the 300-foot long series of personal history files that Bucky started collecting in 1915. Except for the short introduction and chronology at the beginning of the book, all the material in this 522 page book consists of items selected from Bucky's Chronofile. The words are selections from Bucky's writings.

The graphic design, printing and binding of "Your Private Sky" compliment the quality of its contents. The superior binding permits the pages to lie flat so you can view the hundreds of full bleed photographs including many two page spreads. The book's visual organization is excellent especially considering the variety of items and styles that had to be accommodated. My minor criticisms are that I would have liked to see more indexing and source information and a few less spelling and translation errors in this book.

A superb book; it's well organized, packed with never before seen photos and drawings, thoughtfully arranged and edited, and printed and bound using first class materials and methods.

Your Private Sky
I was looking forward to receivinging this book .........The newly published book was just what I expected. It contains Bucky's whole life history and his various ideas that arised during his life such as the famous geodesic dome, dymaxion products, tensegrity, world game and so on. Many are what I have not obtained so far in detail from other literatures already published. So they are extremely usefull and fun to me. The most important thing that I could get from the book is that I could feel strong power to live the daily life again with fresh dreams. ... Read more

Book Description

For centuries, foreign visitors have been drawn to Italy--the Roman ruins of the capital, the hill towns of Tuscany and Umbria, the scenic villages of Lake Como, the canals and palazzi of Venice. The overwhelming charm of Italy’s enchanting combination of history, art, landscape still bewitches travelers. And today, as Las Vegas reinvents itself yet again as an urban theme park dedicated to the pursuit of adult fun and pleasure, the inspiration for some of its most elegant casino resorts comes directly from the great cultural monuments of the Italian past.

In Las Vegas and the Virtual Grand Tour, Giovanna Franci compares three Las Vegas Italian-themed resorts--Caesars Palace, Bellagio, and The Venetian--to their Italian counterparts: the ancient Forum of the Caesars, the breathtaking Lake Como resort town of Bellagio, and eternal Venice, jewel of the Adriatic. Franci not only examines architectural format and decorative details but considers how the mystique of these Italian sites has been transplanted to the Nevada desert. In the process, she addresses the compelling phenomena of modern mass tourism and postmodern travelers to whom the distinction between the "real" and the "fake" is often far less important than the appeal of a destination that allows a visitor to make a "virtual Grand Tour" within the confines of a single city.

Franci’s perceptive commentary offers unique insight into the trends and intentions behind recent development in Las Vegas. She shows how the builders of these three casinos use architectural language to unite the themes and functions of American consumer culture with the romantic mythology of some of the world’s most fantastic oases of pleasure. In this context, Las Vegas emerges as far more than a popular tourist icon. It is rather the first urban spectacle of the postmodern world, a chameleon-like city continuously reinventing itself to offer visitors an unflagging array of experiences, sensations, and hedonistic delights. Federico Zignani’s dazzling photographs bring to life the physical details and idyllic ambiance of both the lavish Las Vegas resorts and their Italian inspirations. ... Read more

Book Description

Washington, D.C., is a city of powerful symbols-from the dominance of the Capitol dome and Washington Monument to the authority of the Smithsonian. This book takes us on a fascinating and informative tour of the nation's capital as Jeffrey F. Meyer unravels the complex symbolism of the city and explores its meaning for our national consciousness. Meyer finds that mythic and religious themes pervade the capital-in its original planning, in its monumental architecture, and in the ritualized events that have taken place over the 200 years the city has been the repository for the symbolism of the nation.

As Meyer tours the city's famous axial layout, he discusses many historical figures and events, compares Washington to other great cities of the world such as Beijing and Berlin, and discusses the meaning and history of its architecture and many works of art. Treating Washington, D.C., as a complex religious center, Meyer finds that the city functions as a unifying element in American consciousness. This book will change the way we look at Washington, D.C., and provide a provocative new look at the meaning of religion in America today. It will also be a valuable companion for those traveling to this city that was envisioned from its inception as the center of the world. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Washington, D.C. as a place of spiritual pilgrimage...
Who would have thought of Washington, D.C. as a spiritual destination? You will think so after reading this rich, soulful guidebook to the capital's architectural idiosyncrasies. This author, whom I find more inspiring and much more readable than mythologist Joseph Campbell, escorts the reader on a journey to the mythic center of what Lincoln called "the last great hope of mankind." What better time in our history to visit and revisit it as sacred space. In the words of the author, "to visit Washington is to experience the retelling of a story of mythic proportions." The conclusions Meyer draws from his epiphany, described in the chapter entitled "Reflections," are alone worth the price of the book. ... Read more

Book Description

In 1999, historians at the Virginia Historical Society acquired three curiously bound volumes of drawings and documents created between 1821 and 1858 by a long -- and unjustifiably -- forgotten architect named Thomas R. Blackburn. Further inspection revealed that these were, in fact, no ordinary documents, but a unique window onto the life of a distinguished builder and his revered master: Thomas Jefferson. In these extraordinary books, we find Blackburn, at first a young carpenter, engaged in the construction of Jefferson's famed "academical village" at the University of Virginia. He simultaneously embarked on an ambitious program of architectural study, guided, it appears, by Jefferson himself. The drawings he executed in the four decades that followed -- extraordinary ink and watercolor explorations of his many residential and civic commissions -- bear witness to his emergence as a mature and prolific architect in his own right. In Jefferson's Shadow is a unique document of the relationship between an unknown but highly skilled country builder and the American statesman widely considered this nation's first gentleman architect. But it is also an indispensable resource on the little-understood practice of architecture in the early and mid-nineteenth century. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Gorgeous book - everything I wanted to know!
I always wondered how these incredibly beautiful wood and stone structures were built, everytime we went camping in some state or national park. Now I know!

Where's my pick, hammer, axe, adze and saw? I can't wait to get started! This book has everything. I hope to be able to buy the rest of Albert H. Good's books on the subject. Fabulous. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (1)

Another tour de force on architecture from Rizzoli
If you are visiting Chicago an el ride around the Loop will transport you through 100 years of architectural history in about 20 minutes. Chicago is a living architecture museum always in flux; new buildings are added to the skyline, old ones re-imagined and re-used, whole neighborhoods rising from decades of urban decay. Daniel Burnham, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Mies Van der Rohe all left their imprint on the city and contemporary masters such as Helmut Jahn, Frank Geary, and Rem Koolhaas, are shaping the Chicago of today.

For those attracted to architecture Masterpieces of Chicago Architecture is another tour de force from Rizzoli. Masterpieces of Chicago Architecture presents the first 100 vibrant years of built and un-built projects by the masters and their disciples. Generously illustrated with more than 200 photos, illustrations, models, and plans, from the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. The authors and curators of Architecture at the Art Institute of Chicago add thoughtful commentary and unique insights on the city to bring the past, present and future together in one glorious package. Chicago is the leading force in American building trends and to understand where Chicago is going is to understand something about the future. ... Read more

Amazon.com

As the Pacific Northwest becomes ever more popular, a book like Anne Wall Frank's Northwest Style seems perfectly timed to highlight the eclectic interior and exterior styles that exemplify the region. Along with stunning photographs by Michael Mathers, the prose conveys the casual "style without a style" nature of the many beautiful homes featured.

Northwest Style takes a look at better than three dozen homes that range from a city apartment in downtown Seattle to a houseboat on the Willamette River in Oregon, as well as a couple of patrician homes that command some of the most amazing views of the waters and mountains of the Northwest. It's evident that one of the trademarks of this style is the influence of many cultures, as is the natural look of exposed wooden beams, high windows to let in the seldom-seen sunlight, and a profusion of artifacts from the region's fishing and logging heritage. There is a conscious effort in many of the homes pictured to define a portion of the West, be it Asian influences, the frontier sensibilities of bow saws and mounted bucks gazing down from above the fireplace, or the persistent architectural use of wood, as in the thoroughly appointed log cabin overlooking Hood Canal. At times, some of these techniques result in a home that is more museum than living space, but all are striking and do a good deal to show just how much independent spirit is still alive in the Northwest.

Northwest Style is less about any one definitive Northwest image than it is a sampling of the spectacular cultural and environmental influences of the Pacific Northwest. This, along with the extensive list of galleries, antique shops, and decorating stores in the book's appendix, provides a elegant look at the many possibilities open to those who call the Northwest home. --Kris Law ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Good for what it covered
I liked the book and it was excellent in the areas covered, but it missed the largest part of the US PNW geographic area - the high deserts and dry land conifer forests East of the Cascades in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. As one born and raised in the Northwest, I would really like someone to write a book that acknowledged and showed the styles of architecture and interior design found in places like Pendleton and White Swan.

Most of the PNW is not wet and cloudy, but drier with a harsh and stark beauty that can clearly be seen on the old highway between Ellensburg and Yakima, or cruising between Bend and Madras. Or in the forested places near La Grande and in Northern Idaho. There is the Horse Heaven and Pend Orielle country as well, which have their own forms of architecture that pay tribute to a beautiful and fascinating, and not always kind country.

I wish for a book on PNW style that covers more than the narrow coastal strips and Willamette Valley.

Northwest Style: Interior Design and Architecture in the Pac
It is obvious Ann Wall Frank loves homes. Her beautifully written text is like poetry, and the photography is stunning. It is a must have for anyone who cherishes making a house a home. The humor, warmth, and intelligence of Ann Frank's writing style sets this book apart from others of its kind. We in the northwest are proud of our style, and Northwest Style captures who we are perfectly. Encore!

a must for every student of architecture,construction,style.
Who knew the Pacific Northwest had such an eclectic range of home styles, from Japanese influenced designs to rustic log cabins, to stunning urban lofts. This book is written in an accessible (versus snobby) style, warmed by humor and with an irreverent eye to the iconoclastic bent of the nation's current power center. Beautiful photographs and "real" homeowners--not royalty or billionaires.

The eclectic Northwest lifestyle and architecture
This book presents a variety of Northwest homes that defines the lifestyle and architecture of this unique region. Each home is beautifully photographed highlighting the unique architecture and decor. How each home relates to the natural beauty of the region is explored. Ms. Frank narrative personalizes the homes. This a good read. Don't just look at the pictures. ... Read more