Book Description

In the tradition of the highly successful Cottages by the Sea, this book takes readers to the Sedona desert, where the clean air, breathtaking views, and wonderfully mild weather attract more than four million visitors each year. Stunning new photographs evoke the fantasy of owning a home in the desert. From a soft stone house inspired by the pre-Colombian tribes who used the desert as a ceremonial meeting place to a home built in the tradition of Frank Lloyd Wright to a cutting edge architectural gem, Desert Retreats demonstrates a rich variety of approaches to living in this beautiful but harsh environment. Culturally rich, chic with celebrity, and known for its restorative powers, Sedona, with its influential style, is one of the most popular vacation destinations in the U.S. and a perfect place to relax and enjoy the beautiful scenery.

A dream book for all climates, Desert Retreats will appeal to all residents of and visitors to
the Southwest.
... Read more

Book Description

This unique study examines how North American architecture had been 'transplanted' elsewhere during the twentieth century. ... Read more

Book Description

In the second volume of the acclaimed "Gas, Food, Lodging" trilogy, authors John Jakle, Keith Sculle, and Jefferson Rogers take an informative, entertaining, and comprehensive look at the history of the motel.From the introduction of roadside tent camps and motor cabins in the 1910s to the wonderfully kitschy motels of the 1950s that line older roads and today's comfortable but anonymous chains that lure drivers off the interstate, Americans and their cars have found places to stay on their travels. Motels were more than just places to sleep, however.They were the places where many Americans saw their first color television, used their first coffee maker, and walked on their first shag carpet.

Illustrated with more than 230 photographs, postcards, maps, and drawings, The Motel in America details the development of the motel as a commercial enterprise, its imaginative architectural expressions, and its evolution within the place-product-packaging concept along America's highways. As an integral part of America's landscape and culture, the motel finally receives the in-depth attention it deserves. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Fascinating pictures and very interesting documentary
Upon completion of this book, the reader will have a complete history of the growth of today's hotel industry from the days of tourist camps, through motor courts, motels, and now motor inns. It is well researched, very quick reading, and gives an excellent history of this major form of commerce during the earlier part of the 20th century. The only thing missing might be a pictoral diagram showing the evolution of early chains into today's major lodging chains. I would also suggest a little more detail on the circumstances of some of the chain's that went out of business. Either way, a great piece for anyone interested in travel history and highway evolution. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Whether or not New York City, in all its teeming chaos, strikes readers as exciting or abominating, its superb urban architecture is undeniable. Life in the Big Apple is so fast-paced that most of the time the buildings that fill the island go unnoticed. Manhattan Skyscrapers offers the chance to leisurely peruse the stunning skyline, one building at a time, by compiling 75 of the most noteworthy towers in Manhattan (and one in Brooklyn). Spanning about a 100-year history and organized in chronological order, the book treats each skyscraper to its own section replete with photographs, commentary, and history. And the shifting architectural styles are fascinating to see in one volume. These tall buildings can appear intimidating, dwarfing the people who live in their midst, but this book offers readers an intimacy with these immense structures. There are details here that readers could easily miss in person; for instance, built into the lobby of the gothic-style Woolworth Building of 1913 are gargoyles depicting F.W. Woolworth counting his fortune and the builder in a monk's hood. The photographs are beautiful, with clear perspectives that seem almost impossible to get on the crowded streets of New York. --J.P. Cohen ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Decent, but not definitive
I ordered this book after September 11th as a sort of timecapsule of the New York skyline and a historical record of the World Trade Center towers. The formatting of the book is nice, in chronological order by building, with equal background devoted to each building. There are wonderful pictures of every building, along with some building plans and surrounding area maps.

My biggest complaint is that this book devotes equal time to a lot of non-descript skyscrapers from the 1960's and 1970's that don't really add to the uniqueness of the NY skyline. Some of the architecture of that period is just drab and uninteresting. I would've liked to have seen more concentration on the earlier period of New York's building boom. I think more interior shots would round out this book. The book could also include at least another 50-75 buildings, which is why I don't feel that it's definitive.

That said, this is a nice book, well-formatted, which covers most of the landmark buildings in Manhattan, including the former World Trade Center towers and surrounding buildings.

Only the Best
This book pin pointed some of Manhattan's most noticable and famous skyscrapers. From early century to 2000 this book covers it all. It starts of with the best early buildings mainly near cityhall. Then continues to the towers of wall street, these are the big bold towers weve come to know in the financial district, from the equitable building that is the reason for new york zoning to 1 bankers trust and it's magnificant zuggarat roof. It's full of pictures and info you can't find anywhere else. The book gets more exciting as time progresses, mentioning towers from the Empire State building to the short beakman plaza it's all there. Modern towers are characterized magnificently, at first describing the landmarks such as the lever, seagram, and the U.N. to latter discussing Manhattan's Mega Skyscrapers such as U.S. Steel, G.M., Chase, and Metlife mentioning the sucesses and failures of each tower. At the end it describes the boom in timesquare and other new skyscrapers which escape the box. I read every page with great excitement and recommend it to everyone, it's full of info from an architect's and historians point of view

This Book is a MUST HAVE !
I have read a lot of books about Manhattan Skyscrapers, but this is by far the BEST of all of them. The author makes a review of 75 of the most famous Manhattan's skyscrapers, with amazing pictures you've never seen before. Going in chronological order, it goes from the first skyscrapers, like the Flatiron Building, pasing through Empire State Building, Chrysler and Woolworth, and ending with the new Conde Naste Building at Broadway. If you love skyscraper architecture, this is THE Book ! .

I Love New York
If you spend a lot of time in New York, it's easy to take it for granted. Mr. Nash is someone who does not. Each building in this sumptuously photgraphed book has a story to tell and he does so with a lot of admiration. Now, when I walk through the streets and recognize one I read about, I stop and notice the details and try to recall what was in the text. It would make a nice gift to anyone who loves the city.

Cool photos
we've all seen pictures of skyscrapers and know what they look like, but i was amazed at the photos he took of them. he must stayed in one spot all day, just sitting and waiting all day for that perfect shadow to cast just right to make some of his compositions. I liked it mostly for his compositions and techniques of taking pictures of buildings we've seen a thousand times before--hey if you like skyscrapers or NYC, it's a bonus. ... Read more

Book Description

Archibald Quincy Jones (1913-79) was a Los Angeles-based architect and educator who shared the Case Study goal of reinventing the house as a way of redefining the way people lived in post-war America. A pioneer in 'greenbelt' planning and 'green' design, Jones raised the level of the tract house in California from the simple stucco box to a structure of beauty and logic surrounded by gardens and integrated into the landscape. He introduced new materials and also a new way of living within the built environment, and his work bridged the gap between custom-built and developer-built homes. The exquisite detailing and siting of Jones's houses, churches, civic and university buildings make them quintessential embodiments of mid-century American architecture. This is the first book published on Jones. It documents his full career, from his post-war planning projects to his long association with Palo Alto building magnate Joseph Eichler. The book is comprised of two parts: a substantial introductory

essay tracing Jones's life and career, with a summary of key projects and his contributions to planning; and a catalogue of sixty of Jones's projects illustrated with high-quality black-and-white period photographs, and plans and renderings by Jones. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A.Quincy Jones
It is easy to dismiss the work of Quincy Jones (1913-79) as modernism lite. His long association with Joseph Eichler and other suburban builders prevented him from being taken as seriously as more rigorous and rebellious peers. Modern architecture is supposed to be challenging; Jones made it look easy. However, a drive around Crestwood Hills in West LA, and a close examination of the model houses he and others designed for that enlightened housing association, engender a new respect. Pragmatic, inventive, and humane, Jones bridged the chasm between high art and popular taste, emphasizing practicality over ideology. Buckner has hands-on experience, having restored four Jones houses, and one wishes she had expanded her brief introduction to the architect's career to communicate her personal enthusiasm for his unshowy brilliance. In every other way, this is an admirable survey of 65 key projects, illustrated with vintage black and white photos, drawings and plans.

Timeless Modernism
Let me begin by saying that this is a beautiful book. The original black and white photos are as crisp as the planar fascias and walls of Jones' many projects represented here. The graphics, (mostly plans and perspective renderings) are reproduced in a sepia tone that wonderfully invokes the spirit of the post WW2 period. And, in this age of neo-modernism, it is great to be exposed to a talented, true modernist whose architecture was not influenced by the latest fads and trends, but by the architect's deep convictions of modern architecture improving the quality of life.

The book contains a short essay and a catalogue of about 65 of Jones (and his partner Frederick Emmons) projects. The projects are shown chronologically in seven categories: Single-Family Houses; Residential Housing Developments; Churches; Commercial Spaces; Civic Spaces; University Buildings; and Planning Work.

The essay entitled Building for Better Living: The Architecture of A. Quincy Jones, is however, disappointingly brief. Although it begins in a biographical format, it moves quickly into Jones' theories on multi and single-family residential development. It then discusses Jones' design methods and uses of materials, and concludes abruptly with Earth Structures & Energy Systems and Planning & Landscape Designs. Very little is mentioned in regard to his practice and the fact that Jones and Emmons were awarded national AIA Firm of the Year in 1969. The essay makes no mention when and how Jones died.

Jones' plans are a work of art, not just graphically, but in regards to the rigor in which he was able to make space and structure flow and integrate his buildings into the California landscape. It is unfortunate that only about a third of the projects in this book contain plans. Still, there are some stunning projects represented here. I highly recommend this book to the serious student of mid-century modernism. ... Read more

Book Description

Maybeck at Principia: Architect & Client and the Art & Craft of Building brings focus to Maybeck's late career and work outside California and provides a reevaluation of his design approach and intentions in his more traditionally styled work.The book relies on a unique and extensive archive at Principia College, and documents Maybeck's last and longest commission, the campus plans, un-executed projects, and built architecture for Principia. New assessments have been gained through Maybeck's taped interviews with this major client, Frederic Morgan, and with Edward Hussey of Maybeck's office, as well as on conversations and interviews with others associated with the work.The extensive Maybeck-Morgan correspondence allows much of the story to be told by the participants, through letters and other records preserved in the Principia archives.The Maybeck reassessment is also presented in the light of a wider range of theoretical influences discussed here for the first time. ... Read more

Book Description

This volume presents 11 projects, including an upscale supermarket called Larry's Market, which procured instant notariety for the firm. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Seattle Architecture Firm Wins Big With This One
This book is a wonderful example of great architecture and forward thinking. After meeting Carlson and reading this book, the significance of his studies under Frank Gehry becomes evident. Carlson Architects possess the same dedication to innovation, material, concept, and function found in Gehry's work. The firm questions preconceived notions about the function and purpose of design. The solutions for Larry's markets exhibit a wonderfully distinctive use of supermarket planning and lighting design as a whole, while each market maintains a sense of individuality. The firm dabbles in many areas of design...residential, commercial, institutional, and retail. Most of their projects are located in the firm's hometown of Seattle, WA. The book includes a comrehensive study of their most noteworthy designs, including: a naturally ventillated library, a curriously immaginative and playful preschool, Larry's Markets, Carlson's house, among others. Hand sketches, diagrams, text, photos, and computer generated images are used to illustrate the design process throughout the book. If you enjoy contemporary design, innovative use of material and light, as well as a strong conceptually-based design philosophy, this book is a great addition to any architecture library. ... Read more

Book Description

Lisa Germany's biography of Harwell Hamilton Harris (1903-1990) details the work of an architect who successfully merged the ideals of modern and California regionalist architecture. Harris was a sculptor who changed careers when he saw Wright's Hollyhock House and realized that an architect could make sculpture on a monumental scale that both functioned as a home and moved in and out of nature. Germany traces the development of Harris's life and career, assessing his place in American modernism, in the development of regionalist architecture, and in the interpretation of a modern California lifestyle that would gain admirers throughout the world. Her discussion opens a window into the complexities of modernism in America during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Real modern design
What a great book packed with pictures. The design is very modern and unconventional (read expensive). This is a very fun book to review. If you can't afford the architecture costs there are many ideas you can incorporate into a more typical home design.

Beautiful pix w lots of design ideas. Great Sonoma compound!
Coffee table book showing all the nicest spots in the Bay Area. The spread on the family compound in Sonoma is worth the price alone! ... Read more

Book Description

The 1920s was a decade of great ambition and nonstop exuberance, and no place on earth reflected the spirit of the times more than New York City. The heart of America’s commercial, financial, and cultural life, New York provided the perfect backdrop for a contest that brought all three into play—the construction of three buildings that embodied the aspirations of a powerfully emerging nation: the Chrysler Building, the Manhattan Company Building, and the Empire State Building.

At the heart of this race was an intense rivalry—a contest between William Van Alen and Craig Severance, two prominent New York architects, to take New York City’s skyline to literally unprecedented heights. Former friends and partners, Van Alen and Severance had split over artistic and business differences, and then set out to best each other. Severance, backed by old money, drew up plans for the Manhattan Bank Building downtown, a commission that fit well with his own classic tastes. Van Alen, meanwhile, was a creative genius who envisioned a bolder, more contemporary skyscraper.He found his ideal, larger-than-life patron in Walter Chrysler.The ensuing battle commanded daily attention—from breaking ground at the sites to a floor-by-floor race to reach the tallest heights—and involved a fascinating historical cast of characters, including New York’s leading politicians at the time, Al Smith and GovernorFranklin Roosevelt.

In HIGHER, Neal Bascomb brings to life the excitement of the city in the final, heady days before the Great Depression.He creates a tale as suspenseful as the race itself—and as dramatic as an ingenious last-minute flourish that would briefly give one building the title not only of tallest in New York, but tallest in the world, before another monument to America rather than one man, soared even higher.

Reviews (4)

A love letter to New York, the greatest city in the world
Although it's focus is specifically on the construction of three major buildings of the New York skyline, Higher is deep down a very fond remembrance of a time when fortunes were literally falling and yet the city of New York grew exponentially toward becoming the epitome of the modern metropolis.

Neal Bascomb meticulously chronicles the events and characters who were responsible for this fertile period, but in doing so he very successfully manages to avoid bogging down in details and figures that might hinder a similarly-themed and more scholarly approach. This isn't to say that Bascomb didn't do his homework, but that he has been able to make a comprehensive narrative that's riveting (excuse the pun) and fast-paced. Indeed, the buildings themselves were all constructed with remarkable speed considering the scope of the projects and the technology of the day.

It was a great pleasure to not only follow along in what was a true rat race for the tallest building but to also gain significant insight into what is my personal favorite of the skyline, the Chrysler Building - a structure that has lived all but one year of it's life in the shadow of the Empire State.

Great history of a great city's towers
As a NYC resident I love this city and its unique history, and this book is perfect for people like me. Bascomb makes 1929 come to life and the intriguing little-known tales he tells about the city's most famous buildings are terrific. I read it in just a couple of days, I was that into it. I highly recommend this to anyone who likes New York, is fascinated by skyscrapers, or just loves a ripping good yarn.

"They seem to be springing up like asparagus tips..."
About a month ago I read "Great Fortune: The Epic of Rockefeller Center" by Daniel Okrent. If you are like me and can't get enough of NYC history, Neal Bascomb's "Higher" makes a wonderful companion piece. The subject is similar (massive construction projects), as is the timeframe (1920's-1930's). Mr. Bascomb's book goes into detail concerning the construction of 3 skyscrapers - the Chrysler Building, the Manhattan Company Building, and the Empire State Building. Mr. Bascomb's book works on several levels: as a straight narrative detailing the complexities of putting up super-large buildings; as a collection of mini-biographies of people integral to the story -including Walter Chrysler, and the architects William Van Alen and Craig Severance (former partners who had had a falling out); and as a cultural/social history of NYC as the Roaring Twenties end and the Great Depression begins. The author drives home the point that form and function follow personality and willpower. The beauty of the Chrysler Building is that it is not just another skyscraper. It reflects the vision of William Van Alen (and Walter Chrysler, who took an active interest in the project - looking at hundreds, if not thousands, of Van Alen's drawings and giving his input). Similarly, a man by the name of John Jakob Raskob ( with ties to General Motors, interestingly enough), by sheer force of will, managed to get the financiers to pony-up the money to put-up the Empire State Building even though the Depression had hit. Another "big theme" is that ego can sometimes overcome cool and calculated financial considerations. When Van Alen and Severance (Manhattan Company Building) realized they were in a "shooting for the stars-war" to build the tallest building, they did some things that made the number-crunchers quiver - adding on extra stories (which increases the need for elevator banks, services, etc. and decreases the percentage of rentable space) or adding on geegaws like the spire of the Chrysler Building, with its totally non-rentable area. Likewise, Raskob soldiered on with the Empire State Building even though many people told him he wouldn't be able to rent all that space during a financial downturn. (They were right. It opened with a 23% occupancy rate and was called the "Empty State Building." It didn't turn a profit until 1948.) The public relations war surrounding the 3 buildings provides an entertaining thread that runs throughout the book - when Severance realized that the spire of the Chrysler Building made it tallest, he countered with the argument that you should only count rentable space - which made the Manhattan Company Building higher. (The public didn't buy it. Taller is taller.) When Chrysler's people realized that within a year or so the Empire State Building would become a reality and would be the new number one, they went into "physical denial." They advertised their building as the biggest and the brightest, and pretended that rapidly growing structure on 34th street didn't exist. Sadly, Walter Chrysler didn't know, from an aesthetic standpoint, what he had. Once the Empire State Building was built, Chrysler lost interest in his own building. In his autobiography he only devoted 2 pages to the topic, and he nowhere mentioned Van Alen by name. He called him "the architect." Mr. Bascomb doesn't let the architectural critics of the time off the hook. Most critics yawned at the Chrysler Building - they didn't think much of it, and thought the spire was a useless frill. Poor Van Alen never got another major commission and had to hustle around trying to get minor building jobs from friends and relatives. Another fascinating part of this book is when Mr. Bascomb goes into detail concerning the actual construction process - how many workers were needed for the various projects, the types and amounts of materials, etc. The Empire State Building, whose construction was organized like clockwork by the Starrett brothers, was put-up at the incredible rate of 4 1/2 floors per week. 500 trucks a day delivered materials to the building site, and the steel beams being put into place had been manufactured at the Pennsylvania mills a mere 3 days before. (The beams were still warm when they got to 34th street.) Despite the speed of construction, safety was emphasized. 6 men died (their names are given, by the way) during construction of the Empire State Building, which was amazingly few considering the scale of the project. Finally, the book has 8 pages of interesting black-and-white photos of the time, including one of the famous photographer Margaret Bourke-White perched atop the eagle gargoyle on the Chrysler Building, getting ready to snap a shot. If you suffer from vertigo you may want to skip that photo, as well as the one of the photographer Jack Reilly hanging from the 72nd story steelwork of the Manhattan Company Building.....

Beautifully written and a fascinating story
I came across this book over the weekend and picked it up for my dad's birthday. I started reading through it on the subway on the way home from the bookstore and could not put it down! I should admit that I don't normally read these kinds of books, but Bascomb does an amazing job of drawing you in with colorful descriptions of the times and characters involved in this truly incredible story of the skyscraper races during the 1920s. Yes, there was literally a race to be the tallest building in the world -- complete with a photo finish just in time for the stock market to crash! If you have any interest in New York, history, engineering, architecture, or just love a great story -- check it out. One of the best things I've picked up in a long time. ... Read more

Book Description

French America explores the rich French heritage in the United States. It is a highly visual book and a unique publication. Never before has the French heritage in America been presented this way‹in full colour and with accompanying commentary. The book contains a broad overview of the history and present state of French structures and sites still standing in the US, from New England to the Gulf of Mexico. This is interspersed with special features on elements of French culture in the United States, such as the Huguenots and their descendants, French plantation architecture, and the cultural importance of Cajun country in Louisiana. ... Read more

Book Description

Reyner Banham examined the built environment of Los Angeles in a way no architectural historian before him had done, looking with fresh eyes at its manifestations of popular taste and industrial ingenuity, as well as its more traditional modes of residential and commercial building. His construct of "four ecologies" examined the ways Angelenos relate to the beach, the freeways, the flatlands, and the foothills. Banham delighted in this mobile city and identified it as an exemplar of the posturban future. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Getting to know LA from the ground up
Reyner Banham's writing is intelligent and entertaining. He has taken LA to heart and reveals how its "four ecologies" have affected its contemporary appearance and character. You'll not only learn how LA's architecture came to be as it is, but learn a great deal about the history and personality of the city as well. I read this book to get to know LA better. I couldn't have picked a better one. ... Read more

Book Description

Reproduces all of Sheldon’s fascinating and historically important photographs and plans for a total of 97 buildings (93 houses, 4 casinos) built during the 1880s. Adds a new, thoroughly accurate text by Arnold Lewis. Approx. 200 illustrations.
... Read more

Reviews (4)

A smorgasbord of architectural opulence
"American Country Houses of the Gilded Age" reprints 100 photographs from "Artistic Country-Seats," a book originally published in 1886-87 with commentary by George William Sheldon. This new version of the collection replaces Sheldon's original comments with those of Arnold Lewis. But the real "stars" of the book are the 93 houses and four casinos portrayed in the excellent black-and white photos.

These houses represent some of the most stunning mansions of the late 19th century. Most of these buildings were built in the northeastern United States. Each plate is accompanied by both Lewis' comments and by a first floor plan.

The houses themselves represent many of the popular styles of the era: Tudor, "Shingle," Queen Anne, Chateauesque, Richardsonian Romanesque, Colonial Revival, and Exotic Revival. The crisp photography captures a wealth of beautiful details: covered verandas, stone arches, classical pillars, towers, pinnacles, parapets, half-timbering, castellations, fanciful dormers, and intricate decorative flourishes.

The only disappointing aspect to the book is the fact that only the first floor plans are included. Plans for the other floors would have increased the book's value as a record of social history. Nevertheless, the detailed first floor plans do offer fascinating insights into the lives of the wealthy families of the "Gilded Age." You can imagine yourself wandering through the billiard room or music room of your favorite mansion! If you are fascinated by American home architecture, or if you simply want a taste of this opulent era, you will love this book.

Excellent
This book let's readers see how the wealthiest people in America lived back in the late 1800's. The floor plans are, although small, completely readable. I do wish the author would have included the floor plans for the second, third, etc. floors. Great photographs and good desrciptions of the homes.

Facinating
This book features period pictures and information about some of the most amazing houses to be built it the US. It is wonderful to think houses of such detail and quality were built, and so sad to learn how many of them did not survive. This book is a wonderful tribute to them.

Well worth the money
I work in the home construction field and marvel at the houses that were erected in the late 19th century. I try to imagine what it would be like to build these homes today. Reading the book gives me an idea of the time and effort put into constructing these homes. The sad reality is that more than half of them have been lost to fire, the wrecking ball, or progress. I recommend this book to anyone who is working in the residential construction field. In particular anyone who is erecting our modern "McMansions"for the pseudo rich. The book will show you what a real Mansion should look like. ... Read more

Book Description

Today, so much of our environment consists of nature in an altered state, from cultivated landscapes, and processed and prefabricated materials, to simulated and artificial environments. With this in mind, the Architectural League posed the question: can architects achieve design excellence without addressing nature? The choices and ramifications of designing in the new millennium are the basis of the projects envisioned by six of America's most exciting new architecture talents, and presented in Second Nature.

Whether for a city or landscape, or for rural or urban clients, each of the winning designers presents provocative and innovative designs, establishing their place in the 21st century. Through collages, drawings, computer renderings, photographs, and text, the participants explain their understanding of how good design both respects and enhances the environment.

Winners in this year's competition include Cho Slade Architecture, Julia Czerniak, Anuradha Mathur and Dilip da Cunha, Rhett Russo, Terry Surjan and SYSTEMarchitects. With over 150 images of the exhibition highlights, this book presents the best of the best. ... Read more

Book Description

The first book devoted to Philip Johnson's Glass House and his other innovative residential architecture.

For almost three-quarters of a century, as a critic and curator beginning in 1930s, and as a practicing architect since the 1940s, Philip Johnson has been at the center of modern architecture's development. His celebrated Glass House, built in 1949 in New Canaan, Connecticut--a crystallization of Johnson's commitment to the high modernism of his mentor Mies van der Rohe--is perhaps the single most famous house of the twentieth century. Until now, however, that house has not been looked at in the context of Johnson's many other house projects. This book, the first to comprehensively survey Johnson's residential work, not only brings to light a largely neglected side of Johnson's achievement, but freshly illuminates his entire career.

By examining all of Johnson's houses, authors Stover Jenkins and David Mohney, both architects, help us understand the Glass House as an expression of Johnson's developing thought. Focusing first on Johnson's student work at Harvard and his early commissions, they show how the Glass House reflects Johnson's concentrated study not only of pioneering modern architects including Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier, but of masters of previous centuries such as Claude-Nicolas Ledoux and Karl Friedrich Schinkel. They detail the three-year design process of the Glass House, and then show how Johnson moved beyond the influence of Mies to create a remarkably diverse body of work--one that is nevertheless unified by characteristic themes, like Johnson's inventive development of the Miesian court-house scheme, and his articulation of space by the use of connected pavilions.

Johnson's clients have always included powerful patrons of art and architecture. Presented in this book are his jewel-like townhouse for Blanchette Rockefeller and the Houston home of John and Dominique de Menil, with its enclosed court; projects for collector Joseph Hirshhorn; and the spectacular vacation house at Cap BŽnat for the Biossonnas family. Recent projects include a sprawling desert compound in Israel and a village-like vacation residence in the Caribbean. But from the beginning, when Johnson submitted a house he built for himself in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as his graduate thesis, he has been his own most effective client. The book concludes with a look at the ten built and seven unbuilt projects he has designed over the years for the New Canaan estate. As an afterword, the book includes a penetrating essay by architectural historian Neil Levine, who argues that we must now recognize Johnson's publication of the Glass House, in a 1950 article, as a turning point in the recognition of modernism as a historical movement.

Supporting a critical account of approximately thirty built and forty unbuilt projects, the book includes numerous plans and drawings, many never before published, and historical photographs. New color photographs by Steven Brooke capture the ways Johnson has used light, space, and landscape to create some of modernism's most appealing houses. Essential reading for architects and students, this book is also a vital resource for the study of one of modern architecture's most influential figures.

Other Details:
300 illustrations, 150 in full color. 288 pages. 10 x 11" trim size. Published in 2001. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

stover jenkins
the author's extensive research adds a level of insight and depth that no other book on this subject can offer ... Read more

Book Description

The first book of its kind, STYLE AND GRACE: AFRICAN AMERICANS AT HOME, is devoted exclusively to presenting the African-American tradition for flair and creativity in home design and decoration. This unique book celebrates the distinctive style of notable homeowners such as hip-hop entrepreneur Russell Simmons, photographer Gordon Parks, and Congressman Charles Rangel, as well as leading bankers, lawyers, artists, and other professionals who have utilized cultural elements and icons to create gorgeous home environments. Sumptuous original photography created expressly for this book by Mick Hales portrays the stunning elegance of the homes, while delightful accounts of each domain and its inhabitants will draw readers into these private worlds. This book is a rich portrait of African-American homes of style and beauty. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Beautiful, but missing something
If you're looking for a beautiful, decorative coffee-table book to fill space in your living quarters, look no further. STYLE AND GRACE: AFRICAN AMERICANS AT HOME is a beautiful escape inside the home of African American celebrities. Showing a diversity of styles and tastes, the reader is given a glimpse of quiet elegance, sophisticated clutter, and even over-indulgent artifacts. Showcasing the houses of celebrities such as Russell Simmons and Gordon Parks to Nancy Lane and Michael McCollom, this book is resplendent, and quite an inspiration to those who can afford to hire someone else to fix up their house.

Photographer Mick Hales has beautifully portrayed areas both inside and outside of each house. And, while I did think the book was beautiful, it was a bit annoying that it only focused on celebrities as if to say that other African Americans do not have style and decorating abilities too. It would've been nice to see a section devoted to those who do their own interior decorating.

Reviewed by Tee C. Royal
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

interesting but it doesn't live up to expectations
I bought this book hoping for decorating inspiration. It's attractive but I wish the author could've visited the homes of a few non celebrities. Another thing I noticed, after looking at only a few pages you begin to realize the each home is very much like the other. It could've been better.

One of a kind!
I was thrilled to come across this book as the marketplace has been needing a book like this for a long time. In my home library of interior design books, there has been a hole when it comes to african-american style and design and this books fits the bill perfectly. Some of the people whose homes are shown are well-known, such as Gordon Parks and Russell Simmons, but others who are less-known, but professionals in their field, have beautiful homes nevertheless. I loved seeing how culture and design are interwoven and that modern pieces can be paired with antiques, heirlooms, and artifacts. I highly recommend this book. ... Read more

Book Description

A detailed architectural analysis of the development of the connected farm buildings made by 19th-century New Englanders, which offers insight into the people who made them. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Powerful debunker of Maine myth!
If you have ever wandered around Maine, you will have noticed a unique form of farm architecture. But ask most people why 19th century Maine farmers made such a concerted effort to physically connect the structures on their farms and the answer is "they needed a way to get to the barn through the winter snow." Trust me, I have gone around and asked current dwellers of Maine farmsteads. Thomas Hubka carefully points out that if that were so, we'd see similar connected farm architecture in parts of the nation where winters were even more inclimate and snowier. Yet Maine farm architecture remains almost totally enigmatic. Hubka's diligent field work reveals that forces were at work in mid-19th century Maine that conspired against the rural farmer: industrial competition for hand-manufactured goods produced at home for cash suppliment, a labor drain to other more prosperous farming regions, and unyielding land. The brilliance of Hubka's work is that he evokes how, despite all this, Maine farmers strove to adapt by creating resilliant islands of industry with the structure of their homes that defiantly sheltered year-round dooryard work efforts from wind and snow, but also change abroad. This book is also a perfect source of pithy detail and illustration regarding 17th century cape-style house architecture which, it turns out, is still ubiquitous in New England. Highly recommended, a stiking work.

when lilacs last in the dooryard bloomed
There's a type of farm layout that you see in New England that you don't see elsewhere in the US. This book is a study of that type of farm, its whys and wherefores, and how it fit into people's lives -- or better, how their lives fit into it.

This book is written very clearly, with numerous graceful diagrams of floor plans, layouts, and photos of representative farms. The author has a deep sympathy for the ordinary farmers and their taxing occupation, as can be seen in the choice of photos (farmhouse buried in snow, barn on fire, farm family sitting in a front yard still dominated by those granite cobbles you expect to be piled into fences). Diagrams tell the demographic story of why these farms were created, why they belong to northern New England; how they were achieved and how people spent their lives in them.

For me, the magic comes in because I fell in love with one of these farms, and its sunny Lincoln-era dooryard. It has a subtle rightness because of its orientation, its site on a knoll, and a certain flexibility of layout. But even if you don't have such a reference point, I think you will be impressed at the perceptiveness of the work, if you can muster any interest at all in the topic.

p.s. I checked on the Web to see if the author is still flourishing. His current project seems to be the wooden synogogues of tiny eastern european towns. Sounds neat... ... Read more

Book Description

Reprinted from a rare 1878 offering from a leading Northeastern architectural firm: front and side elevations, floor plans and descriptions of 50 "practical designs of low and medium priced houses," ranging from 2- to 11-room dwellings, most in the cottage style. With complete specifications for two of the designs, a sample contract, advertisements from suppliers and price estimates. Authentic American Victoriana.
... Read more

Reviews (1)

Great Book of Victorian House and Duplex Plans
This book is full of great illustrations and plans for victorian houses of the late 1800's, many perspective views and some detail drawings. Great to look at and perfect if you plan to build a traditional victorian home or duplex and need some ideas. ... Read more

Book Description

Take a peek inside the rustic world of ranch style in this delightful book of photographs of Western details. David R. Stoecklein shows us what makes each ranch so different and special-funky mailboxes, painted barns, old signs, family brands, creaky wagons.

The character of each ranch shines through in these images that reflect the rich heritage and traditions passed down through generations. ... Read more