MBR: The Architecture Shelf
Midwest Book Review
Wood Houses
Auroa Cuito
Te Neues
16 W. 22nd St., New York NY 10010
3832790764 $24.95 www.teneues.com
WOOD HOUSES provides a simple focus on a selection of houses made from
wood - not just on the exterior, but right down to kitchens, bathrooms
and bedrooms. Aurora Cuito is a Spanish architect who has also worked
for design firms in New York: her focus on wood provides a focus on its
many applications and purposes, packing full-page color interior and
exterior shots with comments on design and space planning.
Winter House
Charlotte Moss
Clarkson Potter
1745 Broadway, New York NY 10019
1400054389 $50.00 www.randomhouse.com
Interior designer Charlotte Moss focuses on how to change a home to a
warm retreat using her own winter house as an example: WINTER HOUSE is
thus both a review of her designs and a survey of what makes a winter
house more accommodating. There are spaces for all purposes, from
family gatherings to private rooms for reflection: a room-by-room
survey is accompanied by organization and design tips, reflections on
innovations and 'little luxuries' adaptable to any environment, and
plenty of entertainment ideas. Color photos pack nearly every page and
accompany the author's examples of what makes a 'winter home' style.
The Survival Guide: Home Remodeling
Diane Plesset, ASID, CBD/CKD, CCIDC
Design and Publishing
12042 SE Sunnyside Rd. Box 480, Clackamas, OR 97015
0972962700 $34.95 www.dp-design.com
The price tag is hefty but this remodeling book comes direct from
experience: the author offers remodeling seminars to homeowners and her
vast knowledge combines with 'homeowner horror stories' to provide
money-saving and mistake-avoiding ideas in THE SURVIVAL GUIDE: HOME
REMODELING: PLESSET'S PRINCIPLES FOR AN ALMOST-PERFECT PROJECT. Janis
Emerson provides black and white line drawings to accompany guidelines,
worksheets, and chapters which clearly outline pro and con
considerations every step of the away, from selecting a stove to
shopping for products and understanding product information specs.
Initial design talks, lighting, spouts, fixtures - not one nail is left
for speculation.
Home Work
Lloyd Kahn
Shelter Publications
PO Box 279, Bolinas, CA 94924
0936070331 $26.95 www.shelterpub.com
HOME WORK: HANDBUILT SHELTER represents over thirty years of gathering
photos and details about builders around the world; so don't expect a
hasty compilation of alternate design here. It represents the sequel to
Kahn's best-selling SHELTER, published in 1973, and packs in over a
thousand photos and over 300 drawings illustrating hand-made buildings
ranging from a Japanese stilt house accessible only by cable across a
river to an African stone house. The survey of unique hand-built homes
around the world is a joy to behind, contrasting a diversity in design
and presentation which comes not from the professional architect's
casebook but, many times, from the amateur builders themselves. Very
highly recommended for any collection strong in builder's books and
design idea books - or even international travel and cultures.
Ralph Adams Cram: An Architect's Four Quests
Douglass Shand-Tucci
University of Massachusetts Press
PO Box 429, Amherst, MA 01004
1558494898 $49.95 1-800-488-1144 www.umass.edu.umpress
Any college-level student of architecture should know the name of
American architect Ralph Adams Cram - and any familiar with his work
should consider RALPH ADAMS CRAM: ARCHITECT'S FOUR QUESTS a definitive
work covering his life and achievements. His later career is the focus,
following the prior acclaimed study of his earlier years in BOSTON
BOHEMIA, 1881-1900: his most important commissions, his rivalry with
partner Goodhue, and his leading influences from Roosevelt to Adams and
Ayn Rand are surveyed, bringing all this together under themes which
divides his career into four lifelong 'quests': medieval, modernist,
American and ecumenical.
W.W. Norton
500 - 5th Ave., New York NY 10110
www.wwnorton.com
Three outstanding architecture books are highly recommended references
for any college-level collection expanding their architecture holdings.
Peter Buchanan's TEN SHADES OF GREEN: ARCHITECTURE AND THE NATURAL
WORLD (0393731898, $24.95) centers on ten buildings which illustrate
how environmental responsibility influences modern architectural
pursuits. Peter Buchanan is a curator and critic: his choices reflect
designs which blend environmental responsibility with design
excellence, showing how such a focus provides architects with new,
innovative ideas. Judy A. Juracek's ARCHITECTURAL SURFACES: DETAILS FOR
ARTISTS, ARCHITECTS AND DESIGNERS (0393730794, $95.00) comes with a
cd-rom and provides students and professional practitioners alike with
a new addition to the 'Surfaces' series. Hundreds of different
architectural features are portrayed in well over a thousand color
photos which capture details and provide a subject organization for
quick, easy reference. Professionals and students alike will appreciate
the illustrated glossary of technical terms, and the wealth of
illustration packs four to six good-sized photos on almost every page.
Brian Hayes' INFRASTRUCTURE: A FIELD GUIDE TO THE INDUSTRIAL LANDSCAPE
(0393058879, $49.95) blends Hayes' own striking color photos with a
guide exploring al major 'ecosystems' of the modern industrial world.
It covers all kinds of objects, from railroad tracks and antenna towers
to power lines, satellite dishes and more: manufactured items which
permeate the human urban landscape to such a degree that they are part
of our lives. Chapters discuss romance, geometric design, function and
art alike.
2006 National Concrete & Masonry Estimator
Dan Atcheson
Craftsman Book Company
8058 Corte del Cedro, Carlsbad, CA 92011
1572181575 $54.00 www.craftsman-book.com
Estimate labor hours and material costs for all kinds of concrete and
masonry work with the 2006 NATIONAL CONCRETE & MASONRY ESTIMATOR: a
cd/book package filled with tips on how to produce quick, accurate cost
estimates. Contractors are well aware that estimations can use up hours
of bidding time: here it's advised the material lists be developed only
when the contract is obtained - and chapters provide all the formulas
necessary to produce quick calculations based on the latest prices.
Author Dan Atcheson is the son of an architect who began his career as
a teen, working at most of the construction trades until he added
estimating to his skills. Chapters for each projected job divide into
columns figures for labor, materials, and units and provide a manual
which can easily be used as a company price book. Very highly
recommended - and the interactive cd is set up to make expert to
Quickbooks a snap, too!
Home By Design
Sarah Susanka
The Taunton Press
63 South Main St., Newtown, CT 06470
www.taunton.com
1561587915 $21.95 1-800-477-8727
Architect and visionary Sarah Susanka presents Home By Design:
Inspiration For Transforming House Into Home, a tour of thirty
beautifully designed homes with the author's twenty-seven key insights
into what gives each dwelling its special aesthetic panache. Full color
photographs by Grey Crawford and floor diagrams of each home illustrate
the text, which turns a keen eye toward the unique character and flow
of each construction. Home By Design is a beautiful book to simply page
through for ideas, and an inspirational resource for the novice
do-it-yourself enthusiast, as well as having value for the experienced
architectural designer as well.
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Midwest Book Review
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