Specific Styles Books

Atomic Ranch

Michelle Gringeri-Brown

Amazon Price: $26.37 List Price: $39.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Gibbs Smith, Publisher Amazon Marketplace: 41 new & used starting at $17.97

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Home Design -> General
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Home Design -> General AAS
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Interior Design -> Decorating

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 21 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Recommended 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I love this book!! I live in an "Atomic Ranch" and this book covers the subject very well. Not only are the pictures great, the text is informative. I also subscribe to Atomic Ranch Magazine published by the same authors. If you are a fan of this genre, both are highly recommended!

This book is chock-a-block full of great info 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I love this book! The author's magazine (of the same name) is awesome and this book covers homes from the early issues which are no longer available (issues, not homes). I love seeing the beautiful interiors and exteriors of modest size homes which most people consider beneath their notice because they aren't historically "old enough" or architecturally significant.

I have learned a lot about mid-century modern homes from reading this book. The photos are great and the book is very informative.

If you live in a plain ranch home, and enjoy a streamlined style of living, then I highly suggest you get this book. It is full of practical tips and resources.

Editorial Review:

Atomic Ranch is an in-depth exploration of post-World War II residential architecture in America. Mid-century ranches (1946-1970) range from the decidedly modern gable-roofed Joseph Eichler tracts in the San Francisco Bay area and butterfly wing houses in Palm Springs, Florida, to the unassuming brick or stucco L-shaped ranches and split-levels so common throughout the United States.

Brunelleschi's Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture

Ross King

Amazon Price: $10.12 List Price: $15.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Penguin (Non-Classics) Amazon Marketplace: 173 new & used starting at $1.02

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> History -> Europe -> Italy -> Renaissance
Subjects -> History -> Europe -> Italy -> General
Subjects -> History -> Europe -> Italy -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 103 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Filippo Brunelleschi's design for the dome of the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence remains one of the most towering achievements of Renaissance architecture. Completed in 1436, the dome remains a remarkable feat of design and engineering. Its span of more than 140 feet exceeds St Paul's in London and St Peter's in Rome, and even outdoes the Capitol in Washington, D.C., making it the largest dome ever constructed using bricks and mortar. The story of its creation and its brilliant but "hot-tempered" creator is told in Ross King's delightful Brunelleschi's Dome.

Both dome and architect offer King plenty of rich material. The story of the dome goes back to 1296, when work began on the cathedral, but it was only in 1420, when Brunelleschi won a competition over his bitter rival Lorenzo Ghiberti to design the daunting cupola, that work began in earnest. King weaves an engrossing tale from the political intrigue, personal jealousies, dramatic setbacks, and sheer inventive brilliance that led to the paranoid Filippo, "who was so proud of his inventions and so fearful of plagiarism," finally seeing his dome completed only months before his death. King argues that it was Brunelleschi's improvised brilliance in solving the problem of suspending the enormous cupola in bricks and mortar (painstakingly detailed with precise illustrations) that led him to "succeed in performing an engineering feat whose structural daring was without parallel." He tells a compelling, informed story, ranging from discussions of the construction of the bricks, mortar, and marble that made up the dome, to its subsequent use as a scientific instrument by the Florentine astronomer Paolo Toscanelli. --Jerry Brotton, Amazon.co.uk

S M L XL: Second Edition

Rem Koolhaas, Bruce Mau, Hans Werlemann

Amazon Price: $53.55 List Price: $85.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Monacelli Press Amazon Marketplace: 44 new & used starting at $39.98

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> General
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> General AAS
Subjects -> Professional & Technical -> Architecture -> Building Types & Styles -> Specific Styles

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 28 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

This extraordinary, massive, and mind-boggling 1,300-page book combines essays, manifestos, diaries, fairy tales, travelogues, a cycle of meditations on the contemporary city--and complex illustration--with work produced by Koolhaas' Office for Metropolitan Architecture over the past twenty years. This almost overwhelming accumulation of words and images illuminates the condition of architecture today--its splendors and miseries--exploring and revealing the corrosive effects of politics, context, the economy, and globalization. In some ways, this is the "Medium is the Message" of 1990s architectural discourse: guaranteed to be hugely influential in the coming decades, but grossly misunderstood by those who have not read it. The core arguments it makes about metropolitan architecture--accepting complexity and lack of centralized control--are similar to those of Kevin Kelly's Out of Control: The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems and the Economic World. Very highly recommended.

Thomas Jefferson: Architect: The Interactive Portfolio

Chuck Wills

Amazon Price: $31.95 List Price: $45.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Running Press Amazon Marketplace: 32 new & used starting at $26.03

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> General AAS
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Arts & Literature -> Artists, Architects & Photographers
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Leaders & Notable People -> Political

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Though Thomas Jefferson is thought of first and foremost as one of America’s founding fathers, his contributions in the realm of architecture, design, and innovation were no less revolutionary. The third president created an American ideal in architecture that can be seen in numerous structures that define the landscape of his resident state of Virginia, and comprise what has come to be regarded as classic American colonial design.

Combining beautiful images, informative, accessible text, and removable memorabilia, this book celebrates the design of Jefferson’s four most notable structures: the University of Virginia, his Monticello home, the Poplar Forest retreat, and the Virginia State Capitol.

Monticello is the only home in the United States designated as a World Heritage Site. This Charlottesville, Virginia residence is featured on the reverse side of the nickel, and brings more than 450,000 visitors to its halls each year. However, guests are only allowed viewing on the ground floor and in the cellar; Thomas Jefferson: Architect will be one of the few places to reveal the second and third floors.

Thomas Jefferson has never ceased to intrigue both the scholar and the casual history reader. New works about his life, his politics, and his writings continue to be published each year. As historical narratives dominate the nonfiction landscape, Jefferson remains a central figure in American history, and this unique volume adds a new facet to this fascinating man.

Universe of Stone: A Biography of Chartres Cathedral

Philip Ball

Amazon Price: $19.85 List Price: $27.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Harper Amazon Marketplace: 41 new & used starting at $15.90

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> History & Criticism -> General
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> History & Criticism -> General AAS
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Chartres Cathedral, south of Paris, is revered as one of the most beautiful and profound works of art in the Western canon. But what did it mean to those who constructed it in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries? And why, during this time, did Europeans begin to build churches in a new style, at such immense height and with such glorious play of light, in the soaring manner we now call Gothic?

Universe of Stone shows that the Gothic cathedrals encode a far-reaching shift in the way medieval thinkers perceived their relationship with their world. For the first time, they began to believe in an orderly, rational world that could be investigated and understood. This change marked the beginning of Western science and also the start of a long and, indeed, unfinished struggle to reconcile faith and reason.

By embedding the cathedral in the culture of the twelfth century—its schools of philosophy and science, its trades and technologies, its politics and religious debates—Philip Ball makes sense of the visual and emotional power of Chartres. Beautifully illustrated and written, filled with astonishing insight, Universe of Stone argues that Chartres is a sublime expression of the originality and vitality of a true "first renaissance," one that occurred long before the birth of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, or Francis Bacon.

The Most Beautiful Libraries in the World

Guillaume de Laubier, Laurel Hirsch (translator)

Amazon Price: $31.50 List Price: $50.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Harry N. Abrams Amazon Marketplace: 38 new & used starting at $9.95

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Photography -> Architectural
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Photography -> How-to -> General
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Photography -> How-to -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 13 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

All of the libraries in the world-whether small or large, public or private-serve the same purpose: to preserve, cherish, or show off the riches of human knowledge. Now, for the first time, an internationally renowned photographer takes the reader on a journey to more than 20 of the most historic of these magical places, all architectural treasures. From the dramatic, baroque Library of the Institut de France in Paris, to the splendid Vatican Library in Rome; from the majestic Royal Library in El Escorial, Spain, to the famed New York Public Library, a Beaux-Arts masterpiece-here are some of the most exquisite libraries of the Western world.

Included are national, scholarly, and religious libraries from 12 countries, which have in common a distinguished heritage and an architectural setting that emphasizes art and culture. The accompanying text traces the history of libraries to the present day, and describes how they came to serve famous personalities and men of letters. Libraries must be counted among civilization's crowning achievements; this elegant book is a fitting tribute to that accomplishment.

The Green House: New Directions in Sustainable Architecture

Alanna Stang, Christopher Hawthorne

Amazon Price: $29.70 List Price: $45.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Princeton Architectural Press Amazon Marketplace: 48 new & used starting at $17.50

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Home Design -> General
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Home Design -> General AAS
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> How-to & Home Improvements -> Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

From the arid deserts of Tucson, Arizona to the icy forests of Poori, Finland to the tropical beaches of New South Wales, Australia to the urban jungle of downtown Manhattan, critics Alanna Stang and Christopher Hawthorne have traveled to the farthest reaches of the globe to find all that is new in the design of sustainable, or "green," homes. The result: more than thirty-five residences in fifteen countries -- and nearly every conceivable natural environment -- designed by a combination of star architects and heretofore unknown practitioners.
Six different climactic zones are presented in The Green House -- waterfront, forest and mountain, tropical, desert, suburban, and urban; there is also a section on mobile dwellings. Each chapter features a series of homes that show the diversity and possibility of sustainable design. Projects are presented with large color images, plans, drawings, and an accompanying text that describes their green features and explains how they work with and in the environment.
Architects included: Santiago Calatrava, Shigeru Ban, Miller/Hull, Rick Joy, Lake Flato, Kengo Kuma, Glenn Murcutt, Pugh & Scarpa, Werner Sobek, and many others.
The Green House is not only a beautiful object in its own right, but is sure to be an indispensable reference for anyone building or interested in sustainable design -- and if you ask us, that should be everyone.

Bungalow Details Exterior

Jane Powell

Amazon Price: $26.37 List Price: $39.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Gibbs Smith, Publisher Amazon Marketplace: 27 new & used starting at $21.68

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> General AAS
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Home Design -> General
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Home Design -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

best of the bunglaow books 5 out of 5 stars.
9 of 9 people found this review helpful.

Together writer Jane Powell and photographer Linda Svendsen create the best bungalow books on the market -- full of information, not just fluff. Whether you are thinking of remodelling your house, changing a few details, or just want to understand the history of your bungalow, this is the book to buy... and really, this book is very cheap compared to the price of a bad remodel.

In my opinion the chapter on avoiding replacement window scams, while energy-retrofitting your house, should be required reading for all homebuyers.

Editorial Review:

What defines an Arts and Crafts bungalow? What makes it different from other small, one or one-and-a-half story houses?
In Bungalow Details: Exterior, you'll learn of the elements that make up the whole experience: sleeping porches, knee braces, river rock columns, pillars, three-part front windows, low-pitched roofs, shingle siding, art glass light fixtures, clinker brick chimneys, pergolas, exposed rafter tails, and an extensive use of wood, stone, and brick. None of these features by themselves characterize a bungalow, but it is often the way these details and others are combined-and the philosophy they represent-that makes a house a true, authentic Arts and Crafts bungalow.
(20000101)

Yurts: Living in the Round

Becky Kemery

Amazon Price: $16.47 List Price: $24.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Gibbs Smith, Publisher Amazon Marketplace: 35 new & used starting at $14.78

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> General AAS
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Gardening & Horticulture -> Outdoor & Recreational Areas
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Home Design -> Design & Construction

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Beautiful and Comprehensive 5 out of 5 stars.
12 of 12 people found this review helpful.

Ever since I first heard that Becky Kemery was writing a book about Yurts I have been looking forward to having it in my hands. The wait has definitely been worth it, now that I can see how fully realized her idea has become. Yurts: Living in the Round was published in 2006 by Gibbs Smith, and is the definitive source of information about anything to do with yurts. Not only that, it is also a fine piece of art in its own right; nearly every page is graced with carefully laid out color photos and drawings. Becky's writing is both clear and well researched.

Becky writes, "Most yurts are portable, tent-like structures. They have circular lattice walls (reminiscent of baby gates tied together) and a cone-shaped roof supported by rafters that meet in a center ring. The outer fabric shell of the yurt can be made of felted wool, coated canvas, or a modern architectural fabric. An ever-increasing number of wooden structures are also called yurts. What defines them as yurts and not just round houses? The Answer lies in the yurt's uncommon roof structure."

"The yurt roof incorporates a unique architectural design. Roof struts meet in a center ring, producing inward and downward pressure. This center ring holds the rafters an a state of compression. Where the struts meet the wall at the perimeter, a natural outward thrust occurs. A band (of rope, woven cloth, or wire cable) a the top of the wall holds the wall and roof poles in tension against this outward pressure. Because of this...long roof spans are possible without any internal support system (like posts, trusses, or beams). This gives the yurt an uncommon feeling of spaciousness and uplift. the roof design also creates an incredibly strong and resilient structure that is uniquely equipped to withstand earthquakes, strong winds, and heavy snow loads."

The historical evolution of the modern yurt from its origins with the nomadic Central Asian tribes is carefully outlined. Both the Mongolian Ger and the Turkic Uy are the forerunners of what we now call the yurt. How these tribal folks traditionally make and decorate their portable homes is both fascinating and colorful. This process is generally a group effort and often involves painstakingly felting the wool to make the covering. The traditional pattern of living within this circular space is surprisingly similar to Native American traditional use of space within a hogan, with various family members and guests having their appropriate places.

One of the early modern adaptations of the traditional yurt design was Bill Copperwaite's "tapered wall yurt." These are wooden structures that incorporate the same roof design, but modify the vertical walls to incline outward, giving them a distinctly oriental flare. Bill has been exploring these interesting shapes since the early 1960's, and has come up with quite a variety of forms, including some with concentric tiers of yurts within yurts. Some of them have scalloped butterfly-like roofs; others have gothic arches that surround the perimeter.

The modern fabric yurt is more like its nomadic predecessor, in most ways, except that modern canvas or synthetic fabric replaces the felted wool. Becky chronicles how various people have adapted the original designs to suit modern needs in a variety of climates. Many of the new yurts have central plastic dome skylights and windows that let in lots of light, making them much more open and airy than the darker, womb-like nomadic yurts.

Many of the folks who have experimented with building their own yurts have gone on to make a business of supplying yurt kits for the general public. Becky suggests how to locate and evaluate these yurt companies, and describes various ways that yurts can be adapted for personal needs, such having a bathroom, porch, heater, etc. She even addresses the issues of financing and insuring yurts, and dealing with building code officials.

Another modern adaptation to the traditional yurt is called the "frame panel" yurt. These are much more permanent dwellings than their fabric cousins, and can appear as very solid indeed. They are often prefabricated off-site and shipped to the site for erection. Becky interviewed various people who have lived in these unique homes and shares many insights that could help others who do the same.

The chapter titled "Living in the Round" philosophically evaluates the merits of doing this. Becky writes, "The flexible open space of a yurt is an interior design canvas waiting for the creative expression of each yurt inhabitant. What remains constant is the welcoming embrace of the space, the interaction between inner and outer worlds, and the roof structure that lifts our vision skyward. The yurt also has an inherent ability to bring people together into a circle, which naturally engenders connection and cooperation."

The final portion of the book has several appendices that explore building codes, platform construction, and wood stove installation. There is also an extensive resource guide here for yurt companies, yurt plans, and other media. Becky's website about yurts, [...], is another resource providing additional information.

I heartily recommend this book to anyone interested in simple, sustainable living, enduring vernacular architecture, or the possibilities inherent in living in the round.

Editorial Review:

Yurts: Living in the Round journeys from Central Asia to modern America and reveals the history, evolution, and contemporary benefits of yurt living. One of the oldest forms of indigenous shelter still in use today, yurts have exploded into the twenty-first century as a multi-faceted, thoroughly modern, utterly versatile, and immensely popular modern structure whose possibilities are still being explored. Kemery introduces the innovators who redesigned the yurt and took it from back country trekking and campground uses to modern permanent homes and offices.

Bungalow Bathrooms (Bungalow Basics)

Jane Powell

Amazon Price: $26.37 List Price: $39.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Gibbs Smith, Publisher Amazon Marketplace: 33 new & used starting at $17.75

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Crafts & Hobbies -> General
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Crafts & Hobbies -> General AAS
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Home Design -> Remodeling & Renovation -> Bathrooms

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 23 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The hands-on sourcebook for creating or restoring a stylish bathroom in the Arts & Crafts spirit.
In this sequel to the best-selling Bungalow Kitchens, Jane Powell and Linda Svendsen turn to the second most complex room in the house. As reflected in these pages, the bathroom can-and should-be a beautiful extension of the home style-and what better examples than those from the Arts & Crafts era.
Though it may seem a self-evident feature of the Arts & Crafts style, bungalow bathrooms are truly artistic endeavors. They go beyond the traditional pedestal sink and claw-foot tub to some of the most beautiful tile work, woodwork, fixtures, and decorative elements available. Bungalow Bathrooms is a guide to restoring or designing a period-style bathroom for a bungalow or other early-twentieth-century house. It provides a wealth of information about flooring, cabinets, countertops, fixtures, faucets, and all the other elements that make up a bungalow bathroom, as well as advice on how to integrate modern technology while maintaining the bungalow look.
Jane Powell, the author of Bungalow Kitchens, is the proprietor of House Dressing, a business dedicated to renovating and preserving old homes, particularly bungalows. She is the former president of the historic preservation organization in her hometown of Oakland, California.
Linda Svendsen, a graduate of Music and Art High School and Parsons School of Design in New York, specializes in architectural interior and exterior photography. Her work has been seen most recently in Camps and Cottages, Bungalow Kitchens, Old House Journal, Old House Interiors, Victorian Decorating, and Lifestyles Magazine.
(20000101)