architecture must burn
593250
A very dense and stimulating read. One-third of the book is footnotes & references, so it takes a while to grasp just an entire paragraph. But if you like to be ultimately challenged, pick this book up. From caveman to modern man, this book explains how energy (Fire) has evolved through architecture & influenced the way we perceive & use that space (Memory). Also-using two of the most prominent architects: FLW & Corbu, it compares & contrasts the internal & external energy of architecture. Utilizing the laws of thermodynamics, it speaks about architecture alongside an inevitable process of the universe: entropy.
3920820
I normally abhor book burnings but in this case I'd make an exception.  And while we are cleaning house let's toss the author in the flames also.  And here is why I have a problem with this book... Hitchens is not around to refute the lies and innuendoes Taunton is speading.  It is books like this that rally the troops against the scourge of Christianity specifically and religion in general.
1736113
Speaking candidly, there's really no shortage of ideas floating around regarding how we can change our attitudes toward building design in such a manner that allows us align with the context and capacity of the natural environment.  There's the LEED standard, the focus on eliminating sprawl espoused by the Congress for New Urbanism, you've got Low Impact Development, and even the government is on board with the EnergyStar construction standard.  None of this is good enough for Neil Chambers.  I've read my fair share of books on sustainable architecture, design, and urban settlement, but honestly Chamber's Urban Green: Architecture for the Future sets itself apart by driving a harder line for sustainability-focused human settlement.  It's not enough that we reduce energy use or conserve water... according to Chambers we need to take a step back and have a more realistic conversation about how our infrastructure is capable of performing and what our end game is.

Urban Green is a short-read.  It's interesting, it's fast-paced, and it covers a variety of captivating topics (almost to a fault).  However, I finished the book and walked away sort of pissed off.  It's been two weeks since I've read it, and it's taken me this long to digest the material that's there.  Sure, I'd like to believe that super efficient electrical grids and cars we can plug in at the local McDonalds are going to ensure the quality of life and prosperity that I desire for my kids, but I shouldn't lie to myself.  That's exactly what got me so pissed off about Urban Green... it's a reality check... it's essentially 244 pages of Neil Chambers pointing out that in many ways we're greenwashing ourselves toward disaster.  Harsh.

Chamber's main point (or at least my synthesis of it), centers around the idea that design and architecture should be contextual.  Installing a sustainable office park in the middle of a desert doesn't mean slapping in some low-flow water fixtures and plopping some solar panels on the roof.  In fact, it might mean not placing the office park in an area where its very installation is going to exceed the carrying capacity of the local ecosystem.  Sure the low-flow fixtures are great, but they don't totally mitigate the volumes of water we are sucking out of water tables that aren't regenerating fast enough.  They certainly don't account for all the externalities of the infrastructure necessary to move the water to the site from more water-abundant regions.

Chamber's goes on to murder the latest bastion of Americanized-sustainability by pointing out that electric cars aren't really sustainable when the energy source they're using hosts more environmental problems than the energy source they're meant to replace.

Urban Green presents a fresh (albeit disturbing) look at the way we think about the built environment.  It stings a little bit, but Chamber's plays the role of Drill Sergeant in driving home the point that our efforts aren't enough.  We have pay even greater detail to the ecological context of the areas that we are working within and ensure that we are planning in a way that supports not only our own perpetuity, but our fellow species.  As Chamber's would say, we have to start acting like a keystone species (meaning that we have to take into account our profound ability to alter the existence of our biological companions).

Pick it up.  Read it.  Get pissed off about hearing the cold, hard truth.  Then go do something about it.
3591351
Although many of the stories are compelling and often painful to read, the book spends far too many pages on the evils of mid-century racism and not enough is dedicated to addressing the contemporary quandary of the 1% of African-Americans in architecture. It's only in summary that the author touches on recommendations for altering the enduring underrepresentation of African-Americans in professional practice; nevertheless, unmentioned is the apathy of young minorities to pursuit carriers in any of the design fields.  Future generation should recognize careers in design and planning as a new form of community activism for these underserved communities.
1770127
Here, we find an introduction,a collection of essays by architects, theorists and historians and a round table discussion that propose to redefine the conventional history of modern architecture during 1929-1960. The claim that Argentina,Uruguay,Brazil,Venezuela,Mexico,and Cuba were at the center of the architectural avant-guard at this time and that Europe and the USA were extinguished by WWII is argued out very carefully. If you are interested in the development of modern architecture you cannot afford to ignore this book.
762299
I disagree strongly with the book's theme that only the rich and well connected can be successful in architecture.  I have been an architect for over 40 years and I have known very few who started off rich.  Professional practice is just too hard (some have called it monk-like) and the rich soon find their money does not guarantee success.  There are exceptions, such as Phillip Johnson, but later in life he admitted that he was not a particularly good architect.
4879843
Take a good look around you.  The signs are numerous and unmistakable.  The Arctic glaciers are melting at an alarming rate. Entire island nations in the South Pacific are being permanently evacuated and tropical diseases are spreading as birds and insects migrate farther and farther north. Hardly a week goes by without another bizaare weather event dominating the headlines. It is against this backdrop that Ross Gelbspan brings us "Boiling Point: How Politicians, Big Oil and Coal, Journalists, and Activists Have Fueled a Climate Crisis--And What We Can Do to Avert Disaster".  This is the author's clarion call for the peoples of the world to take their heads out of the sand, set aside their differences and work together to solve a problem that threatens the world as we know it.

According to Gelbspan, an overwhelming majority of scientists around the world agree that the world must reduce carbon emissions by some 70%!  And we have less than two decades to get the job done. Obviously, there are major obstacles everywhere, not the least of which is the Bush administration who is clearly in the hip pocket of the oil and coal industry. In fact, less than two months after his inauguration, the President broke a campaign promise and stated that he would no longer seek to regulate power plant emissions. And throughout the remainder of his first term the President fought any kind of regulation on the energy industry tooth and nail. The author quotes longtime Bush supporter Robert Luft, President of Entergy Corp who flatly states "Still, I cannot express my frustration with his performance in this area...Make no mistake.  If today's leaders of government and business don't start understanding the need to take emissions reductions seriously, we will leave a grim, grim legacy for a children and our grandchildren."

After reviewing what divides us, Ross Gelbspan proposes a challenging three point plan that would help to bring about the dramatic changes that are needed to help avoid an environmental calamity.  And while I will not enumerate his proposal here it is safe to say that all of us as individuals and all of the nations of the world must put aside our many and deep differences and work for the common good.  The author is cautiously optimistic that given the right set of circumstances that this could actually happen.  Let's hope and pray that it can.  As another reviewer so aptly put it, "Boiling Point" is a must read for the responsible citizen.  Highly recommended.
2917482
This book is an attempt to influence a huge sector of the economy - healthcare.  I enjoy the displays and explanations of how healthcare architecture is now able to use a smaller energy footprint, use less materials and do less harm to the environment.  Interestingly, the architecture also drives some of the ways that that delivery of healthcare will change.

Architecture is shown as a means to integrate with the community and aid in the quantification of impacts on the environment and on health.  It turns out that about 20% of the impact of the facilities on the environment is from the materials used and 20% is from the transportation effects.

The movement driving this book and efforts like it began in 1996 in a collaboration between the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and the AHA (American Hospital Association) after EPA discovered that incineration of medical waste is responsible for a large percentage of the airborne dioxin.  Now the movement uses the word "green," such as green healthcare.
2519399
Tom Wolfe's article for Rolling Stone magazine in the late 50s or early 60s? (now obscure)was one of the finest architecture criticisms of post-war design in America. Many of the insights of this New Journalist-style essay are simply a rehash of that article applied to Manhattan's skyline. Wolfe traces the 'glass box' skyscrapers to the Bauhaus's obscession with streamlining & truth in materials.  This style literally immigrated to America in the late 1930s-40s as the geniuses of the Bauhaus fled Nazi Germany (the Nazis eventually closed the Bauhaus). Wolfe notes with irony that the Bauhaus' goal was applying new materials like glass, plastics, concrete and steels to produce a common man's design -- free of beaux arts affect -- elegant and affordable to a middle-class consumer. Here is Wolfe's phrase describing Manhattan's skyline of glass boxes: 'row after mies van der rohe of workers' housing pitched 50 stories high' (now corporate HQ high-rises).  His main point is that the Bauhaus vision was gradually transformed into International Style -- devoid of humor or history, impersonal, and repetitive. This style came to represent the projection of corporate power and the end of a idiosyncratic architecture that expressed the personalities of the architect and client (personal not corporation).
Whether you agree with Wolfe or not, he is invariably entertaining and has genuine insight into his topic. At times I found his giddy,  enthusiastic style irritating, too many exclamations and repetition --- practically a chant or cheerleading.
2198897
The author seems to have a fixation on having an automobile free society where everybody walks and congregates in the town center. Although I agree with him that eventually our energy wasting society will have to change, it will be a slow process unless a black swan such as the sudden removal of oil availability occurs. He also spends a lot of time discussing how ugly modern architecture has become. Not everybody shares that opinion and I don't care for the old fancy architecture styles the author seems to fixate upon.
4514740
A nice architecture set to put together and also brings history to a lot of things
2581369
I lived through the making of this book, demolished portions, moved and restored many of the homes depicted herein and even handled aspects of the legal to get this book published.  My father is/was the author and lived a passionate life completely devoted to the 18th Century. He even wore a tricorn hat!  I could write a book on that subject alone.  This book was originally slated for release in 1976 the Bi-Centennial year and contained current pricing - it was conceived as a DYI to empower others to save these old structures and preserve them properly - kind of the "This Old House" of its day.  Sadly, due to politics in publishing (which I won't rant about here) the project was shelved for over a decade.  Very few realize how visionary and purist Edward P. Friedland was regarding historic preservation and the techniques and techicalities of moving and restoring 18th century houses.  It was a privilege to be part of this process.
500243
Great edition, and good book size.
I really like this architecture practice.
The projects are very interesting, but the graphic design could be better.
784678
Architects and students who are bored to death by OMA, MVRDV, Hadid, and the rest of the New Postmodernists will find consolation -- and inspiration -- in this book.

"Questions of Perception" was originally printed in July 1994, as a special issue of the architectural journal A+U. Back issues have been sold out for some time, and until recently, buying a used copy of the book would have set you back a couple hundred dollars. I'm very glad to see that the publishers of A+U decided to reprint these important essays.

Rather than serving as a polemical manifesto, or another boring iteration of reactionary academic theory, the authors discuss the experience of architecture on a basic psychophysiological level. Unlike the work of many of today's starchitects, this book will never seem dated, because it is focused on human constants -- the way that our minds and bodies respond to space, light, texture, color, and other architectural fundamentals. It is not a manual of style, or a collection of glossy photos for you to copy in your next project. It requires active thought. It requires an attention span. You have to absorb the meaning of the writings, not just look at computer renderings with copy+pasted supermodel silhouettes. It has nothing to do with urbanism, globalism, terrorism, or any of the other "isms" that hopeless, clueless, talentless academics increasingly try to link to the building and construction industry. Instead, it's a quiet reflection on the ways that buildings (and natural environments) shape our daily experiences. Even though 13 years have passed since these essays were written, they are still highly relevant for any designer who wants to infuse their work with quality and honesty.

As far as I can tell, the book's design is identical to the 1994 version, with the exception of the cover artwork. I must admit that $50 is a bit pricey for a book that is so plainly printed and bound. Regardless, it's better than paying a couple hundred dollars for a used copy of the original. And, all things considered, it's only a few dollars more than something like S,M,L,XL. So if you're tired of pretentious, pedantic academese, and you're ready to read something with permanence and substance, do yourself a favor and buy "Questions of Perception" instead.
3181565
This disc is a smoking, burning, top notch out of control assemblage of some of the most dangerous and beautiful Studio One ever committed to tape. For both seasoned gourmets and newcomers alike this disc is an absolute must. A grand survey of the Roots, Rasta side of Studio One: early pre-ska, Ska and vintage reggae. Some tracks are so heavy and deadly that caution must be exercised when listening...
2499232
This book is an important counterbalance to the plethora of glossy coffee table books about architecture that glorify starchitects and their creations, which usually only benefit their wealthy clients.  If only the architectural journals would plaster these projects on their front pages instead of oh-so-chic homes and corporate headquarters.  The world is facing a housing crisis, but most architects are not trained to respond to this crisis in massive, innovative ways that go beyond the feel-good student trips to build a couple of houses for people in need.  This book should be required reading in all architecture schools, architecture practices, and architectural publishing offices.  The profession - as with so many other professions - has lost its way.  This book can be one small step toward recovering the reality that architecture is a collaborative endeavor that entails public responsibilities.
3587101
By writing this book on history's most powerful architect, Lon Krier makes a powerful statement about architecture itself - it does not have neutral impact on our lives. It is not purely ornamental, a decoration on top of utilitarian structure. It has such force that it can be used to marshal entire nations to the will of its rulers, and it was employed totally to this end by the nazi regime until the violent conclusion of its ambitions.

Accepting that architecture has such force over us, what would happen to a society where architecture is deliberately sober, empty, void, confusing, mocking, satirical? What is happening to our society? And who is doing it to us?

If architecture has such force over us, how much good could be done through it? With the right purposes?

Albert Speer, the man, is not very interesting. The book features a picture of his personal home in Berlin, which would fit handsomely in any upper-middle-class suburban neighborhood of the northern hemisphere. That he was part of such a mad experiment appears as an accident of history. Any other ambitious architect of the time could have fulfilled his role.

Thank you Lon Krier for challenging us with this book.