Chinese furniture design had been improved through the centuries, maturing during the 14th century. The Qing furniture developed from Ming style furniture; it was attractive with ornate novel decorative elements. In the olden days of China, those who had resources could afford to live in a gracious residence such as the four-closed courtyard house (siheyuan). The four-closed courtyard house is the Chinese art of enclosing space to create an ideal environment for habitation. The multifunctional Chinese classical furniture facilitates the indoor and outdoor activities of its inhabitants. Siheyuan is divided into chambers such as the Hall, female chamber etc. This book provides details on which pieces of furniture should be displayed in each chamber, as well as full-colour illustrations and diagrams of how each piece was made and assembled. This includes three-dimensional drawings by Philip Mak and perspective views of the interior of various rooms. The author guides the readers through them, narrating the placement of furniture with inherent social implications. For easy reference, each piece is numbered and a more detailed description available in the catalogue section of this book. Text in English and Chinese.

Ever since the firm's establishment in 1989, Frankfurt-based Stefan Forster Architekten (SFA) had a special focus on housing. A starting point for this was the urgent necessity of refurbishment and modernisation of the vast housing developments constructed of prefabricated concrete slabs as part of the urban rebuilding programmes in the newly founded federal states of eastern Germany following the country's re-unification in 1990. From the initial 'Haus 07' in Leinefelde, Thuringia, SFA have moved on, creating a remarkable body of work in metropolitan housing. Their designs comprise large-scale public multi-unit blocs and single-family town houses on small plots, as well as the transformation of former office and public administration structures. This first monograph on SFA highlights how the firm has constantly worked on raising the standards in residential architecture, years before the current shortage of housing in urban areas has made such improvements so urgent. The book features 30 designs that exemplify SFA's approach and philosophy. Text in English and German.

Today s cabins are for all-season use, making them the delight of hikers, explorers, and urbanites searching for peace of mind. They are practical, comfortable, and built to withstand the harsh climates in the high mountains or the rugged coast. Some are basic and sparsely fitted shelters; others are unique glamping (glamorous camping) retreats with all the comforts of the home or, better yet, with the amenities of a luxury hotel including hot tub, sauna, and Wi-Fi. Clearly, the idea of escaping to remote locations to reconnect with nature has expanded its experiential boundaries, but traditional cabins prevail as timeless structures that sensibly integrate into their surroundings. Glass and wood take centre stage as the predominant materials used inside and out. Generous fenestration opens interior spaces to the daylight and the views. Sustainable principles and the designs they generate evolve to reflect the use of materials and technology that is inherently linked to a place and time. Such principles were already implanted in vernacular architecture through the consideration of factors including geographical, topographical, climatic, as well as cultural and historic.

The philosophy of CLB Architects, Inspired by Place, permeates all the firms design work, from public projects to bespoke homes. Their portfolio projects - timeless, thoughtful, distinct and beautiful - are examples of how to tread softly on the land in some of the world's most iconic landscapes. They introduce a new approach to form and materiality in a region where the design world is often limited by a nostalgic view of the past. Inspired By Place showcases ten homes by CLB Architects, many of which feature interiors by CLB's design team; these are always sophisticated yet comfortable and conceived as an extension of the architecture. From a streamlined modern masterpiece on the banks of the Snake River to architecture as connected barnlike structures to a private glass pavilion retreat perfectly oriented for wildlife viewing, CLB's work references local forms and vernaculars while speaking in a new architectural language for the Rocky Mountain West.

This beautifully produced book celebrates the work of Robert Adam, the great eighteenth-century architect who influenced generations by stamping his distinctive neoclassical aesthetic vision on the English country house interior. Lavish new photography provides a deeply visual exploration of Adam s most important surviving country houses, to which the author and photographer gained unparalleled access. Included are magnificent country houses such as Syon House and Harewood House styled and inspired by the ideal of the neoclassical as well as Adam s castle-style Mellerstain and town houses such as Home House all captured in splendid detail. Original Adam design drawings, from Sir John Soane s Museum, illustrate the boldness of planning, color, and creative interpretation of Adam s domestic interiors. A biographical and contextual account of Adam s life and work describes his unique design process, his patrons, and the legacy of his design achievement. This richly illustrated volume will appeal to designers and homeowners as well as traditional architecture enthusiasts, promising to become an important addition to any architecture and interior design library.

In this richly illustrated book, art historian John R. Clarke helps us see the ancient Roman house 'with Roman eyes'. Clarke presents a range of houses, from tenements to villas, and shows us how enduring patterns of Roman wall decoration tellingly bear the cultural, religious, and social imprints of the people who lived with them. In case studies of seventeen excavated houses, Clarke guides us through four centuries of Roman wall painting, mosaic, and stucco decoration, from the period of the 'Four Styles' (100 B.C. to A.D. 79) to the mid- third century. The First Style Samnite House shows its debt to public architecture in its clear integration of public and private spaces. The Villa of Oplontis asserts the extravagant social and cultural climate of the Second Style. Gem-like Third-Style rooms from the House of Lucretius Fronto reflect the refinement and elegance of Augustan tastes. The Vettii brothers' social climbing helps explain the overburdened Fourth-Style decoration of their famous house. And evidence of remodelling leads Clarke to conclude that the House of Jupiter and Ganymede became a gay hotel in the second century. In his emphasis on social and spiritual dimensions, Clarke offers a contribution to Roman art and architectural history that is both original and accessible to the general reader. The book's superb photographs not only support the author's findings but help to preserve an ancient legacy that is fast succumbing to modern deterioration resulting from pollution and vandalism.

Filled with beautiful full-color photographs and detailed illustrations, an irresistible collection profiling 150 of the latest trends in contemporary loft design. The ultimate resource for designing and decorating loft spaces, 150 Best of the Best Loft Ideas presents 150 stunning lofts constructed and designed by notable architects and designers from around the world. Made popular in the nineteen fifties and sixties in New York City, lofts-synonymous with a modern, avant-garde lifestyle-continue to maintain their wide appeal. While loft living once meant converting old industrial warehouses into a warm and inviting living environment, today the style has evolved into an airy, open approach for any modern living space. This compilation highlights the diversity of current trends in loft design and is a source of creative inspiration for architects, designers, and home owners interested in staying current with the latest in contemporary residential architecture.

The life of Antoni Gaudi (1852-1926) was full of complexity and contradictions. As a young man he joined the Catalonian nationalist movement and was critical of the church; toward the end of his life he devoted himself completely to the construction of one single spectacular church, La Sagrada Familia. In his youth, he courted a glamorous social life and the demeanor of a dandy. By the time of his death in a tram accident on the streets of Barcelona his clothes were so shabby passersby assumed he was a beggar. Gaudi's incomparable architecture channels much of this multifaceted intricacy. From the shimmering textures and skeletal forms of Casa Batllo to the Hispano-Arabic matrix of Casa Vicens, his work merged the influences of Orientalism, natural forms, new materials, and religious faith into a unique Modernista aesthetic. Today, his unique aesthetic enjoys global popularity and acclaim. His magnum opus, the Sagrada Familia, is the most-visited monument in Spain, and seven of his works are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Through brand-new photography, plans and drawings by Gaudi himself, historical photos, as well as an appendix detailing all his works-from buildings to furniture, decor to unfinished projects-this book presents Gaudi's universe like never before. Like a personal tour through Barcelona, we discover how the "Dante of architecture" was a builder in the truest sense of the word, crafting extraordinary constructions out of minute and mesmerizing details, and transforming fantastical visions into realities on the city streets.

What does living in the city mean today? Urban centres promise diversity and agglomeration – they are the motors for changes in society. By means of 26 townhouses, urban multi-storey residential buildings and residential quarters for families, couples, flat/house shares and singles, this book presents a range of current lifestyle and living models. From organisation of the floor plan to construction details, various urban design and social aspects are presented. What decisions are made with regard to the degree of openness to and delimitation from the surrounding environment, which materials are used, how much private and communal space is planned? It is also considered how extensions, conversions and renovations can help to meet economic and ecological living requirements in the city.

Creating Aging-Friendly Communities (CAFC) examines the need to redesign America's communities to respond to the realities of our rapidly aging society. The text focuses on the interface between individuals and their environments, and the ways in which communities can enhance individual and community well-being. What differentiates CAFC from other books is its breadth of focus, its comprehensive and evidence-based consideration of key concepts, its inclusion of social as well as physical infrastructure characteristics, and its intensive examination of models of community change for fostering aging-friendliness. It presents a conceptually and empirically-based model of aging-friendliness, identifies environmental modifications that could enhance individual and community well-being, outlines a typology of community change approaches, and considers the potential efficacy of those approaches. This book identifies practical implications for policies, programs, and knowledge development designed to help communities become more aging-friendly.

Once the center of village and city life, diminishing congregation numbers have left church buildings increasingly empty or forced to close. So, how can they be revitalized? Since 2016, under the patronage of the Evangelical Church in Middle Germany and the International Building Exhibition IBA Thueringen, citizens have unified through solidarity-forming projects to reactivate their churches as sites of community. This second volume of the series StadtLand:Kirche presents these ambitious projects, detailing a narrative of progress through failures and successes. Case studies such as the Her(r)bergskirche in Rennsteig and the Bienen-Garten-Kirche in Roldisleben, demonstrate that realistic secular uses can complement the original offerings of the church. A new type of church is emerging as a hybrid place at the center of the village.

Since the appearance of simplified 3D sketching programs like SketchUp, architects and interior designers have been called on to use both freehand and 3D CAD drawings, often at very earliest stages of design. Since we must often go back and forth between analytical plan views and 3D visual views, it's important that this be a seamless process, requiring little disruptive action or break in the workflow. Integrated Drawing Techniques closes the gap between creativity and geometry, teaching beginner architects and interior designers how to design their residential interiors using freehand sketching and computer-aided design simultaneously. From concept planning to 3D rendering, this book is a comprehensive guide to designing residences by hand and computer.

This book sheds light on environmental control in buildings from the 17th century onwards. Even before building services became a hallmark of buildings, in order to address increasing sanitary and comfort needs, pioneering experiences had contributed to improve design skills of professionals. After long being determined by passive features, indoor climate became influenced by installations and plants, representing the most significant shift of paradigm in the modern age's construction history. This change was not without consequences, and the book presents contributions showing the deep connection between architectural design, comfort requirements and environmental awareness throughout the 19th century. Taking into account the differences between different European countries, the book is a valuable resource for architects, designers and heritage professionals who are interested in environmental design, enabling them to develop a deeper knowledge of heritage in order to address to climate demands, particularly going towards a future in which energy savings and fuel consumption reduction will dictate our behaviour. It includes contributions by leading international experts: Melanie Bauernfeind, Marco Cofani, Lino Vittorio Bozzetto, Emmanuelle Gallo, Alberto Grimoldi, Dean Hawkes, Angelo Giuseppe Landi, Mattias Legner, Oriel Prizeman, and Henrik Schoenefeldt.

'Addictive ... a charter for wistfulness' Observer 'An enchanting rabbit hole of handmade houses' The New York Times 'The Bible of pared back, natural living' Der Spiegel 'Take a deep breath and let the inspiration sink in' GQ Cabin Porn began as an on-line project created by a group of friends to inspire their own home building. As they collected more photos, their site attracted thousands of submissions from other cabin builders and a passionate audience of more than ten million people. This book is an invitation to slow down, take a deep breath, and enjoy the beauty and serenity that happens when nature meets simple craft.

For 70 years, readers have been enjoying Meinecke's classic odes to the simple life, Your Cabin in the Woods (1943) and Cabin Craft and Outdoor Living (1947). For the first time, these books are combined into a deluxe two-color vintage package, featuring hundreds of charming illustrations by Victor Aures, known for his work with the Boy Scouts of America. In writing both practical and inspirational, Meinecke details how to turn your dream into a reality, from building plans to choosing land to using tools. However the book's enduring appeal owes in large part to its warmly engaging tone and firm belief in the restorative power of nature. He delights in the satisfaction of hard work, writing "in the doing you find yourself tired, muscles a bit sore, hands hardened and rough, but you will say over and over again, 'I did it.'" Meinecke's homespun wisdom is a comfort in your toil, "Take full enjoyment in the building. Take time out to rest. Most city folks seem always to rush things through. Why? Lay off until tomorrow. Take an afternoon nap. Stop the clock for the weekend. Get off to an early start in the cool of tomorrow morning. You may be crowded in your work in town, but this should be your rest cure, your recreating. Don't spoil it by city driving standards."

Since its founding in 1976, the non-profit Habitat for Humanity International has built more than 255,000 houses for more than one million people and families in need world wide. First published in 2002, "Habitat for Humanity How to Build a House "has helped thousands more build simple, energy-efficient homes of their own by helping guide them from foundation to roof, through all interior finishes and fixtures. Written by long-time carpenter and Habitat volunteer, Larry Haun, this extensive revision features up-to-date information on residential codes, construction methods, and materials -- as well as an updated design inside and out. Haun also provides new sections on tools, siding, ventilation, and landscaping. With Clear information on everything from obtaining a site and permit to finishing touches like installing door locks and cabinets, this is the best single-volume resource for the beginning homebuilder.

Houses on the side of a mountain, on rocky terrain, or on cliffs by the sea--a perfect blend of contextual architecture and interior design that channels our shared desire for peace and tranquility. Whether because of their impossible location in many cases, or the irregularity of the terrain, the slope of the plots and their geological characteristics, innovative solutions are required in the planning of the structures and the building of the foundations.

As an innovative thinker about building and planning, Christopher Alexander has attracted a devoted following. His seminal books--The Timeless Way of Building, A Pattern Language, and The Oregon Experiment--defined a radical and fundamently new process of environmental design. Alexander now gives us the latest book in his series--a book that puts his theories to the test and shows what sort of production system can create the kind of environment he has envisioned.
The Production of Houses centers around a group of buildings which Alexander and his associates built in 1976 in northern Mexico. Each house is different and the book explains how each family helped to lay out and construct its own home according to the family's own needs and in the framework of the pattern language. Numerous diagrams and tables as well as a variety of anecdotes make the day-today process clear.
The Mexican project, however, is only the starting point for a comprehensive theory of housing production. The Production of Houses describes seven principles which apply to any system of production in any part of the world for housing of any cost in any climate or culture or at any density.
In the last part of the book, "The Shift of Paradigm," Alexander describes, in detail, the devastating nature of the revolution in world view which is contained in his proposal for housing construction, and its overall implications for deep-seated cultural change.

How much do the English really care about their stately homes? In this pathbreaking and wide-ranging account of the changing fortunes and status of the stately homes of England over the past two centuries, Peter Mandler melds social, cultural, artistic, and political perspectives and reveals much about the relationship of the nation to its past and its traditional ruling elite. Challenging the prevailing view of a modern English culture besotted with its history and its aristocracy, Mandler portrays instead a continuously changing and modernizing society in which both popular and intellectual attitudes toward the aristocracy -- and its stately homes -- have veered from selective appreciation to outright hostility and only recently to thoroughgoing admiration.

With great panache, Mandler adds the missing pieces to the story of the country house. Going beyond its architects and its owners, he brings to center stage a much wider cast of characters -- aristocratic entrepreneurs, anti-aristocratic politicians, campaigning conservationists, ordinary sightseers and voters -- and a scenario full of incident and local and national color. He traces attitudes toward the stately homes, beginning in the first half of the nineteenth century when public feeling about the aristocracy was mixed and divided. Criticism of the "foreign" and "exclusive" image of the typical aristocratic country house was widespread. At the same time, interest grew in those older houses that symbolized an olden time of imagined national harmony. The Victorian period also saw the first mass tourist industry, and a strong popular demand emerged for the right to visit all the stately homes. By the 1880s, however, hostilitytoward the aristocracy made appreciation of any country house politically treacherous, and interest in aristocratic heritage declined steadily for sixty years. Only after 1945, when the aristocracy was no longer seen as a threat, was a gentle revival of the stately homes possible, Mandler contends, and only since the 1970s has that revival become a triumphant appreciation. He enters today's debate with a discussion of how far people today -- and tomorrow -- are willing to see the aristocracy's heritage as their own.

The lack of affordable housing and the climate crisis are two of the most pressing challenges facing cities today. Green affordable housing addresses both by providing housing stability, safety, and financial predictability while constructing and operating the buildings to reduce environmental and climate impacts. Blueprint for Greening Affordable Housing is the most comprehensive resource on how green building principles can be incorporated into affordable housing design, construction, and operation. In this fully revised edition, Walker Wells and Kimberly Vermeer capture the rapid evolution of green building practices and make a compelling case for integrating green building in affordable housing. The Blueprint offers guidance on innovative practices, green building certifications for affordable housing, and the latest financing strategies. The completely new case studies share detailed insights on how the many elements of a green building are incorporated into different housing types and locations. The new edition includes basic planning tools such as checklists to guide the planning process, and questions to encourage reflection about how the content applies in practice. While Blueprint for Greening Affordable Housing is especially useful to housing development project managers, the information and insights will be valuable to all participants in the affordable housing industry: developers, designers and engineers, funders, public agency staff, property and asset managers, housing advocates, and resident advocates. Every affordable housing project can achieve the fundamentals of good green building design and practice. By sharing the authors' years of expertise in guiding hundreds of organizations, Blueprint for Greening Affordable Housing, Revised Edition gives project teams what they need to push for excellence.

Age of Concrete is a history of the making of houses and homes in the suburbios of Maputo (Lourenco Marques), Mozambique, from the late 1940s to the present. Often dismissed as undifferentiated, ahistorical "slums," these neighborhoods are in fact an open-air archive that reveals some of people's highest aspirations. At first people built in reeds. Then they built in wood and zinc panels. And finally, even when it was illegal, they risked building in concrete block, making permanent homes in a place where their presence was often excruciatingly precarious. Unlike many histories of the built environment in African cities, Age of Concrete focuses on ordinary homebuilders and dwellers. David Morton thus models a different way of thinking about urban politics during the era of decolonization, when one of the central dramas was the construction of the urban stage itself. It shaped how people related not only to each other but also to the colonial state and later to the independent state as it stumbled into being. Original, deeply researched, and beautifully composed, this book speaks in innovative ways to scholarship on urban history, colonialism and decolonization, and the postcolonial state. Replete with rare photographs and other materials from private collections, Age of Concrete establishes Morton as one of a handful of scholars breaking new ground on how we understand Africa's cities.