A dense concentration of design talent, uniquely varied topography, and one of the world's most pleasant climates have made Southern California a crucible of architectural innovation. There, forward-looking clients respond to dramatic modern interpretations of form and site that capitalize on natural light and magnificent ocean views, perch delicately on steeply graded land, or maximize privacy on a sliver of a city lot.
Thirty of the best designs by the most creative firms portray the diversity of Southern California's architecture. Author Sam Lubell draws examples from Montecito to San Diego and the arid conditions of Joshua Tree to illustrate the wide range of responses to geography, budget, and space. Featured architects include Barbara Bestor, Belzberg, Griffin Enright, Lorcan O'Herlihy, Michele Saee, the Office of Mobile Design, and Predock Frane, among others.

Interior design has undergone a quiet but profound revolution in the last decade, as home-owners have become more aware of international influences and more prepared to experiment, to break out of the prescribed moulds of style. Many different parts of the world - in particular India, China, and Japan - have evolved their own unique styles of modernism, much of it rooted in the traditional principles of their particular regions, and this has helped to liberate the way we now think about dwelling space, its organisation and furnishing. Drawing on a wide range of modern design from many countries, this unique, rich sourcebook takes an elemental approach to the design of a home. In an age when no interior design principle goes unchallenged and all ideas are possible, the only sensible approach is to start from the basic elements - how a home works and what we expect from it. The Source, illustrated with hundreds of colour photographs by Michael Freeman, one of the most widely travelled authors and photographers working in this area, is divided into four sections which each cover a basic function. The first, Connect, deals with the connectivity of a home, from entrances and corridors to staircases. The second, Divide, shows the many ways in which individual areas can be divided and linked, from walls to screens and unconventional dividers, as well as flexible partitions that draw on Japanese and Chinese principles. The third section, Space, is concerned with living spaces in all their variety, balancing the twin needs of comfort and inspiration. The last section, Utility, covers the basic functions of any dwelling, from cooking and bathing to working at home and storage. All of this is illustrated by a vast array of ideas and solutions from many of the world's best interior designers and architects. This new book offers a different and refreshing way of looking at the house and the elemental way of how we live today.

Innovation by Reduction How can architecture create a pleasant indoor climate using construction techniques and as little technology as possible? Researchers from four different departments at the Technical University of Munich joined forces with the engineering firm Transsolar Energietechnik to explore integral strategies for simple, energy-efficient construction. The architecture firm Florian Nagler Architekten implemented the plans developed by the TUM project for three prototype buildings made of solid wood, masonry and lightweight concrete in monolithic construction. Using these apartment buildings as examples, the guide vividly elucidates the six core principles of simple construction. Analysis of three exemplary apartment buildings Monolithic structures in wood, lightweight concrete, and brick The result of an interdisciplinary research project at the Technical University of Munich (TUM)

Casa Construction aims to teach people in the construction industry the English or Spanish they need to better communicate, and better their construction knowledge. More than an English-Spanish dictionary of construction terms, Casa Construction is a guidebook to understanding residential construction concepts in both English and Spanish. It can be used as both a construction reference manual and a language learning tool. This first volume Casa Construction, Exterior highlights all exterior construction trades involved in home building construction. Construction concepts and processes are explained from the critical planning stages through exterior finish work. The book concludes with important chapters on construction management and construction safety. The book is divided into chapters by construction trades or topics which follow the order of a normal home-building project. Left side pages are written in English while the corresponding right side pages give a direct translation in Spanish. The reader can reference a particular process, task, or word in either English or Spanish and get a clear understanding of the concept in their own language. The reader can then easily view an explanation of the same concept in the unknown language on the page beside it. With this reference format of side-by-side English and Spanish the reader can relate word to word and paragraph to paragraph for each concept explained. Key words, definitions, and useful phrases are provided in each chapter for a quick language learning reference. Photos and diagrams are used to give visual explanations. Web references are included in the text to provide a starting point for additional research on more complex topics. For more information on using this first-of-its-kind construction reference manual, as well as information on additional products, and free online resources, see Casa Construction online at: www.casaconstructionbook.com

In Kitchens, Smokehouses, and Privies, Michael Olmert takes us into the eighteenth-century backyards of colonial America. He explores the many small outbuildings that can still be found at obscure rural farmsteads throughout the Tidewater and greater mid-Atlantic, in towns like Williamsburg and Annapolis, and at elite plantations such as Mount Vernon and Monticello.

These structures were designed to support the performance of a single task: cooking food; washing clothes; smoking meat; storing last winter's ice; or keeping milk, cheese, and cream fresh. Privies and small offices are also addressed, as is the dovecote, in which doves were raised for their eggs, squab meat, feathers, and fertilizer. Often, these little buildings were clustered in such a way as to resemble a small village, knit together by similar design details and building materials: they were all constructed in weatherboards or in brick, for instance, or were arranged in a single file or positioned at the four corners of the yard.

In this appealing book, featuring nearly a hundred crisp black-and-white photographs, Olmert explains how these well-made buildings actually functioned. He is riveted by the history of outbuildings: their architecture, patterns of use, folklore, and even their literary presence. In two appendixes he also considers octagonal and hexagonal structures, which had special significance, both doctrinal and cultural, in early America.

Archaeologists and historians still have many questions about the design and function of outbuildings-questions that are often difficult to answer because of the ephemeral nature of these structures; they were not documented-any more than laundry rooms and storage units inspire rhapsodies today. Olmert's book, deeply grounded in scholarship, eminently readable, and profusely illustrated, takes these buildings seriously and gives them the attention they deserve.

The Medina -- the Old City -- of Fez is the best-preserved, medieval walled city in the world. Inside this vibrant Moroccan community, internet cafes and mobile phones coexist with a maze of donkey-trod alleyways, thousand-year-old sewer systems, and Arab-style houses, gorgeous with intricate, if often shabby, mosaic work.

While vacationing in Morocco, Suzanna Clarke and her husband, Sandy, are inspired to buy a dilapidated, centuries-old riad in Fez with the aim of restoring it to its original splendor, using only traditional craftsmen and handmade materials. So begins a remarkable adventure that is bewildering, at times hilarious, and ultimately immensely rewarding.

"A House in Fez" chronicles their meticulous restoration, but it is also a journey into Moroccan customs and lore and a window into the lives of its people as friendships blossom. When the riad is finally returned to its former glory, Suzanna finds she has not just restored an old house, but also her soul.

"A Bungalow is a little country house - a homely, cosy place . with the plan so arranged as to ensure complete comfort, with a feeling of rusticity and ease." As the Arts and Crafts movement of the late 19th century offered the dream of exchanging the squalor and ugliness of cities for a more relaxed, aesthetically pleasing lifestyle, architect Robert Alexander 'Bungalow' Briggs was the leading proponent of a new type of housing embodying the movement's ideals. His 1891 book Bungalows and Country Residences set a pioneering template for the house that has become a much-loved part of neighbourhoods from Surrey to South Africa. This reprint of the expanded 1901 edition features 47 varied designs for real buildings, with detailed line drawings and floor plans accompanied by notes on layout and construction. Bungalows and Country Residences is a fascinating and inspiring look into the creative designs of a man lauded by architects, historians and bungalow fans alike.

Every new house begins with a dream--and a home plan. But it can be terrifying to commit a lifetime of savings to a two-dimensional drawing that's difficult to interpret and visualize. Will the space meet your needs? Is the plan well-designed? Will it really turn out to be your dream house, or is it a potential nightmare? In "Home Plan Doctor, " Larry Garnett makes basic design principles accessible, explaining in clear language how to navigate every stage of the planning process, from selecting a plan to evaluating the suitability of the design, room by room, and requesting needed modifications. Using sample floor plans and illustrations from readily available plans, this book is a practical guide for everything from placing the kitchen island to evaluating the effect of the roof pitch on the proportions of the house. And Garnett doesn't overlook the basics; he includes sections on what to look for in a building site, how to read a basic floor plan, and what to expect when you order the "blueprints," or construction documents.Whether you're purchasing a stock plan or working with an architect, and whether you're buying a design for am entire house or an addition, you'll find this handbook to be an indispensable guide.

Healing Appalachia is a practical guide for environmentally conscious residents of Appalachia and beyond. It is also the first book to apply "appropriate technology," or the most basic technology that can effectively achieve the desired result, to this specific region. Authors Al Fritsch and Paul Gallimore have performed over 200 environmental resource assessments in thirty-three states. They bring this knowledge to bear as they examine thirty low-cost, people-friendly, and environmentally benign appropriate technologies that can be put to work today in Appalachia. They discuss such issues as renewable energy and energy conservation, food preservation and gardening, forest management, land use, transportation, water conservation, proper waste disposal, and wildlife protection. They pay close attention to the practicality of each technique according to affordability, ease of use, and ecological soundness. Their subjects range from solar home heating to greenhouses, from aquaculture to compost toilets, from organic gardening to wildlife restoration and enhancement, and from solar cars to microhydropower facilities. Their discussions of each topic benefit from the knowledge gained from thirty years of practical experience at environmental demonstration centers and public interest and educational organizations. Each section of the book includes details on construction and maintenance, as well as resources for locating further information, making this an essential volume for everyone who cares about the future of Appalachia.

This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature.

Reproduced from a rare original, this 1893 catalog provides nearly 800 detailed illustrations of stair railings, mantels, gables, moldings, and ornaments. Its varied, unusual examples of woodwork make it particularly valuable - woodturners, cabinetmakers, architects, preservationists, restorationists, designers, and students of Victoriana will find it inspiring and instructive.

Spatializing Justice calls for architects and urban designers to do more than design buildings and physical systems. Architects should take a position against inequality and practice accordingly. With these thirty short, manifesto-like texts-building blocks for a new kind of architecture-Spatializing Justice offers a practical handbook for confronting social and economic inequality and uneven urban growth in architectural and planning practice, urging practitioners to adopt approaches that range from redefining infrastructure to retrofitting McMansions. These building blocks call for expanded modes of practice, through which architects can imagine new spatial procedures, political and economic strategies, and modalities of sociability. Challenging existing exclusionary policies can advance a more experimental architecture not bound by formal parameters. Architects must think of themselves as designers not only of things but of civic processes, complicate the ideas of ownership and property, and imagine new sites of research, pedagogy, and intervention. As one of the texts advises, "the questions must be different questions if we want different answers."

This book reviews the 162 passive solar home designs chosen for awards, providing drawings and descriptions. It also discusses selection of solar alternatives, commonly-made thermal mistakes, construction details, energy calculations, and more.

Originally published in 1885 in a limited edition of 200 copies, for the purpose of presenting, in an accessible and attractive form, views of the numerous beautiful inhabited Castles and Mansions which adorn Ayrshire. The Plates were prepared specially for the Work by Messrs ANNAN, Glasgow. The Letterpress was drawn up under the editorial care of A. H. MILLAR, F.S.A.Scot., and embraces much interesting historical information. In most instances the descriptions have been revised by the Owners of the Mansions, and a few of them have been entirely written by them. Some changes have been made in this edition. The overall page size is now considerably smaller. The complete text has been re-set. In the original, the text was sometimes spread over two pages. In this edition, the print has been reduced in size, where necessary, to allow all the text to be read without turning the page, on the left-hand page, facing the photograph. The photographs are reproduced in the original size. In the original, the photographs were arranged to view at right-angles to the page. In this edition, the photographs are turned to a normal position. Two photographs were used for Woodside. Both are included in this edition.

What are tire houses? Who builds them? How do they do it? Will I see the tires when the house is finished? How weird are they? Can I do it myself? You'll find the answers to these questions and more in this book that "Earth Quarterly" called ..".an excellent addition to the library of any potential tire house builder, offering a wealth of unique ideas that can jump-start you to getting up, getting out, and building that sucker " And the "Albuquerque Journal" said: "Better keep this one on the night table; you'll probably want to refer to it as you build a home or an addition to one." Using "landfill" tires and a revolutionary process, houses are being built that are both revolutionary and evolutionary--Michael Reynolds builds self-sufficient EarthshipsT, and Ed Paschich builds traditional homes using tires for the exterior walls. This book will tell you how you can be more responsible when you build a home, improve a home, or add a garden. You'll learn about constructed wetlands, solar air conditioning, and xeriscape landscaping. It's all here with many illustrations and photographs. Ed Paschich, artisan and master custom builder, is the owner of Passage Construction Company, Inc., in Corrales, New Mexico. Ed and his father, Jack, formed the company in 1976 and Ed has been building passive solar adobe homes in the high desert of the American Southwest ever since. Paula Hendricks is a well-known writer and photographer. Her own line of museum quality notecards featuring her photographic images are sold internationally.

This book begins with an intriguing overview of the first five round barns built across America, including one in New York State. Elliott Stewart, who built the first octagon barn in the Empire State in 1874, is revealed to be a passionate original whose vigorous editorial campaign led to the construction of dozen such barns. The author next introduces John McArthur who constructed a polygonal (sixteen-sided, double octagon) barn so huge it was the biggest in the state and second largest in the nation! Case histories document five other singular New York barns of varying configurations. Abundant photos make these bygone barns spring to life. Floor plans of the earliest barns show why the round shape engaged farmers at the turn of the century. The book also explains why true-round barns, born of silos, surpassed octagon barns in popularity. A special section on seven true-round barns in New York offers historical data and rare anecdotes by present owners. This fascinating chronicle shows how these eccentric barns rose to fashion, why so few survived in New York State, and why the remaining are worth studying--and preserving--as legitimate architecture and as a record of agricultural progress in New York.

This manual is for designers, developers, builders, and others who wish to build elevated residential structures in flood-prone areas prudently.Contents: Environmental and Regulatory FactorsSite Analysis and DesignArchitectural Design ExamplesDesign and Construction GuidelinesCost AnalysisResource Materials

MAKE A BIG SPLASH--WITH A LOT LESS CASH!

Let Terry Tamminen, "poolman to the stars," show you how to have a beautiful, hassle-free pool for thousands of dollars less than commercial installers charge -- by doing it yourself. Pool expert Tamminen helps you purchase, install, repair, maintain, and upgrade above-ground pools. You get parts and tools lists, tricks of the trade for each procedure, and a difficulty rating to help you decide if it's time to call a professional.

Soon you'll be saying, "Okay, everybody into the pool!"
* Selecting the right pool (from over a dozen types) for your site, budget, and individual needs
* Realistic cost estimates
* Easy-to-understand, photo-illustrated installation and repair guides
* Heating inexpensively and heater repair
* Repairing and replacing liners
* Winterizing
* Decks made easy
* Pool enhancements for added enjoyment and value
* Sources of cost-saving generic parts
* And more!

"A fascinating insight into potentially one of the most exciting developments that affects each and every one of us as we move forward into the 21st Century. This book indicates the direction industry must take if we are to achieve the dream of living in a Smart Home." Steve Hearnden, Mobile Telecommunications Consultant, UK "A timely and much needed compliment to more technology-led explorations of the Smart Home. It draws attention to the complexity, diversity and conceptual richness of domestic life and critically reflects on the adoption and use of technologies in the home to date." Geraldine Fitzpatrick, Sapient Ltd, UK If the predictions of leading electronics and consumer companies are to be believed, in the future you may never again have to worry about forgetting to switch the lights off, or locking the front door when you leave your home. Even mundane chores such as visiting your local supermarket to stock up your fridge will become a thing of the past, as the Smart Homes of the future will be able to decide what is needed and order them for us. Inside the Smart Home looks at the designs and technologies behind these new innovations, along with their time-saving, environmental and security benefits, amongst others. Despite these clear advantages however, Smart Homes have so far failed to reach the levels of success originally anticipated, thereby forcing designers to further examine the roles and practicalities of these new technologies. Through the use of detailed case studies from such international giants as Orange, Ariston, Philips Electronics and Electrolux, this book clearly demonstrates what will be possible for our domestic settings in the future if we continue to develop the concept of the Smart Home.

A guided tour of the variety of architectural home styles that have developed throughout America's history.

America has an abundance of fascinating and varied house styles, as diverse as its people. This unique book will allow readers to recognize the architectural features of virtually any house they encounter.

John Milnes Baker designed a simple four-bedroom house, and then developed a basic plan for each historical style. Starting each drawing with the same plan and adding essential characteristics, Baker leads the reader through a series of additions. Each section of American House Styles begins with a historical overview of the period, followed by commentary. The author shows how different styles developed and what influenced their development. His elevation drawings, each with a floor plan, illustrate the details and embellishments of each style.

Through an understanding of earlier styles, we develop insights into the architecture of our own era. Thus the study of architecture allows us to make informed judgments about what is being built today.