Dedicated mailing and e-mail campaign to targeted design and style related media. 'There's not a great deal of difference between living and working for those of us who one day decide to make a living by creating the world, for those of us who perceive architecture as something more than just work and the negative aspect associated with this word, but rather like a window through which to see the world. And a means of transforming this world'. This is the vision of Octavio Mestre and this is the book that celebrates that maxim. Over 240-pages and more than 180 full-colour photographs, plans and drawings, reveal the stunning contemporary work of this much-admired practitioner.

The American suburban dream house-a single-family, detached dwelling, frequently clustered in tight rows and cul-de-sacs-has been attacked for some time as homogeneous and barren, yet the suburbs are home to half of the American population. Architectural historian John Archer suggests the endurance of the ideal house is deeply rooted in the notions of privacy, property, and selfhood that were introduced in late seventeenth-century England and became the foundation of the American nation and identity.
Spanning four centuries, Architecture and Suburbia" explores phenomena ranging from household furnishings and routines to the proliferation of the dream house in parallel with Cold War politics. Beginning with John Locke, whose Enlightenment philosophy imagined individuals capable of self-fulfillment, Archer examines the eighteenth-century British bourgeois villa and the earliest London suburbs. He recounts how early American homeowners used houses to establish social status and how twentieth-century Americans continued to flock to single-family houses in the suburbs, encouraged by patriotism, fueled by consumerism, and resisting disdain by disaffected youths, designers, and intellectuals. Finally, he recognizes "hybridized" or increasingly diverse American suburbs as the dynamic basis for a strengthened social fabric.
From Enlightenment philosophy to rap lyrics, from the rise of a mercantile economy to discussions over neighborhoods, sprawl, and gated communities, Archer addresses the past, present, and future of the American dream house.
John Archer is professor of cultural studies and comparative literature at the University of Minnesota. His book TheLiterature of British Domestic Architecture, 1715-1842," is the standard reference on the subject, and he also contributed to the Encyclopedia of Urban America" and the Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century Architecture."

Border Fictions offers the first comparative analysis of multiethnic and transnational cultural representations about the United States' borders with Mexico and Canada. Blending textual analysis with theories of globalization and empire, Claudia Sadowski-Smith forges a new model of inter-American studies.

Border Fictions places into dialogue a variety of hemispheric perspectives from Chicana/o, Asian American, American Indian, Latin American, and Canadian studies. Each chapter examines fiction that ranges widely, from celebrated authors such as Carlos Fuentes, Leslie Marmon Silko, and Alberto Rios to writers whose contributions to border literature have not yet been fully appreciated, including Karen Tei Yamashita, Thomas King, Janette Turner Hospital, and emerging Chicana/o writers of the U.S.-Mexico border.

Proposing a diverse and geographically expansive view of border and inter-American studies, Border Fictions links the work of these and numerous other authors to civil rights movements, environmental justice activism, struggles for land and border-crossing rights, as well as to anti-imperialist forms of nationalism in the United States' neighboring countries. The book forces us to take into account the ways in which shifts in the nature of global relations affect literary production, especially in its hemispheric manifestations.

When The Cottages of England was first published in 1929, it captured a rapidly disappearing way of life. Travelling the length and breadth of the country, Basil Oliver's photos and descriptions formed a vital record of the variety and character of the humble, yet much loved English cottage. Many of the buildings in this book are now lost forever; yet Oliver's work remains as a testament to their simplicity and charm, and to a rural past that is all too rarely glimpsed today. Includes examples of stone-built and timber-frame buildings, combed patterns, flintwork and thatched roofs.

Assisted living, a relatively new industry, provides an alternative to traditional long-term care. These residences serve the increasing numbers of elders who need help with daily activities but wish to maintain independence. Although they are promoted as resident centered and noninstitutional, research based on consumer input indicates that many older adults and their family members do not find the buildings to be particularly friendly, warm, or supportive In "Humanistic Design of Assisted Living," John P. Marsden has translated research-based information into innovative and practicable design strategies that directly address those unfavorable perceptions. Marsden provides an overview of assisted living's evolution then addresses the current information resources available to designers. He discusses successful humanistic design and presents a conceptual framework, based on consumer-based research, composed of six themes: familiar housing cues, protective enclosure, caring cues, human scale, usability, and naturalness. He applied this framework to specific guidelines for building exteriors, interior entries, and common shared spaces. His recommendations are supported by photographs that demonstrate effective design strategies as well as some less-successful examples.

This comprehensive and accessible book presents essential design guidelines for housing owners, operators, administrators, policy makers, gerontologists, interior designers, and architects.

The climate is changing, and so must domestic architecture. Premium materials-brick, stone, wood-and timeless design used to be the key to building homes that would last for generations. But a warming planet, coupled with severe weather events, has changed the equation and raised the stakes, sometimes literally. Aimed at homeowners, architects, and builders, this book presents sixteen innovative homes that represent the best of resilient-home practices in four categories-earth, wind, fire, and water-plus a list of resources from organizations such as FEMA and the National Fire Protection Agency. Few local building codes provide adequate protection from the forces of global warming, which will proliferate in this century. These examples illustrate the importance of next-level home design to help resist climate change-the most urgent issue of our time.

Ward (history, University of British Columbia) explores how Canadian domestic architecture has shaped and been shaped by family and social relationships over the past three centuries. He traces the evolution of the one-room home to homes with multiple rooms with different functions, looking at revolutionary domestic technologies such as indoor plumbing, and also examines the exterior of the house and its meaning. Includes b&w historical photos and illustrations, and color paintings, as well as b&w floor plans.

Twentieth-century New York is now famous as the city of "cliff dwellers," but in the second half of the nineteenth century, middle-class apartments in Manhattan were a new and somewhat suspect architectural form. Alone Together presents a history of the "invention" of New York apartment houses."

Describes how the apartment building developed in the late nineteenth century and gradually achieved acceptance as middle-class housing in New York City.

For every great country house of the Georgian period, there was usually also a town house. Chatsworth, for example, the home of the Devonshires, has officially been recognised as one of the country's favourite national treasures - but most of its visitors know little of Devonshire House, which the family once owned in the capital. In part, this is because town houses were often leased, rather than being passed down through generations as country estates were. But, most crucially, many London town houses, including Devonshire House, no longer exist, having been demolished in the early twentieth century. This book seeks to place centre-stage the hugely important yet hitherto overlooked town houses of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, exploring the prime position they once occupied in the lives of families and the nation as a whole. It explores the owners, how they furnished and used these properties, and how their houses were judged by the various types of visitor who gained access.

Today, R. M. Schindler's Kings Road House is celebrated as an icon of early modern architecture, but this wasn't the case when it was finished in 1922. Though Schindler and his wife Pauline recognized its genius early on, its radical appearance was - and remains - incomprehensible to many. Lavishly illustrated with forty-five new photographs, this book is an incisive examination of the house, placing it in the context of the architect's career and clarifying its influence on modern architecture and its practitioners. Little-known aspects of Schindler's life, his relationship with his mentors, and the development of his unique theories about space enrich the narrative. Robert Sweeney focuses on the construction of the house and the people who lived, worked, and performed there, demonstrating the building's significance in the social history of Southern California. He includes new research on Schindler's educational and personal background in Vienna and a discussion of the critical influence of Pauline Schindler in formulating the social underpinnings of the house. Judith Sheine's essay places the house in the context of Schindler's career, in which it established the basis of the spatial development of his work. She also examines the influence of the house on the work of numerous architects from Frank Lloyd Wright to Frank Gehry.

Eco House Plans contains more than 300 floor and elevations plans, as well as constructive details of 36 ecological architecture projects. The specific criteria for a project, location, setting, type, morphology, and orientation are generating protection to the main climatic factors: sun, wind, and heat. These concepts determine the potential of the site for passive bioclimatic building control, and thus optimally used renewable energy sources such as solar radiation, wind, water, or vegetation.

American Homes is the classic work of American house architecture. From the Dutch colonial, to the New England Salt Box, to the 1950s prefab, this unrivaled reference and useful guide to 103 building styles pays homage to our country's housing heritage. American Homes opens the window onto the rich landscape of all the places we call home. Award-winning architect Lester Walker examines hundreds of styles of homes-more than any other survey of American domestic architecture-and helps us understand the history of each style, why it developed as it did, and the practical and historical reasons behind its shape, size, material, ornament, and plan. Hundreds of sequenced drawings illustrate the evolution of our most beloved housing styles, like the colonial English Cottage, which grows before our eyes from a simple square of posts and beams to a fully constructed home with hand-split cedar clapboards and an intricately thatched roof. There's also the Italianate, whose roof displays its intricate carved brackets and is topped with a cupola that serves to filter light to the interior of the home. Annotated floor plans offer insight into the structure of these homes, and with it, a good measure of inspiration. No wrought-iron railing, white stucco wall, or gingerbread gable goes neglected. Every idiosyncratic detail and decoration of each of these uniquely American designs is delicately drawn. American Homes is the perfect reference for enthusiasts of architecture, history, and American studies. It is also the ideal inspiration for anyone who lives in or dreams of living in a classic American home.

Ellen DeGeneres has bought and renovated nearly a dozen homes over the last twenty-five years, and has launched a design show on HGTV: Ellen's Design Challenge. In Home, she will, for the first time, open up about her love of home design and style. DeGeneres believes, "You don't have to have money to have good taste," and she plans to share her secrets and design ideas, with advice on how to get high-end looks on a mid-level budget. DeGeneres, who describes her real-estate and renovating adventures over the last twenty-five years as "an education," has long been passionate about design. "I think I wanted to be an interior designer when I was thirteen," DeGeneres said. Full of hundreds of beautiful photographs of seven of her own homes, as well as places she visits for inspiration, this book will be a treasure trove of beautiful rooms and hundreds of ideas and tips on putting together the home you've always wanted.

In this title, the 'house partners' at RAMSA, four distinguished architects, present twenty houses and apartments the firm has completed in the past ten years, each a unique design and collectively a stylistically diverse group reflecting deep knowledge of history and precedent.

Gothic style transformed the urban landscape from the mid 19th century. In this new book, discover how leading architects reinterpreted Medieval buildings to create a dynamic style which spread from Victorian England to the other side of the Atlantic. In this full colour illustrated guide the author uses his own drawings and photographs to show the reader some of the leading buildings of the time, and explain how to identify the style on more ordinary houses and how to recognise the details inside and out which characterise it. Trevor Yorke is a hugely popular artist and writer about architectural themes. His books include British Architectural Styles; Georgian & Regency Houses Explained , and Art Deco House Styles.

There's a grassroots movement in tiny homes these days. The real estate collapse, the economic downturn, burning out on 12-hour workdays - many people are rethinking their ideas about shelter - seeking an alternative to high rents, or a lifelong mortgage debt to a bank on an overpriced home. Homes on land, homes on wheels, homes on the road, homes on water, even homes in the trees. There are also studios, saunas, garden sheds, and greenhouses.
There are 1,300 photos, showing a rich variety of small homemade shelters, and there are stories (and thoughts and inspirations) of the owner-builders who are on the forefront of this new trend in downsizing and self-sufficiency. You can buy a ready-made tiny home, build your own, get a kit or pre-fab, or live in a bus, houseboat, or other movable shelter. Some cities have special ordinances for building "in-law" or "granny flats" in the back yard. There are innovative solutions in cities, such as the "capsules" in Tokyo.
If you're thinking of scaling back, you'll find plenty of inspiration shown by builders, designers, architects, dreamers, artists, road gypsies, and water dwellers who've achieved a measure of freedom and independence by taking shelter into their own hands.

That a country of wealth cannot provide sound housing for those in need is a national embarrassment. This book is about the design of dignified, affordable housing for those not served by the private sector, and how that housing fits comfortably into American communities. It is a non-technical analysis for everyone interested in the creation of affordable housing. Through discussions of cost, politics, and design concepts, as well as case studies of completed projects, it gives solutions to the dilemmas posed by the development process. Good housing design is a delicate balance of community values, individual needs, aesthetic judgements and technical requirements. Good design can save money - 70 per cent of the cost of a new dwelling is affected by planning and design. As a key ingredient in community building, housing should bestow on its inhabitants a sense of dignity, says Davis. To view this as a privilege for those who can afford market-rate housing invites both social and financial disaster. He also considers the American obsession with the single-family house and the historical ambivalence toward subsidized housing-attitudes that have often led to the stigmatization of low-income gr

Who has never dreamt of living in the tropics? Lying in the sun, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere, sitting under the cool shade of abundant vegetation - just like finding a place in paradise. This new release features a beautiful range of residential architecture and designs from Costa Rica to Florida, from Thailand to South Africa. Every project is an invitation to feel good and relax with swimming pools, open-air spaces, as well as thoughtfully designed interiors of indigenous materials and local ele - ments. This volume displays a breathtaking series of in - spirational exotic settings. With their refined esthetics in timeless spaces, whatever their shape or size, all selected tropical dwellings are true dream homes.

This title lets you take a private tour of magnificent homes, with their lush gardens, elegant courtyards and inviting pools set amid breathtaking landscapes. This lavish new book from Veranda magazine offers a wealth of ideas for exceptional outdoor rooms and spaces, all created by the world's best designers. Broken down into classic, modern, romantic and exotic styles, these are among the most spectacular environments ever featured in Veranda.

Beginning in the 1950s, an explosion in rural-urban migration dramatically increased the population of cities throughout Peru, leading to an acute housing shortage and the proliferation of self-built shelters clustered in barriadas, or squatter settlements. Improvised Cities examines the history of aided self-help housing, or technical assistance to self-builders, which took on a variety of forms in Peru from 1954 to 1986. While the postwar period saw a number of trial projects in aided self-help housing throughout the developing world, Peru was the site of significant experiments in this field and pioneering in its efforts to enact a large-scale policy of land tenure regularization in improvised, unauthorized cities. Gyger focuses on three interrelated themes: the circumstances that made Peru a fertile site for innovation in low-cost housing under a succession of very different political regimes; the influences on, and movements within, architectural culture that prompted architects to consider self-help housing as an alternative mode of practice; and the context in which international development agencies came to embrace these projects as part of their larger goals during the Cold War and beyond.

This book is an easy-to-use handbook, providing architects and builders with up-to-date guidance on managing loft conversions and ensuring they achieve compliance with the Building Regulations. It brings together solutions offered in the Approved Documents and third tier guidance, such as industry literature, in one concise and fully illustrated guide. Starting with chapters on the existing structure, the guide is then divided into chapters on the main considerations for a loft conversion, covering topics such as fire safety, windows and doors, and insulation. This is an essential read for anyone looking for a guide which simplifies the building regulations process and offers solutions, where applicable, to achieve minimum, good practice and advanced construction standards.

This interactive book presents a curated collection of more than 60 uniquely designed boutique homes, brought together by the founders and authors of the eponymous brand. The composition of excellent architecture and design staged with stunning photography, showcases an international 'best of the best' selection. This is further divided into chapters: beach and cliff houses; architectural gems; chic and cheap; updated history; urban retreat; country living; emotional luxury; unplugged; cabins; and spaces for family and friends. The book and complementary app for iPhones is more than an exciting and glamorous source of inspiration. Each of the shown houses and apartments is also available for rent, and can be experienced in all its glory.

Housing of exceptional quality has been developed in the greater Zurich area since the mid-1990s. Public funding, the high standard of the competition culture and a vibrant architectural scene has resulted in a rich field of experimentation for good residential architecture. The approximately 500-page volume on Zurich housing construction is an anthology of over 100 individual buildings, ensembles and settlements developed over a period of 20 years. It is an impressive representation of an intense, blossoming housing development culture that has also attracted international attention.

Two architects, Jeanne Della Casa and Sylvie Pfaehler, together with their new partners Michael Perret and Lucile Fonta-Rak, are working on a remarkable oeuvre in Lausanne. In the midst of an urban garden and an ensemble of housing, three timber residential developments have their own poetic radiance. The architects' award-winning works include clear tectonically structured residential buildings in Lausanne and the Lavaux region. Text in English and German. Text in English and German.