Contributors include architects, philosophers, landscape architects, and geographers, who focus on the question of how people might see and understand the natural and built environments in a deeper, more perceptive way. What is a sense of place and how can it be supported by architecture, policy, and education? Why are places important to people, and can designers and policy-makers create better places? Is there a way to see and understand what might help to make buildings, landscapes, and places that are beautiful, alive, and humane? What role do the geographical and architectural environments play in human life?
This volume focuses on the question of how people might see and understand the natural and built environments in a deeper, more perceptive way. Why are places important to people, and can designers and policy-makers create better places? Contributors include architects, philosophers and architects.
This is a ‘Whole Earth Catalog’ for the 21st century: an impressive and wide-ranging analysis of what’s wrong with our societies, organizations, ideologies, worldviews and cultures – and how to put them right. The book covers the finance system, agriculture, design, ecology, economy, sustainability, organizations and society at large.
THE HANDBOOK OF INTERIOR DESIGN The Handbook of Interior Design offers a compilation of current works that inform the discipline of interior design. These examples of design scholarship present a detailed overview of current research and critical thinking. The volume brings together a broad range of essays from an international group of scholars who represent the diversity of work in the field. Intended to engage those involved in the study and practice of interior design, the Handbook considers the connections between theory, research, and practice that shape the field of interior design, as well as the theoretical perspectives that inform the field. It contains over thirty essays which together demonstrate the wide range of opinions and knowledge in the discipline, grouped in sections to reflect key components of their content. A close reading of the essays will uncover contradictory as well as supporting positions on aspects of interior design, challenging the reader to think critically and develop a personal stance toward the subject.
Pretty Good House provides a framework and set of guidelines for building or renovating a high-performance home that focus on its inhabitants and the environment--but keeps in mind that few people have pockets deep enough to achieve a "perfect" solution. The essential idea is for homeowners to work within their financial and practical constraints both to meet their own needs and do as much for the planet as possible. A Pretty Good House is: * A house that's as small as possible * Simple and durable, but also well designed * Insulated and air-sealed * Above all, it is affordable, healthy, responsible, and resilient.
This insightful volume shares design ideas to help builders, planners and architects create mass-produced affordable housing that pushes suburban development in more sustainable, liveable directions. The author argues that improving the quality of design in our new homes and communities for greater resiliency, sustainability, and equality, we can build neighborhoods and communities where residents feel more connected t their homes and to one another. Through text, photographs and illustrations, the book reviews prototypical American housing design, then suggest ways to both learn from the past as well as adapt for new environmental imperatives, demographic changes and lifestyle needs. Written by a practicing architect with 25+ years of experience optimizing residential design, this pioneering approach to suburban building will inspire readers to view mass produced housing through a new, modern lens.
"Everyone who designs a house should have to memorize the rules in this book . before being allowed to purchase a drafting pencil. Mac and Charles have managed to consolidate most everything they know about residential design with wit, Clarity, and excellent sketches" -- David Wright, Noted Solar Designer and Environmental Architect * Designing Your Natural House Charles G. Woods and Malcolm Wells As concerns about our mistreatment of the environment keep growing, the trend toward housing that blends with rather than works against natural surroundings continues to accelerate. This important guide explores and illustrates all aspects of how to integrate dwellings with their natural settings. The authors are leading names in the natural design field whose work has been inspired by the contour-friendly, organic style of Frank Lloyd Wright. Charles G. Woods and Mclcolm Wells offer a wide range of invaluable design tips for both constructing new houses and remodeling existing ones. Every design they cover is in accordance with today's ecological and environmental concerns. Beautifully illustrated and hand lettered throughout, this guide explains how to choose the best site design, lay out floor plans, landscape, and incorporate energy-efficient features wherever possible. You're shown how to solve many design, ecological, and environmental problems, as well as how to keep design costs as low as possible. Numerous before-and-after graphics clarify every stage in the design process, and do and don't examples help you avoid common mistakes encountered when designing natural dwellings. Included are 150 money- and energy-saving tips more than 200 tricks of the trade that help assure exemplary results, and sample house plans (which you can order) that promote further understanding of how to integrate designs with the natural site. Designing Your Natural House is timely, comprehensive, and visually appealing, making it an ideal source for architects, contractors, interior designers, landscape architects, do -it-yourselfers, and remodelers.
NAMED A RECOMMENDED BOOK OF 2018 BY Buzzfeed • The Wall Street Journal • The Millions • Southern Living • Bustle • Esquire • Entertainment Weekly • Nylon• Mashable • Libary Journal • Thrillist “Cassaras’s propulsive and profound first novel, finding one’s home in the world—particularly in a subculture plagued by fear and intolerance from society—comes with tragedy as well as extraordinary personal freedom.” -- Esquire A gritty and gorgeous debut that follows a cast of gay and transgender club kids navigating the Harlem ball scene of the 1980s and ’90s, inspired by the real House of Xtravaganza made famous by the seminal documentary Paris Is Burning It’s 1980 in New York City, and nowhere is the city’s glamour and energy better reflected than in the burgeoning Harlem ball scene, where seventeen-year-old Angel first comes into her own. Burned by her traumatic past, Angel is new to the drag world, new to ball culture, and has a yearning inside of her to help create family for those without. When she falls in love with Hector, a beautiful young man who dreams of becoming a professional dancer, the two decide to form the House of Xtravaganza, the first-ever all-Latino house in the Harlem ball circuit. But when Hector dies of AIDS-related complications, Angel must bear the responsibility of tending to their house alone. As mother of the house, Angel recruits Venus, a whip-fast trans girl who dreams of finding a rich man to take care of her; Juanito, a quiet boy who loves fabrics and design; and Daniel, a butch queen who accidentally saves Venus’s life. The Xtravaganzas must learn to navigate sex work, addiction, and persistent abuse, leaning on each other as bulwarks against a world that resists them. All are ambitious, resilient, and determined to control their own fates, even as they hurtle toward devastating consequences. Told in a voice that brims with wit, rage, tenderness, and fierce yearning, The House of Impossible Beauties is a tragic story of love, family, and the dynamism of the human spirit.
A #1 best seller for years, Bill Hirsch's Designing Your Perfect House: Lessons from an Architect has been called an essential read for Homeowners as well as Professionals. Bill's flowing style of writing makes you feel like you are sitting with him having a chat about your project. The philosophy behind design decisions is explained with stories, photos, sketches, and checklists. The book is divided into Twelve Lessons, with an additional Bonus Lesson ," Building Green, Naturally". You will learn how to evaluate your needs and work towards creating a suitable design, perfect for you and your family. The experience of home design and construction should be controllable, gratifying and enjoyable. With the valuable advice that Designing Your Perfect House: Lessons from an Architect provides, it can be.
With its wealth of representative styles and its emphasis on craftsmanship and exterior design, the late-Victorian era ranks among the halcyon days in American house building. This survey of the era's traditional designs—reproduced from a rare edition—offers a complete and authentic guide to faithful restorations or re-creations. A New York City-based firm prepared and published this catalog in 1897, selecting the very best models from more than 12,000 houses built from their plans. Designed with style, utility, and low cost of construction uppermost in mind, it features hundreds of illustrations, including perspective drawings and floor plans. Details of interior and exterior materials and potential modifications include remarks on the particular amenities of each house, plus estimates of building costs. Antique collectors, home hobbyists, and fans of traditional design will find this volume a valuable reference and an endless source of inspiration.
