The House with Sixteen Handmade Doors: A Tale of Architectural Choice and Craftsmanship

The House with Sixteen Handmade Doors: A Tale of Architectural Choice and Craftsmanship

Author: Henry Petroski

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Published: 2014-05-05

Total Pages: 313

ISBN-13: 0393242056

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An architectural whodunit that unlocks the secrets of a hand-built home. When Henry Petroski and his wife Catherine bought a charming but modest six-decades-old island retreat in coastal Maine, Petroski couldn’t help but admire its unusual construction. An eminent expert on engineering, history, and design, he began wondering about the place’s origins and evolution: Who built it, and how? What needs, materials, technologies, historical developments, and laws shaped it? How had it fared through the years with its various inhabitants? Sleuthing around dimly lit closets, knotty-pine wall panels, and even a secret passage—but never removing so much as a nail—Petroski zooms in on the details but also steps back to examine the structure in the context of its time and place. Catherine Petroski’s beautiful photographs capture the clues and the atmosphere. A vibrant cast of neighbors and past residents—most notably the house’s masterful creator, an engineer-turned-“folk architect”—become key characters in the story. As the mystery unfolds, revealing an extraordinary house and its environs, this ode to loving design will leave readers enchanted and inspired.


The Road Taken

The Road Taken

Author: Henry Petroski

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2016-02-16

Total Pages: 337

ISBN-13: 1632863618

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A renowned historian and engineer explores the past, present, and future of America's crumbling infrastructure. Acclaimed engineer and historian Henry Petroski explores our core infrastructure from both historical and contemporary perspectives, explaining how essential their maintenance is to America's economic health. Petroski reveals the genesis of the many parts of America's highway system--our interstate numbering system, the centerline that divides roads, and such taken-for-granted objects as guardrails, stop signs, and traffic lights--all crucial to our national and local infrastructure. A compelling work of history, The Road Taken is also an urgent clarion call aimed at American citizens, politicians, and anyone with a vested interest in our economic well-being. Physical infrastructure in the United States is crumbling, and Petroski reveals the complex and challenging interplay between government and industry inherent in major infrastructure improvement. The road we take in the next decade toward rebuilding our aging infrastructure will in large part determine our future national prosperity.


Success Through Failure

Success Through Failure

Author: Henry Petroski

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2018-05-29

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 0691180997

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Examines many of the failed designs and inventions that led to greater improvements siting as examples the 1940 collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and the space shuttle disasters.


The Road Taken

The Road Taken

Author: Henry Petroski

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2017-02-21

Total Pages: 337

ISBN-13: 1632863626

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A renowned historian and engineer explores the past, present, and future of America's crumbling infrastructure. Acclaimed engineer and historian Henry Petroski explores our core infrastructure from both historical and contemporary perspectives, explaining how essential their maintenance is to America's economic health. Petroski reveals the genesis of the many parts of America's highway system--our interstate numbering system, the centerline that divides roads, and such taken-for-granted objects as guardrails, stop signs, and traffic lights--all crucial to our national and local infrastructure. A compelling work of history, The Road Taken is also an urgent clarion call aimed at American citizens, politicians, and anyone with a vested interest in our economic well-being. Physical infrastructure in the United States is crumbling, and Petroski reveals the complex and challenging interplay between government and industry inherent in major infrastructure improvement. The road we take in the next decade toward rebuilding our aging infrastructure will in large part determine our future national prosperity.


Traditional American Rooms

Traditional American Rooms

Author: Brent Hull

Publisher: Fox Chapel Publishing Company Incorporated

Published: 2009-03-01

Total Pages: 179

ISBN-13: 9781565233225

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An ideal sourcebook for architects, woodworkers, and homeowners, this beautiful reference showcases the stunning architectural details of the Winterthur Museum. This guided tour explores 33 rooms from the Georgian and Federal periods with stunning photography, architectural terms, detailed drawings, and fascinating commentary.


Minka

Minka

Author: John Roderick

Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 178

ISBN-13: 9781568987316

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"But Roderick's reverence for natural materials and his appreciation of traditional Japanese and Shinto crafsmanship eventually got the better of him. Before long, carpenters were hoisting massive beams, laying wide wooden floors, and attaching the split-bamboo ceiling. In just forty days they rebuilt the house on a hill overlooking Kamakura, the ancient capital of Japan. Working together they renovated the farmhouse, adding features such as floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors and a modern kitchen, bath, and toilet." "John Roderick's architectural memoir Minka tells the compelling and often poignant story of how one man fell in love with the people, culture, and ancient building traditions of Japan, and reminds us all about the importance of craftsmanship and the meaning of place and home in the process."--BOOK JACKET.


Building a Timeless House in an Instant Age

Building a Timeless House in an Instant Age

Author: Brent Hull

Publisher: BrownBooks.ORM

Published: 2014-08-01

Total Pages: 163

ISBN-13: 1612542034

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The author of Traditional American Rooms examines the evolution of home construction, making a case against mass-produced homes. HISTORY®’s Lone Star Restoration star, Brent Hull is a master craftsman, and hands-on preservationist. Hull—a Foreword Reviews Book of the Year Finalist for architectural non-fiction—challenges us to consider the impact our decisions will have when building a house. What do our homes say about us? What stories are they telling? Are they declarations of integrity, beauty, and heritage? Or do they suggest we have lost our sense of value, craft, and harmony? Nationally recognized as an authority on historic design, architecturally correct moldings, and millwork, Hull is uniquely qualified to speak to the craft of building and art of design. In an age of “instant”‘ homes, how do we build something timeless that weaves a tale of character, values, history, and heart? The decisions we make for our homes are not inconsequential. What we build defines us. In fact, the contrast between the way we build today and how structures used to be built has become only more vivid. What happened to craft? What happened to the art of building? Our values and what we believe about life have changed as well. We have come to see houses as a tradable commodity. We live in a time that is obsessed with “what’s next?” We need to be careful of fooling ourselves into thinking that a bottom-line mentality is the best way to approach building a home. Now is the time to examine ourselves, our motives, and our hearts. Praise for Building a Timeless House in an Instant Age “Part call to action, part exploration of technique, the result is a persuasive and enjoyable reminder that our homes are reflections of ourselves . . . . A pleasing, educational look at traditional home construction.” —Kirkus Reviews


A Passion for Interiors

A Passion for Interiors

Author: Carolyne Roehm

Publisher: Three Rivers Press

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 290

ISBN-13: 0307719995

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Presents a tour of the author's three homes--a pre-war Manhattan duplex, a Colonial-era Connecticut stone house, and an Aspen residence--in order to show how to make the most of architectural features and interior furnishings.


Doors

Doors

Author: Bob Wilcox

Publisher:

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781770856479

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More than 500 striking color photographs of remarkable doors from around the world.


The Story of a House

The Story of a House

Author: George Towle

Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand

Published: 2024-01-11

Total Pages: 326

ISBN-13: 3368854259

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Reprint of the original, first published in 1874.