Book Description
For almost ten years, Samuel Mockbee, a recent MacArthur Grant recipient, and his architecture students at Auburn University have been designing and building striking houses and community buildings for impoverished residents of Alabama's Hale County. Using salvaged lumber and bricks, discarded tires, hay and waste cardboard bales, concrete rubble, colored bottles, and old license plates, they create inexpensive buildings that bear the trademark of Mockbee's work, which he describes as "contemporary modernism grounded in Southern culture." In a time of unexampled prosperity, when architectural attention focuses on big, glossy urban projects, the Rural Studio provides an alternative of substance. In addition to being a social welfare venture, the Rural Studio--"Taliesin South" as Mockbee calls it--is also an educational experiment and a prod to the architectural profession to act on its best instincts. In giving students hands-on experience in designing and building something real, it extends their education beyond paper architecture. And in scavenging and reusing a variety of unusual materials, it is a model of sustainable architecture. The work of Rural Studio has struck such a chord-both architecturally and socially--that it has been featured on Oprah, Nightline, and CBS News, as well as in Time and People magazines. The Studio has completed more than a dozen projects, including the Bryant "Hay Bale" House, Harris "Butterfly" House, Yancey Chapel, Akron Chapel, Children's Center, H.E.R.O. Playground, Lewis House, Super Sheds and Pods, Spencer House addition, Farmer's Market, Mason's Bend Community Center, Goat House, and Shannon-Dutley House. These buildings, along with the incredible story of the Rural Studio, the people who live there, and Mockbee and his student architects, are detailed in this colorful book, the first on the subject. "I tell my students, it's got to be warm, dry, and noble"--Samuel Mockbee
Customer Reviews:
Samuel Mockbee is a God..........2007-04-25
After reading this book, I for one would loved to have worked at Rural Studio under him. But the stories and the student work is what completes the book. If every community had a "Rural Studio" of their own no community would have homeless. The pictures are also fantastic, I can't wait to buy the next book.
Architect's Cause Related Marketing?.......2006-07-26
It has been nearly two years since the AutoCAD disappeared from my desktop. When I dropped by a new bookstore near my home, I looked for the architectural section. It is because I felt that I got too far away from architecture, my original work area.
But most architectural books were still in their old-fashion: planning manuals, master architects' theories, works of recent architects and architectural histories. In addition, some others are focused on the architects' political(?) intention. Consequently, I could hardly find a meaning of such publications, meaning that could be understood even by the general public.
This book gave me a meaning in two aspects; an architect should do his social responsibility and an architect should participate actively in communication with the general public like Sang Lim Lee, an architect who translated the book to Korean.
The style of writing is rough as is shown in blogs. But, in other words, it can be understood easily by the general public. We can see Mockbee's work both with a view of respect and a view of jealousy. Nevertheless, I would like to focus on his achievements in communication with regional community and in giving his students significant opportunities. His vision has not degenerated into profit-seeking one and has been sustained by his successors until now.
After reading this book, I got to think that an architect should not be exempt from cause related marketing.
inspiring.......2005-10-03
Maybe the most important architectural idea since the series of pattern language treatises by Christopher Alexander. I think this is a must read for anyone involved with real estate development. Surely a model for New Orleans. I'm planning to take a trip and pay homage. Mr. Mockbee was a genius.
Not To Be Missed.......2005-07-25
The evidence of Mockbee's brilliance and compassion. Proof positive that Mockbee deserved all the awards and acclaim. Great pictures of both the architecture and the house recipients. I love this book and share it often.
Rural Studio and the spirit.......2005-07-18
After my attempt to leave a mark on the Rural Studio, I went back to Auburn to better understand what I had learned. I realized that the Rural Studio had changed my life forever. This book helps explore the methodolgy, theory, and values that flourish in the Rural Studio. This gives an indepth look at the style of Mockbee Coker and some of the better architecture living in the south. An upclose and personal look will only better serve as an example of what architecture can really do, not even to mention the beliefs behind the firm and hearts of two men. The people impacted in their Sambo's strive to rid the world of man's small ambition and the Rural Studio is a product of that belief. I know that the Mockbee Coker style is flourishing today not just in Hale County but in the belief that one can make a difference through helping others and not just talking about,but taking action. For the Spirit of Sambo still lives. In each and every heart that believes in the Rural Studio, in Hale County, and believes that architecture can make a difference. My experience was one of the greatest of my life, and this book helps those maybe understand alittle of what this life is for. I hope that people will implore into the world of Hale County alittle more and help do something in their own lives.
Book Description
This classic survey of Italian Renaissance architecture ranges from the erection of Brunelleschi`s dome for the Florence Cathedral to the works of Bramante and Leonardo in the Quattrocentro. First published in 1974 as part one of Architecture in Italy, 1400-1600, Heydenreich`s text is now accompanied by a critical introduction and updated bibliography by Paul Davies.
Customer Reviews:
Only useful for the specialist........2003-02-10
This book is considered to be "the great survey" of early Renaissance architecture, and is, in fact, the only one that has ever been written covering the subject (except for a 1998 book in Italian that is really more a collection of articles). I find this lack of surveys rather surprising as Renaissance architecture is one of the most well-loved subjects in art history, and I would think that specialists, students, and laymen would demand a simple World of Art kind of treatment of the topic. The Pelican series generally does not provide this type of clear, thesis-driven introductory text, and Heydenreich's book is no exception. It is a collection of facts--a catalog of "this building was built then and it shows influence from that and the architect was so-and-so"--with minimal interpretation and explanation (we generally don't even learn what details indicate that "this" building was influenced by "that" one). A great deal of familiarity with the material is required on the part of the reader, so the text entirely failed my mission of gaining a broad understanding of quattrocento architecture. If you are well-versed in the topic and are looking for a reference, this book may be helpful; if you're looking for elucidation, it almost surely won't be. The most Heydenreich seems to be able to say about the style of buildings or the reason they were compelling to their contemporaries is that they were "perfect" and "beautiful," terms I have heard altogether too frequently (and too frequently unexplained) from Renaissance art historians. I regret that I have no better book to recommend in Heydenreich's place.
On a somewhat different note, the binding of the paperback Pelican books is shoddy at best. By the time I had finished this book, which I did read cover to cover despite really disliking it (it's only 151 pages anyway), all of its pages were falling out!
Book Description
This classic survey of Italian Baroque art and architecture focuses on the arts in every center between Venice and Sicily in the early, high, and late Baroque periods. The heart of the study, however, lies in the architecture and sculpture of the exhilarating years of Roman High Baroque, when Bernini, Borromini, and Cortona were all at work under a series of enlightened popes. Wittkower`s text is now accompanied by a critical introduction and substantial new bibliography. This edition-now published in three volumes-will also include color illustrations for the first time.
Customer Reviews:
A terrific introduction toItalian Art.......2000-03-20
This is one of the most intelligent book I've ever read about art. It's simple, complete, full of original point-of-views. In asingle word: you can't miss it if you like the Art History!
Book Description
The Mind's Eye focuses on the relationships among art, theology, exegesis, and literature--issues long central to the study of medieval art, yet ripe for reconsideration. Essays by leading scholars from many fields examine the illustration of theological commentaries, the use of images to expound or disseminate doctrine, the role of images within theological discourse, the development of doctrine in response to images, and the place of vision and the visual in theological thought.
At issue are the ways in which theologians responded to the images that we call art and in which images entered into dialogue with theological discourse. In what ways could medieval art be construed as argumentative in structure as well as in function? Are any of the modes of representation in medieval art analogous to those found in texts? In what ways did images function as vehicles, not merely vessels, of meaning and signification? To what extent can exegesis and other genres of theological discourse shed light on the form, as well as the content and function, of medieval images? These are only some of the challenging questions posed by this unprecedented and interdisciplinary collection, which provides a historical framework within which to reconsider the relationship between seeing and thinking, perception and the imagination in the Middle Ages.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent book.......2007-05-12
This book contains a series of articles from experts in the academic field such as Hamburger, Kessler, Walker Bynum, Newman and many more. The book is an excellent resource for researchers who are interested in how looking, art and theology worked together in the middle ages.
Book Description
Yale College, founded in 1701, is one of America's most revered historic campuses. Three centuries of Yale architecture cover a dynamic history of design, education, and national leadership. The conservative Yale of early colonial and Gothic buildings evolved to become a mecca for modern architects in the 1950s and the site of such notable works as Louis I. Kahn's Art Gallery and Yale Center for British Art, Paul Rudolph's Yale Art + Architecture Building, and Eero Saarinen's Ingalls Rink. Author and photographer Patrick L. Pinnell beautifully captures Yale's and New Haven's architecture and urbanism across 300 years. The guide also reveals much about the academic aspirations and educational philosophy that helped shape the buildings of Yale. The visitor will be guided on an insider's tour of the campus, and alumni will delight in new insights about their alma mater.
This beautifully photographed guide reveals the stories behind more than 85 buildings, historic gardens, art galleries, theaters, athletic facilities, and works of sculpture on the Yale University campus.
qExquisitely painted three-dimensional maps locate featured buildings on the campus and eight sub-districts-Old Campus; Arts Area; Memorial Quadrangle; Cross Campus and North Green; Law School, Graduate School, and Saarinen Colleges; Beinecke Library to Timothy Dwight College; Hillhouse Avenue and Lower Prospect Streets; Science Hill and Divinity School; Oak Street and Medical Campus; and Yale Bowl and the Athletic Fields. Archival photographs and drawings recapture fragments of "lost" buildings and recall notable historic moments.
In all, this guide is for anyone familiar (or who wants to be) with the treasures of the Yale campus, whether student, alum, prospective student, or architecture buff.
Customer Reviews:
Charming.......2001-09-03
A charming book. Clear photographs and sensitive analysis of buildings familiar, new, and vanished. Pinnell sets his stories of each structure in its context with due attention to historical development. I would have liked seeing more photos of sets of buildings together. Note how the two large pictures of Harkness Tower are especially engaging for their backgrounds. It would also have been nice to see a drawing of Venturi's famously unbuilt Math building. If you can get to New Haven easily, carry this book around to enrich your visit.
Architectural guide of the very highest quality.......1999-11-08
Many authors would wilt under the task of tying together the nearly 300 year historical development of what is widely recognized to be the finest assemblage of buildings to be found on any American college campus. Fortunately, Pinnell, a Yale alumnus and professor of architecture, is up to the challenge. Bringing to his subject matter a depth of feeling and complexity of thought borne of his many years of close interaction with the Yale built environment, Pinnell pulls off the difficult task of creating a guide that will offer fresh insight and intellectual challenge to those who know the campus well while retaining the interest of even first time visitors. As this is an architectural and not a travel guide, the author assumes that the reader's primary interest is in the school's buildings, its public spaces, and its historical and urbanistic relationship to New Haven. As a result, a less architecturally-concerned reader may be better served by another sort of book. However, for those of us who share Pinnell's passion for building generally and the magnificent Yale campus, in particular, this is the book we've been waiting for.
Buy It.......1999-07-28
This is a prodigious and learned work. Anyone visiting Yale can learn a lot from it.
One interesting thing about this campus series is that as we continue to turn America into sprawl -- what James Howard Kunstler calls "the National Automobile Slum" -- campuses are the first urban experience for many Americans.
Note to Princeton Architectural Press: you should let the authors talk more about the outdoor public realm and not make them focus so much on individual buildings.
The book should also have many plans (there are none). The best architecture guidebooks have plans for every building.
Book Description
This magisterial study of Gothic architecture traces the meaning and development of the Gothic style through medieval churches across Europe. Ranging geographically from Poland to Portugal and from Sicily to Scotland and chronologically from 1093 to 1530, the book analyzes changes from Romanesque to Gothic as well as the evolution within the Gothic style and places these changes in the context of the creative spirit of the Middle Ages.
In its breadth of outlook, its command of detail, and its theoretical enterprise, Frankl's book has few equals in the ambitious Pelican History of Art series. It is single-minded in its pursuit of the general principles that informed all aspects of Gothic architecture and its culture. In this edition Paul Crossley has revised the original text to take into account the proliferation of recent literature—books, reviews, exhibition catalogues, and periodicals—that have emerged in a variety of languages. New illustrations have also been included.
Customer Reviews:
Only useful for Architectural Elements.......2001-10-13
This book is an extremely extensive coverage of Gothic Architecture throughout Europe. The quality and coverage of the work is unsurpassed. However, it only covers the architectural elements of Gothic Cathedrals and does not cover aspects such as stained glass windows, wood carvings and sculptural art within Gothic Cathedrals. If you are looking for a general work on various aspects of Gothic Art, this is not it.
Book Description
This classic work presents a survey of Italian Renaissance architecture in the Cinquecento, discussing the work of Bramante, Giulio Romano, Michelangelo, and Palladio, among others, as well as the various centers of architectural activity throughout Italy. First published in 1974 as part two of Architecture in Italy, 1400-1600, Lotz`s text is now accompanied by a critical introduction and updated bibliography by Deborah Howard.
Customer Reviews:
Architectural History at its Best.......2000-05-27
Wolfgang Lotz's Architecture in Italy, 1500-1600 is a wonderful introduction and survey of the majesty of Italian Renaissance Architecture. I had the privilage of studying under Richard Tuttle who is recognized in the introduction, who showed me the brilliance of Lotz's work as well as his ability to show the beauty of architecture. This book is a must for any serious academic student or architectural enthusiast. Lotz's presentation of Italian Architecture is a continuation of Ludwig Heydenreich's Architecture in Italy, 1400-1500, and when read together is certainly the definitive work on Renaissance Architecture. The marvelous pictures and diagrams are the best published images I have come across.
Customer Reviews:
They write with a letter xalled carolingia.......1999-06-15
This book talk about the carolingio art and this art happen in the Carlomagno's dinasty. This art is a part of the pre-romanesque art. This period of the art dissapeared when Carlosmagno finish his dinasty and then come other periods of art. This is very interesting because talk about a very important period in the history of art. Well I want to review this book.
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General
| Architecture
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Proceed and Be Bold: Rural Studio After Samuel Mockbee
Design Like You Give a Damn: Architectural Responses to Humanitarian Crises
Samuel Mockbee and the Rural Studio: Community Architecture
Good Deeds, Good Design: Community Service through Architecture
Studio at Large: Architecture in Service of Global Communities
