Residential Books

Architecture without walls:
The "Glass House" by Philip Johnson, Toshio Nakamura and Monacelli Press.

Can you take along with you the Parthenon, the Pyramid of Giza, The Taz-Mahal, the Spanish Steps, the Meinji-Jingu Shrine , the Kimbell Art Museum following your visit to them ? Well, NO ! But you may carry with you memories, mostly fragments, sometimes highly poetic other times adverse. The nuisance of the camel owner trying to seduce you to a ride up-there, or of the striking ministry of culture personnel who would not issue you tickets up to the Holly precinct the day of your visit , may cover the negative end. The highly poetic and memories of the serene and eternal could be the sound of the gravel and the singing of the birds before the abrupt turn at the Meinji Jingu at the point you just see the shrine at the distance, similar and everlasting to the memories when visiting Kahn's great museum at Forth Worth...!
But in the Architecture without walls , THE BOOK, you can have all of the above at your fingertips, in the highest of memory, feeling and the Poetic . There is no doubt in my mind that one of the best such books ever created on Architecture is the "Glass House" by Monacelli Press.
This book represents for me "Architecture in its entirety", that is , an evaluative and interpretive presentation of the work of Architectural Act in time: the building in its context, as conceived , built and even criticized by its architect ; as evolved along with its meaning and the interpretations of its critics ; through its contribution to architecture by means of experimentation and materials of the era, and finally through the ever-evolving advancement of its architect to "inclusiveness" and "Permissiveness", as evidenced though his other works that spot the estate. A book of the meta-user shortcomings and the need for restoration and further up-keep, through the most sympathetic argument and persuasion. From the highest poetic and contemplative to the lowest but real trivial, the gavel flat roof that needs to be mended...Superceding all of the above is the books exquisite photography. Some shots taken from levels no lay viewer can hardly experience, while other shots are intimate and personal as only the owner and his close guests had the joy to enjoy. The textures of pictures , the included drawings and the text , both in visual as well in meaning and suggestion depth , are as poetic as any great poem or haiku could ever reach. In philosophical terms the book is an assembly of "Logos" and Cosmotheory : of the architect (Philip Johnson), of the men who visited and were affected by it (Toshio Nakamura), of the photographer (Michael Moran) , of the publisher who produced it, of the draftsmen who drew the architectural drawings, of the book designers (Michael Rock and Susan Sellers), of the reader who by reading or just going through its pages becomes part of the building's history , the closest to the building a lay person could ever be.
In this sense, the BOOK , the "Glass House" , is , I believe , superior even to any museum that presents works of Art; because the commentary of the art work is usually missing from a museum's presentation, and the visitor can hardly be said to be able to take away with him the whole, unless perhaps a catalogue of the works presented. A "Library" of books on a particular Art work, may perhaps be close to what I suggest for anyone who has visited it , and perhaps more so, for those who have not visited the work. So, I view the book the "Glass house"as a total museum , a work of Architecture without walls, an Art-work that can be carried home, always ready to please the reader with a repeated visit to the artifact, a personal contemplation and enjoyment, even a further interpretation under new circumstances of life and events. An eternal holistic museum for as long as it is out on circulation or kept in libraries. I very strongly recommend it to any reader, a unique gift to oneself without hesitation.

Anthony C. Antoniades

Simply stated, windows can make or mar the interior design of any home or office. Part of the 'House Beautiful' series of interior design manuals and references, "Glass House: The Art Of decorating With Light" by interior design expert C. J. Petersen is a beautifully illustrated, superbly organized, and articulately presented instruction manual that will provide non-specialist general readers with a sound grounding in design basics when it comes to utilizing and maximizing windows to provide the element of light to increase the attractiveness of individual rooms. An invaluable compendium of practical advice, tips, tricks and techniques, "Glass House covers everything from using bay windows to open up small kitchens; to using a cast glass banister insert as an element of sophistication for an otherwise ordinary architectural feature; to pairing door panes with transoms to brighten confined entry halls; to the use of skylights over kitchen work areas for added illumination; to utilizing glass blocks for shower enclosures; to choosing French doors for their architectural design flare; and so much more. Of special note are the illustrated sections covering art glasswork techniques ranging from sandblasting, to fusing, to beveling. A thoroughly 'user friendly' manual of superbly illustrated ideas and examples, "Glass House" is an enthusiastically recommended and practical addition to personal, professional, and community library Interior Design reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

This exclusive guide is for parents, teachers and students alike. In addition, it is a good resource for the schools too. Packed with valuable information and supported by educationists and the school community, it presents to the World, the top residential schools of India

Everyone that loves Architecture will admire this work. Know the past to make a better future.

Ellen Stern's "biography" of Gracie Mansion is simply tremendous. It traces the history of New York City's Mayoral Mansion from its beginning as a merchant's country house, through several owners, years of benign neglect after NYC acquired it to it's conversion into the Mayor's Mansion.

Ms. Stern tells the story of each family that has lived there starting with Fiorella LaGuardia through the current Mayor, Mike Bloomberg who uses Gracie Mansion only for entertaining.

The book is lavishly illustrated with wonderful color pictures as well as clever pen & ink caricatures of each of the mansion's mayors by Al Hirshfeld and Peter Stern.

This is a great book for anyone interested in the history of New York City, it's mayors and the many colorful personalities that have crossed Gracie Mansion's threshold.

On first flick I thought Yeah Great! the stuff in this book really nice and I'd love to have most of it somewhere in my house...where can I buy them!! On second read I soon started to relise that producing great finishes on furniture, lamp shades, curtains, floors and walls is not as hard as it looks and even someone like ME can achieve it. This book is fantastically laid out with big colourful, basic pictures which take you through the procedures step by step from start to finished product. It's an excellent book if you want some great, and visually stunning effects around the house without needing a degree in interior or graphic design. There are even templates in the back if you want to use the patterns straight from the book. There are also many different colour samples if you're not to sure of what colours go well together. It's also great for making gifts too! If you like to dabble in a little bit of art and craft then this book should definately make it to your bookshelf.

"Informative and entertaining." --"Home"

"It inspires. As you turn the pages, you can see that nothing is impossible."
--"House Beautiful"

Great American homes is a fantastic collection for anyone interested in the South's historic homes. The pictures are beautiful and the text is well-written. Each featured home comes complete with a brief history of its ownership and information concerning its decoration. This collection belongs in the library of anyone interested in the architecture and/or history of the South. Also, anyone contemplating restoring an old southern home would benefit from this collection as a reference. Well done Oxmoor House!

Great Houses of Chicago is a treat to read, or to simply browse through. Filled with images of the magnificent homes that once were, or still remain, a part of my city, it is a book that I'd recommend to any lover of Chicago history or urban architecture.

Since 1968 Marcus Binney and photographer Alex Starkey have been producing regular articles on the country houses and places and stately homes of Europe and the UK for Country Life magazine. This book describes the challenges of photographing these houses, both in Black and White and colour. Photos that you take for granted have a lot more art and skill involved in producing them than is readily apparent - especially if you haven't tried to take these sort of photos yourself. ( I have, and they never look as good as what you see in this book)

This is a wonderful book and covers 25 houses. The photos are a mixture of black and white and colour. All pictures are beautiful and sharp and printed on high quality glossy art paper. The houses range from Castello di Guarene in Piedmont, Palazzo Albrizzi in Venice, Schloss Bruhl in Cologne, Chateau de Bussy-Rabutin in Burgundy, Hotel de Lauzun in Paris and Skoloster in Sweden as just an example of a few.

Some of the houses/castles covered in this book only have a few photos, while others are up to 4 or 5 pages long. Sometimes you wish for colour pictures, but not all these photos were originally taken with colour film, and even when printed in black and white all these pictures are of excellent quality. The text for each house gives you some of the background history of it, but unfortunately doesn't tell you if the house is open to the public today - or even still intact with its contents (some of these photos are decades old)

Country Life magazine today continues its regular articles on the Country Houses of both the UK and Europe, and it is lovely to see the best of their archives being printed in these books. The great Country Houses of Europe are one of the great wonders of the world and usually represent some to the best of preserved artistic endeavour over the centuries if you take your time to search them out. This book stands out from the crowd for the unusual range of houses covered and as a snapshot of some of the more outstanding examples.