Architect's Portable Handbook Review

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(More customer reviews)This handbook brings together all the rules of thumb and reference facts for architects. Its quite the cheat-sheet for quick references especially in terms of costs. He has included cost (labor and materials as a % of the total) for just about everything in generic terms. Need to know a budget number for a solid core door relative to a hollowcore? its in there, painting by sf of drywall vs CMU or even fee % breakdowns. Having this book makes you look good and esp for architects that know the big picture but cant'remember the actual size of a conc block or what 11 block courses equal (vert or horiz) I tell people to get this book and keep it in your car or briefcase, so you can go look up the answer to those questions that put you on the spot esp on the job site.

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Organized in easy-to-follow CSI Materformat, which parallels typical job progression, the text covers initial planning and estimating through design and construction. Included are materials and specifications checklists, design data for major building materials and components details.

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How Buildings Work: The Natural Order of Architecture Review

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(More customer reviews)HOW BUILDINGS WORK is just a great book, even more interesting than Macaulay's THE WAY THINGS WORK. Buildings are everywhere, and most everyone uses buildings of various kinds for various purposes. Yet how a building works is often a mystery. In this way, I think buildings are much like computers; most people who use them have no clue about the inner workings of them.
Edward Allen takes us through the functions of a building without going into traditional architectural theory. This book is more concerned with the needs that buildings must fulfill, and how we can fulfull them. He discusses water, waste, heat, ventilation, lighting, accoustics, energy, structure, and more, first by explaining each particular concept, and then by examining how problems can be solved with the knowledge of those concepts.
While this isn't a book on theory, neither is it a wholly practical book. That is, it won't equip you with the skills to go and build a house. But it will open your eyes to the various elements of buildings and building construction and you may think "Aha!" the next time you look at a building and observe a strange structural or design detail. You don't have to be an architecture freak to enjoy the book either. You just need to be curious.

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The Green Studio Handbook, Second Edition: Environmental Strategies for Schematic Design Review

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(More customer reviews)Anybody interested in sustainable design concepts will enjoy this book immensely, but it will be most useful for architects and designers looking to use its ideas in both planning and execution. It's for planning more than for AD looky-lous, but makes for plenty of ideas. There's more depth than the first GSH, but it's not a major overhaul; the conceptual detail is still there, as are the well-shot photos, but a little more of each this time out. There's a wealth of inspiration here for arch students and practising architects alike, and plenty of real-world results. Kwok and Grundzik write well, and all told this is a book bound to be frequently consulted by many designers as more and more folks demand intelligent, sustainable building.

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Learn how to integrate green strategies into your building design. This practical handbook provides an essential introduction to green design strategies--helping you to understand how to save energy, water, and material resources.

It provides the information required to make judgments about which strategy to use and includes tools to enable you to incorporate the chosen strategy during the early stages of design.

Each of the forty-two selected environmental strategies includes a description of principle and concept, step-by-step procedures for integrating the strategy, annotated design tables and charts, key issues to be aware of when implementing the strategy, and references to further resources. Over 500 sketches and color photos illustrate concepts and applications.

In this second edition, 10 new case studies are included to show successful implementation of green strategies and assessments of building performance. Site analysis and glazing strategies have been added and new tables and updated drawings simplify the application of concepts, preliminary system sizing, and integration of strategies.

Using real building projects as a guide, designers will be able to make informed choices about the most competitive and effective way to design a green building.

The Green Studio Handbook is a reference guide and source of inspiration for students in design studios and architects in professional practice.

From a review of the first edition: "An excellent starting point for aspiring students. It is also a useful tool for the experienced architect looking to communicate key ideas and principles concisely."

Alison G. Kwok, Ph.D., AIA, LEED AP, ASES Fellow, is a licensed architect and a professor of architecture at the University of Oregon. She has taught in architecture programs in California, Hawaii, Hong Kong, Japan, and New York.

Walter T. Grondzik, PE, LEED AP, ASES, and ASHRAE Fellow, is an architectural engineer and a professor of architecture at Ball State University. He has taught in architecture and architectural engineering programs in Florida, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Saudi Arabia.

Provides information required to implement green design ideas with confidence and accuracy.
Practical information provided in an easy-to-use format.
Full color images throughout.
Featured Excerpts from The Green Studio HandbookRead a case study on the green renovation of the main branch of the Cambridge Public Library

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