Comments for Architects Anonymous

Comment on Michael by Robert Hogue

Robert Hogue — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 06:58:35 +0000

Review by Robert Hogue for Michael Rating: Being a fan of Benson with his Lucia books I find this in an entirely different style..I enjoyed it but feel I was comparing it with his others so was a bit dis-appointed..However he writes brilliantly so it is a joy to read him

Comment on Michael by caetano-sf

caetano-sf — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 06:52:25 +0000

Review by caetano-sf for Michael Rating: There is a great deal of pro-British, anti-German proganda in this novel, which I found off-putting. But it was still of great interest to me in that it features a character who is clearly suffering from Alzheimer's. The symptoms are accurately and vividly described and it is clear the woman has Alzheimer's as opposed to the many other forms of senility. This is something I've never come across in any of Benson's writing before.

Comment on Michael by James Ellsworth

James Ellsworth — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 06:44:15 +0000

Review by James Ellsworth for Michael Rating: Benson, best known for his many short stories and novels of social satire, here explores serious subjects: generational change in Edwardian society; what it means to be an artist; ethnographic comparisons of England and Germany; the courage one needs to make one's own way in society (even if the protagonist here has an independent income.) I found this book to be a feast best dipped into on different nights. For fans of the state of the English novel during the period before and after World War I, this book is an almost major treasure. Other authors, such as E M Forster, explore part of the ground but this book stands well on its own and repays continued attention.

Why only three stars? Alas, this is stern stuff in comparison to the Lucia novels and in retirement I am perhaps more drawn to the "page turners."

Comment on Lebbeus Woods (Architectural Monographs No 22) by Bruce Liljeros

Bruce Liljeros — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 01:05:49 +0000

Review by Bruce Liljeros for Lebbeus Woods (Architectural Monographs No 22) Rating: Very pleased to see work by Lebbeus Woods being published and to hear he is being recognized by the Whitney now in its first show on architecture. I think of Leb when I see Ansel Adam's photograph, 'Moonrise Over Hernandez, New Mexico', considered by some to be the best photograph of the 20th Century. It has a moon hanging over a town set in a landscape, something of an architectural study. And it calls back a show on the Urbana Campus, years back, when Leb was an upperclassman at Illinois studying architecture. Sometimes shows of student projects are pretty standard and tentative; they're required work to get a grade. But here was Leb's uniquely impeccable and stunning drawings. Already mature work, I believe. His presentation included a casein rendering depicting a building in an early evening landscape. Above the building in the sky he had drawn a moon. Nobody should have had the courage to do that, nobody. And you won't see a drawing like that but once in a lifetime. He probably could do line drawings done with a marker and still be museum quality.

Comment on Lebbeus Woods (Architectural Monographs No 22) by eve schneider

eve schneider — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 00:21:39 +0000

Review by eve schneider for Lebbeus Woods (Architectural Monographs No 22) Rating: Woods is as much philosopher and urban planner as architect in the traditional sense. His buildings rip open the landscape of the ordered grid, and also open new possibilities about what it means to inhabit a space. The functions of some of his ideas for buildings are obscure even to him. He is constantly trying to deconstruct the politics of architecture and it's place in history. He actively embodies Heidegger's idea that "dwelling means to recieve the sky", except in his dwellings it also means to recieve the ground, and to actively take part in constructing your world.

Comment on Lebbeus Woods (Architectural Monographs No 22) by Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 23:27:38 +0000

Review by for Lebbeus Woods (Architectural Monographs No 22) Rating: Lebbeus Woods is the master architect: his theoretical explorations and investigations lay as exhibits that modern architects pull and borrow for their own artistic palate. His investigations are rooted in deep concepts that are difficult to follow at times, but understanding his drawings and his attempts are easily understaning his genius. The politcal connections he pulls from are all relevant and his drawings are indescribably beautiful, very active with the reader, exciting and full of life and vibrance.

Comment on Lebbeus Woods (Architectural Monographs No 22) by Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 22:42:53 +0000

Review by for Lebbeus Woods (Architectural Monographs No 22) Rating: This book is the bible for millenium era Architecture, ideal for a world steeped in cyberspace, bioterrorism, and chaos. There is no book that a could more highly recommend!!!

Comment on H. H. Richardson: Complete Architectural Works Reviews by Patricia Cullen

Patricia Cullen — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 08:37:54 +0000

Review by Patricia Cullen for H. H. Richardson: Complete Architectural Works Rating: The only book on Richardsons works that has interior floor plans. Limited, but it had the one I was most interested in. Would of prefered a hard bound copy. Happy I could find this one though. Since I only cared about Ames lodge, I haven't actually read the book through. Its worth the expenditure of your money if your a Richardson fan. Fahey.....

Comment on H. H. Richardson: Complete Architectural Works Reviews by ct reader

ct reader — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 07:49:05 +0000

Review by ct reader for H. H. Richardson: Complete Architectural Works Rating: Henry Hobson Richardson was the most influential architect in America after the Civil War and can be credited from rescuing much of the country from tepid Victorianism. An alumni of Harvard and the École des Beaux-Arts, he invented a rich, highly evocative, and enduring style that was instantly popular and remains iconic to this day ("Richardson Romanesque"). In addition to a remarkable number of major commissions won in competitions, he also designed some of the best `shingle style' houses in existence (Stoughton House, etc). Richardson also schooled employees that went on to found their own firms and become leaders the profession (Charles Follen McKim and Stanford White for example).

Ironically, few biographies or monographs of Richardson's work or firm remain in publication: this is one of the few, and it's well worth reading. The text includes a Biographical Note, Introduction, Catalogue of Buildings and Projects (151 projects from 1866 individually listed with addresses, brief biographies, illustrations where possible, and their ultimate fate) in a 435 page text, plus an Appendix that includes a Summary of Collections related to Richardson, Maps (geographical distribution of works in the US, MA, CT, Boston, Albany), preservation status (National Historic Landmarks and National Register of Historic Places), and Geographical Index by Zip Code. The author has produced a work worthy of his subject.

Currently the best biography of Richardson remains Henry Russell Hitchcock's `The Architecture of H. H. Richardson and His Times' (first published in 1936: it includes 114 illustrations in small format). `Henry Hobson Richardson and His Works' by Mariana Griswold Van Rensselaer includes some of Richardson's major works - it was first published in 1888 and reisued by Dover in 1969. Finally, `Selected Drawings: H. H. Richadson and His Office' by James F. O'Gorman (published by MIT in 1974) provides a useful selected collection of office drawings.

Comment on H. H. Richardson: Complete Architectural Works Reviews by Michael S. McGill

Michael S. McGill — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 07:17:41 +0000

Review by Michael S. McGill for H. H. Richardson: Complete Architectural Works Rating: H.H. Richardson is often credited as the first architect to craft a unique American style. He influenced Louis Sullivan, who taught Frank Lloyd Wright, who inspired Richard Neutra, Rudolph Schindler and John Lautner. That encompasses a lot of American architecture. This guide provides the reader with a succinct description of each of Richardson's works, with addresses and even maps to help the interested architectural tourist to visit the actual sites. Reading the book is informative. Visiting the sites is breathtaking.