Book Description
Charles Jencks, the leading architectural critic and writer, takes on "trendiness" in architecture: namely the rise of the "iconic building," instantly famous and distinctively recognizable structures like Norman Foster's "Gherkin" in London or Daniel Libeskind's Ground Zero designs in New York. Although there have always been buildings built to be instant icons such as palaces and cathedrals, Jencks sees this latest trend as being fueled by the real estate industry's thirst for profit and architects' outsize egos. Since the debut of Gehry's Guggenheim Bilbao, a roster of international architects has created iconic buildings that court publicity and controversy in equal measure. Some iconic buildings are successful creations that fulfill their contradictory requirements, while others make the public and the critics wince. In addition to Foster, Gehry and Libeskind, Jencks also discusses recent works by Peter Eisenman, Zaha Hadid, Rem Koolhaas, and Renzo Piano.Anyone interested in contemporary architecture and the direction of urban design will be interested in Jencks' witty, irreverent and sympathetic insights into how buildings can become good architecture that enhances the cityscape-and are truly iconic.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent !.......2007-07-04
Mr. Jencks' earlier book hit the public by its correlation to the semantics.
His analytical tools from language promoted his book
"Language of Post Modern Architecture" into the international popularity.
Likewise, I think this book could hit the global audience.
It's very contemporary, dealing star architects' icons, written in extremely
stimulating fashion.
Like David Chipperfield mentioned it, nowadays smart architects engage
in exploring designs, not writing heavy theoretical manifestos.
In that sense, everyone around the world is experiencing
the explosion of interesting icons produced by architectural celebrity system
and is trying to understand the strata of current movement.
Jencks's book is one of the books that try to understand the trend.
For Mr. Jencks, point of departure to understand the current trend is the
term "Icon". That word set the examples and tone of the book.
the punch line of the book says,
",,,, the paradox that a great icon need not be a great work of
architecture, but it must be a captivating one. It has to move your
viscera, whether you like it or not, and stay around as a memory image
that attracts other thoughts into its orbit."
It stimulates reader's brain when it becomes systematic and linguistic.
It seeks patterns and underlying principles of Iconic buildings in the
global economy era. Mr. Jencks calls it the age of enigmatic signifier,
due to the absence of metanarrative/ ideology/ religion.
Ronchamp Chapel, to Mr. Jencks, epitomizes the modern
icon.
It's undulating form, it's manifestation of light, expressing the theology.
Yet, what's different in contemporary icons, as is
first launched by Bilbao effect,
are that they are outcome of digital age, an enigmatic signifiers,
freed from past conventions.
Some interesting Details :
1. Stories of powerful institutional museum clients.
2. Comparison of two Pradas by Rem Koolhaas and Herzog de Meuron.
The brilliance of Prada owner.
3. fulfilling election and empty promises of the cases in Libskind and Koolhaas.
4. success and failure of being icons.
5. different uses of sun as an expression of cosmology.
Libskind's Holocaust light (Berlin), wedge of light (ground zero)
son of sun (Corb's Chandigarh), and beacon of a new faith (Foster's Reichstag)
Fun Read !
I like it.......2006-05-17
I find it very entertaining to read through. Some architecture books can be dry and "technical" in their description and yet, this book reads like a novel. It reminds me of "The Edifice Complex" written by another favourite author of mine, Deyan Sudjic. None of the authors here provide us with definite accounts or definitions of what constitute iconic buildings and what kinds of people are immersed into edifice complex. However, they provide us with sufficient examples to talk in-depth about the topics. In this book, Charles Jencks endeavours to differentiate an iconic building from a landmark building. It also dissects if iconic building shall be loved or hated or a combination of both. Poignantly enough, Ground Zero is covered in length here because it entails so many people and so many factors that prevent it from happening. To these days, it's still work-in-progress. Architects that covered extensively here are Le Corbusier, Frank Gehry, Sir Norman Foster, Santiago Calatrava, Renzo Piano, Jaha Hadid, Rem Koolhaas, Philip Johnson, Miralles, Daniel Libeskind, Will Alsop, SOM and several buildings such as Sydney Opera House, Eiffel Tower, Ronchamp, Scotland new Parliament building, et cetera are mentioned too. The conclusion is succinct but probable, that iconic buildings are an evolution of nature or our human's tendency to be close to the Grand Universe which we don't have answers to. If you are a buff of architecture and that you wish to spruce your knowledge on the subject, you can't go better than this. Even better, this book shall read in conjunction with Deyan Sudjic's Edifice Complex because it counters or gives a new spin on Deyan's point of view on architecture. Contagious to read and highly recommended.
Average customer rating:
- Looking at LA Architecture
- Knowing Los Angeles
- See the real Los Angeles
- More Than A Mass Of Shopping Malls
- From SF Bay Guardian Lit 12/2000
|
Iconic LA, Stories of LA's Most Memorable Buildings
Gloria Koenig , and
F.O. Gehry
Manufacturer: Princeton Architectural Press
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Case Study Houses: 1945-1966 (Taschen Basic Architecture)
ASIN: 1890449083 |
Book Description
The twelve buildings of Iconic LA, identifiable the world over, demonstrate the personality and power of Los Angeles as a major metropolis. Their stories are the story of a city in progress, an urban biography that tells a century's worth of history. Like a character in a movie, each of these buildings has played a role in an unfolding human drama complete with intrigue, political struggle, tragedy, and triumph.
The architect of the Bradbury Building accepted the commission after consulting a Ouija board and was inspired by a futuristic novel written in the late 1800s; in 1984 the building became a set for the futuristic-noir film Blade Runner. The Jetson style LAX Theme Building provides an indelible image of one of the world's busiest airports; however, few know the poignant story of its designer, Paul Williams, one of Los Angeles's most important African-American architects. Frank Gehry's design for the Disney Concert Hall suffered criticism, public apathy, and political frustration; in 1999 construction officially began on what will arguably be the city's most visible and popular landmark. Other buildings discussed include Griffith Observatory, the Getty Center, Watts Towers, and Case Study House #22.
Customer Reviews:
Looking at LA Architecture .......2007-03-04
When you think of cities you often think of some kind of landmark building or structure. Sydney - Opera House, Chicago - Sears Tower, New York - Empire State Building (if not the World Trade Center) and so on. Mention Los Angeles and what comes to mind is endless miles of cars on slow moving freeways.
After looking at this book, I find that I do remember a significant number of what the author has selected as the best of architectural design in Los Angeles. Her selection is varied from her husband's Case Study House #22, a spectacular steel and glass structure on an otherwise unbuildable lot, to the Los Angeles International Airport Theme Building; from Frank Lloyd Wright's rather strange looking Hollyhock House to the Walt Disney Concert Hall, which is almost as dramatic as the Sydney Opera House and has much better acoustics.
This is a dramatic book that will make you look at Los Angeles architecture in an entirely different light.
Knowing Los Angeles.......2001-06-20
KNOWING LOS ANGELES: EXCERPTS FROM CITE ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW: "Iconic LA" is not exactly the book its title and appearance might lead one to expect. It turns out to be more than just a splashy presentation of the cool, the weird and the kinky. What it is instead is a carefully focused look at 13 notable buildings spanning two centuries, well illustrated with pictures both current and historical, and topped off with succcinct text sufficient to whet the appetite of Los Anglophiles and architectural critics alike. Koenig, a former editor and writer at the University of California at Los Angeles, has selected buildings that represent different eras and architectural types. Each project is boradly described and documented, and the photographs - many of them are rare - are sublime. Some surpriese await the readers of this book; for example, how important a fixture on the LA architectural scene Lloyd Wright was, from the time he came to complete his father/s Hollyhock House in 1920, to his seminal designs for the Hollywood Bowl, and on through the 1940's. A readerr can also develop a new appreciation of how much Frank Gehry is a product of LA; it's probably for that reason that he was asked to supply the book's foreward. I have a growing bookshelf dedicated to Southern California, and "Iconic LA" has an important new place on it. It nestles comfortably next to Reyner BAnham's "Los Angeles: The Four Ecologies" and Charles Moore's "Experiencing Los Angeles". Its overview of immediately familiar structures and the insights they offer into the city's culture make "Iconic LA" a good companion to these. In the book Frank Gehry says, "LA is a city of instant recognition." He's right, and "Iconic LA" is where that recognition gets its due.
See the real Los Angeles.......2001-05-16
I just read Iconic LA as a part of my research on Los Angeles landmark, the Watts Towers of Simon Rodia State Historic Park. The book is truly a valuable addition to the field of architectural literature for all of us! I truly enjoyed reading the entire book. Sincerely, Bud Goldstone, conservation engineer co-author The Los Angeles Watts Towers 6719 W 86th Place #2 Los Angeles, CA 90045
More Than A Mass Of Shopping Malls.......2001-03-12
From Los Angeles Magazine, January, 2001. If architecture is a stamp of a city's identity, then Gloria Koenig's "Iconic LA: Stories of LA's Most Memorable Buildings" is proof that Los Angeles is more than a mass of shopping malls. In a city sometimes thought to be lacking in landmarks, it's surprising how recognizable the 13 buildings included here are and how much they have become a part of our collective consciousness. From the art deco Union Station to the futuristic Bradbury Building, these structures suggest the growth and sensibility of the city - and, with a section on the under-construction Walt Disney Concert Hall, the city to come. The selections may be obvious, but Koenig provides the tales behind them: Aline Barnsdall's conflicts with Frank Lloyd Wright during the building of the Hollyhock House; Sid Grauman's obssession with creating an authentic Chinese Theater in Hollywood; and the struggles of Paul Williams, the African American architect of the LAX Theme Building.
From SF Bay Guardian Lit 12/2000.......2000-12-30
For those with architectural leanings, Gloria Koenig's Iconic LA offers tales and black-and-white pictures pertaining to a baker's dozen of Los Angeles's most memorable buildings, the Hollywood Bowl, Grauman's Chinese Theater, and the Getty Center, among them. Part guidebook, part urban history, Iconic includes compact entries that reveal as much about the architectural details - like the fact that Pierre Koenig's glassed-in modernist masterpiece Case Study House #22 was assembled in a single day - as they do about the people behind them. Who knew that Paul Williams, the architect who designed the space-age Theme Building at LAX, was African American? The book has the breezy quality of a Hollywood bio, with the buildings as stars.
Average customer rating:
|
Iconic Design Hotels (Architectural Design)
Manufacturer: Gingko Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Architecture
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Residential
| Building Types & Styles
| Architecture
| Professional & Technical
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General
| Building Types & Styles
| Architecture
| Professional & Technical
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| Drawing & Modelling
| Architecture
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Hospitality, Travel & Tourism
| Industries & Professions
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
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ASIN: 8493400793 |
Average customer rating:
- Looking at LA Architecture
- Knowing Los Angeles
- See the real Los Angeles
- More Than A Mass Of Shopping Malls
- From SF Bay Guardian Lit 12/2000
|
Iconic L.A.: Stories of L.A.'s Most Memorable Buildings
Gloria Koenig
Manufacturer: Los Angeles Times Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Criticism
| Architecture
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Architecture
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1883792711 |
Customer Reviews:
Looking at LA Architecture .......2007-03-04
When you think of cities you often think of some kind of landmark building or structure. Sydney - Opera House, Chicago - Sears Tower, New York - Empire State Building (if not the World Trade Center) and so on. Mention Los Angeles and what comes to mind is endless miles of cars on slow moving freeways.
After looking at this book, I find that I do remember a significant number of what the author has selected as the best of architectural design in Los Angeles. Her selection is varied from her husband's Case Study House #22, a spectacular steel and glass structure on an otherwise unbuildable lot, to the Los Angeles International Airport Theme Building; from Frank Lloyd Wright's rather strange looking Hollyhock House to the Walt Disney Concert Hall, which is almost as dramatic as the Sydney Opera House and has much better acoustics.
This is a dramatic book that will make you look at Los Angeles architecture in an entirely different light.
Knowing Los Angeles.......2001-06-20
KNOWING LOS ANGELES: EXCERPTS FROM CITE ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW: "Iconic LA" is not exactly the book its title and appearance might lead one to expect. It turns out to be more than just a splashy presentation of the cool, the weird and the kinky. What it is instead is a carefully focused look at 13 notable buildings spanning two centuries, well illustrated with pictures both current and historical, and topped off with succcinct text sufficient to whet the appetite of Los Anglophiles and architectural critics alike. Koenig, a former editor and writer at the University of California at Los Angeles, has selected buildings that represent different eras and architectural types. Each project is boradly described and documented, and the photographs - many of them are rare - are sublime. Some surpriese await the readers of this book; for example, how important a fixture on the LA architectural scene Lloyd Wright was, from the time he came to complete his father/s Hollyhock House in 1920, to his seminal designs for the Hollywood Bowl, and on through the 1940's. A readerr can also develop a new appreciation of how much Frank Gehry is a product of LA; it's probably for that reason that he was asked to supply the book's foreward. I have a growing bookshelf dedicated to Southern California, and "Iconic LA" has an important new place on it. It nestles comfortably next to Reyner BAnham's "Los Angeles: The Four Ecologies" and Charles Moore's "Experiencing Los Angeles". Its overview of immediately familiar structures and the insights they offer into the city's culture make "Iconic LA" a good companion to these. In the book Frank Gehry says, "LA is a city of instant recognition." He's right, and "Iconic LA" is where that recognition gets its due.
See the real Los Angeles.......2001-05-16
I just read Iconic LA as a part of my research on Los Angeles landmark, the Watts Towers of Simon Rodia State Historic Park. The book is truly a valuable addition to the field of architectural literature for all of us! I truly enjoyed reading the entire book. Sincerely, Bud Goldstone, conservation engineer co-author The Los Angeles Watts Towers 6719 W 86th Place #2 Los Angeles, CA 90045
More Than A Mass Of Shopping Malls.......2001-03-12
From Los Angeles Magazine, January, 2001. If architecture is a stamp of a city's identity, then Gloria Koenig's "Iconic LA: Stories of LA's Most Memorable Buildings" is proof that Los Angeles is more than a mass of shopping malls. In a city sometimes thought to be lacking in landmarks, it's surprising how recognizable the 13 buildings included here are and how much they have become a part of our collective consciousness. From the art deco Union Station to the futuristic Bradbury Building, these structures suggest the growth and sensibility of the city - and, with a section on the under-construction Walt Disney Concert Hall, the city to come. The selections may be obvious, but Koenig provides the tales behind them: Aline Barnsdall's conflicts with Frank Lloyd Wright during the building of the Hollyhock House; Sid Grauman's obssession with creating an authentic Chinese Theater in Hollywood; and the struggles of Paul Williams, the African American architect of the LAX Theme Building.
From SF Bay Guardian Lit 12/2000.......2000-12-30
For those with architectural leanings, Gloria Koenig's Iconic LA offers tales and black-and-white pictures pertaining to a baker's dozen of Los Angeles's most memorable buildings, the Hollywood Bowl, Grauman's Chinese Theater, and the Getty Center, among them. Part guidebook, part urban history, Iconic includes compact entries that reveal as much about the architectural details - like the fact that Pierre Koenig's glassed-in modernist masterpiece Case Study House #22 was assembled in a single day - as they do about the people behind them. Who knew that Paul Williams, the architect who designed the space-age Theme Building at LAX, was African American? The book has the breezy quality of a Hollywood bio, with the buildings as stars.
Book Description
This practical introduction to a dramatic and versatile paint effect begins with a thorough explanation of basic techniques using detailed step-by-step photographs alongside clear instructions. It then goes on to show how to apply these techniques in eye-catching projects around the home.
Customer Reviews:
uninspiring.......2006-03-23
The book lacks both technical details and inspirations. Contains several basic boreing projects so meticulously drawn line after line as for to be copied. The "trompe l'oeil" title is too ambitious either. Sorry to admit but very like other books offered.
Good IF you're a beginner..........2001-12-05
This is just a so-so book. It is most helpful for novice painters or total beginners. The projects in the book are relatively basic and they have been "done before" (many, many,many times). Professional and serious decorative painters will find the projects in this book elementary.
This book was not very useful to me as a professional decorative painter.
A really great book to own after all.......2001-03-18
I have been using this book for a while now, and i would like to increase my previous review rating from 3 to 5 stars. I have had a chance to compare this book with other literature and i now realise what a great resource book it is. The instructions are easy to follow and i was able to apply the simple techniques it contains to the more elaborate trompe l'oeils that i wished to attempt - where other materials had led me to beleive that this would be beyond my ability. I have also come to appreciate the short and simple list of material needed for each project making this book a true source of inspiration.
Content is of quality but with little diversity.......2000-09-09
This book could be of no help or inspiration to me for the decoration projects I have which are more "murals" like. The exemples depicted are fun, well detailed and well explained but cover mainly household items on shelves all in the modern folk art tradition. These can look really nice in a home but I have trompe l'oeil windows, arches and blue skies in mind for mine and couldn't find any in there. Number of stars depends on needs... and I need another book.
A Wonderful Teacher.......1999-08-30
I just finished several "stone blocks" in my dining room, and I am almost embarrassed to say that I literally squealed with delight at how easy it was and how good it turned out! And I'm not a novice painter; I'm a NON-painter. Roberta Gordon-Smith is one of those gifted people who can teach her subject to anyone...truly. Thank you SO much =)
Amazon.com
James Gardiner's eclectic collection of gay male photos, postcards, play bills, theater posters, and other ephemera is an unguided tour through 100 years of gay male life and culture. Gardiner has wisely followed no specific historical or literary plan--although the photos are arranged in general chronological order--and the effect is striking. As you page through the hundreds of images, you are forced to make your own connections, construct your own sense of reality. Who's a Pretty Boy Then? is a historical and artistic tour de force that brings gay male history alive.
Customer Reviews:
Great Pix, but..........2007-09-06
I got this as a present, and I am never sure what one has to do with picture books. Once seen they seem to have exhausted their usefulness. Nevertheless, it passes the time for novices on this subject; amd opne could always leave it lying around for 'straight' visitors to find...
This picture volume has more the feel of a labour of love than that of a scholarly work, and I am sure it doesn't aspire to that. The fact that it is very much London (UK) based limits its scope for other audiences somewhat despite some Baron von Gloeden images. I did find a 2 or 3 people in there I had come across in my time when clubbing in London; it serves me as a nice memento then. (Bless; Regina Fong)
A multifacteted overview.......2002-03-10
To dismiss this book as just an excuse to dredge up some titillating photographs for the purpose of publishing is an injustice. This collection is an historical perspective on many levels - the camera as a art form since its invention, a survey of sociolgical transformations as to the perception of homosexuality, the psychological sweep from the closet to the stage to Stonewall to the AIDS bedside and beyond. There are many many captured moments that seem voyeuristic in the best sense of the word in that the spontaneity of individuals interacting as well as groups entertaining are fresh and often off guard. Here is a portfolio of tenderness, of hilarity, and of tragedy. Would that there were more essays interspersed to document the various periods traversd. But then we must also pay homage to the phrase "a picture is worth a thousand words". Well worth your time.
We were everywhere.......2000-02-14
A great book of wonderful pictures that proves that men have been loving men for quite some times. Really great eye candy with a historical perspective.
Great possibilities, ultimately disappointing.......1999-09-17
There are some wonderful archival photos in this book, but it lacks a basic level of "scholarship" that leaves it as one guy's idiosyncratic take on British-dominated gay history. Seems to me there is way too much focus on drag, and a more international perspective would have helped as well.
Average customer rating:
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Who's a Pretty Boy Then
Simon Bamford
Manufacturer: New Playwrights' Network
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Drama
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0863194311 |
Customer Reviews:
Steam-powered life........2007-05-17
This book is a good expansion to the Dragon Mech game. Full of interesting new steam powers, prestiege classes, and a new core class, the Steamborg Mark II. If you're looking to incorporate more steam tech into your Dragon Mech game, or looking to make your Steamborg unique, this book is a good buy. The feats are pretty interesting, and offer some fun options. Also there is a new race, the Tik-Toks. While interesting I felt that the Tik-Toks, like a lot of the material in the Dragon Mech setting were not fleshed out enough. All in all, a good buy. If you're interested in a campaign with more in-depth look at steam tech, and a more fleshed out setting in general check out the Iron Kingdoms books by Privateer Press.
Book Description
The Legends & Lairs line of sourcebooks expands the options for any d20 game, providing new rules and statistics for everything from new races and character options to traps, treachery, and adventuring on the high seas. Sorcery & Steam contains all the rules that players and DMs need to explore a hybrid fantasy world filled with magic and Victorian technology - steam-driven monstrosities, clockwork beasts, black powder firearms, and more.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Work.......2003-12-22
Sorcery & Steam presents usable classes and prestige classes, a modest selection of spells, and some wonderful ideas about adventuring in a fantasy steampunk setting. It was a good overview, suggesting many directions such a campaign could go without trying to pin a GM down to a pre-made setting he has to labor to work into his existing campaign. The art was excellent as well. A very useful book, and one I am happy to have added to my RPG library.
Books:
- Illustrated Dictionary of Building Design and Construction
- Illustrated Dictionary of Historic Architecture (Dover Books on Architecture)
- Inquiry by Design: Environment/Behavior/Neuroscience in Architecture, Interiors, Landscape, and Planning, Updated and Revised Edition
- Inside Havana
- Inspirational Terracing: Terrace Design in Structural Landscaping
- Ironwork Today: Inside & Out
- Italian Physical Society Proceedings of the International School of Physics Enrico Fermi. Course XXVI Varenna on Lake Como Villa Monastero July 23-August 4 1962: Selected Topics on Elementary Particle Physics
- Italic Handwriting Series Book B
- Katsura: Imperial Villa
- Kiki Smith: A Gathering, 1980-2005
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The Edifice Complex : How the Rich and Powerful Shape the World
