Houses of the Founding Fathers
by Hugh Howard
from Artisan
When they declared independence in Philadelphia in 1776, they changed the course of Western history. But the patriots—landowners, merchants, and professional men who hailed from towns, cities, and plantations scattered along the eastern seaboard—had private lives too, quite apart from the public deeds we know so well. In this breathtaking volume, historian Hugh Howard and photographer Roger Straus examine the everyday lives of the Founding Fathers.
Houses of the Founding Fathers takes us on an eye-opening tour of forty stately eighteenth-century houses. We see the mansions of such legendary figures as Jefferson, Washington, Adams, and Hamilton, along with the homes of many other signers of the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution. At sites from Maine to Georgia, with stops in each of the thirteen colonies, the grand story of the Revolution emerges from unique and individual domestic perspectives.
Houses overlooking the sea, in busy townscapes, or atop mountains reveal these patriots’ tastes in architecture, furniture, and horticulture. There are tales of friends and enemies, murderous relatives, reluctant revolutionaries, adoring wives, and runaway servants. The founding families are brought to life in the rituals of birth and death, the food they ate, the archaic medical practices they endured, their household arrangements, and the way their slaves lived.
Houses of the Founding Fathers offers a penetrating look at the private lives of the men whose ideas ignited an insurrection against England—and who helped create the modern world.
Atomic Ranch: Design Ideas for Stylish Ranch Homes
by Michelle Gringeri-Brown
from Gibbs Smith, Publisher
Atomic Ranch is an in-depth exploration of post-World War II residential architecture in America. Mid-century ranches (1946-1970) range from the decidedly modern gable-roofed Joseph Eichler tracts in the San Francisco Bay area and butterfly wing houses in Palm Springs, Florida, to the unassuming brick or stucco L-shaped ranches and split-levels so common throughout the United States.
California Romantica: Spanish Colonial and Mission-Style Houses
by D.J. Waldie
from Rizzoli
California Romantica features the most important, yet rarely seen, residential exemplars of the California Mission and Spanish Colonial styles, by such noted architects as George Washington Smith, Wallace Neff, Richard Requa, Lilian Rice, and Paul R. Williams, among others. From whitewashed stucco walls and cloistered patios to tile roofs and sumptuous gardens, each house shown is a rare masterpiece, splendidly appointed with authentic Monterey furniture, California tile, and Navajo rugs. Among the magnificent seaside estates, canyon villas, and courtyard bungalows shown is Diane Keaton’s former home in Beverly Hills, which she thoughtfully restored with noted designer Stephen Shadley, and for which she has been recognized as a committed preservationist. She brings her cinematic eye, a keen sense of natural drama, and a profound appreciation for the nuances of shadow and light to the elucidation of these buildings, through the selection of specially commissioned photography. Authoritative text by D. J. Waldie lucidly explicates the architecture and provides an intimate tour of a historic and distinctly Californian lifestyle.
Delirious New York: A Retroactive Manifesto for Manhattan
by Rem Koolhaas
from Monacelli
In this fanciful volume, Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, founder of the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (O.M.A.), both analyzes and celebrates New York City. By suggesting the city as the site for an infinite variety of human activities and events--both real and imagined--the essence of the metropolitan lifestyle, its "culture of congestion" and its architecture are revealed in a brilliant new light. "Manhattan," Koolhaas writes, "is the 20th century's Rosetta stone . . . occupied by architectural mutations (Central Park, the Skyscraper), utopian fragments (Rockefeller Center, the U.N. Building), and irrational phenomena (Radio City Music Hall)." Filled with fascinating facts, as well as photographs, postcards, maps, watercolors, and drawings, the vibrancy of Koolhaas's poignant exploration of Gotham equals the heady, frenetic energy of the city itself. Anyone who loves New York will want to own this book.
A Field Guide to American Houses
by Virginia McAlester
from Knopf
The guide that enables you to identify, and place in their historic and architectural contexts, the houses you see in your neighborhood or in your travels across America. 17th century to the present.
Forgotten Modern California Houses 1940-1970
by Alan Hess
from Gibbs Smith, Publisher
Forgotten Modern reveals the work of the innovative architects building in California from the 1930s to the 1970s. With groundbreaking and illuminating examples that will alter the way we think of California architecture, Hess and Weintraub focus on those that exemplify early mid-entury modern, variations on minimalism, and organic architecture.
Julius Shulman: Palm Springs
by Michael Stern
from Rizzoli
Through Julius Shulman’s lens, the architecture of Southern California became iconic images of modernism. His photographs heralded the glamor and casual elegance of a lifestyle and architecture that has become revered worldwide. Focusing on the desert paradise of Palm Springs, which was his seminal crucible, this book presents his masterpieces. Images range from Richard Neutra’s Kaufmann House and Albert Frey’s Raymond Loewy House, to Paul R. Williams’ house for Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, Frank Sinatra’s house, John Lautner’s house for Bob Hope, as well as other famous landmarks. The book features more than sixty buildings by fifteen of the most notable mid-twentieth-century architects. With new photography and images culled from his personal collection as well as the Getty Center, this book includes many images never before seen.
The Option of Urbanism: Investing in a New American Dream
by Christopher B. Leinberger
from Island Press
Highlighting both the challenges and the opportunities for this type of development, The Option of Urbanism shows how the American Dream is shifting to include cities as well as suburbs and how the financial and real estate communities need to respond to build communities that are more environmentally, socially, and financially sustainable.
Pure California: 35 Inspiring Houses in the New California Tradition
by Bassenian
from Bassenian/Lagoni Architects
This inspiring and beautiful book takes the reader on a journey of 35 of the most recent homes designed by Bassenian/Lagoni Architects of Newport Beach, CA. From an early Cailfornia home in Coro de Caza toa California Cottage on Balboa Pennisula toan Old World Tuscan Adaptation in Ranch Santa fe, this collection reveals some of the finest examples of what admiring critics are calling "The New California Tradition" in American housing.
Greene and Greene: Masterworks
by Bruce Smith
from Chronicle Books
With Gustav Stickley and Frank Lloyd Wright, Charles Sumner Greene and brother Henry Mather Greene defined the Arts & Crafts movement in America. From their offices in Pasadena, they created "Ultimate Bungalows," finely crafted homes characterized by the integration of architecture and interior design into a harmonious whole. Though both brothers had long and distinguished careers, the highpoint of their work came between 1903 and 1909, when they created such lasting masterpieces as The Gamble House in Pasadena, the Pratt House in Ojai, and the Thorsen House in Berkeley. Greene & Greene: Masterworks presents their work in this era in loving detail. Bruce Smith, who wrote the text for the book, is an authority on the Arts & Crafts movement, and is currently working on a biography of Charles Greene. Alexander Vertikoff's lush photography is the perfect accompaniment to the text, beautifully capturing the sweeping grandeur of each house as well as capturing the subtle details that make each Greene & Greene home a treasure. After an overview of the Arts & Crafts movement and a brief biography of the of the brothers, the book turns its attention to various details that characterized the brothers' style. In the section on entryways, for instance, they point out that
Rarely in a Greene and Greene house is there an abrupt division between inside and out. One enters by transitions, in stages. Brick steps my lead up from the garden to a porch. Shelter comes from a gabled overhang or sleeping porch that extends from above--one is covered but still able to feel the breeze. The pattern in the door's art glass evokes the natural world being left behind. Stepping inside, one still does not feel totally enclosed; across the entrance hall are doorways framing a vista of gardens beyond.After exploring the details, they move on to the houses themselves, looking at 24 houses ranging from the modest, unassuming Brandt-Serrurier House in Altedena--a single story cottage built in 1905--to their greatest creation, The Gamble House in Pasadena. A short history and examination of details is given to each house, but by and large the houses are allowed to speak for themselves through dazzling photos. One of the most striking features of each house is the honey-colored light that fills each room as it pours through Japanese-inspired stained glass chandeliers and is reflected from rich mahogany and teak floors and furniture. To walk through a Greene & Greene house was to walk through a work of fine art. As Henry Greene said, "The idea was to eliminate everything unnecessary, to make the whole as direct and simple as possible, but always with the beautiful in mind as the first goal." As Greene & Greene: Masterworks clearly shows, they succeeded brilliantly. --Laszlo Simonyi
In the first decades of the 20th century, Charles Sumner Greene and Henry Mather Greene almost single-handedly defined the Arts and Crafts aesthetic in America as the architectural firm Greene & Greene. The only full-color survey of the firm's greatest works-including several newly restored to their original grandeur-Greene & Greene reveals the consummate artistry that ensured the brothers' place among the most brilliant of American architects. An in-depth tour of 25 magnificent homes, this book examines the creative evolution of their style. From the Gamble House in Pasadena, California whose director contributes the book's foreword to lesser-known gems throughout the state, Greene & Greene is a wonderful introduction to the brothers' work, and a warm homage to the charms of this refined domestic architecture.
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