Product Description

"Understanding Buildings" provides students in architecture and other allied disciplines with a basic introduction to building technology in all its aspects.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #771810 in Books
• Published on: 1988-04-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 232 pages

Review


"Understanding Buildings fills the gap between the overly simple and the overly specialized in an admirable way, without oversimplification, unnecessary jargon, or pedantry .... Technical information is introduced in a straightforward, logical manner."
- Eric Dluhosch, MIT



"A most useful tool for developing intuition in architectural engineering for architects, engineers, and builders alike."
- Omer Akin, Carnegie-Mellon University



"[Understanding Buildings] should be required reading in the first years of all schools of architecture."
- Canadian Architect

Customer Reviews

Clear, simple, complete coverage of building systems
Mr. Reid presents each aspect of building development and construction simply and clearly while constantly highlighting their significance in the overall project development and construction process.

The manner and tone of the material presented, as well as the text and illustrations make this book a valuable reference for people needing to grasp any or all aspects of building projects large, intermediate or small in scope and size.

Suitable for the General Reading Public
I am a fan of architecture with little technical background. I was drawn to this book because I wanted to increase my understanding of architecture by learning how the mechanical systems within buildings work. I began this endeavor with E. Allen's "How Buildings Work: The Natural Order of Architecture", perhaps the best introduction to the subject. Having enjoyed that book, I wanted to get to the next level of complexity.

Esmond Reid's "Understanding Buildings" is an intermediate level book. The writing is at college freshman level and was easy to understand for a reader with no engineering or other technical background. The many line drawings helped immeasurably in getting across basic points.

For the true beginner, I would recommend E. Allen's book. If you like that work, "Understanding Buildings" is an exciting progression in beginning to understand how the buildings we interact with on a daily basis work. Highly recommended.

Excellent Architectural And Engineering Primer
This book was written mainly for aspiring architects and civil engineers, and covers almost all types of building systems thoroughly. It is very detailed and has separate chapters for important topics such as structure, climate services, lighting, acoustics, fire safety, etc. Although the author largely stays away from mathematics, he is always clear and concise in dealing even with complex analytical problems. As an example I would give his excellent treatment of two and three-hinged portals, and the fascinating parallels he draws between the engineering ideal of arches and the different types of portals. He covers all major construction techniques from timber platform frame construction (generally of houses), to more complex forms such as the hyperbolic paraboloid (opposed double curvature), and the esoteric "hyperboloid of revolution", the opposed double curvature architecture (almost always in concrete) common in power station cooling towers.

His writing on accessory systems such as heating, air conditioning, ventilation, and fire detection and prevention are both introductory and comprehensive. In all areas from structure to systems he is careful to explain real-world rationale in an approachable format that is both thorough and easy to understand.

This book is wonderful. It should be read by every student in engineering or architecture school (the section in chapter one on stresses is of enormous value to technical students), and I would further recommend it to practicing professionals as an excellent conceptual 'refresher course' of real world building systems wisdom. This is an excellent book.