Product Description

* A hands-on, well-illustrated reference that helps architects and contractors avoid making common errors in traditional construction details

* Graphical approach allows users to quickly visualize design solutions

* Lists the rules-of-thumb for each detail, and correct and incorrect examples of how to design or construct each detail (20050301)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #55034 in Books
• Published on: 2004-01-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Review
"Putting the ideas of Modernism into the hands of average architects" and builders has resulted in "architecture done wrong for the past half-century." Architects Mouzon and Henderson explain their "sense of unease" and illustrate a range of do's and don'ts that "give people the tools for getting it right again." In 14 chapters they discuss architectural details ranging from the classical orders to roofs, site work, and signage. Powerful opening chapters set the stage by succinctly discussing architectural history, theory, themes and patterns. The Roman architect Vitruvius is cited, and his themes of commodity, firmness, and delight are expanded for application in reviving the lost language of architecture. The remaining eight chapters are clearly laid out with brief essays on architectural features; these are interspersed with excellent black-and-white photographs. All elements are examined using a technique incorporated into architecture: the transect, an organizing device for developing proper patterns. An illustrated lexicon is also included to educate laypersons in the language, but it is too detailed and selective to be as effective as desired. This is a great companion to Jonathan Hale's The Old Way of Seeing (1994) and the National Park Service's The Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation (rev., 1990). Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers: upper-division undergraduates through professionals; two-year technical program students. -- L.B. Sickels-Taves, Eastern Michigan University (Choice )

From the Back Cover
TIME-HONORED ARCHITECTURAL STYLES TO MEET CONSTRUCTION CHALLENGES OF THE NEW MILLENNIUM

The rise of the New Urbanism in building design has brought with it a return to traditional construction techniques. Traditional Construction Patterns: Design and Detail Rules of Thumb, provides instant access to the tips of the trade that will keep your work on budget and in step with the times.

Written by an award-winning architect, this book shows how to avoid common and costly errors while implementing traditional construction details. It provides practical guidance bolstered by illustrations and describes the rules of thumb for designing and applying traditional construction details. You also benefit from:

* A handy format that lists the rule of thumb for each detail
* Correct and incorrect examples of how to design and construct each detail
* A graphical approach that lets architects and builders quickly visualize design solutions
* Extensive explanations of what works, what doesn't, and why
* And much, much more!

No matter if you're an architect, a contractor, an urban planner, or a student, Traditional Construction Patterns helps you avoid errors that not only mar visual appeal, but cost money. From the drafting table to the job site, this is one resource you shouldn't be without!

Included:
* Themes of Traditional Construction
* Vocabulary of Traditional Construction
* Principles of Traditional Construction
* Details
* Walls
* Doors and Windows
* Columns and Beams
* Eaves
* Porch Ceilings
* Roofs
* Dormers
* Chimneys

About the Author
Trained as an interior designer, Ann Sample is a professional journalist who has worked as a reporter for Fortune and Entertainment Weekly, and as an editor and writer for Woman's Day Special Interest Publications, including the publications Home Remodeling and Walls, Windows & Floors. A frequent contributor on interior design topics for numerous newspapers and magazines, Sample holds a Masters of Arts in Journalism and Mass Communication from New York University and an Associate of Applied Science in Interior Design from the New York School of Interior Design.

Customer Reviews

Revolutinary! The equivalent of the "The Chicago Manual of Style" for Architects.
This is an EXCELLENT resource. As the Town Architect for a number of new traditional neighborhoods that have decided to continue building in the traditional styles of their region, I review the work of architects, designers and contractors alike for consistency with that tradition. This book never leaves my side.

Some may view its contents as elemental and they would be right. The problem is that too few architects receive this elemental training before receiving their license--as is clearly evident by what gets built around us.

One reviewer expressed disappointment that the book did not contain actual construction details (glad to see the determination to build it right!). Mr. Mouzon's earlier book, 1001 Construction Details, is great--with the accompanying CD, anyone that wants to get these details right should be all set.

An excellent reference for sorting through the myriad of production housing mistakes!
Having spent a number of years in the production building market, it is safe to say every professional I've worked with in the past, whether junior designer or Snr VP, lacked a sufficient understanding of traditional architecture to recognize the countless errors found throughout entire librabries of product.
Steve's book would be an excellent choice for the production building industry's implementation of "Required Reading and Reference Material 101", if such a program were to exist.
The implementation of correct details in conjunction with the elimination of improper details, windows, etc. could very well provide national builders with cost-effective product in keeping with traditional architecture. Imagine that!
Excellent book... a fantastic choice for the everyday designer/architect searching for answers as to why most homes "just don't look/feel like home".

Mediocre Architecture Explained
Modernism has been the dominant language of architectural schools since the late 1930's. Modernism has never caught on with most of the people who commission architects to design buildigns. They want more traditional buildings that are grounded in America's architectural history. Unfortunately, most architects were not taught to design traditional buildings. As a consequence, America's suburbs are brimming with grotesque Tudors, misshaped bungalows and ackward colonial revival homes.

In this volume, Stephen Mouzon assembles a thousand photographs of architectural details. By concentrating on specific building details, he gives examples of designs that are done correctly and others that are completely fouled up. At times, it is humorous and even a bit tragic to see just how illiterate an architect can be.

I am not an architect. My hobby is to look at architecture. When I come across real train wrecks, it is easy for me to understand why they do not work. However, I often come across buildings that don't work and I have problems putting my finger on what is wrong. This volume is a field guide to all that can go wrong.

Stephen Mouzon's target audience is architects. I would hope that any architect contemplating designing a traditional building will purchase this book. A little bit of study can help spare this country further examples of embarassing architecture. I only wish this book had been written sixty years ago.