Product Description

We expect our buildings to do many things: stand up, shelter us from weather, keep us comfortable, provide clean water for drinking and clean air for breathing, dispose of our wastes, give us privacy and security, power everything from tools to toasters, and connect us with the world outside through windows, doors, telephones, and mailboxes. They should be easy to move around in, and shouldn't require excessive expense to maintain.

But how does a building do all this? This is the question Edward Allen addresses so engagingly in the completely revised and updated second edition of How Buildings Work. Illustrated throughout with several hundred clear, sometimes whimsical line drawings, more than half of them from the author's own hand, this easy-to-read work reveals virtually every secret of a building's function: how it stands up, keeps its occupants safe and comfortable, gets built, grows old, and dies--and why some buildings do this so much better than others. Everyone who has ever asked such questions as "why can't they get the temperature right in here?" "why does my basement flood every summer?" or "can't they build buildings so I don't have to hear my neighbors argue every morning?" will find an answer here.

Drawing on things he's learned from the more than sixty buildings he himself designed, including his own house, Allen explains complex phenomena such as the role of the sun in heating buildings and the range of structural devices that are used for support, from trusses and bearing walls to post-tensioned concrete beams and corbeled vaults. He stresses the importance of intelligent design in dealing with such problems as overheating and overcooling, excessive energy use, leaky roofs and windows, fire safety, and noisy interiors, showing, for example, how to use the structure itself to mask troublesome noises such as the impact of rain, slamming doors, and the occasional creaks and groans caused by the push and pull of heat and humidity. And he illustrates how all buildings, from a backyard shed to the tallest skyscraper, are never at rest--they continually experience virtually irresistible forces that would tear them to pieces if not taken into account by the designer.

Edward Allen makes it easy for everyone--from armchair architects and sidewalk superintendents to students of architecture and construction--to understand the mysteries and complexities of even the largest building, from how it recycles waste and controls the movement of air, to how it is kept alive and growing. How Buildings Work will enlighten and entertain anyone interested in the way things work.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1145565 in Books
• Published on: 1995-12-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

From Library Journal
With its homespun drawings and offerings of architectural wisdom for lay readers, this book is like a Whole Earth Catalog building course. In this update of his 1980 edition, however, Allen (architecture, Yale) manages to explain with brevity and common sense "how buildings work." In the opening pages, he places the Earth in the solar system and defines our place on the planet. He then offers analyses of the effects of sun, wind, and cold on building design and location. By focusing primarily on housing, Allen lets readers clearly understand everything from lighting, comfort, and quiet to the basics of making a sturdy structure. He offers occasional but well-placed examples of non-Western design as well. And the illustrations, which look like 1970s instructions for macrame, somehow work. Recommended for general audiences.?David Bryant, New Canaan P.L., Conn.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"With each of his books Edward Allen demonstrates to his students and to teachers of architecture that the traditional marriage of design and building is not a marriage of convenience. It is based on legitimate family values."--Forrest Wilson, Emeritus Professor of Architecture, The Catholic University of America

About the Author

Edward Allen is an architect and teacher who enjoys explaining things through his words and drawings: What makes buildings work, what makes buildings habitable and lovable, how architects' design ideas become realities. He has published seven books on these subjects and teaches in the School of Architecture at Yale University.

Customer Reviews

Great Introduction for the Novice
I approach this book as someone who likes to walk around old neighborhoods and look at houses. I have collected architectural field guides for years and I can identify most building styles. However, I had little idea how buildings worked.

This book was enjoyable because the writing style was simple and straight to the point. One does not need a technical background to get a lot out of the book. Edward Allen's skillful line illustrations also add a great deal. If I could not understand the technical description, the simple illustration helped me with the underlying principle.

To give you an example of why this book is helpful to a non-specialist. I have heard of septic systems my entire life. However, I had no idea how they worked. With the help of very clear illustrations and straight forward writing, this mystery has been solved. This book is a great introduction to all those interested in architecture. Highly recommended.

What buildings are
HOW BUILDINGS WORK is just a great book, even more interesting than Macaulay's THE WAY THINGS WORK. Buildings are everywhere, and most everyone uses buildings of various kinds for various purposes. Yet how a building works is often a mystery. In this way, I think buildings are much like computers; most people who use them have no clue about the inner workings of them.

Edward Allen takes us through the functions of a building without going into traditional architectural theory. This book is more concerned with the needs that buildings must fulfill, and how we can fulfull them. He discusses water, waste, heat, ventilation, lighting, accoustics, energy, structure, and more, first by explaining each particular concept, and then by examining how problems can be solved with the knowledge of those concepts.

While this isn't a book on theory, neither is it a wholly practical book. That is, it won't equip you with the skills to go and build a house. But it will open your eyes to the various elements of buildings and building construction and you may think "Aha!" the next time you look at a building and observe a strange structural or design detail. You don't have to be an architecture freak to enjoy the book either. You just need to be curious.

This is an excellent primer on architecture for anyone.
Edward Allen clearly, thoroughly, and succinctly explains the basics of architecture to the average reader. He covers not only the materials and methods of construction, but introduces the theory, history, and philosophy of architecture. The reader's mind is filled with knowledge in short order, and is left delighted. Edward Allen is a rare gem of a teacher--someone who honestly understands a topic and can convey that knowledge. There are so many badly written, stuffy, elitist, and meaningless tomes on architecture, that this book stands almost alone. If you had to read only one book on architecture your whole life, then this is it. If you had to read two, then include "How Buildings Learn" by Stewart Brand.