Product Description

How and where did different architectural styles develop?
America has an abundance of fascinating and varied house styles, as fascinating and diverse as its people. This unique book will allow readers to recognize the architectural features and style of virtually any house they encounter.
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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1118824 in Books
• Published on: 1994-04-17
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 192 pages

From Booklist
From early colonial to "pretentious" postmodern, Baker's guide achieves its goal of defining and clarifying American architectural styles introduced throughout various periods of home construction. Baker considers the changes occurring in house design by elaborating on, and providing links between, general historical incidents, pertinent architectural history, and influential figures who participated in the development of distinctive house styles. Baker creates a basic house plan, then manipulates it to include designated elements of design integral to the various period styles discussed. The finished book--set to contain a glossary, reading list, and 100 elegant black-and-white line drawings--should prove to be an engaging historical account and an attractive, practical resource. Alice Joyce

About the Author
John Milnes Baker is an architect specializing in residential design. He is also the author of How to Build a House with an Architect.

Customer Reviews

Easy to read, but not as detailed as one would like.
As a layman, the book is easy to read and offers some nice historical facts. However, the one page synopses of various styles seem to be too brief to offer any kind of detailed analysis of what a particular style has to offer. The book probably should have been longer. In addition, we learn much more about what Baker does not like rather than what he likes. The references to classical architecture, including the diagrams, lack clarity. The book may be a good starting point to learn about American residential architecture, but it is by no means a Bible.

A good, quick introduction
This fascinating book is a quick introduction to the evolution of house styles across the history of the United States. Each chapter has a short introduction to the era in American history, and then launches into a description of the house styles, complete with excellent sketches of a typical house and floor plan of that style. I found this to be a fun and educational read. I enjoyed this book, and highly recommend it.

It sells out fast at the book store
This is a great way to study the different elevations/styles that can be applied to the same basic floorplan. Also a quick reference for the many Architectural styles of the U.S.