Rating: 
Summary: Living Places
Review: In a world where so many of our buildings are dead, John Reynold's "Courtyards: Aesthetic, Social, and Thermal Delight" treats us to a world of buildings that live. It is that rare book that feeds part of the brain with with inspiration and beauty, while informing the other side how its done. This book clearly articulates patterns and concepts for approaching courtyard design as a function of climate, use, people and place. It is a book that any designer will value for its lessons and observations on what makes a building live, but will be appreciated by everyone who loves beautiful buildings. For those looking to create built environments that honor and nurture both the human spirit and the more than human world, John Reynolds offers luminous insights. This book belongs in the library of every designer.
Rating:
Summary: Living Places
Review: In a world where so many of our buildings are dead, John Reynold's "Courtyards: Aesthetic, Social, and Thermal Delight" treats us to a world of buildings that live. It is that rare book that feeds part of the brain with with inspiration and beauty, while informing the other side how its done. This book clearly articulates patterns and concepts for approaching courtyard design as a function of climate, use, people and place. It is a book that any designer will value for its lessons and observations on what makes a building live, but will be appreciated by everyone who loves beautiful buildings. For those looking to create built environments that honor and nurture both the human spirit and the more than human world, John Reynolds offers luminous insights. This book belongs in the library of every designer.
Rating:
Summary: The author says:
Review: My love of courtyards started 20 years ago in Colima, Mexico. I continued to observe and measure courtyards in South America and in Spain, returning to Mexico as well. I hope you will enjoy these courtyards' aesthetic, social, and thermal triangle as much as I have. What a beautiful blend of architecture and landscape design they are!The book's concluding paragraph: Courtyards invite the designer's detailed attention to a relationship of plants, animals and people; to the juxtaposition of outdoor variation and indoor consistency; to a controlled connection with the community from within the privacy of the courtyard. The surrounding covered yet exposed arcades are not only delightful paths, but places as well, for virtually any activity that might be transported from the indoor rooms, as conditions invite. The geometry of the courtyard is softened by the organic presence of plants, adding that sensual stimuli that architecture by itself cannot provide. It is the dwelling space that most celebrates change, both with the seasons and with age. The courtyard, with its modest area requirements, can return enormous benefits to its surrounding building, allowing a site to be covered with more building than open space, yet still in contact with sun, wind, rain, earth, and stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Honest Reviews?
Review: Were all the reviews written by the author? Give me a break! The fact that every review sounds the same will keep me from ever purchasing this book. In that case, I guess all the reviews helped!
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