Eichler Homes: Design for Living

Rating:
Summary: Eichler Homes : Design for living
Review: As a little kid, growing up in Southern California in the 1950's, I admired these cool, streamlined houses. I wondered where, or who they came from. Now I know. They were Eichlers'. Or damn good Eichler clones. Whatever the case, this book does a good job showing this type of architecture. Plenty of great,crisp, photography.

Rating:
Summary: I never get tired of this book.
Review: I agree with the other reviewers' comments about the excellence of the Eichler homes and this book. I have many design books, but I keep coming back to this one and never tire of the clean, modern--but not cold--design. I wish Ditto, et al. would produce a video on the subject.

Rating:
Summary: A book to keep going back to again and again
Review: I refer back to this book several times a year. It's a great introduction to Joseph Eichler and what he accomplished, through his ideal of a modern home for the masses. Some of the homes in this book are truly dream houses for any modern architecture fan. The book isn't full of photos dating from the late 50's/early 60's as one might expect - it's mostly later day photos of beautiful Eichler homes with excellent interior design. For me, this was the only weak point of the book, and why I couldn't give it five stars. I would have enjoyed seing more period photos of the homes, to try and see what the original owners saw when they purchased their homes. I realize that Jerry Ditto et al had to make a hard choice in this regard, and they chose to go with beautiful photos from the current day. After reading this book, you will yearn for your own Eichler, and wonder why more modern homes haven't been designed since. You'll see that Joseph Eichler and his ideas were 50 years ahead of their time, with many of the items found in his homes just now coming into play. A great book for any fan of modern single-dwelling architectue, and a must have for any Eichler owner.

Rating:
Summary: A book to keep going back to again and again
Review: I refer back to this book several times a year. It's a great introduction to Joseph Eichler and what he accomplished, through his ideal of a modern home for the masses. Some of the homes in this book are truly dream houses for any modern architecture fan. The book isn't full of photos dating from the late 50's/early 60's as one might expect - it's mostly later day photos of beautiful Eichler homes with excellent interior design. For me, this was the only weak point of the book, and why I couldn't give it five stars. I would have enjoyed seing more period photos of the homes, to try and see what the original owners saw when they purchased their homes. I realize that Jerry Ditto et al had to make a hard choice in this regard, and they chose to go with beautiful photos from the current day. After reading this book, you will yearn for your own Eichler, and wonder why more modern homes haven't been designed since. You'll see that Joseph Eichler and his ideas were 50 years ahead of their time, with many of the items found in his homes just now coming into play. A great book for any fan of modern single-dwelling architectue, and a must have for any Eichler owner.

Rating:
Summary: The Definitive Eichler Book
Review: If you are an Eichler fan, an Eichler owner, or are just interested in studying mid-century modern architecture built for the middle class, this book is a must-have. Filled with color photographs of many different Eichler homes in Northern and Southern CA, and drawings of layouts by architectural teams such as Anshen & Allen and Jones & Emmons, this book tells the story of Joseph Eichler as told by his son. I have actually never come across any other books on Eichler, so this is the one to have thus far.

Rating:
Summary: The Definitive Eichler Book
Review: If you are an Eichler fan, an Eichler owner, or are just interested in studying mid-century modern architecture built for the middle class, this book is a must-have. Filled with color photographs of many different Eichler homes in Northern and Southern CA, and drawings of layouts by architectural teams such as Anshen & Allen and Jones & Emmons, this book tells the story of Joseph Eichler as told by his son. I have actually never come across any other books on Eichler, so this is the one to have thus far.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting read, wonderful photo's
Review: If you enjoy this book, I would suggestthat you also check out "Palm Springs Modern"The aesthetics are very similar.

Rating:
Summary: Unique Record of Seminal California Architecture
Review: This simple and striking coffee table book documents the obssessive Joseph Eichler and the uniquely Californian homes he built from the late 1940s through the 1960s.

Perhaps the only mass produced tract homes which have ever been truly architected, the Eichler home is documented well in pictures and words. It's all here - from the simple facades, the post and beam construction, the evolution of the atriums, the carefully chosen materials and hand-mixed paints, to his failed experiments with steel, and finally, unique modernizations.

The book could be improved with the addition of a complete list of all the Eichler developments.