Mediterranean Domestic Architecture for the United States (Acanthus Press Reprint Series. 20th Century, Landmarks in Design, V. 9.)

Rating:
Summary: Shadows on Stucco Walls
Review: I find this book a compelling record of a style and period of architecture I love. This is a reprint of a 1929 book, the period black & white photos and drawings are well realized and reveal a lot detail. There are also plans shown for most of the houses illustrated

We would all benefit if architects, developers, landscape architects who are doing contemporary versions of Mediterranean Architecture would spend time studying these images. There is such a fine use of solid and void, plays of light shadow on extensive planar surfaces, and restrained but effective (and sometimes whimsical) use of ornament. Hey, this is not a difficult architecture, or particularly expensive to realize, but can be truly sublime and fully appropriate for Southern California where I live. This book has a lot to tell us designers about how to get it right.

Rating:
Summary: Shadows on Stucco Walls
Review: I find this book a compelling record of a style and period of architecture I love. This is a reprint of a 1929 book, the period black & white photos and drawings are well realized and reveal a lot detail. There are also plans shown for most of the houses illustrated

We would all benefit if architects, developers, landscape architects who are doing contemporary versions of Mediterranean Architecture would spend time studying these images. There is such a fine use of solid and void, plays of light shadow on extensive planar surfaces, and restrained but effective (and sometimes whimsical) use of ornament. Hey, this is not a difficult architecture, or particularly expensive to realize, but can be truly sublime and fully appropriate for Southern California where I live. This book has a lot to tell us designers about how to get it right.

Rating:
Summary: Spanish American at its finest.
Review: This book covers some of the best California and Florida residential architecture of the early 20th century. The photos are great and the plans are incredible. The new introduction shows the house built by the author's grandmother in the 1920s. What a life style! I highly recommend this classy reprint.