Thursday, May 24, 2012

How to read ePub-files




EPUBReader is a Firefox addon which lets you read ePub-files just in the browser. 
You don't need to install additional software!

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Architectural Acoustics: Blending Sound Sources, Sound Fields, and Listeners



"Architectural Acoustics: Blending Sound Sources, Sound Fields, and Listeners"
Yoichi Ando, 
1998 | 224 pages | PDF | 19,3 MB

Proceeding from basic theory to design studies of concert and multiple purpose halls, the author introduces a remarkable seat selection system for the analysis of new and existing halls, and proposes a diagnostic system for testing the physical properties and calculating the psychological attributes at any seat after a hall is built. The book also presents a theory of subjective preferences, based on a model of the auditory cognitive system in the brain. Readers can thus follow the temporal and spatial values that may be associated with the left and right cerebral hemispheres in listening to music and speech, respectively, in a room. From the results of calculating subjective preference at each seat, for example, architects, musicians, and acoustical engineers concerned with the design and use of concert and multi-use halls may determine the best location to perform a certain type of music on the stage, as well as the best seats from which to listen.

Friday, May 18, 2012

Photoshop in Architectural Graphics



Photoshop in Architectural Graphics
Horst Sondermann, 
2009 | 328 pages | PDF | 42,7 MB

Photoshop is the worldwide market leader among image editing software. Along with its classical use for photography and web design, it is also an important 3D-modeling tool. In architectural terms, it can be said that Photoshop is used in all workflow phases. This volume is the first handbook for architects. It features solutions for typical everyday tasks and helps planners, architects and students achieve satisfying results with the help of Photoshop software. It offers practical step-by-step tutorials for quick improvement. 


Site Analysis: A Contextual Approach to Sustainable Land Planning and Site Design



Site Analysis: A Contextual Approach to Sustainable Land Planning and Site Design
James A. LaGro
Publication Date: November 9, 2007 | Edition: 2

Site analysis is the key to a well-designed project. In fact, the careful and complete analysis of a site and its surrounding context can lead to better development proposals, smoother design implementation, and, ultimately, higher quality built environments.

This carefully conceived book is the first to detail each crucial step in the site analysis and planning process, from site selection through design development. It shows how these activities are integrated to arrive at a site plan that successfully balances the needs of the client and other stakeholders with the site's suitability for the intended land uses. With more than 130 illustrations, this book includes many outstanding examples of maps and site plans created by leading land planning firms. It offers guidance on:

* Site identification, evaluation, and selection
* Site inventories of physical, biological, and cultural attributes
* Land use suitability analysis using Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
* Concept planning and design development
* Graphic communication with clients, government agencies, and other stakeholders

Filled with need-to-know information on the entire land planning and design process, Site Analysis is a vital addition to the library of students and professionals in landscape architecture, urban design and planning, and related areas.

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Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Manuale operativo per il restauro architettonico



Manuale operativo per il restauro architettonico
Language: Italian | Publisher: DEI | ISBN: 8849609949 | 2010 | PDF | 289 pages | 11 mb

Il manuale raccoglie una panoramica di soluzioni indirizzate alla conservazione del patrimonio edilizio storico. Le diverse procedure illustrate analizzano e descrivono sia operazioni attinenti il restauro sia interventi propri del consolidamento delle strutture, fornendo per ogni singola problematica, un ventaglio di soluzioni possibili. Il risultato finale si traduce in uno strumento operativo e, allo stesso tempo, conoscitivo utile per individuare la soluzione più idonea al caso specifico.In questa quarta edizione: nuove procedure e un ampliamento dell'apparato illustrativo.

Monday, May 14, 2012

Fundamentals of Building Construction: Materials and Methods



Fundamentals of Building Construction: Materials and Methods
Edward Allen

Now in its Fifth Edition, this essential textbook has been used by thousands of students annually in schools of architecture, engineering, and construction technology. The bestselling reference focuses on the basic materials and methods used in building construction, emphasizing common construction systems such as light wood frames, masonry bearing walls, steel frames, and reinforced concrete. New introductory material on the processes, organization, constraints, and choices in construction offers a better look at the management of construction. New sections covering the building envelope uncover the secrets to designing enclosures for thermal insulation, vapor retarders, air barriers, and moisture control. The Fifth Edition also features more axonometric detail drawings and revised photographs for a thoroughly illustrated approach and the latest IBC 2006, CSI MasterFormat, ASTM references, and LEED information.

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Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Questions of Perception: Phenomenology of Architecture



Questions of Perception: Phenomenology of Architecture 
By Steven Holl, Juhani Pallasmaa, Alberto Perez-Gomez
Publisher:2 edition 2007 | 155 Pages || PDF | 49 MB

This new edition of Questions of Perception brings back into print one of the most important architectural theory treatise of recent years. Authored by noted architectural scholars Alberto Perez-Gomez and Juhani Pallasmaa as well as the preeminent architect Steven Holl, the three separate essays are thematically linked: each one tries to explain the role human perception and phenomenological experience play in architecture. In particular, Holl -- who was named by Time magazine as the most important architect of his generation and the designer of the much-lauded Chapel of St. Ignatius at Seattle University and the highly anticipated Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art addition -- lucidly explicates the importance of intuition in the construction and experience of built space. Holl explains his search for phenomenological experience thus: "To open architecture to questions of perception, we must suspend disbelief, disengage the rational half of the mind, and simply play and explore. Reason and skepticism must yield to a horizon of discovery."


Solar Domestic Water Heating: The Earthscan Expert Handbook for Planning, Design and Installation (Earthscan Expert Series)



Solar Domestic Water Heating: The Earthscan Expert Handbook for Planning, Design and Installation (Earthscan Expert Series) 

Chris Laughton

Solar Domestic Water Heating is a comprehensive introduction to all aspects of solar domestic water heating systems. As fossil fuel prices continue to rise and awareness of climate change grows, interest in domestic solar water heating is expanding.

Solar water heating technology is the most environmentally-friendly way to heat water. This fully-illustrated and easy-to-follow guide shows how domestic solar water heating systems work, the different types of systems, types of collectors, both flat plate and evacuated tube, types of storage tanks and other accessories. It also shows how systems are installed and explains how solar water heating can be integrated into existing water heating systems. Numerous examples from around the world have been included. The ideal guide for plumbers, heating engineers, builders and architects, housing and property developers, home owners and DIY enthusiasts, and anyone who needs a clear introduction to solar water heating technology.

The Alphabet and the Algorithm (Writing Architecture)


The Alphabet and the Algorithm (Writing Architecture)

Mario Carpo


Digital technologies have changed architecture--the way it is taught, practiced, managed, and regulated. But if the digital has created a "paradigm shift" for architecture, which paradigm is shifting? In The Alphabet and the Algorithm, Mario Carpo points to one key practice of modernity: the making of identical copies. Carpo highlights two examples of identicality crucial to the shaping of architectural modernity: in the fifteenth century, Leon Battista Alberti's invention of architectural design, according to which a building is an identical copy of the architect's design; and, in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the mass production of identical copies from mechanical master models, matrixes, imprints, or molds. The modern power of the identical, Carpo argues, came to an end with the rise of digital technologies. Everything digital is variable. In architecture, this means the end of notational limitations, of mechanical standardization, and of the Albertian, authorial way of building by design. Charting the rise and fall of the paradigm of identicality, Carpo compares new forms of postindustrial digital craftsmanship to hand-making and the cultures and technologies of variations that existed before the coming of machine-made, identical copies. Carpo reviews the unfolding of digitally based design and construction from the early 1990s to the present, and suggests a new agenda for architecture in an age of variable objects and of generic and participatory authorship.