From the Library from Environmental
Building News
Feb 2008
The Architecture Handbook:
A Student Guide
to Understanding Buildings
by Jennifer Masengarb with Krisann Rehbein. 2007, Chicago
Architecture Foundation, Chicago, Illinois. Paperback,
462 pages, $75.
Created to update and replace a drafting manual from
the 1950s, this high-school textbook is an amazing achievement
in the integration and presentation of nearly everything
future architects need to know, with a sustainable design
focus that is matter-of-fact but not heavy-handed. Through
the lens of a single case study, the F10 House in Chicago,
The Architecture Handbook explores the primary steps
of the design process, including the development of
site plans, floor plans, and elevation drawings. The
small F10 House features passive design and environmentally
friendly materials. It was designed by EHDD Architecture
and was one of the winning designs in the Green Homes
for Chicago competition in 2000, which was created to
spur innovation in green affordable housing for the
city.
Students learn the basics of architectural thinking
and drawing, often by comparing the F10 house and its
neighborhood to their own homes. The book also discusses
other buildings, in Chicago and as far away as Australia,
as examples of different approaches to architectural
problems. Exercises in the book encourage students to
adapt the strategies discussed to the conditions in
their own locations. This book is graphically clean
and sophisticated, with multiple layers of information
throughout. It explains relevant concepts in simple
terms but is comprehensive enough to be valuable at
the college level. The only piece missing is any discussion
of teamwork in the design and construction process,
and the important role of the architect as a facilitator
of that team.
– Nadav Malin
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