A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books

Design with Love: At Home in America Katie Swenson; photography by Harry Connolly Schiffer , September 2020 Hardcover | 9 x 10-1/2 inches | 240 pages | 150 illustrations | English | ISBN: 978-0764359934 | $45.00 PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION : Over the last 20 years, the Enterprise Rose Fellows—a program of Enterprise Community Partners—have gained a deep understanding of the conditions that cause housing insecurity, poverty, and injustice by embedding themselves in the communities where they work. By using proven design processes, artistic practices, and community engagement principles, and committing to long-term collaborations with residents, they have drastically improved the quality of life in vulnerable communities. Simply put, they have changed lives. This collection of stories and intimate documentary photographs from 10 locations delivers lessons in how we can work together to improve the lives of our neighbors. On the US-Mexico border, in farm country, in Rust Belt cities,...

The Future Architect's Tool Kit by Barbara Beck , published by  Schiffer , 2016. Hardcover, 48 pages. ( Amazon ) This "tool kit" geared to children ages 8 to 12 is a companion to architect Barbara Back's earlier The Future Architect's Handbook . Although I don't have that book, it appears that Beck builds upon the basics outlined in that book and includes materials for doing hands-on exercises. Specifically those materials are (as seen above) a pencil, a pad of gridded paper, a scale, and an eraser. The Handbook  presented drawings of a house by fictional architect Aaron, and in turn the Tool Kit  enables kids to design their own house. Chapter one of the 48-page  Tool Kit  book is a review of the drawing conventions (plans, sections, elevations) described in the previous book; depending on how well a child grasps the idea, he or she might not even need the Handbook . From there Beck guides the "future architects" through the design of a hou...