Buildings without architects : a global guide to everyday architecture /
John May.
- New York : Rizzoli, c2010.
- 192 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 22 cm.
The book is a global survey of vernacular and indigenous architectural styles. It is richly illustrated with photographs and diagrams.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 186-187) and index.
Foreword / Anthony Reid -- Gallery of building media -- Introduction / John May -- From Dutch windmills to German barns -- From Mediterranean caves to Bedouin tents -- From Japanese Minka to Toda huts -- From Zulu indlu to the "Venice of Africa" -- From the plains tipi to frontier log cabins -- From chattel houses to Urus Reed houses -- From Balinese kuren to Maori meetinghouses -- Modern vernacular architecture.
"This small but comprehensive book documents the rich cultural past of vernacular building styles, from Irish sod houses to sub-Saharan wattle-and-daub huts and redwoods treehouses. It offers inspiration for home woodworking enthusiasts as well as architects, conservationists, and anyone interested in energy-efficient building and sustainability. The variety and ingenuity of the world's vernacular building traditions are richly illustrated, and the materials and techniques are explored. With examples from every continent, the book documents the diverse methods people have used to create shelter from locally available natural materials, and shows the impressively handmade finished products through diagrams, cross-sections, and photographs. Unlike modern buildings that rely on industrially produced materials and specialized tools and techniques, the everyday architecture featured here represents a rapidly disappearing genre of handcrafted and beautifully composed structures that are irretrievably of their place. These structures are the work of unsung and often anonymous builders that combine artistic beauty, practical form, and necessity.
9780847833610 0847833615
2009936367
Architecture--History. Design and construction building styles Vernacular Tradition