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A Visual Dictionary of Architecture

 Rating 4
A Visual Dictionary of Architecture
80% Recommended by our customers.
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Manufacturer: Wiley
Release Date:
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $49.95
Our Price: $31.99
Used Price: $24.99
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Key Features:

  • ISBN13: 9780470087817
  • Condition: NEW
  • Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

Product Reviews:

 Rating 4   Excellent
Excellent condition for a used item and for the price too. The books from Francis Ching are always very pleasent to read and to have.

 Rating 5   Can't get through Architecture School without this
This book includes details for virtually every imaginable situation in architecture. It is not only useful for creating details for your own project, but will also help you decipher the details in other people's projects. A necessary supplement to any Materials and Methods course.

 Rating 5   from a students perspective...
awesome book with everything one could need to get a well rounded idea of how structures are put together. this book was recommended by many of my professors and is especially useful when trying to understand and draw interior and exterior details. it is a must have in any interior designer or architects library!!!

 Rating 2   Building Construction Little Illustrated
From my title, one would assume that I mean that this book has few illustrations. Quite the contrary, it has many illustrations, some of which are important, but the problem is that the book does a fairly poor job of giving enough detail, both in illustration and writing, on any given aspect of building anything.

The whole book reads more like a survey class at college where one learns that all these things exist but couldn't for the life of themselves describe any one thing in any useful detail. For those of you who've been to college I think you know what I mean. I purchased this book in the hope that it would help me better understand the scope of some larger projects I may have coming at mid-summer, but I was astonished to find that most of the information was so elementary that it was worthless.

This book will not tell you how to really truly build a building. If you are clever there is enough information that you could do the job right, but it says nothing about the real-world situation of a project. There is not nearly enough information about how and when an electrician or plumber should come in, or a finish carpenter, and how they would best be helped to improve communication and timing of the project. There are some key things that can be gleaned, but by the title of the book one would not be far off in thinking that it was a book about building. It is not. This book is about the General Ideas behind construction of residential and commercial sites. Think about it. There would need to be double the pages to cover both!

I'm sure for something down the road I will be able to get something useful out of the book, but for now it is mainly on my shelf for show. The price should come down to about $20 as well because there is nothing in here that cannot be found out online or elsewhere. Its just a summary of the ideas of others.

Finally, there was some chatter about the new materials that are used in modern construction; where? Where in this book does it tell us of any specific types of these "new" "green" products or techniques? Name one?

Before buying please realize this book is for future project managers that are half the age of their wiser employee's. This information is for 18 year old college kids.

 Rating 4   Building Construction Book
Smooth transaction and great price. The packaging, however, is a little too much. I am not really sure why a used book was shipped in a big box filled with bits and pieces of styro foams. It's a little messy.

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