Celebrating the American home : 50 great houses from 50 American architects

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Title:

Celebrating the American home : 50 great houses from 50 American architects

Author:

Bouknight, Joanne Kellar.

ISBN:

9781561587612

Publication Information:

Newtown, CT : Taunton Press, 2005.

Physical Description:

236 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 29 cm.

Contents:

What makes a great American home? -- A traditional house with modern compsoure -- Shipshape on Martha's Vineyard -- A timber frame redressed -- A cottage takes root in Maine -- Cool, calm, and composed -- A seaside house bares its bones -- Easy on the earth, easy on the eyes -- A classical perspective on a romantic setting -- Treading lightly on the dunes -- A house of the woods -- Recreating the past at water's edge -- A house in tune -- A comfortable fit on the New England coast -- Give and take revives a Connecticut cape -- A study in contrast -- Two into one -- A new farmhouse takes its place in history -- Courting quiet with geometric harmony -- Catch the breeze, renew the spirit -- In response to the climate -- A serene retreat -- Local color infuses a modern house -- Pueblo and Spanish influences shape a hillside house -- A timeless farmhouse -- Small footprint but tall in stature -- Townhouse tranformation -- A clear field of vision -- New house with an ageless soul -- Cube with a view -- Canadias boathouse -- Wright-inspired ranch -- Riverside, shingle style -- Style and delight on a budget -- A compostion in balance, light, and craft -- Rambling farmhouse -- An island retreat open to the future -- Fortified against wind but open to view -- New house, venerable design -- A palette of design elements shapes a lively house -- A delicate balance -- All about the roof -- A big house thinks small -- Rural shapes, uptown details -- A well-crafted cottage -- Weaving house into landscape -- A craftsman bungalow pays homage to its forebears -- Earth, sky, and water -- A childhood home reborn -- Summer camp, all year long -- Tiny cottages with a generous outlook -- John Connell -- Duo Dickinson -- Jeremiah Eck -- Architects and designers.

Subject Term:

Architect-designed houses -- United States.

Architecture -- United States -- History -- 20th century.

Architecture -- United States -- History -- 21st century.

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Summary

Celebrating the American Home brings together the best 50 houses featured in books from the Taunton Press in the past five years. These houses, which range from the irresistibly cozy to the magisterial to the daringly innovative, were selected by a panel of distinguished residential architects who are members of the American Institute of Architects including Jeremiah Eck, Duo Dickinson, and John Connell, who chose the houses based on how well they reflected the core qualities of great home design. Each house is showcased in four to six pages and shown from a variety of views, with a brief introductory text explaining what makes the house unique and color photographs illustrating the key design features. Sidebars elaborate on why the architects selected each house, while an introductory chapter provides a detailed explanation of those core qualities that distinguish a great home: human-size scale, livability, quality of craft, connection to site, and distinctive design.

Reviews (1)

Kirkus Review

Fifty examples of particularly effective and handsome architectural works are gathered here after being selected from some 400 possibilities--the initial cut came from the American Institute of Architecture and staff at the Taunton Press--by Bouknight and a panel of architects. No matter what your tastes, the merits of these houses are substantial, and Bouknight and her colleagues explain why each one was chosen. They place special emphasis on use of space, proportionality, rhythm of line; of how the house respects its locale, be that in the use of materials, in color and texture and massing, or in the sense of neighborliness; how livable the final product is, from private nooks to social spaces. Despite the fact that there is evidence of international influence, from English Arts and Crafts to Japanese sensibilities, these do truly feel like American homes: cabins, cottages, capes, bungalows, carriage houses and farm houses. The critics point out where detailing has made a difference, where imaginative craftwork has been put to use and where vernacular architecture has made an important statement. Obviously money is an object, but few of these examples are palatial; economy of space is a much-desired trait. And while the settings are almost exclusively spectacular, a house that doesn't weave its own beauty into the landscape won't make the cut. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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