Grow Your Own House: Simone Velez and Bamboo Architecture

Book Description

Bamboo, which has been used as building material for centuries and is widely available (35 million acres worldwide are covered in bamboo), is being rediscovered today. Its cost-effectiveness and ability to endure adverse environmental forces make it one of the preeminent construction materials on the planet. Bamboo's unique aesthetic appearance has been exploited in design and furniture building. The highly visual and engaging Grow Your Own House will open your eyes to the beauty and lightness of bamboo structures and designs. Bamboo--a widely available and renewable resource almost as strong as steel, yet very light--lends itself to architectural experiments. Buckminster Fuller, Frei Otto, Renzo Piano, Shoei Yoh, and Arata Isozaki are a few of the millions of people worldwide using bamboo to create space and structure around them. Author and architect Simón Vélez pioneered bamboo construction in his home country of Colombia. His most recent and spectacular project, which is prominently featured in Grow Your Own House, is the Expo 2000 pavilion for the ZERI Foundation. At over 120 feet in diameter and over 50 feet high, it is one of the largest bamboo structures in the world. Grow Your Own House includes all the latest trends of this cutting-edge revival. The integration of the seeming dichotomies of high-tech and sustainability, global thinking and regional traditions definitely makes the future look brighter. This lavishly and colorfully illustrated volume is published in dual languages (German and English). Contributors to this volume include Jean Dethier, Walter Liese, Eda Schaur, Frei Otto, and Mateo Kries.

Customer Reviews:

You Can't Grow Your Own House!.......2007-08-05

A deceiving, gimmicky title that doesn't measure up to the book's contents.

Lots of color pictures of absolutely huge bamboo community structures (NOT houses!) that basically all look the same. There's hardly any variety - just huge bamboo roofs suspended on bamboo stilts designed by the book's author.

I bought the book because it mentions "House" in the title but it hardly has any "houses" in it... maybe photo's of 3 bamboo houses in total.

The book is written in German text with an English translation printed alongside... so half of each text page is taken up with the German text.

The book shows a few pictures of bamboo joints made by filling the ends with concrete and embedded bolts secured to metal joints. It doesn't tell you where to buy those joints because they are custom made.

That was the most useful information found in the book from my perspective.

So... I'm still looking for a book about bamboo houses!

bamboo manifesto.......2001-04-07

There are many fantastic images of bamboo design and architecture, which is being taken to the next level by Velez and others. With population growth and environmental crises what they are, bamboo may emerge as a key building material worldwide. Velez's mushroom dome for the Hannover Expo 2000 was a gorgeous massive structure in bamboo that established bamboo use in large-scale architectural projects.

However magnificent it is, the pavilion-as-statement suffers from its own pagoda poetry. The main block to widespread adoption of bamboo is its low-tech image, in both the developing and developed worlds. This low-tech, low-status image is why Colombians continue to build inferior concrete buildings, even after such structures are decimated by earthquakes (while leaving the bamboo buildings standing). The pagoda image reinforces associations with the past and low-tech traditional construction.

To move bamboo forward as a workaday modern building material, it needs to be used in a more ordinary International Style residential or office high-rise that successfully embodies the myth of hi-tech modernity. Wrapped in a glass and metal skin, this bamboo wolf-in-sheep's clothing would bare its fangs when asking Buckminster Fuller's (and Velez's) key question: "Gentlemen, what do your buildings weigh?." Unfortunately, "modernism" is a filthy word for Velez. Mexico's Luis Barragan created a new architecture by successfully fusing colloquial Mexican style with International Style - it will be interesting to see if Velez or one of his students can do something similar for high-tech bamboo construction.

The book is surprisingly thin on detailed treatment of Velez's own work. Would like to have seen more on the Luis Salazar residence, because its smaller scale and middle-class prestige make it more relevant to implementing the bamboo manifesto than the showy ZERI pavilion.

Whole double-page spreads are dedicated to suggestive connections between the bamboo forms and the work of other architects. But the book is relatively thin on diagrams on the types of bamboo joints, integration of bamboo with CAD, data on load bearing (compared with reinforced concrete for example) and other information outlining more precisely how to bring bamboo into the arsenal of modern construction.

That said, it is the best recent book to state the bamboo mainfesto of strength, versatility and modular nature of bamboo. If you have any interest in environmentally sound design, this is THE coffeetable book to have, but

...why wasn't it printed on bamboo paper?

Product Description

Enter the world of Manga Action! Dramatic action is central to the success of the Manga phenomenon, and so if you're really interested in drawing in the Manga style, you must become skilled at creating action images. Action suggests larger-than-life heroes. In these pages you'll find plenty of them, but also Manga women who can trade drop kicks with the best of the boys. You'll also discover: Step-by-step sequences showing you how to master drawing the faces, and bodies of our heroes Dramatic action scenes Coloring techniques Exciting projects incorporating all the techniques you've learnt Once you've absorbed the Manga style and made it your own, your drawing will never look back. So, follow Duke and the team and the joys of Manga will be forever yours.

Book Description

You bought the camera because it's tiny and elegant and easy to use (and, oh yes, it takes great pictures, too!). So why would you spend $20 on a book that's several times bigger than the camera itself--in other words, too large to carry, too expensive to languish on the shelf, and too detailed to provide the at-a-glance guidance you seek. But if that book were under 50 pages, small enough to slip into your coat pocket, and (best of all!) only $5--well, that would be perfect! And perfect this book is for the smart Coolpix user who needs nothing more than a quick visual reference to the camera¿s most common functions! Each page of this tight, bright, four-color guide features a full-page visual, step-by-step instructions, and perhaps a warning or tip at the bottom of the page. Nothing extraneous, just the all-important basics: shooting techniques, Coolpix functions and menus, instructions for transferring photos and creating common effects, and more.

Learn the Nikon D70 Camera for 5 Bucks (Learn for 5 Bucks)

Average customer rating:

Covers the basics very well.
35mm to Digital in a FLASH for 50+ year olds
Less is more
So I figured, what do have to lose?
A good book for D70 owners.

Learn the Nikon D70 Camera for 5 Bucks (Learn for 5 Bucks)
Stephen Gregory
Manufacturer: Fair Shake Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Digital Photography | Digital Photography & Video | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: B000BAWNE0
Release Date: 2005-08-31

Book Description

Learn the Nikon D70 for 5 Bucks is a concise, bright, four-color, quick-reference manual for one of the most popular digital SLR cameras in the market. The text is integrated with large photographs and the Nikon's menu photographs or software interface shot interface screen captures, (either s). Brief tips or warnings at page bottom address any ancillary points not covered in the basic how-to text. Readers will quickly learn how to master the key skills they need to take great photos with their Nikon-- basic shooting tips, adjusting the LCD monitor, managing white balance, creating panoramic shots, using the zoom feature, downloading images with a card reader or USB cable, printing photos, and so on. With a 6x7 trim size and an extremely affordable price, this book isn't designed to be a complete reference, but is a useful guide for people users who just want to learn the basics of their Nikon D70 camera.

Customer Reviews:

Covers the basics very well........2007-05-03

Easiest manual I've ever read. Speaks in plain language - wish he would write a "middle" level manual.

35mm to Digital in a FLASH for 50+ year olds.......2006-11-12

Nikon should have included this book with the camera. I still use it from time to time for quick reference.

Less is more.......2006-11-05

This is the best quick start guide for the D70 that I've seen, especially if you are visually oriented. The succinct, step-by-step instructions are supported by color photographs and diagrams. It's an accessible introduction for technophobics and technophiles alike...especially if you hate sifting through the fine print in the manual. An excellent value.

So I figured, what do have to lose?.......2006-08-15

It's only five bucks. Well, I lost five bucks. Don't bother buying this book. If you bought a D70 and you need this book to figure out how to work it, you should have bought a disposable camera. Do you really need this book to tell you to turn the ring on the lens to zoom? If you're sitting at home with your $1000 camera in your lap waiting for this book to arrive so you can learn how to zoom your camera, then this book is for you. Overnight it if you have to. Otherwise, don't buy the book, send me four dollars so I can enjoy a cup of coffee at Fourbucks. At least one of us will get something for your money and you would have saved a dollar. It's a win-win.

A good book for D70 owners........2006-08-08

Good overall could have gotten a little more detailed about some settings. I would recommend it.

Learn the Nikon Coolpix Camera for 5 Bucks!: The Book for People Who Hate Reading the Manual

Average customer rating:

Learn the Nikon Coolpix Camera for 5 Bucks!: The Book for People Who Hate Reading the Manual
Stephen Gregory
Manufacturer: Peachpit Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OUFG64

Book Description

The derro have long been a mysterious race, hiding in darkness, their presence frequently but a whisper. Brought to the fore in this supplement, their culture, habitats, methods of warfare, and more are detailed in full so as to be usable by game masters and players alike.

Book Description

How can you use ASPs for your business? This HOTT Guide Special helps you to get the best out of ASP for your company. It provides practical information as well as market guidance and validation, to help you understand buyer demand and requirements, capitalize on emerging market opportunities, identify the right partners, hone their business model, price offers appropriately and get into the market faster.

Customer Reviews:

Unfortunately outdated.......2001-06-09

This book consists of reports, which describe the state of the ASP market about a year ago. While writing my diploma thesis about this topic, I had to realise, that this topic loses its actuality rather quickly as the only constant element in the ASP market is change. The book focuses on so-called First-Generation ASPs putting most business emphasise on quick market presence. In the meantime the market has matured leading to 2nd and 3rd Generation ASPs, which qualifies the reports contained in this book as partially outdated basic knowledge. Today, potential ASP customers and providers use far more complex strategies to utilize the ASP concept.

Reaction on Mr. Madden's review.......2001-05-04

I don't agree with mr Brian Madden. I can image why there are some ads in the book, but they did help me to reach and to get in touch with these vendors. The articles are clearly whitepapers, casestudies and reports of research companies and the are not commercial in my opinion, they only inform you of the several options. The HOTT Guide gave me an objective idea of the possibilities of ASP for my company, although I already knew some of it.

Just a Collection of Whitepapers.......2000-12-08

I purchased this book looking for an overall, logically flowing picture of the ASP concept. While the content is valid, I was disappointed to find that it was just a collection of publicly available white papers and industry articles. The book is smaller than I thought - only 300 pages, and it contains advertisements for various vendors (the only color sections of the book). There are many graphs and pie charts that are useless because the different segments are all different shades of gray, and I think that it is far too much to spend for what seems to be a collection of white papers an intern could assemble after surfing the web for an afternoon.

Book Description

With the new changes going into effect on April 1, 2006 in North Carolina, count on Nancy Keck and Anne Rasheed to update your instructional materials necessary for real estate education. This updated text covers the new brokers-only license, provisional broker license, increase in required education, and increase in requirements for brokers-in-charge. In addition, the same writing style and winning approach that has been used to educate many in the past can still be found in this new edition. Don't settle for less, your students deserve the best. Fully Updated - The entire text is fully updated and approved by the North Carolina Real Estate Commission to reflect the recent 2006 changes. Essential Resources - An appendix of the North Carolina Real Estate License Law and Commission Rules included. Accurate - Given the new changes, the authors have taken every step possible to check and recheck each chapter to verify it for accuracy to ensure your satisfaction. Items to Consider - This feature helps better prepare students for the licensing examination. Important Points - Each chapter includes a summary for quick review and exam preparation.

Customer Reviews:

excellent book far better then GALATY BOOK.......2005-10-09

We re using the yellow book in class and it is not as good or helpful as this book. I use this book along with the required text and this is far better. Our teacher agrees although he prefers the other book because in answer section it gives you the page number of the info for the question you miss.

North Carolina real estate: Principles & practices

Average customer rating:

North Carolina real estate: Principles & practices
David A Hagen
Manufacturer: Gorsuch Scarisbrick
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Real Estate | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0897879198

Book Description

This book comes approved by the North Carolina Real Estate Commission to fulfill the 30-hour course requirement for salespersons. Its approach is easier to read-yet more comprehensive-than most competing texts, effectively blending information regarding national laws and concepts with information specific to North Carolina statutes, principles and practices.

North Carolina Real Estate : Principles and Practice

Average customer rating:

North Carolina Real Estate : Principles and Practice
Ralph A. Palmer Nancy F. Keck
Manufacturer: South-Western Educational Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OUBKO6

North Carolina Real Estate Principles & Practice

Average customer rating:

North Carolina Real Estate Principles & Practice
Nancy F. Keck
Manufacturer: International Thomson Publishing Services
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Real Estate | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0324139969

North Carolina Real Estate- Principles And Practices

Average customer rating:

North Carolina Real Estate- Principles And Practices
Palmer, Keck
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OHOATQ

Book Description

Following the German counter-attack at Mortain on August 6th, 1944, Generals Omar Bradley and Bernard Montgomery decided to engage in a wide encircling movement, to trap the enemy divisions which had advanced so far westwards. American XV Corps entered Le Mans on August 9th and then advanced rapidly northwards, capturing Alencon before moving towards Ecouche, then Argentan. Meanwhile, Montgomery had broken the German front south of Caen despite stiff resistance. The Canadians and the Poles of General Maczeck's 1st Armoured Division bore down on Falaise, eventually capturing the town on August 16th. They then accelerated their advance, seeking to meet American forces moving northwards. With over 100,000 Germans in danger of encirclement, Hitler gave the order for a general withdrawal. Under the combined pressure of the Americans and French to the south, the Americans and British to the west and the Canadians and Poles to the north, the net inexorably tightened. American and Polish units linked up at Chambois as Canadian and Polish forces attempted to plug the remaining gaps in a series of ferocious actions.

Average customer rating:

A rare bird who managed to keep its nesting place undetected for nearly two centuries

A Page Turner!

Coaxing a non-birder into the old growth forest

Great Bird, Great Book!

Rare Bird: Pursuing the Mystery of the Marbled Murrelet
Maria Mudd Ruth
Manufacturer: Rodale Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Conservation | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
Endangered Species | Conservation | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
General | Birdwatching | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
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The Grail Bird: The Rediscovery of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker

Return to Wild America: A Yearlong Search for the Continent's Natural Soul

The Shorebird Guide

Peterson Reference Guides: Gulls of the Americas (Peterson Reference Guides)

Identify Yourself: The 50 Most Common Birding Identification Challenges

ASIN: 1594860904
Release Date: 2005-05-12

Book Description

Part naturalist detective story, part environmental inquiry, this vibrant narrative celebrates the fascinating world of an endangered seabird that depends on the contested old-growth forests of the Pacific Northwest for its survival 'This chunky little seabird stole my heart.' So confesses Maria Mudd Ruth, a veteran nature writer perfectly happy to be a generalist before getting swept up in the strange story of the marbled murrelet. This curiosity of nature, who flies like a little brown bullet at up to 100 miles an hour and lives most of its life offshore, is seen around land only during breeding season, when the female lays a single egg high on a mossy tree limb in the ancient coastal forest.

Customer Reviews:

A rare bird who managed to keep its nesting place undetected for nearly two centuries.......2005-10-12

If you haven't heard of the marbled murrelet, even if you're an avid birder, don't be surprised: it's a rare bird who managed to keep its nesting place undetected for nearly two centuries: one explored in depth in Rare Bird: Pursuing The Mystery Of The Marbled Murrelet. Like the more famous ivory-billed woodpecker, the marbled murrelet is an elusive bird which has chosen exclusively a limited territory depleted trough logging. Though not on the edge of extinction, the many human threats to its habitat are reducing its numbers, and naturalist author Maria Mudd Ruth here explores these influences - and her discoveries about an amazing bird.

A Page Turner!.......2005-07-15

This is a wonderful book! An interesting read for both the avid bird watcher or the casual observer. I loved this book!

Coaxing a non-birder into the old growth forest.......2005-06-12

What is remarkable about Rare Bird is how accessible and interesting it is for a non-scientist and non-birder. Maria Ruth Mudd's ability to draw the reader close to this fascinating, endangered and shy sea bird that nests in old growth forests comes in part from her own outsider perspective-she calls herself an "accidental naturalist"-as well as her lively explanations detailing how scientists began to learn about and understand this odd creature.

From rich and poetic descriptions of old growth forests where this bird nests, to humorous and arduous accounts of tagging along with ornithologists, field biologists, and other tireless birders attempting to study the marbled murrelet, Ruth Mudd brings the reader into a world seldom even contemplated by most. She also demonstrates-- through historical record, numerous anecdotes detailing her own growing curiosity, and descriptions of the fascinating fieldwork--just how difficult studying this bird is, as well as how crucial the marbled murrelet researchers are to this bird's survival. As much as this book is a natural history, it is a song of appreciation to the researchers who have dedicated their lives to understanding and fighting for endangered species in general, and this bird in particular.

By the end of the book, I cared about this strange-looking auk, I wanted to hug the researchers that work to document the impact of polluted waters and clear-cutting on this bird's survival, and I better understood the plight of one endangered bird in a world hungry for old growth trees and land.

Great Bird, Great Book!.......2005-06-09

I have had the pleasure of reading Maria Mudd Ruth's most recent book,Rare Bird: Pursuing the Mystery of the Marbled Murrelet. This book is the result of years of research by the author, which included culling facts from many scientific papers and journals,interviewing numerous biologists and ornithologists,visiting museums,attending seabird conferences and participating in data collection herself. The result is a lively,intelligent,thoughtful,funny and easily readable tale of a most unusual bird,and the folks who have found it fascinating. The author's enthusiasm for this bird is evident in her personal narration. This is no dry scientific paper. We, as readers, are amazed by the number of people who over so many years have dedicated their lives to studying this elusive creature,and the lengths they go to to observe and record it's behavior. We are also moved as we consider how difficult is the mission of maintaining the delicate balance of nature and industry in our increasingly complex world. Ruth has given us a gift in this detailed account of a funny ,fat, little bird and the stir it has caused, while trying to avoid attention altogether. It's a must read for those concered with protecting threatened and endangered species, and for those of us who enjoy a story well told.

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