Contributors include architects, philosophers, landscape architects, and geographers, who focus on the question of how people might see and understand the natural and built environments in a deeper, more perceptive way. What is a sense of place and how can it be supported by architecture, policy, and education? Why are places important to people, and can designers and policy-makers create better places? Is there a way to see and understand what might help to make buildings, landscapes, and places that are beautiful, alive, and humane? What role do the geographical and architectural environments play in human life?

This volume focuses on the question of how people might see and understand the natural and built environments in a deeper, more perceptive way. Why are places important to people, and can designers and policy-makers create better places? Contributors include architects, philosophers and architects.

A #1 best seller for years, Bill Hirsch's Designing Your Perfect House: Lessons from an Architect has been called an essential read for Homeowners as well as Professionals. Bill's flowing style of writing makes you feel like you are sitting with him having a chat about your project. The philosophy behind design decisions is explained with stories, photos, sketches, and checklists. The book is divided into Twelve Lessons, with an additional Bonus Lesson ," Building Green, Naturally". You will learn how to evaluate your needs and work towards creating a suitable design, perfect for you and your family. The experience of home design and construction should be controllable, gratifying and enjoyable. With the valuable advice that Designing Your Perfect House: Lessons from an Architect provides, it can be.

The full-color, practical guide to designing sustainable residential landscapes and small-scale sites "Going green" is no longer a choice; it's a necessity. Developed landscapes have played a significant role in exacerbating the environmental and social problems that threaten humanity; however, they can also be part of the solution. Designing the Sustainable Site: Integrated Design Strategies for Small-Scale Sites and Residential Landscapes gives site designers and landscape architects the tools and information they need to become a driving force in the quest for sustainability. Advocating a regenerative design approach in which built landscapes sustain and restore vital ecological functions, this book guides readers through a design process for new and redeveloped sites that not only minimizes damage to the environment but also actively helps to repair it. Designing the Sustainable Site: Assists designers in identifying and incorporating sustainable practices that have the greatest positive impact on both the project and the surrounding community, within a regional context Uses photographs, sketches, and case studies to provide a comprehensive look at successful green landscape design Illustrates how sustainable practices are relevant and applicable to projects of any size or budget Demonstrates how built environments can protect and restore ecosystem services Explains the multiple and far-reaching benefits that sustainable design solutions can provide Assists project teams in fulfilling credit requirements of green building assessment tools, such as LEED, BREEAM, or SITES With attention to six global environmental challenges including air pollution, urban flooding and water pollution, water shortages, invasive species, and loss of biodiversity along with guidance on how to meet these challenges, Designing the Sustainable Site is a practical design manual for sustainable alternatives to small-scale site and residential landscape design.

NAMED A RECOMMENDED BOOK OF 2018 BY Buzzfeed • The Wall Street Journal • The Millions • Southern Living • Bustle • Esquire • Entertainment Weekly • Nylon• Mashable • Libary Journal • Thrillist “Cassaras’s propulsive and profound first novel, finding one’s home in the world—particularly in a subculture plagued by fear and intolerance from society—comes with tragedy as well as extraordinary personal freedom.” -- Esquire A gritty and gorgeous debut that follows a cast of gay and transgender club kids navigating the Harlem ball scene of the 1980s and ’90s, inspired by the real House of Xtravaganza made famous by the seminal documentary Paris Is Burning It’s 1980 in New York City, and nowhere is the city’s glamour and energy better reflected than in the burgeoning Harlem ball scene, where seventeen-year-old Angel first comes into her own. Burned by her traumatic past, Angel is new to the drag world, new to ball culture, and has a yearning inside of her to help create family for those without. When she falls in love with Hector, a beautiful young man who dreams of becoming a professional dancer, the two decide to form the House of Xtravaganza, the first-ever all-Latino house in the Harlem ball circuit. But when Hector dies of AIDS-related complications, Angel must bear the responsibility of tending to their house alone. As mother of the house, Angel recruits Venus, a whip-fast trans girl who dreams of finding a rich man to take care of her; Juanito, a quiet boy who loves fabrics and design; and Daniel, a butch queen who accidentally saves Venus’s life. The Xtravaganzas must learn to navigate sex work, addiction, and persistent abuse, leaning on each other as bulwarks against a world that resists them. All are ambitious, resilient, and determined to control their own fates, even as they hurtle toward devastating consequences. Told in a voice that brims with wit, rage, tenderness, and fierce yearning, The House of Impossible Beauties is a tragic story of love, family, and the dynamism of the human spirit.

The second edition of The Urban Design Reader draws together the very best of classic and contemporary writings to illuminate and expand the theory and practice of urban design. Nearly 50 generous selections include seminal contributions from Howard, Le Corbusier, Lynch, and Jacobs to more recent writings by Waldheim, Koolhaas, and Sorkin. Following the widespread success of the first edition of The Urban Design Reader, this updated edition continues to provide the most important historical material of the urban design field, but also introduces new topics and selections that address the myriad challenges facing designers today. The six part structure of the second edition guides the reader through the history, theory and practice of urban design. The reader is initially introduced to those classic writings that provide the historical precedents for city-making into the twentieth century. Part Two introduces the voices and ideas that were instrumental in establishing the foundations of the urban design field from the late 1950s up to the mid-1990s. These authors present a critical reading of the design professions and offer an alternative urban design agenda focused on vital and lively places. The authors in Part Three provide a range of urban design rationales and strategies for reinforcing local physical identity and the creation of memorable places. These selections are largely describing the outcomes of mid-century urban design and voicing concerns over the placeless quality of contemporary urbanism. The fourth part of the Reader explores key issues in urban design and development. Ideas about sprawl, density, community health, public space and everyday life are the primary focus here. Several new selections in this part of the book also highlight important international development trends in the Middle East and China. Part Five presents environmental challenges faced by the built environment professions today, including recent material on landscape urbanism, sustainability, and urban resiliency. The final part examines professional practice and current debates in the field: where urban designers work, what they do, their roles, their fields of knowledge and their educational development. The section concludes with several position pieces and debates on the future of urban design practice. This book provides an essential resource for students and practitioners of urban design, drawing together important but widely dispersed writings. Part and section introductions are provided to assist readers in understanding the context of the material, summary messages, impacts of the writing, and how they fit into the larger picture of the urban design field.

To Design Landscape sets out a distinctively practical philosophy of design, in accessible format. Based on the notion that landscape design is a form-based craft addressing environmental processes and utility, Dee establishes a framework for approaching such craft with modesty and ingenuity, using the concept of "aesthetics of thrift". Employing numerous case studies-as diverse as Hellerup Rose Garden in Denmark; Bloedel Reserve, Bainbridge Island, USA; Rousham Gardens, Oxfordshire, UK and Tofuku-ji, in Kyoto, Japan - to illustrate her ideas, the book is a beautiful portfolio of Dee's drawings, which are both evocative and to the point. The book begins with a 'Foundations' section, which sets out the basis of the approach. 'Principles' chapters then elaborate eleven significant considerations applicable to any design project, regardless of context and scale. Following on, 'Strategies' chapters reinforce the principles, and suggest further ways of designing, adaptable to different conditions. Dee ends with a focus on 'Elements', case studies and verb lists providing sources for the designer to consider how the components - vegetation, water, terrain, structures, soils, weather, and the sky - might be engaged, mediated and joined. Catherine Dee’s book is for all those who would craft landscape, from the gardener, to the professional landscape architect, to the student of design