Noreen's Library Explorations

New Built Environment Books

2009-10-13T16:11:00.000-07:00

The college of architecture has changed its name to the college of Built Environments.
I am trying to get used to the new name.

Today we we received a large book - 'Meir'. Its about Richard Meier and Partners - Complete works 1963 to 2008. The call number is NA737 M44 A4. It will be in the oversize section. There are some beautiful pictures.

Basic Architecture Textbook..

2009-07-24T14:38:00.000-07:00

Patrick Nuttgens -

The Story of Architecture
NA200 N87 1997

This is the book currently used by the Introduction to Architecture Courses.

Books about the Seattle Central Library

2009-06-30T15:46:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I have been asked for books about the Seattle's central public library - designed by Rem Koolhaas. Here are two titles:

1. Title	Seattle Public Library, OMA/LMN / [editors, Michael Kubo and Ramon Prat ; photographs, Ramon Prat].
Pub Info	Barcelona : Actar, [2005]Text is primarily articles from the Seattle Times and the Seattle Post Intelligencer newspapers.

2.

Author	Swimmer, Lara
Title	Process : Seattle Central Library / Lara Swimmer
Pub Info	Seattle, Wash. : Documentary Media, c2004

Contains over 90 photographs by Lara Swimmer spanning the 32 months of construction of the the Rem Koolhaas-designed Seattle Central Library

Means Books

2009-06-11T16:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday someone asked me where the 'Means Books' were. I learned that RS Means publications have been engaged in construction cost publishing and consulting throughout North America since 1942. There are many books on estimating -

'Assemblies Cost Data' is an example of one of the 'Means' reference books.

Modernism Rediscovered

2009-05-22T15:06:00.000-07:00

I always get curious about the contents when a book arrives that is an odd size. Today we received a large three volume set with the title 'Modernism Rediscovered'.
On the Taschen website I found this description:
" Thanks to Julius Shulman's abandoned files, an unknown side of American mid-century architecture is now coming to light.

The buildings burned in our memories, which to us represent the spirit of fifties and sixties architectural design, were those whose pictures were widely published in magazines and books; but what about those that got lost in the process, hardly or never appearing in publication?

The exchange of visual information is crucial to the development, evolution, and promotion of architectural movements. If a building is not widely seen, its photograph rarely or never published, it simply does not enter into architectural discourse. Many buildings photographed by Julius Shulman suffered this fate, their images falling into oblivion. With this book, TASCHEN brings them to light, paying homage to California Modernism in all its forms.

The abandoned files of Julius Shulman show us another side of Modernism that has stayed quiet for so many years. Bringing together nearly 300 forgotten masterpieces, 'Modernism Rediscovered' pays tribute to these lesser known yet outstanding contributions to the modern architectural movement. It's like sneaking into a private history, into homes that have rarely been seen and hardly appreciated as of yet."

Entourage Books

2009-04-22T09:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday someone asked me where the 'entourage books' were. I had never heard the word 'entourage' in the context of architecture books. When I did a keyword search in our catalog I discovered that this refered to books on architectural rendering.

Dictionary.com gives this definition:

3. Architecture. the landscaping and other nearby environmental features shown on a rendering of a building.

The Alaska Yukon Pacific Exhibition

2009-04-06T10:49:00.000-07:00

This year is the 100th anniversary of the Alaska Yukon Pacific Exhibition, which opened in June 1909. The Architecture Library has some periodicals from the time period with articles about the exhibition.

I especially enjoyed 'The Western Architect' from 1909.

New Book - Julia Morgan

2009-03-31T12:42:00.000-07:00

Julia Morgan (January 20, 1872 – February 2, 1957) was an American architect. The architect of over 700 buildings in California,^[1] she is best known for her work on Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California. Throughout her long career, she designed multiple buildings for institutions serving women and girls. She was the first woman to graduate from the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris.
(From Wikipedia)

The library today received a book titled - Julia Morgan : Architect of Beauty
Author: Mark A. Wilson
Call Number NA737 M68 2007
Great illustrations - It looks like an interesting exploration of her life and career.

Favorite new book this week - 21st century architecture

2009-03-24T17:17:00.001-07:00

This book arrived in our reference section today:

The Phaidon Atlas of 21st Century World Architecture

It lists 1,037 buildings, 653 architects, 6 geographical regions and 89 countries.
Its huge.....and a lot of fun to look through.

The call number is
NA687 .P48 2008

Online Archives - My Great Uncle

2009-03-13T15:44:00.000-07:00

In an earlier post I wrote about getting to know my Great Aunt Jennie Hartmann through the Special Collections archives. I discoved some information about her brother in law Captain Earling Brastad in the 'Alaska Digital Archives'. He had done ten oral interviews in the early 1980s about his career at sea.

Here is the URL for the page.

http://vilda.alaska.edu/

I typed in Brastad to find the interviews. His wife Elizabeth - Jennies Sister participated in one of the interviews. It was strange to hear his voice after so many years.

Style Guides

2009-03-09T16:21:00.000-07:00

Its getting close to the end of winter quarter, and students are writing research papers.
There are several style guides that they use:

MLA styleguide

and Chicago Styleguide are the guides that they are usually required to use.

We have brief handouts at the desk for both of these guides, and we have the 15th edition of the Chicago Styleguide in our reference section.

Architect's Handbook of Professional Practice

2009-03-06T11:25:00.000-08:00

This book brings together information about the development and operation of architecture firms and the delivery of building design services. It is a useful resource for professional architects and also for those who want to enter the profession. 2008 - the 14th edition, is the newest.
It is in the Architecture reference section.

NA
1996
A726
2008

Detail Magazine

2009-02-26T16:52:00.000-08:00

I decided this week that I wanted to look at 'Detail' magazine.
This is what the magazines web page says

"DETAIL is an international magazine dedicated to architecture and construction details. Each issue focuses on a particular aspect of design, such as constructing with concrete, roof structures, renovations, etc. Emphasis is placed on presenting designs in great detail, and complementing these with drawings in practical scales and superb photographs that illustrate real world examples from near and far. DETAIL Concept, published bi-annually, delves in-depth into the entire construction process. "

DETAIL is also the name of the publishing house, the Institut für internationale Architektur-Dokumentation GmbH & Co. KG. This was founded in 1961 and is based in Munich, Germany. The editorial department here publishes the following three high-class volumes targeted at architects:

DETAIL, available in over 80 countries, is published in five languages:

DETAIL in German & English as a bilingual version with a translation supplement in French, Italian, and Russian. This appears 10 times annually.
DETAIL ENGLISH – a fully translated version that appears 6 times a year
DETAIL SPANISH – 5 issues per year
DETAIL CHINESE – 6 issues per year
DETAIL JAPANESE - 6 issues per year

DETAIL not only publishes the magazine and technical books, it also offers a host of online services, such as:

Seattle Architects

2009-02-24T11:27:00.000-08:00

Jeffrey Karl Ochsner's book 'Shaping Seattle Architecture: a Historical Guide to the Architects'
NA735 S45 S53 1998

made me more aware of the architect names in Seattle.

Caroline Swope's book 'Classic Houses of Seattle' NA7238 S4 S94 has a nice chapter on researching your homes history.

FERPA in the Library

2009-02-20T16:22:00.001-08:00

From time to time in an academic library we are reminded of FERPA. The family educational rights and privacy act) Students own the copyright to their academic work, and must give permission before sample papers are placed on reserve in the library.

Here is a link to more information about FERPA from the University of Washington home page.

http://www.washington.edu/students/reg/ferpa.html

New book shelf observation

2009-02-20T10:48:00.000-08:00

I was chatting with one of our regular library patrons yesterday in front of the new book shelf - and he commented that the architecture library really reflects the diversity of built environments....on the new book shelf this week we have both books like this -

Author	Kunz, Martin Nicholas.
Title	Best designed hotel pools : indooor & outdoor, contemporary minimalistic, rooftop, natural curves / Martin Nicholas Kunz.

Author

TH4763 .K78 2004

and this -

Yücesoy, Eda Ünlü.

Title

Everyday urban public space : Turkish immigrant women's perspective / Eda Ünlü Yücesoy.

Pub Info

Apeldoorn : Het Spinhuis, c2006.

HT145.N4 Y83 2006

RIBA - My latest acronym

2009-02-19T16:09:00.001-08:00

I found out that RIBA stands for the Royal Institute of British Architects. The architecture library has many titles from RIBA, as well as their journal.

LEED - Leadership in Energy and Design

2009-02-17T12:18:00.000-08:00

Many books in the architecture library refer to LEED. This stands for 'Leadership in Energy and Design. '
Here is an excerpt from the Wikipedia entry:

LEED was created to accomplish the following:

Define "green building" by establishing a common standard of measurement
Promote integrated, whole-building design practices
Recognize environmental leadership in the building industry
Stimulate green competition
Raise consumer awareness of green building benefits
Transform the building market

Images of America Series

2009-02-13T09:57:00.000-08:00

Lately I have been noticing more and more books from this series. This quote is on the back covers of each of the books - "Using archival photographs, each title presents the distictive stories from the past that shape the character of the community today. "

I have looked at titles about the early Ballard neighborhood, Fredrick and Nelson - the department store of my childhood, and a book about 'Vanishing Seattle'.

Pattern Books

2009-02-12T10:45:00.000-08:00

I always thought of patterns as something connected to sewing. Today I learned that pattern books have a long history in the architecture field. Here is a link to a Washington Post article on pattern books.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/24/AR2006022400823.html

Getting to know my great aunt

2009-02-11T11:38:00.000-08:00

My grandfathers sister Jennie Korsnes Hartmann was a volunteer for the University of Washington Special Collections. Seven boxes of her papers are now located in the archives there. I recently looked at two of them. It was fascinating to read her reflections of going to Seattle's fifth avenue theater when it was new, and of her explorations of Vancouver British Columbia in the 1920s. She had a strong interest in people, and also recorded interviews with Norse Home residents. I intend to do more exploring of her papers. It is helpful before going to the archives to look online before arriving. You may not take anything into the reading area. Staff will ask you to fill out paperwork explaining your project.

Architectural Drawings in Special Collections

2009-02-11T11:24:00.000-08:00

With this database you can search architectural drawings held by the University of Washington Special Collections.

http://db.lib.washington.edu/arch/

I found it interesting to explore - entering names of architects that I had heard of, place names, or streets.

Building a Treehouse

2009-01-28T13:23:00.000-08:00

This book arrived in the architecture library last week. I enjoyed looking at the pictures of buildings in trees. Building a treehouse is a fantasy of mine.

AUTHOR Laurens, Alain.
TITLE Vivons perchés. English
TITLE Treehouse living : 50 innovative designs / Alain Laurens, Daniel Dufour, Ghislain André ; photographs by Vincent Thfoin ; preface by Yann Arthus-Bertrand.

This is my first entry into the blog world.