The House Book

by Phaidon Press

Now available in a convenient pocket-sized mini format, this is the essential illustrated reference book for everyone interested in houses. Following the popular format of The Art Book, this title is a new and innovative presentation of houses and dwellings from all periods and all corners of the globe. It presents 500 houses classified by architect, designer, patron or cultural tribe and people in an A–Z format, with each house represented by a full-page reproduction and a text that describes the building, placing it and its designer in its historical context. The book also includes an easy-to-use glossary of technical terms and movements, and a directory of houses open to the public.

Genres: Architecture, Art, Reference, Design, Nonfiction

520 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Phaidon Press is a global publisher of books on art, architecture, design, fashion, photography, and popular culture, as well as cookbooks, children's books, and travel books. The company is based in London and New York City, with additional offices in Paris and Berlin. -wikipedia

Reviews

[Sula · Rating 3 out of 5]

A comprehensive coverage of house designs. I found myself more impressed and interested by the traditional vernacular houses and cottages than the modern designs. There were one or two minor factual errors in the descriptions.

The biggest issue for me was the print size, which I think may depend on the edition of the book, but the paperback edition I read had miniscule print, each character less than 2mm so probably 6pt or smaller. I'm not at the stage of life to need reading specs, but I did need to strain my eyes to try read text this small!

Personally, I think I would have liked half the number of buildings and for each building to take up 2 pages instead of one. Some buildings were hard to understand from the description and the picture chosen, and there were some that I know I really like but if I had first come across them in here, I wouldn't have given them a second thought due to the lack of information and the way it was presented.

[Kim Zinkowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I read this book shortly after it was first published in 2001. Phaidon Press always gets a good grade from me.

[Ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite books to read every few years. Architecture never gets out of date.
Imagine 500 homes from castles to teepees to Bucky Fuller.
My favorite is the conical stone houses in Apulia, Italy, constructed without mortar so that when the tax collectors were due to come by, they could easily be dismantled (and later rebuilt) so that no house tax could be collected.

[Elisabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

another great phaidon book covering a vast number of architectural styles.

[Iain Watson]

The House Book (Architecture) by Editors of Phaidon Press (2004)

[Michael Heath-Caldwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Large, comprehensive book on architectural design and different architects and styles from around the world.

[Adrienne · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is an on~going read for me....a constant point of reference for both architects,styles, materials,cultures and design...you can never really finish a reference book.....

[Manza Zitou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un livre à découvrir et surtout à avoir dans sa bibliothèque.
Merci PHAIDON.