I paused at the stoop and thought this could be the basis of a good book. The story of a young man who went deep into the bowels of the academy in order to understand architecture and found it had been on his doorstep all along. This had an air of hokeyness about it; but it had been a tough couple of days and I was feeling sentimental about the warm confines of the studio which had unceremoniously discharged me upon the world. -- from Down Detour RoadWhat does it say about the value of architecture that as the world faces economic and ecological crises; unprecedented numbers of architects are out of work? This is the question that confronted architect Eric Cesal as he finished graduate school at the onset of the worst financial meltdown in a generation. Down Detour Road is his journey: one that begins off-course; and ends in a hopeful new vision of architecture. Like many architects of his generation; Cesal confronts a cold reality. Architects may assure each other of their own importance; but society has come to view architecture as a luxury it can do without. For Cesal; this recognition becomes an occasion to rethink architecture and its value from the very core. He argues that the times demand a new architecture; an empowered architecture that is useful and relevant. New architectural values emerge as our cultural values shift: from high risks to safe bets; from strong portfolios to strong communities; and from clean lines to clean energy.This is not a book about how to run a firm or a profession; it doesnt predict the future of architectural form or aesthetics. It is a personal story -- and in many ways a generational one: a story that follows its author on a winding detour across the country; around the profession; and into a new architectural reality.
#187128 in eBooks 2011-06-16 2011-06-16File Name: B0057RIWAQ
Review
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful. Best color book ever.By Kat TI received this wonderful color book and used it the next day in a graphic painting I was doing of a Monarch butterfly. I had yellows. oranges. and blacks painted in for the butterfly. I was thinking of a dark teal background. but kind of wanted a warmish background instead. as I wanted a warm painting. I looked up the colors I was already using and ended up choosing a bright yellow-green. and its perfect! Ive had trouble. sometimes. choosing hues that really sing together. and this book will help immensely.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Conceptually awesome - printing does not always translate well to web screensd - great resource regardlessBy Sarasota Suncoast Reviewer ï¸I love the concept of this book. Its worth the money if just for the format and the ideas of color combos. I make abstract digital art and using the CD in this book to grab color ideas was a huge help. The book is organized very well in color groups. Its a great mind-jogger book for those who like to design and create. I appreciate the HEX color values along with the CMYK and RGB. I have found that some of the palettes do not translate onto a web screen or Adobe Illustrator project the same way the book has them portrayed and printed. But still. conceptually I love the book and the ideas.The CD makes things very easy. Great. economical book of palette ideas. Not all palettes are great - subjective opinion of course - but I appreciate the work in this book and the spiral bound format. Works great next to my easel or iMac. One star off because of the print / web differences. Seems the print is typically darker than anything that shows up on my screen or in my work. Im learning to account for a bit of that.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Swatches too smallBy felicitazLooking for a straightforward color-combination reference in flat swatch form. I wound up returning this book because the swatches were too small to easily see the relation of colors in each combination (it was also damaged in shipping). In my opinion. the author made a mistake in using circular instead of square swatches. as too much white space increases the value contrast between the swatches and background. and makes them difficult to read. Also. the circle shape crops out much of the top and bottom color bar in each swatch. Instead. I purchased Jim Krauses Color Index books. which. though smaller. show larger. more readable square-shaped combinations. Otherwise the book is OK--just not what I need.
