Robert Brown helps us see that a "thermally comfortable microclimate" is the very foundation of well-designed and well-used outdoor places. Brown argues that as we try to minimize human-induced changes to the climate and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels-as some areas become warmer; some cooler; some wetter; and some drier; and all become more expensive to regulate-good microclimate design will become increasingly important. In the future; according to Brown; all designers will need to understand climatic issues and be able to respond to their challenges. Brown describes the effects that climate has on outdoor spaces-using vivid illustrations and examples-while providing practical tools that can be used in everyday design practice. The heart of the book is Browns own design process; as he provides useful guidelines that lead designers clearly through the complexity of climate data; precedents; site assessment; microclimate modification; communication; design; and evaluation. Brown strikes an ideal balance of technical information; anecdotes; examples; and illustrations to keep the book engaging and accessible. His emphasis throughout is on creating microclimates that attend to the comfort; health; and well-being of people; animals; and plants. Design with Microclimate is a vital resource for students and practitioners in landscape architecture; architecture; planning; and urban design.
#1852329 in eBooks 2011-03-15 2011-03-15File Name: B005B9MBHK
Review
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Reviews that matterBy WRLThe title "When Movies Mattered" could be a jab at current films. or maybe its just a way of justifying a collection of reviews from three to four decades ago. Do those movies still matter? This collection of reviews will help you decide. In an average of four pages per review. Dave Kehr dissects not only a movie but also the factors that went into making the film and any ties to related films or film makers.The magic is that he does this without pontificating. Which makes for reviews that are as easy to digest as they are fresh and informative. Dave Kehr. noted for his independence. manages to spark a kind of curiosity that plays better after all these years than. say. the quirkiness of Pauline Kael. who was reviewing for the New Yorker at the time the reviews in this collection were written.Do these old reviews still matter? Surprisingly little is stale in these pages even after all this time. as long as you care about what makes for a good film and what detracts from one. If youre ever tempted to sign up for a film class. see if Dave Kehrs teaching one. And if not. we at least have this book.1 of 2 people found the following review helpful. IndespensableBy Michael DempseyAs anyone knows who has read either this book or his New York Times DVD column. Dave Kehr is a deeply learned critic of movies and their makers. Whether or not one agrees with his assessment of this or that movie or filmmaker. one never fails to learn some new perspective on filmmaking in general as well as his particular subject. If you care about real filmmaking subjects and ideas (which doesnt mean celebrity fluff. gossip. the Oscars. and the whole Hollywood game. though Hollywood has produced large numbers of wonderful. often unsung movies that Dave Kehr analyzes incisively). you should get busy reading this book -- and I mean right now. Anyone who has already read it should read it again...and again...10 of 13 people found the following review helpful. When reviews matteredBy Hande ZDave Kehr compiled a selection of the movie reviews he wrote for the "Chicago Reader" and the "Chicago Tribune" between 1974 and 1986. a period he described as spawning the film generation and the alternative press. He believes that the internets takeover of the alternative press has changed the way reviewers write about movies. Contemporary reviews in mainstream press still publish reviews in the reflective. intellectual style in the vein of Kehrs work. but movie reviews in the internet age have little time for the study of the movie. let alone for reflection and composition. Some of the movies reviewed and collected here were serious documentaries or semi-documentaries - "Blaise Pascal" and "The Memory of Justice". but one need only read his review of "Dawn of the Dead" to appreciate how a movie that might be dismissed. if reviewed by todays reviewers as "mindless". brings to life a film that was about the dead idea of zombies. In "The Memory of Justice". a film about the Nuremberg trials. Kehr asked. "Should all all Americans who didnt resist Vietnam share in the guilt of the Germans who didnt resist the Nazis? If everyone is guilty. then everyone is innocent. and there is no justice in that." Are movies no longer made the way they were or have the movie goers taste change so drastically in this new century to keep in line with the pace - rapid. vapid pace - of life? Or are we seeing the last of a breed of Kehrian reviewers? Dont watch another movie or read another review until youve read at least one review from this book.
