Lake|Flato Architects of San Antonio; Texas; is nationally and internationally acclaimed for buildings that respond organically to the natural environment. The firm uses local materials and workmanship; as well as a deep knowledge of vernacular traditions; to design buildings that are tactile and modern; environmentally responsible and authentic; artful and crafted. Lake|Flato won the Global Award for Sustainable Architecture in 2013; and it has also received the American Institute of Architects’ highest honor; the National Firm Award. In all; Lake|Flato has won more than 150 national and state design awards. Residential architecture has always been a priority for the firm; and Lake|Flato Houses showcases an extensive selection of landmark homes built since 1999. Color photographs and architectural commentary create a memorable portrait of houses from Texas to Montana. Reflecting the firm’s emphasis on designing in harmony with the land; the houses are grouped by the habitats in which they’re rooted—brushland; desert; hillside; mountains; city; and water. These groupings reveal how Lake|Flato works with the natural environment to create houses that merge into the landscape; blurring boundaries between inside and outside and accommodating the climate through both traditional and cutting-edge technologies. The sections are opened by noted architect and educator Frederick Steiner; who discusses Lake|Flato’s unique responses to the forms and materials of the various landscapes. An introduction by journalist Guy Martin summarizes the history of Lake|Flato and its philosophy; and explores the impact of its work on sustainable architecture.
#2467670 in Books 2009-01-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x 1.25 x 6.00l; 1.05 #File Name: 0292719132316 pages
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Important well-written bookBy Mary Jane West-EberhardThis book is a deeply scholarly contribution. It takes advantage of multiple historic accounts written primarily by Spanish and French explorers of the "New World;" to piece together fascinating descriptions of the treatment and assimilation (or non-assimilation) of captive peoples; focussing on detailed information for several different cultures whose similarities and differences illuminate general patterns and idiosyncratic features at the same time. It discusses the reluctance of some authors to use such accounts and gives convincing reasons to use them; with specific criteria regarding how this was done critically in the research reported by this book.This book could only have been written by a person who; like the author; is fluent in Spanish; French; and English and familiar with the antique language of the accounts used; as well as being erudite in knowledge of previous literature on these topics. The accounts are fascinating; including such things as how clothing and body markings were employed to distinguish captives; how some economies depended on repeated enslavement of particular subordinated neighbors; how sex differences in treatment and assimilation of captives was carried out; etc.. It also discusses the errors and misunderstandings that can occur if the slave-making systems of native American societies are superficially compared with the more familiar phenomenon of African-American slavery.
