August 2023 MBR The Architecture Shelf

The Architecture Shelf

Environmental Activism by Design
Coleman Coker, author
Sarah Gamble, author
Applied Research & Design
c/o ORO Editions
31 Commerical Blvd., Suite F, Novato, CA 94949
www.oroeditions.com
9781954081796, $35.00, PB, 200pp

https://www.amazon.com/Environmental-Activism-Design-Coleman-Coker/dp/1954081790

Synopsis: "Environmental Activism by Design" is a monograph by architects and educators Coleman Coker and Sarah Gamble. They seek to challenges designers to actively engage the environmental crisis through their work, while articulating an optimistic, tangible means to pursue community good and environmental justice through design activism and engagement.

"Environmental Activism by Design" advocates that in addition to greener buildings, cheaper housing, and technological fixes, in this era of Climate Change and its challenges, architects must rethink pedagogy and praxis so that every single architecture graduate can define equity and transform the profession.

"Environmental Activism by Design" centers on the award-winning Gulf Coast DesignLab at the University of Texas, which works directly with clients and stakeholders to produce spaces for the public to learn and researchers to undertake their environmental work. "Environmental Activism by Design" asks environmentally aware architects and designers to challenge themselves, as agents of social equity, environmental justice, and climate action, to pursue operative practices and transformation rather than mere keywords and consensus.

Critique: This large format (7.75 x 0.75 x 9.75 inches, 1.83 pounds) hardcover edition of "Environmental Activism by Design" is expertly illustrated with numerous full color illustrations and features an informative three page Foreword (An Architecture of Sentient Beings), a ten page Introduction, a fourteen page Conclusion, and three page Afterword (Why Do We Do What We Do?). "Environmental Activism by Design" is an inherently fascinating, insightful, thoughtful and thought-provoking read and an especially recommended addition to personal, professional, community, college, and university library Sustainability/Green Design collections and supplemental Architectural Criticism curriculum studies lists.

Editorial Note #1: Coleman Coker (https://soa.utexas.edu/faculty/coleman-coker) is the Professor of Practice at the University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture and director of the Gulf Coast DesignLab there. He is also a Loeb Fellow in Advanced Environmental Studies at Harvard University Graduate School of Design and a Rome Prize recipient from the American Academy in Rome. Coker is an Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) 2019 Architectural Education Award Winner for his community-outreach work with the Gulf Coast DesignLab. He is past director of the Memphis Center of Architecture, a design program focused on urban ecologies through the art of building.

Editorial Note #2: Sarah Gamble (https://dcp.ufl.edu/faculties/sarah-gamble) is an Assistant Professor at the University of Florida School of Architecture, following teaching at the University of Texas at Austin from 2011 to 2018. Gamble's academic research focuses on context and how the design process is catalyzed by the surrounding environment and designers' understanding of it. Gamble previously served as Architect for the Texas Historical Commission's Main Street Program, Principal at GO collaborative, and Architect at the Austin Community Design and Development Center.

Oak-Framed Buildings
Rupert Newman
The GMC Group
www.gmcbooks.com
9781784946616, $35.00, PB, 192pp

https://www.amazon.com/Oak-Framed-Buildings-Rupert-Newman/dp/1784946613

Synopsis: When it comes to architecture, it is well known that oak-framed projects stand the test of time. The longevity of the mighty oak trees that grow for centuries is echoed in oak-framed buildings

Now in a newly updated edition from The GMC Group, "Oak-Framed Buildings" by Rupert Newman is the 'go-to' resource for carpenters, builders, aspiring DIYers, and anyone who appreciates beautiful, durable, and environmentally friendly structures.

Revised and fully up-to-date. "Oak-Framed Buildings" has been substantially revised to bring it completely up-to-date and in compliance with current building technology and standards. It combines traditional building techniques with modern materials and installation methods, resulting in solid buildings with a high standard of energy efficiency.

"Oak-Framed Buildings" covers: Practical information about the history of timber framing; The structural qualities of oak; How-to get started; Techniques of timber-frame construction; Designing frames; Making and raising frames; The building envelope; Finishing details -- and much more!

Critique: Informatively enhanced with the inclusion of 180 stunning full-color photographs of structures in various stages of construction and some 90 three-dimensional illustrations, "Oak-Framed Buildings" is an effective melding of centuries-old techniques with 21st century environmental and energy-saving standards -- an essential resource for professional and non-professionals alike. Exceptionally well written, impressively organized, and thoroughly 'user friendly' in presentation, this newly updated and expanded edition of "Oak-Framed Buildings" is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, college, and university library Architectural Studies collections and supplemental curriculum reading lists.

Editorial Note: Rupert Newman has been actively involved in carpentry since the age of 12. He has a degree in Naval Architecture and has worked as a shipwright, but is now the owner of a company employing a number of highly skilled craftsmen and apprentices, building modern structures with green oak in the traditional way.

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