American House Styles: A Concise Guide [Hardcover]

John Milnes Baker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 17, 1994

How and where did different architectural styles develop?

America has an abundance of fascinating and varied house styles, as fascinating and diverse as its people. This unique book will allow readers to recognize the architectural features and style of virtually any house they encounter.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

From early colonial to "pretentious" postmodern, Baker's guide achieves its goal of defining and clarifying American architectural styles introduced throughout various periods of home construction. Baker considers the changes occurring in house design by elaborating on, and providing links between, general historical incidents, pertinent architectural history, and influential figures who participated in the development of distinctive house styles. Baker creates a basic house plan, then manipulates it to include designated elements of design integral to the various period styles discussed. The finished book--set to contain a glossary, reading list, and 100 elegant black-and-white line drawings--should prove to be an engaging historical account and an attractive, practical resource. Alice Joyce

About the Author

John Milnes Baker is an architect specializing in residential design. He is also the author of How to Build a House with an Architect.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1st edition (April 17, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393034216
• ISBN-13: 978-0393034219
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #410,496 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Causes of Architecture, October 21, 2002

By 

misterbeets "misterbeets" (Safe Harbor, MD USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: American House Styles: A Concise Guide (Hardcover)

In the beginning of this book the author points out that a culture is reflected in its buildings. Then he goes on to identify the events that caused the various styles--the War of 1812 that stopped our imitation of English architecture, the change to stud framing and the effects of industrialization that mark the Victorian era, the nationalistic spirit of the 1876 Centennial that spawned the revival in Colonial archictecture at the end of the 19th century, etc.--in such a professional style of writing you'd never suspect he was also an architect. A history professor maybe. All of which explains the subject better than the usual bare chronological sequence.

What helps in a book like this are the odd bits of information casually thrown out that show mastery of the subject.
Colonial homes were never white; Greek Revival were never anything but. A particular cornice is usually done incorrectly, compared to the true Classical version.

He also make the sensible point that you can only compare styles within limits, that at some point you're really discussing altogether different building types, as in ranches, bungalows, and certainly octagon houses. And early on he boasts he can design a modern four bedroom house in any style. Then he proceeds to do it, providing a front elevation and a repeating ground floor plan (front: LR, center hall, DR. rear: family room, kitchen, mud room) with added porch, tower, fireplace, chimney, as needed. Not so much to explain the architectural features, I think, but to give the prospective homebuilder something that actually could be built today.

Where most authors stop around WWII, he continues up to the present. His next-to-last chapter shows the recent builder's styles which will be familiar to anyone who's driven through any of those "Vinyl Village" developments with the Olde English names: the Townes, Pointes, Glenns, and Harbours. Here he doesn't hesitate to criticize the tastless examples, and continues his tirade into last chapter, where he argues against the Post-Modern assault on tradition in favor of a return to order and careful design.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Little Too Concise, August 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: American House Styles: A Concise Guide (Hardcover)

Baker is perhaps a little too concise and a little too oppinionated in this volume. The one-page descriptions are not always clear, and in the case of some particularly complex and diverse styles, far too brief. Personal notes do not really belong in a general guide of this type, especially at the expense of more detail. Kudos, however, to the clever idea of manipulating the same basic home plan into each of the styles by altering the details and mass relationships. For this reason alone, the book is worth purchasing.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Easy to read, but not as detailed as one would like., March 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: American House Styles: A Concise Guide (Hardcover)

As a layman, the book is easy to read and offers some nice historical facts. However, the one page synopses of various styles seem to be too brief to offer any kind of detailed analysis of what a particular style has to offer. The book probably should have been longer. In addition, we learn much more about what Baker does not like rather than what he likes. The references to classical architecture, including the diagrams, lack clarity. The book may be a good starting point to learn about American residential architecture, but it is by no means a Bible.