Customer Reviews

Courtyards: Aesthetic, Social, and Thermal Delight

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4 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Courtyards is a terrific book, the result of 20+ years of loving research. Oregon Professor John Reynolds is crazy for courtyards and it certainly shows.
A courtyard is a space surrounded by a building, often surrounded by a house. There are all manner of courtyards, large, small, huge, quiet, loud. Some are open and others are terribly private. But all good courtyards have things in common. In the landscapes most of us in the US are used to, we have a house and the gardens are on the outside and we see them before we see the house. In a sense these landscapes serve mostly as dressing to enhance the outward look of the house. But a fine courtyard garden is different. It is smack in the middle of the house and the house surrounds it. It is not wide open to the world, but instead is a place to get away from it all, a place to be outside, but not to be out in the open. The best courtyards are open to the sky, have water, vines, a multitude of interesting flowers, trees, potted plants. A large number of the very finest courtyard plants are discussed in detail in this excellent book. I was struck by how interesting the numerous photos and designs were. Profusely illustrated, each one serves a definitive purpose. I was struck too, by how many different things go into the making of a well thought out courtyard. What is involved so that it will be warm in the winter and cool in the hot summer. What is involved so that it becomes a place where people want to be. I took many notes as I read this large book and some day I plan to build a house of my own design, and in the middle of it, I'm going to have a courtyard. And in this courtyard, I'll have all the things needed, the ingredients so carefully detailed here, that make the right courtyard a magical place. I'd recommend this book for anyone who ever plans to build their own home, for all landscape designers, for all architects, for anyone with a serious interest in horticulture and design. An excellent book.

`Courtyards' is a rare and captivating book. I think it tries to be many things; I think it succeeds completely. It has the visual elegance of a coffee table book, but is as far as it can be from being a bauble. It is a comprehensive architectural treatise, presenting not only conceptual discussions but also detailed, comparative technical information. In this it does not shy away from scientific explanations, showing precisely how and why courtyards do what they do. Perhaps above all, it is clearly a work of passion. Professor Reynolds loves his work, his subject, and obviously loves sitting in courtyards and marveling at what they can do to a home's comfort and allure. It is a book to dream on.

Courtyards book is filling a gap in architectural book market where much is focused on nice pictures and minimal designs. Few technical books that gets published receive little attention. But this book will attract the designer as well as the technician.
All technical aspects are simlply stated and science and aesthetics of the courtyards are very well covered with nice drawings and beautiful photos. The guidelines that summarize the long research are very clear, creating a pattern language for courtyard design.

Being an architect from Turkey, I have been interested with courtyards and did some research. This book is doing much groundwork for those who will design a residential courtyard. But the guidelines would also apply to commercial atriums.

Too bad that housing today is understood as single family housing in American Style Villas or public housing as high rise apartment buildings. This book proves that with the correct guidelines very nice and dense housing is possible.

Ýt inspired me to do some courtyard housing design. I am sure it will be one of the most used buildings of my library.

I am a design professional with a particular interest in courtyards, patios, and indoor outdoor garden rooms. In my business I look at courtyards and patios as part of the living space. Important as the living room or bedroom, a courtyard is sometimes the center of life and delight in a residence or commercial building. The Reynold's book "Courtyards" takes the subject as seriously as I do. If I cannot spend months or years traveling around the world studying courtyards at least I can read this book and immerse myself in ALL the history, micro-climatic impact, and design information. There are photographs of courtyards in Mexico, Spain, Argentina, and elsewhere. There is a chapter on how temperature levels fluctuate (or don't) in courtyards and how these spaces have provided social and cultural settings. For instance in some Islamic cultures where women are supposed to be kept hidden away from the rest of society they spend much of their lives in -- you guessed it -- a courtyard concealed within a residence. There is detailed technical data about aspect ratios and thermal sailing and I am studying all of it. I want to be fully informed so that when I create courtyards for clients I use valid historical, technical, and cultural knowledge. It's nice to come across a book that is a detailed study of what I make my living creating -- indoor/outdoor garden rooms. Note: I withheld one star from my rating because I wished some of the photographs were larger.

My love of courtyards started 20 years ago in Colima, Mexico. I continued to observe and measure courtyards in South America and in Spain, returning to Mexico as well. I hope you will enjoy these courtyards' aesthetic, social, and thermal triangle as much as I have. What a beautiful blend of architecture and landscape design they are!

The book's concluding paragraph:

Courtyards invite the designer's detailed attention to a relationship of plants, animals and people; to the juxtaposition of outdoor variation and indoor consistency; to a controlled connection with the community from within the privacy of the courtyard. The surrounding covered yet exposed arcades are not only delightful paths, but places as well, for virtually any activity that might be transported from the indoor rooms, as conditions invite. The geometry of the courtyard is softened by the organic presence of plants, adding that sensual stimuli that architecture by itself cannot provide. It is the dwelling space that most celebrates change, both with the seasons and with age. The courtyard, with its modest area requirements, can return enormous benefits to its surrounding building, allowing a site to be covered with more building than open space, yet still in contact with sun, wind, rain, earth, and stars.

In a world where so many of our buildings are dead, John Reynold's "Courtyards: Aesthetic, Social, and Thermal Delight" treats us to a world of buildings that live. It is that rare book that feeds part of the brain with with inspiration and beauty, while informing the other side how its done. This book clearly articulates patterns and concepts for approaching courtyard design as a function of climate, use, people and place. It is a book that any designer will value for its lessons and observations on what makes a building live, but will be appreciated by everyone who loves beautiful buildings. For those looking to create built environments that honor and nurture both the human spirit and the more than human world, John Reynolds offers luminous insights. This book belongs in the library of every designer.

"Courtyards: Aesthetic, Social, and Thermal Delight" begins with a brief history of courtyards including itemized accounts of such topics as placement within a building, orientation, exposure, and the promotion of temperature conditions within a courtyard.

Over 50 full-color photographs from Spain and Latin America supplement the second section. Temperature charts, solar diagrams, and other key technical data accompany these images.

Finally an extensive section of planning and design guidelines highlighting factors for consideration such as daytime/nighttime temperature ranges, zoning regulations, proportions, and proposals for driveways and use of rainwater.

Architects, landscape architects, and building designers will find useful information for creating or renovating any courtyard. Students will also find this an inclusive reference. This is not a title of tremendous value to the casual reader.

At long last, a book about courtyards! And one that not only shows what beautiful miniature gardens they are, but how people use them, how they age, and even why they are so often cool in summer. Sprinkled with delightful quotes from Garcia Marquez and other lovers of courtyards, this is much more than a beautiful collection of photos. It's about that essential architectural triangle: firmness, commodity, and delight.

Finally, a book that treats both the art and science of courtyard buildings. John Reynolds excites our imagines and more with this important new book. Most works on climate and architecture either analyze the physics or treat the visual aspects of adaptation. Reynolds does both effectively by combining beautiful photographs and drawings with clear analytical diagrams to describe and interpret his subject. This book is destined to become a classic used by practicing professionals and by academics for teaching and research.

I got this book several years ago on an inter-library loan from NDSU. It's a great book. The only problem is that it's relatively expensive -- $60 or so.

I'm not an architect, but over ten years ago I built a geodesic dome on an Indian Reservation with the permission of the local district. Assuming you can afford it, where and how you live is the most important spiritual element of your life.

Professor Reynolds approaches his subject with this sort of wonderment. Someday, I hope to build again using some of his ideas as a base. I've never met him, though I would certainly like to sometime. And, I don't know any of these other reviewers who, like me, seem to be very swayed by his writing. (The only reason I mention this is because of one reviewer who felt that there was a certain intellectual dishonesty in the sameness of the praise for this book.) If you're interested in creating harmonious personal space, then you should fork over the $60 or get it from your local library like I did.