Customer Reviews

El Segundo

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I really admire Jones Partner's work and I was hanging out for this book for a very long time. (I don't have much of a life outside architecture)

If you like their work you'll love this book. Since the last book 'instrumental form' they've built a lot more (its great to see more photos). However the work is as consistent as ever and there is still plenty of unbuilt work which really pushes the boundaries. Its great that the unbuilt stuff, whilst sometimes obviously conceptual, has been refined to the extent it has - often working drawings. It really makes you believe.

Awesome book and i'd recommend it to anyone - people who know the work will be stoked, whilst people who don't will be blown away.

Wes Jones is the kind of architect I want to be when I grow up.

Or maybe the kind of architect I want to be when I can move away from the constraints of the norm, the expected, the benign world of "grownups". This dilemma that I find myself in as I read El Segundo.

The mastery of the architectural drawing, the seducing of the viewer has always been a trademark of JP:A, but this publication takes that to the next level. It then body-slams, chokes it into submission, and posts it on "YouTube" with the kind of "in your face" presentation that makes this book really stand out among current architectural publications.

The book itself, as an object, is nothing short of beautiful. The aforementioned drawings and images are simply amazing. Jones had always straddled the fence between the representation of the architectural artifact and the actual condition itself. The amount of detail that is immersed in the drawings and explicit digital renderings is amplified within the images from actual constructed situations. My favorite find is the custom, "built-in", boss-infused lounge chairs on the pool deck in the MOMO/Redondo dwelling ... of course in a dwelling that slides into multiple configurations, that detail might be lost on some, but it speaks of the level of control that Jones masters on each project.

The attention to material connectivity [I can't really call these "details" because they extend beyond that simple construction label] is remarkable. The same care and obsessive passion taken in the representation resonates within the meticulous craft of how the parts come together. For any fans of machine architecture, surgically tight drawings, highly seductive models, and what I find to be some of the most "detailed" building components this book is a must for your collection. It is a wonderful documentation of the versatility and talent of JP:A.

The clever method of the book assembly itself is a welcome relief from the typical norm of picture/image/picture/image. Jones constructs the book object much in the way that he tackles the hardcore architecture found within- numerous sections/categories of information barrage the reader in a visual symphony- but with enough restraint to provide a pleasant, non-invasive read or study. Texts found on any page include project philosophy, program analysis, a VERY descriptive project legend, and the generous sampling of the JP:A take on the architectural "generic" condition [through their hyper-tuned, dunnage-bearing, tricked out welder's goggles].

My only regret is that I waited until now to locate this book in my personal library. It is truly one of the best architectural published EVENTS that I have ever seen.

This book shows a continuation of the outstanding mechanistic illustration style of previous Wes Jones projects. Not much new ground covered, and the organization of the text was unusual to say the least.