Good Deeds, Good Design: Community Service Through Architecture [Paperback]

Bryan Bell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2003

It may come as no surprise that only two percent of new homebuyers work directly with an architect to design the space in which they will live indeed, architects are usually seen as a luxury most of us, the other ninety-eight percent, cant afford.
Yet, why shouldnt more people call on the services of architects? With fierce competition for few commissions, why do architects not seek out other sources of work and income? Now, acting within larger institutions or on their own, many architects are taking local initiatives to address the underserved, particularly the poor. Good Deeds, Good Design presents the best new thoughts and practices in this emerging movement toward an architecture that serves a broader population.In this book, architecture firms, community design centers, design/build programs, and service-based organizations offer their plans for buildings for the other ninety-eight percent. Twenty-eight essays and case studies illustrate successes and failures and raise both design and social issues.
The success of Rural Studio suggests that there is a large and growing number of people who would like to see good design for all. With its clear, direct, and inspiring message, and numerous illustrated examples, Good Deeds, Good Design follows this important story.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Bryan Bell is founder of Design Corps, a nonprofit agency providing architecture to those traditionally underserved by the profession. Design Corps will be included in this year s Cooper Hewitt Inside Design Now exhibition. Bell organizes the Structures fo

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press; 1 edition (November 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568983913
• ISBN-13: 978-1568983912
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #919,335 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Architecture with a Heart, January 17, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Good Deeds, Good Design: Community Service Through Architecture (Paperback)

Good Deeds, Good Design challenges the reader to re-think, or at the very least further refine his perspective on architecture for those who cannot afford an architect. While all the essays promote the premise that the enhancement of life by good design should be made available for those who can least afford it, they approach the "how","what" and even the "why" questions from very different perspectives.

Bell has done an excellent job of compiling these very different points of view in order to make the reader think. I have thought about some point or other from the essays almost every day for the past two weeks, and may well mull many of them over for years.

The great stories told by the case studies, like the elderly native american woman who moved from living in a school bus to a home, or the village which was given a place to gather and to worship, inspire the reader to take up the cause and act. This book should be required reading for every student of architecture (and probably for every public policy wonk as well).

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read for ALL socially-conscious architects!, March 5, 2005

By 

RabidReader "RabidReader" (Dallas, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Good Deeds, Good Design: Community Service Through Architecture (Paperback)

Bell's book neatly encapsulates all the best thinking being done on the cutting edge where architecture meets social consciousness. Probably nobody in the United States is more qualified to address the subject of architecture for the less-advantaged, and its potential for positive impact in their lives. As a young man, Bell left a highly prestigious position in New York to live in a cold-water cabin in Pennsylvania and formulate ideas about the role architecture might play in the lives of those not traditionally served by good design. Bell gained influence as the founder of Design Corps and a teacher at the Rural Studio, and has since become a sought-after lecturer. "Good Deeds, Good Design" collects the best thinking about socially-conscious design in one compact book. It should be required reading for both students and practitioners interested in this burgeoning area of architecture.

4 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't read it - PRINT IS TOO SMALL, December 27, 2006

By 

R. J. McCabe (Seattle) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Good Deeds, Good Design: Community Service Through Architecture (Paperback)

This is my first "review" of a book I didn't read because the print was too small. I'm hoping more people who share this issue will complain via their reviews and publishers will get the message.

I order most of the books I read from the library, so I don't know if a book is "readable" till I get it. I don't need "large print" books, but there's no excuse for a 6"x9" paperback book to use print this small.