Patterns of Home: The Ten Essentials of Enduring Design [Paperback]

Max Jacobson (Author), Murray Silverstein (Author), Barbara Winslow (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 4, 2005

The key to creating a house that is memorable, satisfying, and enduring is to apply a group of design concepts--or "patterns"--that focus on the experience of being in a home. In this groundbreaking work, internationally respected architects Max Jacobson, Murray Silverstein, and Barbara Winslow present the ten essential patterns that shape and define a well-crafted home. Patterns explore the presence of light, the relationship between indoors and out, the flow through rooms, and the feel of one space as you are sitting in another.
Clearly written and profusely illustrated with houses from all over the country, "Patterns of Home," brings the timeless lessons of residential design to anyone seeking inspiration and direction in the design or remodel of a home. The patterns described in the book can make the difference between a home that satisfies only the material needs of the owners and one that captures the essence of home.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Coauthors (along with several other writers) of the landmark design guide A Pattern Language, Jacobson and Silverstein join with their architectural partner, Winslow, to further simplify building design by distilling the principles they previously set forth as ten essentials for residential homes. These fundamentals cover such subjects as making the best use of light; keeping all parts of the house from windows to walls to rooms in proportion; and including "in-between" places like porches, window seats, alcoves and sunrooms in the design of the home. Some of their concepts are fairly abstract; for example, they suggest imagining the home as not just a building but a "site" that contains both indoor and outdoor rooms, and they counsel readers to "let the overall form of the house grow naturally out of the forms of its various parts, rather than being superimposed from the outside." These theories are complemented by more concrete advice about how to measure out a human-sized room, balance private and common spaces and much more. The authors include diagrams and color photographs of 33 actual homes with detailed explanatory captions. While it is aimed predominately at professional designers, this guide is useful for anyone contemplating a new home or making renovations to an existing one; certainly it will change the way readers think about the architectural spaces around them.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Why are some houses such a pleasure to visit or inhabit? This spin-off from A Pattern Language, which has been a design resource for decades, successfully answers that question. California architects Jacobson and Murray Silverstein helped coauthor A Pattern Language, and with partner Barbara Winslow they have chosen ten principles or patterns of house design that they consider most important (and which serve as chapter heads): "Inhabiting the Site," "Creating Rooms," "Sheltering Roof," "Capturing Light," "Parts in Proportion," "Flow Through Rooms," "Private Edges, Common Core," "Refuge and Outlook," "Places in Between," and "Composing with Materials." Each pattern is illustrated with sketches and photographs, as the authors provide beautiful examples of 33 homes by various U.S. architects or designers, mostly in the western United States. The well-organized text and layout combine with the 410 outstanding color photographs and 155 black-and-white illustrations to help the reader visualize these patterns in practice. Highly recommended for public libraries and libraries supporting architecture courses.
David R. Conn, Surrey P.L., BC
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 282 pages
• Publisher: Taunton Press (October 4, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 156158696X
• ISBN-13: 978-1561586967
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 9.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #90,072 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

96 of 101 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A treasure and a trove of knowledge, December 19, 2002

By 

K. Parsons "Hailing from the mountaintop!" (Idyllwild, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Patterns of Home: The Ten Essentials of Enduring Design (Hardcover)

"Patterns of Home" simply is a wonderful book. It contains some of the most beautiful residences anywhere, gorgeously photographed and described. The book also makes a lot of sense. In a time when so many "design" books are self-serving treatises on a particular style or philosophy, "Patterns of Home" steers clear of jargon and techno-babble. The book delivers ten distinct, yet complementary studies (patterns) that serve to wonderfully illustrate how a house can truly be a home. I am an architect in private practice and I design several custom homes or estates per year along with my commercial, institutional and other commissions. While this in no way makes me an expert, it does allow me to highly recommend this book to those seeking to improve the livability of their home, or design meaning into a home. Even if one is not involved in, or contemplating such a project, this book is a great source of ideas and... well, it has a great deal of tremendous pictures!

I am heartened to see Jacobson, Silverstein and Winslow put forth such an accessible, readable and pleasant book on a subject that has been dangerously worn out recently. The material in "Patterns of Home" is not necessarily new, but the presentation of it in such a thoughtful manner is valuable and meaningful. The arrangement of the material is logical, starting with site planning, spatial relationships, and the basics of shelter, light and proportion. The transition into feeling, perception and texture is seamless and rewarding to experience.

The chapter (pattern) on "Refuge and Outlook" addresses a concept dear to my heart. My own home high in the Southern California mountains embodies much of this concept. The presentation of this concept gave words to things I've often struggled to explain. I was very moved by the elegant, yet simple language used to present this and the nine other patterns. The ability to crisply and efficiently write about ideas and concepts that can easily become mired in technical or philosophical discourse is not common. It is precisely this skill that the authors bring to this work, and which makes "Patterns of Home" so useful. The authors clearly appear to practice what they preach, and the honesty that I sense in this book is refreshing. I commend the authors on producing a book that is highly informative in a very sensible way.

This book is a companion to Lawler's "A Home for the Soul" on my display table. I heartily give "Patterns of Home" five stars.

45 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Tastes great, Less filling, January 23, 2003

By 

Peter H (dallas, tx United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Patterns of Home: The Ten Essentials of Enduring Design (Hardcover)

I treasure "Pattern Language", the book, and was excited to see this followup.The premise of looking back at the patterns and reducing them to a few (10) "super" patterns sounded promising.The charm of the original"Pattern Language" book lay in its quirky drawings, and its reliance on the reader to reflect on any personal experiences with the particular pattern being discussed. The lack of glossy photos gave substance to concepts. The new book follows in the footsteps of the "Not so big house" books method of discussing concepts while surrounded by photos. Undoubtedly, the success of those books gave rise to the structure of this one. I find drawings infinitely more communicative of design concepts than photos. The photos here distract the eye, making it harder to focus on the principle being espoused.The authors walk you thru certain homes or rooms which supposedly illustrate the concept at hand. I found the process sort of phony and aggrandizing of the architect's vision. Hello, but the point/power of "patterns" is that they are time-tested,non- regional, gut-level design parameters not requiring architectural vision. The, after the fact, microanalysis of houses to make their every aspect seem utterly preconceived by the genius architect is sophomoric. Again, the power of these patterns is that if you put them "in play", good things, especially unforseen things, happen. Predictably. Hopefully, this book, along with the "Not so big house" books will inform the house buying/building community of design realities routinely ignored.

52 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Glossy Photos Replace Substance of "A Pattern Language", September 7, 2003

By 

Gilbert S. Perreira (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Patterns of Home: The Ten Essentials of Enduring Design (Hardcover)

Skip this book. Instead get "A Pattern Language" which is the quintessential work of Christopher Alexander. Alexander is the real genius behind the "Patterns" of this book. There is almost nothing new in this book "Patterns of Home."

In the late 1960's and 1970's Alexander and his group (including two of these authors), formed the Institute of Environmental Structure in Berkeley, California. Alexander was clearly the spiritual and intellectual leader of this effort. "A Pattern Language" is a compilation of that thorough effort. Alexander et al's book remains the most important treatise ever on the subject of Architecture. It disseminates a clear and concise identification of basic patterns that make a house a home, for example, pattern 115 of 253 - Courtyards that Live. In addition, "A Pattern Language" is written for us, in the hope that "we the people" can use the patterns to guide the development of wonderful homes and communities. Alexander's book is accessible to all of us.

These co-author's of Alexander's great book include two of the authors of "Patterns of Home." These guys are sidekicks and it shows. For example, in the forward to this book, they acknowledge working on this book part-time while engaging in a full-time architectural practice. They didn't put a life-force effort into this book, although it appears the photographers did. The illustrations and photographs are almost exclusively of high end giant homes in the price range of $300 to $500 and up per square foot! The vast majority of people do and will live in homes built to a budget of $100 psf or less. In short, this is a picture book for coffee tables that shows what an architect can do with an open-ended budget.

I think I was dissapointed most with narrow scope of the photographs. As with another reviewer, I noted that the authors showed the patterns exclusively in new, contemporary, upscale California style homes, neglecting better illustrations of the essential patterns that can be easily found in other styles of homes, in older homes, or in homes from other areas of the world.

Although I don't believe the author's intended, but this book is an elitist book for dreamers. The homes shown in this book are accessible to a tiny minority of ultra-rich people. If you, the reader, prefer picture type books, you're better off with Sara Susanka's "The Not So Big House" and others of her series. Her design approach is more accessible to a larger segment of the population. Best of all though, try "A Pattern Language" a truly wonderful book accessible to all of us. It will forever improve you architectural mindset.

Regards, Steve