Customer Reviews

XS: Big Ideas in Small-Scale Building

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This book is about creativity and innovation; not just small-house-designing, but compact-space-creation. It contains not only residential projects, but also public facilities (e.g., bus stops) and objects (e.g., stunning tents), plus some "think-outside-the-box" structures for extream weather (e.g., north pole), remote locations, unusual situations (e.g., floating on a river) and pure entertainment (a pocket-size [before use] inflatable space). It also includes all the information about the architects and designers and the prices (generally very cheap, the inflatable space only costs about 5 franc!). However, I would like to have more informatin about those designs, maybe more pictures or text to get a more complete 3D feeling of those spaces.

I discovered this book in a bookstore. After skimming through it, I immediately decided to order one copy. If you want to find some recent architecture and building cases, you'd better get some other books or buy some magazines. But if you want to know how far architecure and design can go and want to experience some intellectural stimulation, then get this book. You will be enlightened.

I found this book while doing a newsstand project for my studio class. I was interested in seeing how other designers had tackled the high level of detail that becomes necessary when creating a small structure (and get some inspriation for my own project along the way). I wasn't disappointed. Although I usually like to see more process sketches in architecture books (Xs is completely lacking in this regard), the variety, creativity and inventiveness of the projects exhibited won me over. The different uses of materials are especially diverse and inspiring. The photographs are thoughtful and do a good job of showing much of the detail that makes these structures interesting in the first place. The text is well-written (I consider any architecture writing not filled with euphemisim and jargon a godsend), and the quotes from the designers is insightful. I started showing Xs to other architects in my firm and it quickly became a hit. It is, above all else, an accessable, fun book.

This is a nice little book, well put together, of some unique projects you might not otherwise see because they are so small. It isn't very indepth on any of them, no more that 3-4 pics usually. Contains a lot of projects with novel use of materials, most are built pretty cheap too.
It is good general book and worth... I think.