How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They're Built Reprint Edition

by Stewart Brand (Author)

145 ratings

ISBN-13: 978-0140139969

ISBN-10: 0140139966

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Buildings have often been studies whole in space, but never before have they been studied whole in time. How Buildings Learn is a masterful new synthesis that proposes that buildings adapt best when constantly refined and reshaped by their occupants, and that architects can mature from being artists of space to becoming artists of time.

From the connected farmhouses of New England to I.M. Pei's Media Lab, from "satisficing" to "form follows funding," from the evolution of bungalows to the invention of Santa Fe Style, from Low Road military surplus buildings to a High Road English classic like Chatsworth—this is a far-ranging survey of unexplored essential territory.

More than any other human artifacts, buildings improve with time—if they're allowed to. How Buildings Learn shows how to work with time rather than against it.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"It's about time somebody wrote this book. This quirky, thoughtful volume, bursting with curiosity and intelligence, may make our everyday world more visible to more Americans. Architecture is too important to be left to architects alone."
—Mixed Media

"A stunning exploration of the design of design … How Buildings Learn will irrevocably alter yor sense of place, space, and the artifacts that shape them."
—Michael Shrage, Wired

"Penetratingly original."
—Philip Morrison, Scientific American

"An extremely attractive volume that will forever alter the way we respond to the buildings around us. We may also hope it will alter the way architects design buildings."
—Harold Gilliam, San Francisco Chronicle

"A fascinating and indefinable book … How Buildings Learn is a hymn to entropy, a witty, heterodox book dedicated to kicking the stuffing out of the proposition that architecture is permanent and that buildings cannot adapt."
—Stephen Bayley, The Times (London)

"The book's diagnosis is clear and to the poiny, and its illustrations of how buildings change are both fascinating and instructive. This is, in short, one of the rare books that every architect should read."
—Thomas Fisher, editor, Progressive Architecture

"A book of good sound-bites and laser-sharp insight … No architecture students should complete their preliminary studies without reading it from cover to cover."
—Patric Hannay, The Architects' Journal

About the Author

Though honored as a writer—with the National Book Award for the Whole Earth Catalog, Eliot Montroll Award for The Media Lab, Golden Gadfly Award for his years as editor of CoEvolution Quarterly—Steward Brand is primarily an inventor/designer. Trained as a biologist and army officer, he was an early multimedia artist. He has created a number of lasting institutions, including New Games Tournaments, the Hackers Conference, and The WELL, a bellwether computer conference system. He is co-founder of Global Business Network, a futurist research organization fostering "the art of the long view."

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Books; Reprint edition (October 1, 1995)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0140139966
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0140139969
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.79 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 10.76 x 0.67 x 8.45 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #25,253 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1 in Historic Architectural Preservation
- #5 in Architectural Criticism
- #10 in Architectural History

Customer Reviews:
145 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		79%
4 star		10%
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2 star		4%
1 star 0% (0%)		0%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Robert Hills

Whole Earth Catalog of buildings improving functionally and aesthetically with age.

Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2020

Verified Purchase

Authored by the "The Whole Earth Catalog" genius this book should be mandatory for residential architects and all prospective or existing home owners thinking of remodeling , buying or building a house.
One can spend hours and hours reading (and rereading) it's extensive descriptions, critiques and histrories with many illustrative photos in each chapter on a vast array of subjects.

5 people found this helpful

Helpful

FozzieBear

Best book on software architecture (to say nothing of real architecture) I've ever read.

Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2017

Verified Purchase

Amazing that a book published in the mid-nineties is still garnering regular reviews - this says something about the enduring appeal and quality of Brand's work. I first bought a copy of this book in the mid-nineties, and I've been handing them out to colleagues ever since. To me the book speaks beautifully about architecture and how our built environment evolves, but that's not its real appeal to me. As a computer scientist, I'm fascinated by the more general lessons that can be drawn from this book about complex systems, the interplay between their temporal layers, and how understanding this can lead to better systems designs in a host of fields. I've applied these lessons in areas from software engineering to organisational and cultural change, and my sense is that this book's importance -- like Alexander's Timeless Way of Building -- extends far beyond architecture. If you're involved in evolving organisations, software, towns or buildings, you'll not regret taking the time to read it.

12 people found this helpful

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Christopher Jon Barker

Essential for facilities managers and architecture students

Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2020

Verified Purchase

After spending 11 years as a facility manager at a large tech company, this book reaffirmed how and why I built spaces the way I did. Many of the lessons and anecdotal stories in this book mirrored my own. I would consider this required reading for any of my future employees and any student interested in learning about the what and how of building things designed for time and occupancy rather than just for photographs.

2 people found this helpful

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John

Buildings + Time. Read!!!

Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2017

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I checked this book out at the library a long time ago and it completely changed the way I look at houses. Read it and you'll understand why old houses are always more interesting than new ones.

In my case, I bought this book again because I'm planning to build my house in a couple of months and I don't want it to be yet another house that falls apart in 20-30 years because it's useless and/or ugly.

Stewart Brand is thorough and observant, and he has a fascinating perspective on the built world as it relates to time. I will be reading more of his work as soon as I have the time.

8 people found this helpful

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Jeff B

Valuable read if you are interested in the topic.

Reviewed in the United States on December 15, 2017

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This book is obviously not for everyone, but if you are interested enough in the topic to be reading the reviews, then you will be happy with the purchase. The Author tends to ramble a bit at times, and he makes repeats a few points more than needed, but so far I have gotten a lot out of this, and it has change the way I think about buildings, evolution, and how to judge the merits of a building's design.

I would strongly encourage anyone thinking of building a house to get this book.

3 people found this helpful

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Chip Sams

essential reading for anyone involved in facility planning or operation

Reviewed in the United States on February 13, 2008

Verified Purchase

I am an acoustical and systems design consultant who specializes in worship and performing arts facilities, and use this book regularly in my practice. I have found no better resource for introducing the facility planning "layperson" to the enormous blind-spot that many in the architectural design and construction profession have regarding the relevance of buildings to the functional needs that should define their design, as well as the ongoing process of maintaining this relevance over time.

While highly specialized rooms such as auditoria do not usually lend themselves to significant modification over time, or to strategies such as "loose fit," Brand's advice about the risk of architectural experimentation in the fundamental form of most buildings is spot on. This book is an extremely engaging read, and also serves as an excellent introduction to other key literature on architectural programming, scenario planning, the evolution of the architectural profession, and so forth.

As other reviewers have suggested, anyone who lives or works in a building can profit from reading this book. I would add that anyone who works in the construction or facility management industries, or who expects to be involved in planning a building project from the perspective of the owner or user, has a duty to seek out the sort of education that this book provides.

7 people found this helpful

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Norty

An excellent and enjoyable study in how buildings are designed and ...

Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2015

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Brand opens the door to the history of renovations, adjustments, and satisficing we do with our buildings. We built the building -- but what if it doesn't fit? What if the halls are too narrow, the atrium too echoey, and the lecture halls tucked out of the way? Why does the roof leak? What happens when technology changes and you have to retrofit data connections into a 300 year old building? Ever try to make a 300 year old building ADA compliant? Brand explores the history of building design, the changes owners make to their buildings, the strategies buildings take in longevity (flexible vs historic monument), and the 6 layers that make up a facility: Site, Structure, Services, Space Plan, Stuff, and Skin. An excellent and enjoyable study in how buildings are designed and how they change.

6 people found this helpful

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Stephen Molthop

An excellent book by Stewart Brand

Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2021

Verified Purchase

Stewart Brand, a Merry Prankster who founded the Whole Earth Catalogue, never disappoints with his cogent, erudite analysis.

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Hilary N

Encourages different ideas when planning Civic Projects

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 19, 2019

Verified Purchase

I bought this as a replacement for an earlier copy. It was loaned to the staff working on then latest version of the Library of Birmingham. (Opened late Summer 2013). I understand they found it useful though in what aspect I wasn’t told.
Needless to say the current manifestation is totally different to the original plan.

Richard Byrne

This is such a good book that I keep giving my copies away

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 26, 2013

Verified Purchase

So I bought this one for my daughter, to stop her swiping my last copy. She agrees that it is a very useful eye-opener about building in general. The examples in the book are American, but the underlying grasp of how buildings should function, and why you should string up all award-winning architects from their badly-designed rafters (or throw them off their failed, leaking flat roofs) is just as applicable anywhere else.

If you haven't read this, shame on you.

neophitus

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 2, 2017

Verified Purchase

Good book!

Mr. R. W. M. Jones

Entertaining

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 24, 2015

Verified Purchase

He doesn't like architects, and for good reason. Very entertaining little book.

Colm

The book I find myself referring to most often

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 20, 2012

Verified Purchase

I loved this book, it's a fascinating read and perspective on modern architecture. It's also a book I find myself referring to or thinking about regularly.