New at the Library

Transforming old and worn furniture into a gorgeous, modern statement piece can be intimidating, but Jen Crider makes it easy with step-by-step tutorials anyone can do. This book is packed with ingenious, approachable projects to turn old chairs, tables, sofas and more into gorgeous furniture.

For centuries, wrought iron was worked with care and craft into objects as diverse as shop signs, balcony railings, and dog collars. This handsome volume brings together thirty-six unique pieces of wrought iron from the celebrated collection of the Musée Le Secq des Tournelles in Rouen, France, and combines stunning photography with fresh and engaging scholarship. Salvaged by the founders of the Musée Le Secq during a period when wrought iron was being rapidly discarded and replaced with modern materials, these objects tell stories of preindustrial times and highlight the importance of iron in our shared past.

Start doing your own household repairs and simple renovations without the expense of calling in a professional! If you are frustrated by your own inability to handle a repair, or resentful of having to pay someone to take care of simple home maintenance--you've come to the right place. Full of expert advice, this practical handbook features easy instructions for all the home DIY basics, from painting and wallpapering to simple plumbing, changing a lock, using power tools, fixing a squeaky board and much more. Beginner's Guide to DIY & Home Repair will provide first-time homeowners and renters with the basic skills and guidance to get the job done.

Hand Hewn is a gorgeous celebration of the traditions and artistry of timber-frame building, a 7,000-year-old craft that holds an enduring attraction for its simple elegance and resilience. Internationally renowned timber-frame architect and craftsman Jack A. Sobon offers a fascinating look at how the natural, organic forms of trees become the framework for a home, with profiles of the classic tools he uses to hand hew and shape each timber, and explanations of the engineering of the wooden joinery that connects the timbers without a single nail.

"Iowa Barns yesterday and today takes the reader on a tour of all 99 counties with 800 photos of barns and other buildings, accompanied by stories that portray their diversity, past and present." ---Back cover

Reviewed: TLS 8 Feb. 2019 p. 22.
Description: Iain Sinclair embarks on a series of expeditions–through London, Marseille, Mexico and the Outer Hebrides. He explores the relationship between sickness and structure, and between art, architecture, social planning and health, taking plenty of detours along the way. Walking is Sinclair’s defensive magic against illness and, as he moves, he observes his surroundings: stacked tower blocks and behemoth estates; halogen-lit glasshouse offices and humming hospitals; the blackened hull of a Spitalfields church and the floating mass of Le Corbusier’s radiant city ... Part investigation, part travelogue, Living With Buildings brings the spaces we inhabit to life as never before. (publ.)
Note: This book was commissioned in response to the exhibition “Living with Buildings” curated by Emily Sargent at Welcome Collection, 4 October 2018-3 March 2019. The exhibition explores the pivotal role of design and urban planning in human health and examines how the structures that surround us shape our mental and physical health, in both positive and negative ways.

A celebration of craftsmanship, teamwork, and the relationship between contractor and client. Making Things Right is the simple yet captivating story of a loft renovation, from the moment master carpenter and contractor Ole Thorstensen submits an estimate for the job to when the space is ready for occupation. As the project unfolds, we see the construction through Ole's eyes: the meticulous detail, the pesky splinters, the problem solving, patience, and teamwork required for its completion. Yet Ole's narrative encompasses more than just the fine mechanics of his craft. His labor and passion drive him toward deeper reflections on the nature of work, the academy versus the trades, identity, and life itself.

As we stand on the cusp of a fundamental restructuring of the housing and building industries, this book provides a timely overview of prefabricated and modular housing. The idea of prefabricated and modular housing is not a new one: since the 19th century, designers, inventors, engineers, builders, developers, and entrepreneurs have all been fascinated by the idea of the factory-built home. But the current international housing shortages and affordability crises have given a new urgency to the need to transform building construction in the 21st century.

Covering topics such as getting started, shed styles, materials, foundations, hardware and finishing, The Haynes Shed Manual provides step-by-step instructions and wide-covering advice on all aspects of planning and building sheds. Written by two shed experts, it's for the enthusiastic DIYer and those considering taking on a project.

Review: PW 12 Nov. 2018 p. 52.
Description: Have you ever hit the big blue button to activate automatic doors? Have you ever used an ergonomic kitchen tool? Have you ever used curb cuts to roll a stroller across an intersection? If you have, then you’ve benefited from accessible design–design for people with physical, sensory, and cognitive disabilities. These ubiquitous touchstones of modern life were once anything but. Disability advocates fought tirelessly to ensure that the needs of people with disabilities became a standard part of public design thinking. That fight took many forms worldwide, but in the United States it became a civil rights issue; activists used design to make an argument about the place of people with disabilities in public life. In the aftermath of World War II, with injured veterans returning home and the polio epidemic reaching the Oval Office, the needs of people with disabilities came forcibly into the public eye as they never had before. The U.S. became the first country to enact federal accessibility laws, beginning with the Architectural Barriers Act in 1968 and continuing through the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, bringing about a wholesale rethinking of our built environment. This progression wasn’t straightforward or easy. Early legislation and design efforts were often haphazard or poorly implemented, with decidedly mixed results. Political resistance to accommodating the needs of people with disabilities was strong; so, too, was resistance among architectural and industrial designers, for whom accessible design wasn’t “real” design. (publ.)

Description: Engineers argue that inadequate maintenance of roads, bridges, airports, waterways, and other critical aspects of infrastructure along with underinvestment have created an infrastructure crisis in the United States. Many politicians agree with this claim and are attempting to take action. However, we are faced with the issue of which projects are most essential and how to fund them. Is the state of America’s infrastructure that dire compared to the rest of the world? Are these efforts to improve it a cynical ploy from politicians to gain attention and ensure reelection? This volume considers the many perspectives of this pressing issue. (publ.)
Note: Library Standing Order.

Reviewed: PW 26 June 2017 p. 24
Description: Through 500 photographs and plans, Kenneth Breisch traces the development of libraries in the United States, from roots in such iconic examples as the British Library and Paris’s Bibliothèque-Ste.-Geneviève to institutions imbued with their own, American mythology. Starting with the private collections of wealthy merchants and landowners during the eighteenth century, the book looks at the Library of Congress, large and small public libraries, and the Carnegie libraries, and it ends with a glimpse of modern masterworks.

Reviewed: Choice May 2018 vol. 55 no. 9 (Recommended for community college libraries)
Description: Jeff Dondero walks you through your home’s walls, doors, windows, and roof, room by room and appliance by appliance, breaking them down into simple terms so that you can make the smartest energy and resource choices possible. He even covers gardens and garages, explaining what household items cost to run, how to conserve energy when using them, giving guidance on what’s sustainable and what isn’t. This encyclopedic manual is very helpful for understanding the machine that is your house, and how to keep it maintained and running well and “green” while saving you money. This guide is a great fit to make sure that you make the best of your home and the resources that power and run it. Conservation in the home is something that you owe to yourself, your family, and your planet. (publ.)

Reviewed: CHE 28 July 2017 (new books)
Description: From the legendary Ebbets Field in the heart of Brooklyn to the amenity-packed Houston Astrodome to the “retro” Oriole Park at Cam-den Yards, stadiums have taken many shapes and served different purposes throughout the history of American sports culture. In the early twentieth century, a new generation of stadiums arrived, located in the city center, easily accessible to the public, and offering affordable tickets that drew mixed crowds of men and women from different backgrounds. But in the successive decades, planners and architects turned sharply away from this approach. In Modern Coliseum, Benjamin D. Lisle tracks changes in stadium design and culture since World War II. (publ.)

Reviewed: TLS 24 Nov. 2017 p. 33.
Description: More than half of the world’s population now lives in urban areas, but a billion of these people reside in neighborhoods characterized by entrenched disadvantage. These neighborhoods, known as “slums,” are often seen as a debilitating and even subversive presence within society. In reality, however, it is often the host societies and their public policies that are at fault. Mayne probes beyond the stereotypes of deviance, social disorganization, inertia, and degraded environments to explore the spatial coherence, collective sense of community, and effective social organization of poor and marginalized neighborhoods over the last two centuries. (publ.)

Reviewed: CHE 4 Aug. 2017 p. B10 (discussed in article).
Description: Economist Edward Glaeser argues that cities are actually the healthiest, greenest, and richest (in cultural and economic terms) places to live. New Yorkers, for instance, live longer than other Americans; heart disease and cancer rates are lower in Gotham than in the nation as a whole. More than half of America’s income is earned in twenty-two metropolitan areas. And city dwellers use, on average, 40 percent less energy than suburbanites. Gleaser is an economics professor at Harvard University. (publ.)

Reviewed: TLS 21 Apr. 2017 p. 27

Reviewed: The Economist 25 Mar. 2017 p. 75; Choice Sep. 2017 vol. 55 no. 1 (Highly Recommended; Recommended for community college libraries); TLS 4 Aug. 2017 p. 10; NYT/BR 3 Dec. 2017 p. 24 (100 Notable Books 2017).