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unoahguy's review
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
Really insightful to making lasting buildings.
julcoh's review
5.0
Truly one of the most interesting books I’ve ever read. Stewart Brand’s writing reflects his clear love of “Low Road” architecture— accessible, seemingly simple but delightfully articulate, betraying deeper truths, thoroughly useful. Though its embodiment is entirely “High Road”— lovingly crafted, maintained and tended by an artisan. The book’s utility and influence has only matured in the 28 years since its publishing.
If you are a human being, read this. If you are an architecture or design student, or are in any way associated with construction/management/planning of buildings, worship and cherish it.
If you are a human being, read this. If you are an architecture or design student, or are in any way associated with construction/management/planning of buildings, worship and cherish it.
duparker's review
3.0
This book had a lot of potential. I don't know why, but I couldn't enjoy the text. The illustrations and images were great, and the landscape orientation was very useful for review the evolution of structures, but the words on the page were useless. The idea behind the book, the evolution of buildings, is really cool and I would like to read more on the subject. I wonder if I have have read too many books about buildings and how the built environment affects people that this was too basic for me.
Overall, not peeved that I read it, but happy that it was a lazy Sunday in front of the wood stove, and not some overly complex read, that didn't satisfy.
Overall, not peeved that I read it, but happy that it was a lazy Sunday in front of the wood stove, and not some overly complex read, that didn't satisfy.
rbogue's review against another edition
5.0
I’m not an architect, but as an information architect, I’m curious about how classical architects approach the problems of buildings that people love. This journey led me to Stewart Brand’s book, How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They’re Built. I was first introduced to the book back in 2011 while reading Pervasive Information Architecture. It surfaced again in Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s book, Antifragile, and in Peter Morville’s Intertwingled. In every case, the reference is to how buildings change (or, in Brand’s language, “learn”) over time.
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luisvilla's review
The rare book relevant to both my YIMBY work and open community work. MediaWiki is very much a building that has learned; I hope the next generation of Wikipedians can keep that alive. XKCD’s “guy in Nebraska” is also a part of a structure that learns, but precariously and with less provision for systemic, cross-ecosystem learning than Wikipedia. On the flip side, we’re never going to build what Brand calls “low” buildings in SF again; at best we’ll get some ADUs but mostly we’ll get a lot of big buildings. That’s good and needed but they’ll never be great buildings in the way our Edwardians are.
hannah8ball's review
3.0
This book gets 4 stars for ideas and 2 stars for actual writing. He could have used a better editor. But also, this book was written in 1995!
As a professional in the buildings industry, I am constantly running into the unique contexts each operator finds herself in whether the building is on day 2 of operations or day 2000. Lots of good things to talk about and to consider both at work and in my home renovation journey. Glad I found this book!
As a professional in the buildings industry, I am constantly running into the unique contexts each operator finds herself in whether the building is on day 2 of operations or day 2000. Lots of good things to talk about and to consider both at work and in my home renovation journey. Glad I found this book!
marisbest2's review
5.0
This book is really excellent. I now walk around looking at buildings thinking about how they've evolved over time or where they could grow. Etc. Also he predicts IoT but this was written in 1993. Its overall just very cool. Main lesson: build a boring box then fill it in