Page 14 RAIN June 1981 ACCESS BUILDING From TI,e Glass House The Glass House, by John Hix, 1981 (paperback edition), 208pp. $9.95 from: M.LT. Press Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA 02142 This beautiful book, first published in 1974 and ~ow out in paperback, serves to remind us that " there's nothing new under the sun." Dutch forcing frames in the 18th Century had massive north walls, glazed south ones, insulating curtains or shutters and even reflectors to maximize sunlight in the growing space. By the 19th Century sophisticated automatic vents and solar heat sinks were circulating air to recreate breezes in the otherwise confined atmosphere of the greenhouses. Two major trends developed, both contrasts in scale to the early experiments. Big ____ was the key word and greenhouses became either massive industrialized plant machines or nearly as massive glass fantasies, first for the private delight of the very rich and later for the embellishment of public gardens. The practical lessons learned were quickly shrugged off, but the move to bigger and more elaborate was not always irresponsible. The great Crystal Palace of 1850's London, for example, went from a simple flat-roofed design to its huge arched roof in response to public outcry that several elms stood in the way of the planned structure. Architect Paxton and the builders, rather than remove the elms, enclosed them, creating the most famous glass house of them all . Elegantly illustrated, The Glass House explores architecture in its most magical flowering. -CC New social welfare organizations, hospitals, inventions or technical innovations and improvements-these will not bring about our new culture . .. but glass architecture will. Glass architecture is going to eliminate all harshness from the Europeans and replace it with tenderness, beauty, and candour. (-Adolf Behne, 1919) Fine Homebuilding Magazine, bimonthly, $14.00/year from: Taunton Press 52 Church Hill Rd. Box 355 Newtown, CT 06470 The use of the word "homebuilding" (as opposed to "housebuilding") is deliberate here, and this sister publication to Fine Woodworking magazine promises to be a welcome addition to the lives of people interested in quality home construction and renovation. The emphasis is on careful, energy-efficient building design and technique. The quality of this approach is apparent in each article. Visually, Fine Homebuilding is in a class by itself, combining excellent detail drawings with stunning photography in a way that makes you feel like you've just spent a few minutes walking through the house with the author. In most cases, by the way, the author is also the builder. Without detracting from the overall qualt"It Crystal Art Palace plan and elevation. From TIle Glass House
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc4NTAz