American Homes: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Domestic Architecture - A landmark reference with more than 1,000 illustrations, elevations, and palns

by Lester Walker

A landmark of architectural history, AMERICAN HOMES surveys over 100 American housing styles and illustrates them through nearly 1000 line drawings. Using his own unique combination of "exploded" diagrams and floor plans and easy-to-follow text, award-winning architect and author Lester Walker has created the definitive bible of home design, fully practical but wonderful, too, for armchair browsing and dreaming. Walker describes each style's signature features, and how, where, when, and why the style developed in response to the landscape. The full evolution of American residential architecture is represented, including Dutch Colonials, Log cabins, Southern plantation mansions, Carpenter Gothics, Neo-modern styles, and more. For anyone who has ever designed or owned a home--or just lived in one--AMERICAN HOMES is the quintessential reference to our country's dwellings, past, present, and future.

Genres: Architecture, Reference, Nonfiction, Art, Design, Historical

336 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Lester Walker is an award-winning architect and author of numerous books related to houses and architecture, including Little House of My Own, Housebuilding for Children and Block Building for Children. He lives in Woodstock, New York, where his architectural firm is based.

Reviews

[Philippe Jonquet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. My favorite reference book for American Architecture. As the cover shows, it contains all the architectural styles in axonometric perspectives. It offers plans and historical evolution of every style. Very complete and detailed. Can be used for style recognition.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love American architecture- this was very informative

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice pen drawings. Covers a wide range from premodern to experimental.

[Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the easy break down of basically all the architectural styles in the US in modern times. Not overloaded with text, the info is there, but it also uses lots of great simple sketches to get the point across.

[Erika Mulvenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love flipping through this book - probably not a book for actual architectual students, but great for the everyday gal interested in learning more about her immediate surroundings.

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, easy (lots of sketches) intro to American architecture style and its antecedents.

[Bree · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fabulous resource for learning about American architecture.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Examines homes in America, the shapes, designs, and usage. A useful guide for someone interested in building a house or in architecture. Has simple house plans.

[Richard Givan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Big book of house styles, many of whom I had never heard of (and a few of which I question truly exist).

[Mark Einselen · Rating 5 out of 5]

These illustrations are incredible. I spent hours pouring over every page as a kid, but it holds up to mature scrutiny, too.