Lofts of London


Book Description

A stunning series of what will be seven books on the lofts of Northern, Central and Southern European cities. Diversity is the thread running throughout the series: the reader is treated to an immense variety of lofts in a wide range of buildings. They have been converted with great ingenuity and imagination by a new breed of urban dwellers who have embraced the loft-living idyll. Enthusiastically eclectic, importing ideas gathered from travel or reading and using furniture from modern emporiums of design or found in junk shops, these loft dwellers have left the essential character and texture of their buildings intact while layering space in subtle ways so that volumetric grandeur is not lost. This tour gives the reader a glimpse of the inventiveness, vigor and pride employed in creating spectacular dwellings out of amorphous spaces. Beautiful photographs dominate, and the text is deliberately kept to a minimum. Those with a passion for achitecture will be in their element.




The Book of Lofts


Book Description

This text presents examples of residential lofts in London, New York, Paris, Chicago, Berlin, Los Angeles and Milan. Whether in former warehouses, converted schoolhouses, suites of offices, or one-time woodworking shops, the lofts all represent contemporary design and living. Confronted by the challenge of dealing with hundreds or often thousands of feet of raw space, loft dwellers have responded by devising some interesting design solutions. Here are lofts with open, free-flowing spaces, loft divided into rooms or arranged on different levels, artist's lofts, and lofts that function as home offices.




Lofts


Book Description

Lofts, by definition, are former commercial spaces that have been converted for residential use and living/work environments. But lofts, by design, are vast silent expanses, soaring arches, stalwart steel girders, massive beams, and all the powerful drama of a curtain-time stage set. Lofts are a designer's dream. The importance of urban loft design for the architectural and design world is highlighted in this collection of the finest, most dramatic of these transformed spaces. Lofts: New Designs for Urban Living takes you on an intimate tour of residential lofts in the major cities of the world including New York, Los Angeles, Sydney, London, Toronto, Paris, and Tokyo. Projects include work from cutting-edge designers: Roto, Fred Fisher, Peter Anders, Neil Frankel, Briggs/Iacucci, Peter Tow, Kar Ho, Moneo/Brock, Belmont Freeman, Lotek, Brayton & Hughes and more. Complete with informative text, Lofts features full-color photographs, plans, and a valuable resource guide for anyone who has every dreamed of converting a commercial building into a residential loft.




Conversions


Book Description

Addresses the growing trend in converting existing structures into a series of ingenious living spaces as it looks at varied projects from around the world in rural, urban, and civic buildings, as well as lofts, industrial spaces, and other unique buildings, examining such topics as what elements of the structure are left intact, what are demolished, how each building was converted into a dwelling, budgets, materials, and impact on the surrounding environment.




Lofts


Book Description

The approach of the millennium has heralded a renaissance in urban living that has seen the widespread conversion of former schools, factories, hospitals, warehouses, and commercial spaces to provide stylish accommodation in our increasingly overcrowded cities. Formerly a marginal residential option, favored mostly by artists whose oversized artworks required the big, open spaces offered by industrial or commercial buildings, lofts have now become the fashionable choice for those who want to break free from the restrictions of conventional apartments. Designed along the lines of classic New York lofts, these vast spaces offer urban dwellers inspirational space. With stunning photographs of some of the world's most innovative conversions-- including the work of leading international architects and designers-- "Lofts" is the ultimate sourcebook for stylish, urban living. Combining the aspirational with the practical, it provides design solutions on a vast scale, whether you choose to commission an architect or interior designer or take on the work yourself. With creative ideas and key information for everything from space-planning and maximizing design characteristics to decorative schemes, fabrics, and furniture," Lofts "illustrates how to create the definitive living space that complements your lifestyle and combines aesthetics with comfort.




London From Punk to Blair


Book Description

London from Punk to Blair is a rich portrait of Europe’s foremost capital. An array of contributors, including poets, journalists, teachers, historians, wanderers, drinkers, photographers, and foodies, offer a selection of personal and subjective readings of the city since the late ’70s. These essays chart a variety of literal and metaphorical explorations through modern and postmodern London, showing how it works, and how it fails to work; what makes it vibrant, and what makes it seedy. From West End galleries to strip pubs in Shoreditch; from millionaires’ loft apartments to buses and suburban Tube stops; from film, fashion, and gay clubs to punk bands, ruinous factories, pigeon filth, and the vagaries of weather, London from Punk to Blair embraces the city like no other book has before. This revised edition includes a new introduction by editor Joe Kerr that brings the book up to date and gives the essays context for the post-recession world. “Full of insight into the diverse experiences that constitute the recent history of London.”—Architects’ Journal “This rewarding collection brings into clear focus those dramatic shifts in the fortunes of the metropolis. . . . Beautiful, revealing insights into particular ways of understanding and using the city.”—London Society Journal




L.A. Lofts


Book Description

In New York, London, and even Rio de Janeiro, lofts are synonymous with minimalism. But in Los Angeles, the world's dream factory, lofts are as colorful and creative as the city itself. L.A. Lofts showcases 20 original and enigmatic interiors housed in both converted warehouse spaces and newly constructed sites in upscale neighborhoods. The common denominator? Each is a reflection of the owner's idiosyncratic personal style. A 30-foot upholstered bar stands in for a kitchen counter, while a former bank safe becomes a cozy bedroom. Some residents challenge the very definition of a loft space, styling their dwellings after a Shaker farmhouse or a dojo, the traditional Japanese warrior's residence, all the while reveling in the open space and flexibility a loft offers. Each chapter also features a unique project for the home, such as refurbishing vintage picture frames or creating a luxurious silk tent-like bed. L.A. Lofts is an irresistible object itself, featuring a die-cut cover that teasingly hints at the images of vibrant interiors revealed underneath. Bursting with dazzling photographs and endless color, L.A. Lofts is a surprising and inspiring look into the new breed of loft.




The King's Pleasure


Book Description

Norah Lofts’s tales of royal Britain have stood the test of time. This international bestseller powerfully tells of the life of Katharine of Aragon, from her childhood in Spain to her reign and downfall in England as the first wife of Henry VII. A princess by birth and a queen by marriage, Katharine always held the highest aspirations for her life, never doubting a vision both she and her mother, Isabella of Spain, had of her becoming one of the great rulers of Europe.




Bletchley Park and the Pigeon Spies


Book Description

Over 15,000 pigeons were dropped into occupied Europe during WW2. Some were used by secret agents to send messages back to headquarters. Others were dropped by parachute into France, Belgium, Holland and Denmark in the hope that people would complete the attached questionnaire and provided military, political, economic or other intelligence of value for the Allies. Photographic negatives could be sent. Bletchley Park had its own loft for its pigeon spies. This book investigates the work of MI14, known as the Colomba Service, and for the first time sheds light on conditions in Occupied Europe described by extremely brave men and women who risked execution if found in possession of a pigeon. MI14 staff, decoded or translated messages and forwarded copies to SOE, SIS, MI19, RAF, RN, Ministry of Economic Warfare, BBC, Churchill, de Gaulle and President Benes of Czechoslovakia.




Programming and Research


Book Description

Programming and Research: Skills and Techniques for Interior Designers provides a step-by-step approach to mastering the process of documenting client and user requirements for any design project. Replete with examples and analyses of student and professional work, this book guides its readers through the creation of their own program documents. Both the National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) and the Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA) consider programming a required core of knowledge. Programming and Research focuses on how the study of programming for interior designers prepares students for and advances them into the professional realm. This second edition is updated with the latest information interior designers must be equipped with, including new coverage on evidence-based design, integrated project delivery (IPD), building information modeling (BIM), design across disciplines, LEED programming, designing on a budget, and time management.