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Stewart Brand
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How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They're Built Reprint Edition, Kindle Edition

by Stewart Brand (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 out of 5 stars 261 ratings
A captivating exploration of the ever-evolving world of architecture and the untold stories buildings tell. 

When a building is finished being built, that isn’t the end of its story. More than any other human artifacts, buildings improve with time—if they’re allowed to. Buildings adapt by being constantly refined and reshaped by their occupants, and in that way, architects can become artists of time rather than simply artists of space. 

From the connected farmhouses of New England to I.M. Pei’s Media Lab, from the evolution of bungalows to the invention of Santa Fe Style, from Low Road military surplus buildings to a High Road English classic like Chatsworth—this is a far-ranging survey of unexplored essential territory.

Discover how structures become living organisms, shaped by the people who inhabit them, and learn how architects can harness the power of time to create enduring works of art through the interconnected worlds of design, function, and human ingenuity.
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  1. ISBN-13
    978-1101562642
  2. Edition
    Reprint
  3. Publisher
    Penguin Books
  4. Accessibility
    Learn more
  5. Publication date
    October 1, 1995
  6. Language
    English
  7. File size
    36.3 MB
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

All buildings are forced to adapt over time because of physical deterioration, changing surroundings and the life within--yet very few buildings adapt gracefully, according to Brand. Houses, he notes, respond to families' tastes, ideas, annoyance and growth; and institutional buildings change with expensive reluctance and delay; while commercial structures have to adapt quickly because of intense competitive pressures. Creator of The Whole Earth Catalog and founder of CoEvolution Quarterly (now Whole Earth Review ), Brand splices a conversational text with hundreds of extensively captioned photographs and drawings juxtaposing buildings that age well with those that age poorly. He buttresses his critique with insights gleaned from facilities managers, planners, preservationists, building historians and futurists. This informative, innovative handbook sets forth a strategy for constructing adaptive buildings that incorporates a conservationist approach to design, use of traditional materials, attention to local vernacular styles and budgeting to allow for continuous adjustment and maintenance.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Brand founder of The Whole Earth Catalog and CoEvolution Quarterly, launches a populist attack on rarefied architectural conventions. A hippy elder statesman (once one of Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters), Brand argues that a building can ``grow'' and should be treated as a ``Darwinian mechanism,'' something that adapts over time to meet certain changing needs. His humanistic insights grew out of a university seminar he taught in 1988. Catchy anti- establishment phrases abound: ``Function reforms form, perpetually,'' or ``Form follows funding.'' Thomas Jefferson, a ``high road'' builder, is shown to have tinkered his Monticello into a masterpiece over a lifetime. Commercial structures, Brand says, are ``forever metamorphic,'' as a garage-turned-boutique demonstrates. Photo spreads with smart and chatty captions trace the evolutions of buildings as they adopt new ``skins.'' Pointedly, architects Sir Richard Rogers (designer of the Pompidou Centre in Paris) and I.M. Pei (the Wiesner Building, aka the Media Lab at MIT) are taken to task for designing monumental flops that deny occupants' needs. Later sections track the social meanings of preservationism and celebrate vernacular traditions worldwide (e.g., the Malay house of Malaysia; pueblo architecture; the 18th- century Cape Cod House). Brand also documents his own unique habitats. He lives with his wife in a converted tugboat and houses his library in a metal self-storage container. Here, as throughout, Brand's self-reliant voice rings true--that of an engaging, intellectual crank. Brand makes a case for letting people shape their own environments. His crunchy-granola insights bristle with an undeniable pragmatism. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00AFZ3PI4
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Books
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 1, 1995
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ Reprint
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 36.3 MB
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1101562642
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 18 years and up
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 out of 5 stars 261 ratings

About the author

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Stewart Brand

Stewart Brand

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All 73 years is here:

http://sb.longnow.org/SB_homepage/Bio.html

--SB

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
261 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book offers great insight into the built environment, with one review highlighting its erudite analysis. Moreover, they consider it essential reading that is fascinating throughout. Additionally, customers appreciate the book's readability and value for money.

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InsightReadabilityReading enjoymentValue for money
26 customers mention "Insight"26 positive0 negative

Customers find the book insightful, particularly for architects, and one customer mentions how it incorporates ways of thinking from other disciplines.

"...an extremely engaging read, and also serves as an excellent introduction to other key literature on architectural programming, scenario planning,..." Read more

"...As a computer scientist, I'm fascinated by the more general lessons that can be drawn from this book about complex systems, the interplay between..." Read more

"...ideas here, but there are many powerful methods and ways of thinking from other disciplines that Brand has brought to bear on the problem of making..." Read more

"...Brand explores the history of building design, the changes owners make to their buildings, the strategies buildings take in longevity..." Read more

24 customers mention "Readability"24 positive0 negative

Customers find the book highly readable, describing it as a wonderful and essential read.

"...Perhaps by the time I have finished reading this wonderful book, I'll know what to do about the idiot front porch...." Read more

"...An excellent and enjoyable study in how buildings are designed and how they change." Read more

"...The book does a fairly good job at covering all aspects of this topic...." Read more

"...Much of it is not relevant to the building industry today. A moderately interesting read, but I wouldn't buy it again." Read more

8 customers mention "Reading enjoyment"8 positive0 negative

Customers find the book fascinating throughout and provide moments of reading pleasure, with one customer noting they can spend hours reading it.

"...This book is an extremely engaging read, and also serves as an excellent introduction to other key literature on architectural programming,..." Read more

"...One can spend hours and hours reading (and rereading) it's extensive descriptions, critiques and histrories with many illustrative photos in each..." Read more

"...Fascinating." Read more

"...CLASS... WHAT A SURPRISE...WITTY, INSIGHTFUL ,DOWN TO EARTH, ENTERTAINING....NOW THAT THE CLASS IS OVER, THE BOOK CONTINUES TO PROVIDE MOMENTS OF..." Read more

3 customers mention "Value for money"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book offers good value for money.

"...The chapter on low road architecture and buildings is worth the price of the book." Read more

"One of the most interesting books I've read -- and a bargain!" Read more

"Great Gift - Great Price..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Chip Sams
    5.0 out of 5 stars essential reading for anyone involved in facility planning or operation
    Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2008
    Verified Purchase
    I am an acoustical and systems design consultant who specializes in worship and performing arts facilities, and use this book regularly in my practice. I have found no better resource for introducing the facility planning "layperson" to the enormous blind-spot that many in the architectural design and construction profession have regarding the relevance of buildings to the functional needs that should define their design, as well as the ongoing process of maintaining this relevance over time.

    While highly specialized rooms such as auditoria do not usually lend themselves to significant modification over time, or to strategies such as "loose fit," Brand's advice about the risk of architectural experimentation in the fundamental form of most buildings is spot on. This book is an extremely engaging read, and also serves as an excellent introduction to other key literature on architectural programming, scenario planning, the evolution of the architectural profession, and so forth.

    As other reviewers have suggested, anyone who lives or works in a building can profit from reading this book. I would add that anyone who works in the construction or facility management industries, or who expects to be involved in planning a building project from the perspective of the owner or user, has a duty to seek out the sort of education that this book provides.
    12 people found this helpful
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  • BW
    5.0 out of 5 stars Must-read for people in construction, real estate developers, architects.
    Reviewed in the United States on October 6, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    Numerous excellent before-and-after photos. Lots of discussion about how architecture and construction goes wrong. People in those industries tend to be short-sighted, and make some stupid decisions that cause frustration for building occupants for years to come. This book refocuses the reader on a longer-term view of what makes a good building.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • FozzieBear
    5.0 out of 5 stars Best book on software architecture (to say nothing of real architecture) I've ever read.
    Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Amazing that a book published in the mid-nineties is still garnering regular reviews - this says something about the enduring appeal and quality of Brand's work. I first bought a copy of this book in the mid-nineties, and I've been handing them out to colleagues ever since. To me the book speaks beautifully about architecture and how our built environment evolves, but that's not its real appeal to me. As a computer scientist, I'm fascinated by the more general lessons that can be drawn from this book about complex systems, the interplay between their temporal layers, and how understanding this can lead to better systems designs in a host of fields. I've applied these lessons in areas from software engineering to organisational and cultural change, and my sense is that this book's importance -- like Alexander's Timeless Way of Building -- extends far beyond architecture. If you're involved in evolving organisations, software, towns or buildings, you'll not regret taking the time to read it.
    22 people found this helpful
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  • citizen fact checker
    5.0 out of 5 stars EVEN ORDINARY HOMEOWNERS CAN LEARN FROM THIS BOOK
    Reviewed in the United States on November 1, 2010
    Verified Purchase
    I live in the deep south where, even today, kitchens in newly-built houses are generally very small. Most southerners that I know do not know why or even care that their kitchens are so small. I happen to live in a house with a large kitchen, a huge front porch, and a small back porch. I don't know the how or why the original builder of the house decided to include a very large kitchen, but I, being a Yankee, love having a large kitchen.

    Kitchens in the south were the domain of domestic help, and the cultural norm was not to provide a great deal of space for the help. That tells us something about cultural attitudes even though most of us no longer can afford to employ domestic help. I would conclude the obvious then, that buildings do not learn on their own: They need to be nudged to catch up with current realities--just like school kids who want to skip school.

    At present, I am trying to figure out what to do with my front porch that just collects garden furniture laden with dust. I don't need an extra room and have no desire at this time to screen the porch in. Screening is too obvious. What to do?

    The small back porch has already been enclosed and has "learned" to be a mud room for our two pet canines when it's too hot or cold for them to stay outside or when it's raining.

    Perhaps by the time I have finished reading this wonderful book, I'll know what to do about the idiot front porch.

    I love this book and highly recommend it.
    11 people found this helpful
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  • J. Wharton
    4.0 out of 5 stars Visionary
    Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2010
    Verified Purchase
    Stewart Brand has a well-deserved reputation as a visionary iconoclast. The founder of the Whole Earth Catalog has been challenging our preconceptions for many, many years. With "How Buildings Learn" he turns his finely-honed analytical and futurist abilities on architecture and construction.

    This book is primarily synthetic in its focus. There aren't any brand-new ideas here, but there are many powerful methods and ways of thinking from other disciplines that Brand has brought to bear on the problem of making buildings that stand the test of time. Those whose backgrounds are not as diverse as Brand's (and whose is, really?), will be exposed to many unconventional ways of thinking about buildings. The reader will come away with a powerful sense of possibility and a deeper understanding of the built environment.

    Whether you're an expert or simply have an interest in the structures we build around ourselves, you'll find much to admire in this thought-provoking exploration of buildings through time. It's every bit as relevant and ground-breaking today as it was when it was published.
    3 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Legendary book. Good printing and binding. Clear illustrations.
    Reviewed in India on January 21, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    The book is legendary amongst designers, architects and software engineers. This is right up there with The Design of Everyday Things, and The Timeless Way of Building. The printing and binding is great. The book has a ton of illustrations, all of which are clear. Highly recommended.
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  • evelyne stringer
    5.0 out of 5 stars lecteur satisfait !
    Reviewed in France on May 29, 2012
    Verified Purchase
    Ouvrage reçu en excellent état. C'est un livre fort intéressant,dans une belle édition , format agréable à l'oeil et à manipuler ;. Décidémment un auteur passionnant , auteur du "LONG MAINTENANT " enfin traduit en Français .
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  • Robyn K
    5.0 out of 5 stars Written about buildings, but can translate to computers!
    Reviewed in Canada on March 21, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    This book was actually recommended to me by a computer science teacher. Read it as the architecture of a computer system (the site), the hardware (the structure), the software and customizations (the skin/services) and the users and data (space plan, stuff), and it makes sense! Gave me a whole new appreciation of computer systems AND architecture. I will never look at either the same. Like other reviewers, I refer back to this book often, and take time when I am travelling to notice how buildings have learned.
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  • Richard Byrne
    5.0 out of 5 stars This is such a good book that I keep giving my copies away
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 27, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    So I bought this one for my daughter, to stop her swiping my last copy. She agrees that it is a very useful eye-opener about building in general. The examples in the book are American, but the underlying grasp of how buildings should function, and why you should string up all award-winning architects from their badly-designed rafters (or throw them off their failed, leaking flat roofs) is just as applicable anywhere else.

    If you haven't read this, shame on you.
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  • 平山秀樹
    5.0 out of 5 stars 世は200年住宅ビジョンというが
    Reviewed in Japan on January 6, 2008
    Verified Purchase
    建物が建ったあとに何が大切なのかを考えるのには大切な本。こんなにも建物や船などが別の用途に使われるようになるのかと感心することしきり。
    Report

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