Facade Construction Manual (DETAIL Construction Manuals)

I guess this is another Birkhauser "manual" series that areindispensable for architects who's interests lie inexterior detailing.20% of the book pays attention to the dry stuff(basic physics, structural issues, thermal & moistureperformances, etc) of exterior principles .60%, obviously main body of book, introducesdifferent types of envelope systems based on materials.Starting from stone, it covers clay, concrete, timber, metal,glass, and plastics.Last 20% of the book covers special facade systems that aremore relevant to recent sustainable consciousness.Double-glass and solar manipulators are covered in addition tosolar energy concepts.Contents of each section are typically covered in the order ofhistorical overview, material properties, and case studies.If the prospect reader owns any of the "Construction Manual"series by Birkhauser, then there is definitely many overlaps.(Both in writings and case images provided)One plus point is that the book can serve diverse audience group.Depending on the years of experience in the profession,projects provided are inspirational enough for students at school,and at the same time, informative enough for project architects inthe office.The real juicy part of the book is that the case studies provided arevery recent and experimental, hence eye-riveting. The detail drawingsare just enough to, not overburden us, but make us engaging. And thereare plenty of in-depth discussion on recent finds on preventive treatmentof each materials.One caution. If the prospect reader is not good at reading dryphysics-like book (as is often the case with architects...),I highly recommend skipping first 20% of the book for later read.

I purchased this as suggested course material when I was in Architecture school. It's a great resource and has some very relevant information. The format is large enough to be able to see the text and graphics clearly, while not being so big that it's unruly.

I ordered the Facade Manual to help supplement my Architecture 431 class/Integrations. The book is broken down by materials which I found to be an asset when choosing materials during the design process. I would recommend this manual to anyone interested in how systems can be successfully integrated into the overall building design or anyone interested in learning how to properly detail key elements in section.

A valuable book enough to consider buying, however it is a little bit expensive....Technical descriptions are valuable, very nice schematic drawings and example figures included.Again, a little bit expensive book for its massive content (but not for technical content)...

Exactly what I needed

excellent reference manual as all the books from the DETAIL series,... very recommended