Builders of the Pacific Coast

(Paperback)

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Description

A continuation of Lloyd Kahn's journeys into the creative processes of owner-built homestheir innovative techniques, use of sustainable materials, and essential dedication to the natural elements surrounding their designs Builders of the Pacific Coastexplores the aesthetics and skills of three master builders in California, Washington state, and the rugged terrain of British Columbia. The three featured craftsmen Lloyd House, Bruce Atkey, and Sun Ray Kelley combine imaginative architecture with innovative contexts: everything from unusual house-boats to sculptural dwellings made of driftwood are included. With stunning color and black-and-white photographs, as well as detailed black-and-white drawings of the homes, this collection of unique and progressive designs creates a template for a future filled with forward-thinking architecture.

Reviews

"...a lovely masterpiece"
-Kevin Kelly, kk.org

"On every page is something shocking and delightful. A boat with legs. A roof like a leaf. A caravan with eyes. A split-cedar woodshed shaped like a bird. Stair rails so sinuous and snakey they might come to life and grab you. Sculpted earth walls. Round windows and arched doors. Roofs curved like seagull wings. and then there are the builders themselves. There hasn't been a cast of characters this colorful since Ken Kesey packed up his Underwood."

-Mike Litchfield, West Marin Citizen

"Lloyd Kahn has likely done more to bring the work of natural builders into public consciousness than just about anyone in recent times. Countless times in recent years I have been told by owner-builders, designers, architects and pioneers of the natural building movement that one of Lloyd's books inspired their projects."

-Jack Stephens, Natural Building Network, www.naturalbuildingnetwork.org

"What a fabulously inspiring piece of art! Truly amazing !

-Sim Van der Ryn, Architect, www.vanderryn.com

"Wild, woodsy, whimsical. And profoundly West Coast. These are homes that bring to mind tree houses for grownups -- with recognizable boughs, trunks and timbers incorporated in utterly original ways and perched as close to nature as possible."

-Katherine Dedyna, The Vancouver Sun

"Seeing the beauty and harmony that graces every page of Builders of the Pacific Coast brought something immensely calming into our home and hearth, a kind of heart-opening grace and a groundedness. I am deeply grateful for that. We shall cherish this book to the end of our days."

-John Grissim, author, Pure Stoke

"Thanks to Lloyd Kahn's book, the pioneering spirit embodied in these homes nestling on the fringe of civilization is going to rebound against the Pacific and return homeward to inspire new generations of selfbuilders."

-Simon Fairlie, The Land, www.tlio.org.uk

"A wonderful collection of imagination and possibility."

-Steven Leckart, CoolTools (kk.org)

"...these sun-glowing, grinning craftspeople have clearly looked, selected, waited, and then placed all this twisted, left-over sea-beaten driftwood with such exquisitely precise casualness that allows these miraculous enclosures to achieve a higher state of architectural life because they never lose the original nature of their ingredients timber, stone, grass."

-Peter Nabokov, Professor of World Arts and Cultures and American Indian Studies, UCLA

"Kahn's three books overlap, play off one another, and diverge in a way that mirrors the varied yet coherent nature of the structures they document. Each also represents the spirit of the times."

-Jacoba Charles, The Point Reyes Light

"This collection of unique and progressive designs creates a template for a future filled with forward-thinking, organic architecture."

-Kolin Lymworth, Kolin's Book of the Week, Banyan Books, Vancouver, BC

"With stunning color and black-and-white photographs, as well as detailed black-and-white drawings of the homes, this collection of unique and progressive designs creates a template for a future filled with forward-thinking architecture."

-4 Kids Books & Toys

"...this is a beautiful and grand step in your further exploration that began with Shelter. It is fun, inspiring, enriching, and a joy. I would call it your masterpiece but I know the road is still out there, the camera still works, the truck still runs and your curiosity will push you out there again.

-George Young, George Young Books (and Lloyd's friend)

"...a beautiful visual hymn to the creative builder"

-Jack Fulton, Photographer (and Lloyd's friend}