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The Graphic Standards Guide to Architectural Finishes: Using Masterspec® to Evaluate, Select, and Specify Materials by ARCOM and The American Institute of Architects (edited by Elena M.S. Garrison, AIA, CCS, CSI; John Wiley & Sons, 2002). The Graphic Standards Guide to Architectural Finishes: Using Masterspec® to Evaluate, Select, and Specify Materials by ARCOM and The American Institute of Architects is like that scrumptious confection that blends the wonders of peanut butter with the sublimity of chocolate to create the perfect candy bar. "When preparing drawings, architects refer to Architectural Graphic Standards for guidance. When selecting materials and products and when writing specifications, they turn to MASTERSPEC®, a product of The American Institute of Architects published by ARCOM," explains editor Elena M.S. Garrison, AIA, CCS, CSI, in her preface. "By combining the invaluable resources of Graphic Standards and MASTERSPEC, this book efficiently assists an architect who is preparing a project's construction documents." Simply put, this new book takes two architectural classics, the text of MASTERSPEC product classifications and the drawings of Architectural Graphic Standards, to make one text for the specification of finisheswalls, floors, and ceilings. One suspects it may be a new classic in itself, beginning with classroom instruction and ending on the desk of anyone who works on specs. MASTERful
organization The substructure keys to the five-digit Masterspec product numbers: for instance, 09310 is ceramic tile, and 08351 is folding doors. Each piece identified by a five-digit numbers is a complete essay unto itself about a particular material or construction. Each begins with general comments; goes on to describe particular characteristics and concerns, such as installer considerations, fire concerns, and performance considerations; and ends with appropriate references. Art-ful
architecture Perhaps the unique usefulness of The Graphic Standards Guide to Architectural Finishes is best summed up by AIA Executive Vice President /CEO Norman L. Koonce, FAIA, and Edward F. "Ted" Smith, FAIA, CSI, in the book's foreword. They offer the famous words of Eliel Saarinen, who said: "Always design a thing by considering it in its next larger contexta chair in a room, a room in a house, a house in an environment, an environment in a city plan." "By combining two distinctly different and valuable resources," Koonce and Smith write, "information from each will address the next larger context and will inform and empower professionals to do the same." You now can order The Graphic Standards Guide to Architectural Finishes from the AIA Bookstore, $112.50 AIA members/$125 retail (plus $6 shipping per order). To order from the AIA Bookstore: phone 800-242-3837 option #4, fax 202-626-7519; or send an email. Copyright 2002 The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved. |
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