At Home in Maine: Houses Designed to Fit the Land

by Christopher Glass, Brian Vanden Brink (Photographer)

Overview

Just what is the quintessential Maine house? A traditional Cape nestled into a hillside meadow? A classic lake ront cottage? A restored Victorian in a quaint village? Architect Chris Glass and photographer Brian Vanden Brink make a compelling and visually fascinating argument that the answer can in fact be all of the above. The critical element, notes Glass, is that the house fit its surroundings rather than compete with them. And in stunning photographs, Vanden Brink proves the point again and again throughout the book. You'll discover a wide variety of Maine houses: some old, some new, and some combinations of the two, featuring innovative yet appropriate renovations. Glass explores the history of each house, its strengths and even its weaknesses; while Vanden Brink underscores the points as only a skilled architectural photographer can.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781608935178
Publisher:	Down East Books
Publication date:	10/15/2015
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 10.70(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Christopher Glass has been an architect in Maine for forty years. He is the former architecture member and chairman of the Maine Historic Preservation Commission and has worked with the organization Maine Preservation. He also taught Architectural Design at Bowdoin College. He resides in Camden, Maine. Acclaimed architectural photographer Brian Vanden Brink's work has appeared in dozens of books, including his award-winning monographs Ruin and Iconic. His photographs have also been published in numerous magazines, including Architectural Digest, Coastal Living, Custom Home, Fine Homebuilding, La Vie Claire, Old House Interiors, and Metropolitan Home. He lives in Camden, Maine.

Editorial Reviews

Professionally designed dwellings in Texas, Maine, and the Hudson River valley of upstate New York are the subjects of these books, although some homes reflect the style of the locale better than others. The examples Carpenter (Spectacular Homes of Texas) has gathered of leading Texas architects come across more as of an advertisement than an analysis of their work. The 50-plus homes shown are predominantly large McMansions with lavish interiors that come in all types of styles-modern, French chateau, English country. However, none seems to reflect a particular Texas style, nor do they have any unique relationship to their setting. Serrell (Nest for Two) comes a bit closer to showing homes that reflect their locale. The 20 she chooses represent a diversity of styles, from a newly constructed Bauhaus townhouse to a renovated historic farmhouse. Color photographs and the text describe efforts to integrate these designs into their respective settings. The most successful of these books in terms of showing an area's vernacular style is by Maine architect Glass. Steering clear of the great historic Maine houses and those designed primarily for energy efficiency, he includes dwellings that have been photographed by architectural photographer Vanden Brink and have appeared in Down East magazine. Each reflects a simplicity of design that shows "the care with which they suit their settings and the environment." Purchase Hudson Valley and Maine for large interior design collections and for the libraries in these locales. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

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