Lloyd Kahn Libri

Shelter , it turns out, had a major influence on builders, and included are buildings our 1973 book inspired, so this is truly a sequel.

A continuation of Lloyd Kahn’s journeys into the creative processes of owner-built homes — their innovative techniques, use of sustainable materials, and essential dedication to the natural elements surrounding their designs — Builders of the Pacific Coast explores 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 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.

Lloyd Kahn and his wife Lesley's story of building their own home, establishing a garden, and practicing crafts on a small piece of land on the Northern California Coast over a 46-year period, with over 500 photos. Lloyd, the former shelter editor of the Whole Earth Catalog , has published seven books on owner building, showcasing hundreds of builders, and this is his first book on his own work. Starting with a vacant half-acre piece of land, they built their own home, created a garden with vegetables and fruit, and describe raising chickens, bees, and goats. The book also covers cooking, foraging, fishing, crafts, birds, butterflies, and tools. Their main theme is that this was all done by hand. They have never paid rent nor have they ever had a mortgage. There are over 500 photos illustrating all the above facets of their lives and clear explanations of building skylights, maintaining a septic system, building greenhouses and raised vegetable beds. There is a section on unique kitchen tools, as well as advice on useful tools used in construction.

Depicts, in photos and stories, modern-day nomads who live in vans, pickup trucks, buses, trailers and on boats who enjoy all the comforts of home with the ability to pick up and travel somewhere else at a moment's notice.

"From the publishers of a popular series of building books comes Small Homes, which is highly relevant for these times. Getting smaller, rather than larger. Some 75 builders share their knowledge of building and design, with artistic, practical, and/or economical homes in the United States, Canada, England, Scotland, France, Germany, Spain, New Zealand and Lithuania. This is the seventh in a series of highly-graphic books on homemade building, all of which are interrelated. The series, "The Shelter Library Of Building Books," include Shelter, Shelter II (1978), Home Work (2004), Builders of the Pacific Coast (2008), Tiny Homes (2012), and Tiny Homes on the Move (2014). Each of these books has over 1,000 photos, and each 2-page spread is carefully laid out with respect to balance of graphics and clarity of information. A running theme with them is that people have been inspired by one book to build their own home, and this will be included in a subsequent book. For example, many of the homes in Home Work were inspired by Shelter. And so on. The underlying theme with Shelter's books, which has continued for over 40 years, is that it's possible for you to create your own home with your own hands, using natural materials. Some of these homes are in the country, some in small towns, and some in large cities"--

Lloyd Kahn has been hiking and camping on Northern California beaches for the last dozen or so years and, given his background in publishing books on building, it's only natural that he would notice the unique and whimsical beach shacks constructed by anonymous builders. Here are some 60 structures, shaped by materials lying on the beach, and ephemeral in the sense that they are built without nails, and don't last long -- victims of wind, waves, and high tides. (All of the ones depicted are now gone.) There are also photos of beach sculptures, seaweed, seashells, birds, sea lions, whalebones, waves, surfers, fishermen, and sunsets, as well as photos from a 3-day backpacking trip along the remote "Lost Coast." A book for beachcombers and beach lovers everywhere, all of whom share a deep love for the ocean and its surroundings.

"If there's not a nomadic revolution going on today, there’s certainly a nomadic movement. In the last few years, either for reasons of practicality (high costs of rent or mortgages), change in lifestyle, or the search for adventure, people are customizing all sorts of vehicles for travel. If you search for "van" on Instagram, you find scores of accounts such as #projectvanlife, with 1.2 million followers; #vanlifecamper; 472,000 followers, or #fosterhunting, 930,000 followers. This book focuses on DIY vehicles, with most of the 80 or so shown here fitted out for the road by their owners, similar to the way that the homes in all of Shelter's building books were built by hand, by the owners. There are vans, sedans, trucks, buses, and trailers with a wide array of designs and styles. A number of the units are 4-wheel drive for off-road travel. The book is not only fun to browse through, but is full of practical information (such as stoves, heaters, battery charging, solar power, refrigerators, and kitchens designed for the road)--for anyone wanting to create their own movable home. These owner builders describe their homes, provide photos and share their secrets. There are dozens of floor plans, all sorts of sleeping arrangements, and some unique "stealth vehicles"--designed to be under the radar, so that passers-by have no idea that someone is sleeping in a parked vehicle."--Amazon.com

More than 1,000 photos, along with stories and interviews follow the "tiny house" movement which is currently going on among people who have chosen to scale back in the 21st century. Original.