描述

Despite its deceptive title, the fact that this book is a guide about Iowa is accurate. Daniel Naegele qualifies “good” being not absolute but contingent and personal, and therefore a very questionable qualifier. By “architecture”, however, Naegele means “good building”, regardless of whether or not the built object was designed by an architect, is a habitable structure, or is even a building at all. Most entries in this guide are concerned either with vernacular works that are habitable tools (barns, corncribs, silos) or with built works that are not buildings at all (billboards, bridges, wind turbines, water towers). Mildly contentious by nature, Naegele’s guide is nevertheless utterly practical.