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Building Big

This well produced set of DVDs is not what I expected from PBS. It’s more like a professional cable production. I’ve read David Macaulay’s books. His illustrations break things down so that anybody can understand the concepts. Like his past projects, this DVD set doesn’t disappoint.

First of all, I have to say that this is the first DVD set I have watched from beginning to end-- all five discs. And as I go through quite a lot of DVDs, that says something. These clearly stood out, and the reason is that they’re smart without coming across as educational. David walks out in front of the architecture he’s speaking about with a sketchpad. He draws what’s happening and then smiles with his mustached face. By the end of the DVD, you’ve painlessly learned physics, architecture and history by the animated drawing and seeing real world example.

He breaks things down using simple, real world examples; and he takes you through these examples from a historical context. Here is the Pantheon; here is St. Peters; here is the Astrodome. By the end of it, you’ve learned the history of domes. Each disc focuses on a different subject-- Bridges, Skyscrapers, Tunnels, Domes, and Dams. And as I mentioned, each explores that subject in a way that anybody can understand.

This is a must-have for anybody interested in architecture.

Written by: Michael Mardings

Reviewers Rating: 9.5
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