3 levels of knowing

The concept I was calling "expressed simplicity" is here called "informed simplicity."

Range hood info

At the heart of the ventilation system is the fan(s) it uses. An axial fan looks like a ceiling fan, while a centrifugal fan resembles a squirrel cage. A centrifugal fan moves more air than an axial unit does, and is better suited to long duct runs. However, an axial fans is less expensive.

The amount of air the fan can move is measured in cubic feet per minute (cfm). The Home Ventilating Institute recommends a minimum of 40 cfm for every linear foot of your range. That means a 120-cfm unit should be just enough for an average-size range. For a downdraft unit, that figure jumps to a minimum of 150 cfm. A remote-mounted motor, whose fan is located at the end of the ductwork rather than in the canopy so it's less noisy, also requires a higher cfm. How much higher depends on a number of variables, with length and layout of duct runs being the most important. Figure up to 400 cfm for a wall unit and as high as 600 cfm for an island cooktop.

From This Old House.

Akio Morita on work process

From Sony co-founder Akio Morita's autobiography.

Egoless

This is the quality I call "unselfconsciousness." It's like making movie props. You want the hand and thought to recede into the background. From The Timeless Way of Building.

Trim

I really like this non-modernist take on trim. From A Pattern Language.

Gradual stiffening

From Chris Alexander's A Pattern Language. This describes a fundamental design problem: you can often only judge whether a design really works after it's constructed. The question: how do we apply Alexander's idea of 'gradual stiffening' to conventional building techniques?

Heavily used references

A Pattern Language, Chris Alexander
The theoretical ancestor of most of the books here.

Not So Big House, Susan Susanka
The first book by the Susanka machine. Heavily influenced by Chris Alexander and Frank Lloyd Wright.

Patterns of Home, Jacbosen
Pattern language adapted for residences of rich people by original Chris Alexander collaborators.

Updating ranches, Connolly and Wasserman
Great pictures and ideas.

At work at home, Zimmerman
Some nice ideas. Some crazy home offices (check out the kiva).

Atomic Ranch, Gringer-Brown
Nice ideas and some pure, dental-office cold ranches.

Whole house fans