Key Houses of the Twentieth Century: Plans, Sections and Elevations

by Colin Davies

A companion to the popular Key Buildings of the Twentieth Century , this book includes classic residential works by such seminal architects as Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright, Mies van der Rohe, and Alvar Aalto, as well as houses by more recent masters such as Tadao Ando, Rem Koolhaas, and Glen Murcutt. It provides accurate scale plans of every floor, together with elevations, sections, and site plans where appropriate, for each house. All have been specially drawn for the purpose and are based on the most up-to-date information and sources. Amplified with full-color views of the houses, a concise text explains the significant architectural features of each building and the influences it shows or generated. Cross-references to other buildings in the book highlight the various connections between these key houses. The introduction discusses the idea of an architectural canon of houses and gives an overview of the development of the house in the twentieth century. The quality and number of the drawings allow the houses to be understood in detail and, together with the authoritative text and images, make this book indispensable for all students of modern architecture. As an added bonus, the book includes a CD-ROM containing digital files of all the drawings.

Genres: Architecture

240 pages, Paperback

First published October 2, 2006

Reviews

[Tommy Gittings · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book didn't really work for me in the way I had hoped. I struggled to really get a feel for the houses from the plans and the (limited) photographs. The descriptions of each house were decent, but I struggled to stay engaged with the book overall since it lacked any kind of narrative tying everything together. I think this could be a good book for someone, but not for me.