Buildings Across Time: An Introduction to World Architecture

by Michael Fazio

Buildings Across Time" offers a survey of world architecture both for students taking introductory courses and for the general reader simply interested in buildings. The authors have searched out the stories these buildings have to tell, considered the intentions of the people who built them, and examined the lives of those who used them. The text begins with prehistory and ends with early twenty-first century. It covers the Western tradition as well as works in the Islamic world, the pre-Columbian Americas, Africa, China, Southeast Asia, Russia, and Japan.
"Buildings Across Time" is a diverse sampling of the built environment written in a straightforward but lively style that is rich with detail. The text contains extensive descriptive narrative leavened with focused critical analysis, which allows the book to stand alone and invites lecturers to impose their studied interpretations on the material without the danger of undue ambiguity or conflict. In a world that grows smaller by the day, it presents a global perspective, and in a discipline that concerns built objects that are often beautiful as well as functional, it is copiously illustrated, intelligently designed, and consistently usable.
Instructors and students can now access their course content through the Connect digital learning platform by purchasing either standalone Connect access or a bundle of print and Connect access. McGraw-Hill Connect(r) is a subscription-based learning service accessible online through your personal computer or tablet. Choose this option if your instructor will require Connect to be used in the course. Your subscription to Connect includes the following:
SmartBook(r) - an adaptive digital version of the course textbook that personalizes your reading experience based on how well you are learning the content.
Access to your instructor s homework assignments, quizzes, syllabus, notes, reminders, and other important files for the course.
Progress dashboards that quickly show how you are performing on your assignments and tips for improvement.
The option to purchase (for a small fee) a print version of the book. This binder-ready, loose-leaf version includes free shipping.
Complete system requirements to use Connect can be found here: http: //www.mheducation.com/highered/platform...

Genres: Architecture, Reference, Nonfiction, Textbooks, School, Design, Art

608 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

Reviews

[Servabo · Rating 3 out of 5]

While Byzantine and Islamic cultures were flourishing in eastern Europe and around the southern rim of the Mediterranean, those portions of western Europe that had been part of the Roman Empire entered a sustained period of decline. From the first centuries of the Christian era, outposts of the empire had been repeatedly besieged by waves of nomadic peoples migrating from Central Asia. These tribes, called barbarians by the civilized Romans, eventually overran the frontiers established by Rome and occupied the city of Rome itself by 476. Many place names across Europe preserve the memory of these nomadic tribes. The Franks settled in what eventually became France. The Burgundians in east-central France and the Lombards in northern Italy gave their names to Burgundy and Lombardy. The Goths and the Visigoths were memorialized in the architectural style called Gothic, and the behaviour of the Vandals, who went everywhere, is remembered in the word "vandalism." Gradually the nomads settled down, became converts to Christianity, and attempted to continue Roman governmental traditions, which they greatly admired although they lacked the necessary administrative expertise.

Medieval --> Gothic --> Baroque

[Found Object · Rating 1 out of 5]

When orientalists set off to write a history of world architecture, this is pretty much what you get.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite architectural history book. It's the most comprehensive and well written that I have found. I read it for school but now I pick it up every once in awhile just for fun. It is a book I will always have on my shelf.