The Story of Architecture

by nuttgens patrick

Throughout history, the creation and shaping of the built environment has been at the forefront of human endeavour. The Story of Architecture is the account of how men and women of ingenuity and imagination have taken the most elementary of human needs and transformed them into some of the greatest manifestations of the human spirit.

The story is told in a clear and fluent narrative that covers the entire world and the whole of human history in a well-planned sequence of 21 chapters, each charting a stage in the development of architecture. The chapters divide the book into natural study traits, and the illustrations aim plans are closely keyed to the text.

For this new edition, the author has revised and updated the whole text and bibliography, and has greatly-expanded the treatment of the modern and contemporary periods. The book has been completely redesigned, with more than 400 illustrations, half of them in colour.

This book answers a need long recognized by those involved in courses on architectural history and appreciation in schools, colleges and universities. It also provides a perfect introduction for those who have encountered the world's architectural heritage in their travels or through the media, and seek to explore it further.

Genres: Architecture, History, Nonfiction, Art, Reference, Education

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

Reviews

[Beatrice]

Interesting but boring at times

[Satvinder]

I'm not sure about this book. Whilst it seems to cover all the basics, which is what I suppose it intends to do, it's really jumpy within each of the sections. I'd really like it to run chronologically. So reading it in tandem with 'A World History of Architecture', which on the contrary is excruciatingly detailed and orderly.

[Samuel]

The Story of Architecture covers the world's history of architecture, from prehistoric caves to classical greek columns to post-modern houses, up to 21st-century skyscrapers. It amazes me that the author can find a way to summarize a super broad topic in fewer than 350 pages without losing any important part!

The book serves as an introduction to architecture for anyone who wishes to know more about the history & philosophy of architecture. There are some interesting bits & pieces that I liked. The author himself was an Architecture professor, so I'm not going to judge the credibility.

I find the photograph a bit old and outdated, but I loved the sketches and schematics. The writing's a little bland for me, to be honest. My interest kind of faded away as I turned to the next page, so I had to take breaks occasionally. I just wish there's a more engaging "introduction to architecture" book. You're going to need some basic understanding of architecture (especially structures) if you want to understand this book. I think maybe first-year architecture students or anyone who works in a design-related field will find this book interesting.

[Rendy Rhoads]

Write

[Michael Grizer (He-Him)]

Good overview of 3000 years of architecture. Very dense.

[Alan Tsuei]

很經典的一本建築史入門書，把人類歷史上形形種種的建築型式和歷史與文化做了一個聯結，除了建築專業的朋友外，尤其喜好旅遊的朋友們千萬不能錯過…

[Gen]

Fascinating, but I'm nerdy that way

[Liam]

good historical introduction to architecture

[Mark]

nice

[Ann]

Fascinating history illustrated with perfectly chosen examples--brings the social context to life.