Architectural Theory: From the Renaissance to the Present

by Bernd Evers (Preface), Taschen

Of buildings and men: Architects on their favorite subject... If you’ve ever wondered what goes through architects’ minds when they design buildings, you’ll be happy to know that there’s no shortage of brilliant reading material to satisfy your curiosity. Wading through the archives at your local library may prove fruitful to your endeavor, but it won’t give you the instant gratification that Architecture Theory will. This book brings together all of the most important and influential essays about architecture written since the Renaissance, copiously illustrated and neatly organized chronologically by country. From Alberti and Palladio to Le Corbusier and Koolhaas, the best treatises by architecture’s greatest masters are gathered here, each accompanied by an essay discussing its historical context and significance. This is the all-in-one, must-have book for anyone interested in what architects have to say about their craft. The comprehensive overview that will help transform even the most uninformed novices into well-informed connoisseurs!

Genres: Architecture, Art, Nonfiction, History, Design, Philosophy, Theory

575 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2002

Reviews

[Andreas Schmidt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Come ai vecchi tempi
Questo genere di testi è sempre difficile: è difficile coprire cinquecento anni di storia dell'architettura, esclusivamente affidandosi a 100 e più autori/opere, perché ci si trova sempre a dover selezionare le immagini, lo spazio è tiranno, le proporzioni delle opere (specie la trattatistica architettonica del Cinquecento) e la vita degli autori. Nel complesso ci sono disegni veramente belli e suggestivi. Non è un granché se si vuole, però, tracciare la storia dell'architettura in maniera lineare.

[Mlak · Rating 5 out of 5]

-> archigram - founded 1960 london --> conceptual comic book type shi
-> le corbusier 1887- 1965,
savoye house, poissy-sur-ssiene 1930
-> henry-russel hitchcock & philip Johnson
->frank lloyd wright
-> sigfried giedion ,, space and time importance in 20th century architecture
->kisho kurokawa, 1934-2007
-> robert venturi
-> destruction of 'pruitt-igoe' housing, st. louis in 1955 --> minoru yamasaki

[Menno · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing new for architects, but very well composed and rather compact. Great to read shorter parts in between designing and... other stuff. Also recommended if you are in to theory, don't miss Ideas that shaped buildings. One of the finest theory books on architecture out there!!

Bye

[Hardus Scheepers · Rating 4 out of 5]

It gives an idea of the progression of theory through time and leads to further reading and research

[Fa Hp]

I need this book very soon

[Alex Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fairly exhaustive, although the focus is on range rather than depth. Here you get a brief survey of various influences of architecture from emerging from the European dark ages until the present. You can trace the rise of mathematics and science as the focus on engineering rather than metaphysical values. We see the confluence of commercialism and social values from the art world coming in to replace historic dogma. With the advent of high modernism there is a displacement of history. Fairly interesting to give a big picture focus of a who's who of architectural history.

[Menno · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing new for architects, but very well composed and rather compact. Great to read shorter parts in between designing and... other stuff. Also recommended if you are in to theory, don't miss Ideas that shaped buildings. One of the finest theory books on architecture out there!!

Bye

[Monna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly, this is the most practically thorough book on architecture I've ever read.

[Luke Krzysztofiak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal. Simply Phenomenal.