Description
Book SynopsisIf you don’t know your Baroque from your Rococo, or the difference between Art Nouveau and Art Deco, or where Modernism ends and Postmodernism begins, then don’t fear, you’re not alone. Understanding Architecture will reveal all.
From the ancient world to the present day, from medieval Cambodian temples to Paris metro stations, from American shotgun shacks to colonial villas, fascist grandeur to the latest ecologically friendly structures, the book expertly guides the reader through the world’s different architectural styles.
Arranged chronologically, over two spreads a major building is used to illustrate a particular style – King’s College Chapel, Cambridge for Perpendicular Gothic, the Palace of Versailles for Baroque, the Chrysler Building for Art Deco. Each entry is illustrated with both general view photographs and close-ups, accompanied by accessible text explaining the major features of the style. Each chapter also offers a general cultural background to the major architectural movements, putting them into historical context.
Illustrated with more than 200 outstanding photographs of remarkable buildings, Understanding Architectureis an excellent, accessible introduction to the history of architecture.
Table of ContentsIntroduction
Architecture of the Ancient World
Sumerian – Ziggurat of Ur
Ancient Egyptian – Luxor Temple
Mesoamerican – Chichén Itzá
Assyrian – Palace of Sargon
Ancient Greek – The Acropolis, Athens
Ancient Rome – The Colosseum, Rome
Architecture of the Middle Ages
Persian/Islamic – Tomb of the Samanids, Bukhara
Byzantine – Hagia Sophia, Istanbul
Moorish – Alhambra, Granada
Medieval Rus’ – Cathedral of Saint Demetrius, Vladimir
Romanesque – Leaning tower of Pisa
Norman – Norwich Cathedral
Medejar – San Martin Tower, Teruel
Gothic – Notre-Dame Cathedral, Paris
Ming China – The Forbidden City, Beijing
Perpendicular Gothic – King’s College chapel, Cambridge
15th–16th Century Architecture
Renaissance – Florence Cathedral
Vernacular Tudor – Anne Hathaway’s cottage, Stratford-upon-Avon
Manueline – Santa Cruz Monastery, Coimbra
High Renaissance – The Tempietto, Rome
Mannerism – Palazzo Te, Mantua
Middle Muscovite – Saint Basil’s Cathedral, Moscow
Elizabethan – Burghley House, Stamford
17th Century Architecture
Baroque – Palace of Versailles
Jacobean – Hatfield House
Palladian – Queen’s House, Greenwich
Late Muscovite – Church of the Intercession at Fili, Moscow
Rococo – Schönbrunn Palace
Mughal – Taj Mahal, Agra
18th Century Architecture
Petrine Baroque – Grand Menshikov Palace, Oranienbaum
American Colonial – Old State House, Boston
Queen Anne – Bluecoat Chambers, Liverpool
Georgian – The Circus, Bath
Neoclassical – Vilnius Cathedral
Gothic Revival – Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Ostend
Pombaline – Praça do Comércio, Lisbon
Federal – Old Town Hall, Salem
Jeffersonian – Monticello, Charlottesville
19th Century Architecture
British Regency – Park Crescent, London
Beaux-Arts – Sainte- Geneviève Library, Paris
Victorian – Manchester Town Hall
Art Nouveau – Museum of Applied Arts
Arts and Crafts – Red House, Bexleyheath
Antoni Gaudí – Sagrada Família, Barcelona
Parkitecture – Crater Lake Lodge, Oregon
20th Century Architecture
Edwardian – Moseley Road Baths, Birmingham
Bauhaus – Bauhaus Dessau
Art Deco – Chrysler Building, New York City
Futurist – Fiat Tagliero Service Station,
Fascist – Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana, Rome
Pueblo Revival – New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe
International Style – Willis Tower, Chicago
Stalinist – Moscow State University
Brutalist – Cité Radieuse, Marseille
Postmodern – Berlin Philharmonie
High Tech – Lloyd’s Building, London
Masters of the 20th Century
Frank Lloyd Wright – Taliesin West, Scottsdale
Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe, Seagram Building, New York City
Le Corbusier – Villa Savoye, Poissy
I.M.Pei – Suzhou Museum
Oscar Niemeyer – Cathedral of Brasília
Frank O. Gehry – Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao
Álvaro Siza – Llobregat Sports Centre, Barcelona
Norman Foster – 30 St Mary Axe, London
Zaha Hadid – London Aquatics Centre
Santiago Calatrava – Lisbon Oriente Station
21st Century Architecture
Passivhaus – The Enterprise Centre, University of East Anglia
Biomimetic – Supertrees, Singapore
Reinvention – Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art, Cape Town
Modern Arab Islamic – Louvre Abu Dhabi
