1 comments about Morality and Architecture Revisited.

1. It doesn't seem as though there are many buyers for this book. It is just as well as David Watkin couldn't be any more wrong-headed about Modern architecture even if he made more of an effort to understand its principles. He charts the evolution of modern architectural thought from Pugin's classic text, Contrasts, published in 1836, to Nicholas Pevsner's
   Pioneers of Modern, published a century later. Along the way Mr. Watkin provides snippets of thought from some of the leading lights of the Modern movement, ranging from Viollet-le-Duc to Le Corbusier. Mr. Watkin does state that he in no way presents a full portrait of any one of these individuals, but is more or less culling from their copious texts to provide a commentary on the presumed thesis of a moral imperative in Modern architecture.

   The fallacy to this argument is that few architects and critics of this period saw architecture in moral terms, but rather in ethical terms. Pugin did give the idea of modern architecture an ecclesiastical spin, but Viollet-le-Duc and Le Corbusier both saw a modern movement along ethical lines, a truth in materials and forms of structural expression. These architects pointed to the major works in Greek and Gothic architecture as the ideological origins of a modern architecture.

   Few architectural historians would argue with this premise, except to say that the Renaissance was rather callously left out of the picture. After all, it too was a form of classical revival. But Mr. Watkin not only dishes the Modernists for their summary dismissal of Renaissance architecture, but for their rather short-sighted views on Greek and Gothic architecture.

   Morality and Architecture Revisited (first published in the 1970's) amounts to little more than a petty tirade against the Modern movement. Mr. Watkins seemed to be most upset with its rather confined historic view of Modern architecture and its various technological conceits. Mr. Watkins' text lacks any thorough examination on the subject, but rather presents a "cut-and-paste" of quotes excised from the various Modernist texts, which he chose to cross-examine as though Modern architecture were on trial.

   Modern architecture has survived the test of time. It attempted to resolve many of the pressing housing and municipal concerns that arose after World War I and grew to be a major shaper of cities in the wake of World War II. Its original socialist agenda was transmuted into many variants, including fascism, for good and for bad. What is needed are more holistic views of Modern Architecture, like that of William J.R. Curtis, rather than reprints of the rants against the machine that occurred in the 1960's and 70's.

1 comments about The Ancient Ones: Sacred Monuments of the Inka, Maya & Cliffdweller.

1. This is a beautifully designed, well executed, and powerful publication that leaves the reader both informed and mystified by its contents. Hans Li successfully integrates stunning visual images of the architecture of the ancient Americas with verbal excerpts underlying the myths that surround the creation of such structures, thereby linking the notion of ancient ritual and spiritual ceremony with what is essentially one of the earliest formations of civilization. "The Ancient Ones" underlies a connection between the spiritual and the tangible, between legend and civilization, and between man nature with a kind of purpose and humility that is both poignant and alluring. I highly recomend a look through his website www.theancient1s.com which contains all the images from the book, plus a few bonuses on the author and his exhibitions.

No comments about O'Donnell + Tuomey: Selected Works.

3 comments about Edifices de Rome Moderne (Reprint Series).

1. it is stellar book. However, this reprinted version reduces quality of original version.
   In the original version all plates were printed on one side only so there is no see-through problem. Original version is printed on much larger paper size so your visual treat are more fulfilled.
   
   anyway, with this price what can we ask for more.



2. This is by far the most impressive book in my collection. Afeast for the eyes, this book illustrates some of the most beautifularchitecture of all time. The exacting detail, and vast collection of drawings make this book a true work of art. I had seen it years ago, and have been searching for it to add to my library ever since. A MASTERPIECE!!!



3. I found a paperback copy of Letarouilly's Edifices De Rome Moderne in my local library - now out of print - after a vacation to Rome. Nothing has captured the feelings of awe I felt since that trip quite like this new publication. The book itself is a work of art. It should be framed, mounted or placed on an alter, or in a family shrine; "Edifices De Rome Moderne" is the most beautiful book I own. The attention to detail from the original etchings is remarkable. Any Roman Historian of the renaissance or lover of great architecture will not want be without this book. Princeton Architectural Press has a masterpiece with this publication.

No comments about How Architecture Speaks: And Fashions Our Lives.

1 comments about Architecture: From Prehistory to Post-Modernism : The Western Tradition.

1. This book contains the most comprehensive amout of Architectural infomation I have ever seen. I had to purchase this book for class and I would recommend it if you can find it... Not only can it help with studies a must own for regular knowledge.

No comments about Housing for the Millions: John Habraken and the SAR 1960-2000.

No comments about Three American Architects: Richardson, Sullivan, and Wright, 1865-1915.

2 comments about Eating Architecture.

1. Although what a book says is perhaps the most pressing sphere in which to evaluate it, the way those words are presented can sometimes, sadly, eclipse the content.
   
   This is one of those unfortunate books, cast asunder before it was even fully born. The crime: body text in sans-serif! And not only that, but on glossy pages. I could almost handle the typeface, but it does, truly, give me a headache. Add in the somewhat patchy editing and it makes for a lot of frustration.
   
   A fascinating book with fascinating content. If only I could read it for more than a few minutes at a time. If, like me, you are one of those who refuses to purchase books printed in horrible, difficult-to-read fonts: this is one of them.



2. Editors Horwitz and Singley have assembled a delectable recipe of essays that graze on an admixture of architecture and food. Highly recommended.

1 comments about Architecture and the Burdens of Linearity (Theoretical Perspectives in Architectura).

1. I am a graduate student of architecture:
   This is a wonderful and exciting text.
   Ingraham, coming from a literary background, enters onto the stage of architecture with an fresh perspective of the production and reproduction of architecture.
   Her study pays accute attention to the productive details of architectural drawing, and provides an interesting analysis of such production in political, gender and historical terms.