1 comments about Architecture of Spain (Reference Guides to National Architecture).

1. Joining others in the 'Reference Guides to National Architecture' series is an important survey of Spanish architectural heritage, ARCHITECTURE OF SPAIN. It covers all regions of Spain, examines almost seventy of the country's key landmarks, and includes history as well as appraisal of style, architectures, renovation efforts, and cultural insights. Recommended for either students of art, Spanish history, or would-be travelers to Spain holding a special interest in architectural heritage.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch

No comments about Architecture in the Netherlands: Yearbook 2001-2002.

3 comments about Leon Battista Alberti's Hypnerotomachia Poliphili: Re-Cognizing the Architectural Body in the Early Italian Renaissance.

1. I came across this book and was instantly seduced by the illustrations. Then, of course, I started reading random passages trying to get a glimpse of the quality of the writing, insights and views of the author and was impressed. It is a well-researched material. Clear. Engaging. Substantial.
   
   But I have to give it 4 stars because of the lame cover. It is so thin and soft I keep mangling the pages whenever I try to prop it up on my desk. But that is a very petty thing. The book is a delight to read. Forget about the trashy Rule Of Four book. I came across this book not knowing Rule of Four existed.



2. Lefaivre has not written modestly. Good for her! In making the claims she does, she needs a very powerful rhetoric that can persuade and dissuade simultaneously. Her concentration on the erotic dimension of the Hypnerotomachia is persuasive as is her description of the proto-feminist voice of Polia. This is the best introduction to the text available even if some will not be won over by the argument for the geneology of the text. Kudos to Lefaivre!!!

   Some of the illustrations were not worth including in the book (30 h and j) because they are so very dark they just look like gray boxes. For a book so persuading of the beauty and erotic, it hardly seems fair to have placed such illustrations here. Perhaps it just adds to the plaisir du texte, not knowing what is behind the smudge. Maybe it is Polia or Poliphili, maybe even Alberti, in the buff. It certainly calls for the reader to suspend disbelief. Otherwise the physical look of the book is fine quality.




3. Lefaivre aims to demonstrate that one of the most fascinating works of the Italian Renaissance, the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili was the work of one of that era's most intriguing personalities, the architect and writer Leon Battista Alberti. She bases her claim on the volume and quality of architectural discussion and comment in the Hypnerotomachia, which she argues could only have been written by a learned architect with a flair for literature. Moreover, she shows that several coinages of Alberti's, rarely if ever found in works other than his, are incorporated into the text. Lefaivre states her case with verve and conviction, but there are just too few known facts to make it water-tight. Besides, there are arguments at least as strong, if not stronger, in support of other candidates for the work's authorship. Most authorities, such as the editors of a recent Italian edition of the Hypnerotomachia remain of the opinion that the book was the work of Francesco Colonna, a wayward Dominican monk of Venetian origin. Nevertheless, Lefaivre animates her subjects and writes of them with intelligence and passion: that her central thesis is likely wrong does not detract from her book's charm. The MIT Press have done her proud, the book being beautifully designed, laid out, illustrated and printed. I recommend it wholeheartedly.

No comments about The Campus Guides: University of Washington.

1 comments about Birkhauser Architectural Guide France 20th Century.

1. Bertrand Lemoine's overview of 20th Century French architecture is a handy reference for the enthusiast. It catalogs several hundred buildings and a few other structures, organized by adminstrative regions. Entries give the architect, location, year completed, as well as some commentary about its design, significance, and at least one picture or plan. It's not a treatise, but it is a broad overview and a beginning step from which enthusiasts can start their own inquiries into specific works or regions.
   
   French architecture is concentrated heavily around Paris, so this book must also be, but the author has made a successful effort to balance his work by highlighting notable buildings from all parts of France (as well as from Corsica and overseas territories). To the extent that architecture is influenced by and influences broader society this book would be valuable to a student (academic or otherwise) of France and its culture.

No comments about Creating the South Carolina State House.

No comments about Early Medieval Europe: The Ideal of Rome and Feudalism (A History of Architecture #10).

No comments about Jose Paulo Dos Santos (Contemporary World Architects).

No comments about Erno Goldfinger: The Life of an Architect.

No comments about Stan Douglas: Every Building on 100 West Hastings.