From Rome’s Parthenon to Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia; from the ancient village of Petra to Beijing’s Forbidden City; from New York’s Empire State Building to the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, this visually stunning collection of 100 milestones of architectural history explores how they changed the course of architecture forever. Why do some buildings stand the test of time? What makes a building unique, or groundbreaking? How do function, environment, and technology impact an architect’s vision? These questions and more are succinctly addressed in this wide-ranging tour of 100 of the world’s most important manmade structures. This compilation spans the ancient to the modern eras and represents nearly every continent. Gorgeous photographs of each building are featured in double-page spreads, which include concise texts offering fascinating histories and contextual information, as well as biographies of the architects. The book also includes a glossary at the back of the book that explains important terms. An invaluable introduction to the world of architecture, this book guides readers through every milestone of architectural triumph—be it an ancient city, modern sports arena, cathedral, or office building.
10 Buildings that Changed America tells the stories of ten influential works of architecture, the people who imagined them, and the way these landmarks ushered in innovative cultural shifts throughout our society. The book takes readers on a journey across the country and inside these groundbreaking works of art and engineering. The buildings featured are remarkable not only for aesthetic and structural reasons, but also because their creators instilled in them a sense of purpose and personality that became reflected in an overarching sense the American identity. Edited by the staff of WTTW, the Chicago PBS affiliate that is the most-watched public television station in the country, 10 Buildings will be released alongside the national broadcast of an hour-long special by the same name. This television event will be promoted over digital media, on-ground events, and educational initiatives in schools, and the book will be a significant component to all of these elements. 10 Buildings retells the shocking, funny, and even sad stories of how these buildings came to be. It offers a peek inside the imaginations of ten daring architects who set out to change the way we live, work, and play. From American architectural stalwarts like Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, to modern revolutionaries like Frank Gehry and Robert Venturi, this book examines the most prominent buildings designed by the most noteworthy architects of our time. Also profiled are Americans less noted for their architectural acumen, but no less significant for their contributions to the field. Thomas Jefferson, a self-taught architect, is profiled for designing the iconic Virginia State Capitol. Taking its inspiration from ancient Rome, America's first major public building forged a philosophical link between America and the world's earliest democracies. Similarly, Henry Ford employed Albert Kahn to design a state-of-the-art, innovative factory for Ford's groundbreaking assembly line. Reinforced concrete supported massive, open rooms without any interior dividing walls, which yields the uninterrupted space that was essential for Ford's sprawling continuous production setups. What's more, Kahn considered the needs of workers by including astonishingly modern large windows and louvers for fresh air. The design of each of these ten buildings was completely monumental and prodigious in its time because of the architect’s stylistic or functional innovations. Each was also highly influential, inspiring a generation or more of architects, who in turn made a lasting impact on the American landscape. We see the legacy of architects like Mies van der Rohe or H.H. Richardson all around us: in the homes where we live, the offices where we work, our public buildings, and our houses of worship. All have been shaped in one way or another by a handful of imaginative, audacious, and sometimes even arrogant individuals throughout history whose bold ideas have been copied far and wide. 10 Buildings is the ideal collection to detail the flashes of inspiration from these architects who dared to strike out on their own and design radical new types of buildings that permanently altered our environmental and cultural landscape.
A visual and global chronicle of the triumphs, challenges, and impact of over 100 women in architecture, from early practitioners to contemporary leaders. Marion Mahony Griffin passed the architectural licensure exam in 1898 and created exquisite drawings that buoyed the reputation of Frank Lloyd Wright. Her story is one of the many told in The Women Who Changed Architecture, which sets the record straight on the transformative impact women have made on architecture. With in-depth profiles and stunning images, this is the most comprehensive look at women in architecture around the world, from the nineteenth century to today. Discover contemporary leaders, like MacArthur Fellow Jeanne Gang, spearheading sustainable design initiatives, reimagining cities as equitable spaces, and directing architecture schools. An essential read for architecture students, architects, and anyone interested in how buildings are created and the history behind them.
"From Fifth Avenue-shaping Rockefeller Center, the first AIA honoree in 1969, to Richard Meier's Darien, Connecticut, Smith House, created in 1965 to 1967 and winner of the year 2000 prize, this book investigates the structures that mark and define our era."--BOOK JACKET.
A photographically rich biography of protean architect Albert Kahn. Building the Modern World: Albert Kahn in Detroit by Michael H. Hodges tells the story of the German-Jewish immigrant who rose from poverty to become one of the most influential architects of the twentieth century. Kahn’s buildings not only define downtown Detroit, but his early car factories for Packard Motor and Ford revolutionized the course of industry and architecture alike. Employing archival sources unavailable to previous biographers, Building the Modern World follows Kahn from his apprenticeship at age thirteen with a prominent Detroit architecture firm to his death. With material gleaned from two significant Kahn archives—the University of Michigan’s Bentley Historical Library and the Archives of American Art at the Smithsonian Institution—Hodges paints the most complete picture yet of Kahn’s remarkable rise. Special emphasis is devoted to his influence on architectural modernists, his relationship with Henry Ford, his intervention to save the Diego Rivera murals at the Detroit Institute of Arts (unreported until now), and his work laying down the industrial backbone for the Soviet Union in 1929–31 as consulting architect for the first Five Year Plan. Kahn’s ascent from poverty, his outsized influence on both industry and architecture, and his proximity to epochal world events make his life story a tableau of America’s rise to power. Historic photographs as well as striking contemporary shots of Kahn buildings enliven and inform the text. Anyone interested in architecture, architectural history, or the history of Detroit will relish this stunning work.
Featuring over 200 photographs, this stunning book by renowned television historian Dan Cruickshank tells the history of architecture through the stories of 100 iconic buildings
This inspiring book chronicles the most influential ideas that have shaped architecture. Entertainingly written by an expert on architecture, it provides a concise history of the subject, and offers a fascinating resource to dip into for the general reader. Starting with the basic building 'components' of door, window, column and beam and the Classical orders, it then goes on to explore historical movements such as the Picturesque and Beaux-Arts, innovative materials such as steel and reinforced concrete, technical innovations, such as the lift and electric lighting, through to modern movements such as Universal Design and Deconstruction. Arranged in a broadly chronological order, the ideas are presented through informative text and arresting visuals, exploring when each idea first evolved and the subsequent impact it has had up to the present day.
From ancient Jordan to modern-day Manhattan, this world tour of great buildings offers a course in architectural history for readers of all ages. The 50 buildings presented here in chronological order represent the most compelling, intriguing, and awe-inspiring structures from all over the world. Full color.
One of the most important books on the modernist movement in architecture, written by a founder of the Bauhaus school. One of the most important books on the modern movement in architecture, The New Architecture and The Bauhaus poses some of the fundamental problems presented by the relations of art and industry and considers their possible, practical solution. Gropius traces the rise of the New Architecture and the work of the now famous Bauhaus and, with splendid clarity, calls for a new artist and architect educated to new materials and techniques and directly confronting the requirements of the age.
The history of modern architecture is as diverse as it is beautiful, varying wildly from region to region and era to era. Here Deyan Sudjic, Director of the Design Museum, explores 50 of the most significant and striking buildings in the world, from the modernist aesthetic of Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye to the eye-catching flair of Beijing's CCTV Headquarters. Contents include: Villa Savoye, Poissy Rockefeller Center, New York Eames House, Los Angeles Montreal Biosphere, Montreal Pompidou Centre, Paris Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao Beijing Olympic Stadium, Beijing Selfridges, Birmingham ...and many more.
