Product Description

The Architecture Reader brings together for the first time texts written by architects of international esteem. Encompassing two thousand years of building history, these writings engage persistent concerns in architecture and design, including the role of the architect, and the relationships between architecture, nature, art and science.

Intended to be at once accessible and thought-provoking, this volume is ideal for a general audience and beginning students of architecture. The carefully chosen texts provide a taste of the multiplicity that characterizes historical and contemporary views of architecture. Krista Sykes organizes the selections chronologically and introduces each with a helpful commentary, contextualizing the author and the salient issues covered in the piece.

The excerpts appear in a variety of formats, including interviews, manifestoes, lectures and treatises, and are representative of the varied—sometimes conflicting—approaches to building and design. In combination, they provide a fascinating overview of significant concepts within the field of architecture.

The Architecture Reader will be a valuable companion for introductory surveys of architectural history, novice students of architecture, and anyone interested in formative ideas underlying contemporary conceptions of architecture. 20 black and white illustrations.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #38134 in Books
• Published on: 2007-05-23
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780807615805
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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About the Author
Krista Sykes holds a Ph.D. in Architectural Theory and History from Harvard University. She is Managing Editor of the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians.

Customer Reviews

A very strongly recommended addition to personal, professional, and academic library Architectural Studies reference collections
Knowledgeably compiled and expertly edited by Krista Sykes (Managing Editor of the 'Journal of 'Society of Architectural Historians'), "The Architecture Reader: Essential Writings From Vitruvius to The Present" is an impressively presented anthology of commentaries encompassing two thousand years of building history. A work of seminal and articulate scholarship, forty key texts drawn from architects of international reputation address key and continuing issues with respect to architecture and design -- including the role of the architect and the relationship of architecture to nature, art, and science. A very strongly recommended addition to personal, professional, and academic library Architectural Studies reference collections and supplemental reading lists, "The Architecture Reader" combines historical and contemporary perspectives that are as informed and informative as they are thoughtful and thought-provoking.

A must have for architecture buffs
I love this book. It is made up of 38 essays written by some of history's most prominent architects: Vitruvious, Palladio, Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, Koolhaas, Frank Gehry, Gropius, Corbusier, to name just a few. Love, love, love Adolf Loos's infamous essay Crime and Ornamentation. This book gives a person a lot to think about in terms of architecture as art, architecture and its relationship to nature, and what defines an architect. It also has several essays on the future of architecture, one penned by Norman Foster, which I thought was particularly good. I also enjoyed reading the essays by the early pioneers of the Modern Movement, who sought to destroy everything they knew of the previous ages and build anew--basically from the standpoint that every generation deserves to create their own cities and homes and not rely on a past that no longer has meaning. For the budding architure geek, this is the book. A fantastic primer.