A HISTORY OF WESTERN ARCHITECTURE

by Mary Louise King ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 1966

If stones could speak, they would express themselves with more variety and vigor than this textbook does; but what it lacks in liveliness it supplies in authority and efficient organization. As a selective survey of western architecture, it focuses on the influential movements and monuments from Egypt and Classical Greece to the twentieth century, covering methods of construction, details of ornamentation, handling of space, and relation to needs. The author reveals the subtleties of stylistic variations in various locations and in the work of individual architects; she demonstrates how each style has influenced well-known buildings in the United States. Since it is hardly up-to-date (the latest pictured example is already several years old, the last is Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water, 1936), this will not go out of date soon. Throughout the text are drawings of construction and design details, and black-and-white photographs of almost all of the buildings mentioned, which will serve as identification if not--because of their relatively small size--as inspiration. The omission of floor plans is regrettable because of the considerable emphasis on evolving types. This book does not pretend to break new ground in interpretation or presentation; it does provide an intelligent condensation of scholarly concepts covering the entire field, and it's the only book for young people that does.

Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1966

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Walck

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1966

Categories: NONFICTION