The Roman architect and engineer Vitruvius declared firmitas, utilitas and venustas - firmness, commodity and delight - to be the three essential attributes of architecture. These qualities are brilliantly explored in this book A World History of Architecture, which uniquely comprises a detailed survey of Western architecture, including Pre-Columbian America, and an introduction to architecture from the Middle East, India, Russia, China and Japan.
The text encourages readers to examine closely the pragmatic, innovative and aesthetic attributes of buildings, and to imagine how these would have been praised or criticized by contemporary observers. Artistic, economic, environmental, political, social and technological contexts are discussed so as to determine the extent to which buildings met the needs of clients, society at large and future generations.
The Roman architect and engineer Vitruvius declared firmitas, utilitas and venustas - firmness, commodity and delight - to be the three essential attributes of architecture. These qualities are brilliantly explored in this book A World History of Architecture, which uniquely comprises a detailed survey of Western architecture, including Pre-Columbian America, and an introduction to architecture from the Middle East, India, Russia, China and Japan.
The text encourages readers to examine closely the pragmatic, innovative and aesthetic attributes of buildings, and to imagine how these would have been praised or criticized by contemporary observers. Artistic, economic, environmental, political, social and technological contexts are discussed so as to determine the extent to which buildings met the needs of clients, society at large and future generations.
Content:
The Beginnings of Architecture
The Greek World
The Architecture of Ancient India and Southeast Asia
Traditional Architecture of China and Japan
The Roman World
Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture
Islamic Architecture
Early Medieval and Romanesque Architecture
Gothic Architecture
Indigenous Architecture in the Americas and Africa
Renaissance Architecture
Baroque Architecture
The Eighteenth Century
Nineteenth Century Developments
The Twentieth Century and Modernism
