The concepts of form and function have traditionally been defined in terms of biology and then extended to other disciplines. Stephen T. Asma examines the various interpretations of form and function in science and philosophy, reflecting on the philosophical presuppositions underlying the work of Geoffroy, Cuvier, Darwin, and others. In the continental tradition of Canguilhem and Foucault, Asma's treatment of the historical form/function dispute analyzes the complex interactions among ideologies, metaphysical commitments, and research programs. Following Form and Function is a significant contribution to the history of science, history of philosophy, and disputes within contemporary biology.

This volume of collected essays is devoted to the analysis of the relationship between form and function, two concepts that have played, and continue to play, an important role in several disciplines, from philosophical reflection to theoretical biology, and from the discourses related to art, image and design to cultural anthropology. As such, this book explores the influence of these two notions in such a broad disciplinary field, in order to draw out an original global overview on the subject. For this purpose, it presents contributions by aestheticians, art historians, archaeologists, ethnoanthropologists, and morphologists, covering a wide chronological span, from Ancient Greece to the Middle Ages, and from Modernism to more recent events that still need to be historicized.

A reprint of the definitive 1918 edition, this bold, thought-provoking volume by one of America's most influential architects features dialogs, or "chats," about architecture, art, education, and life in general. 17 illustrations.

"This book is one of a series related to the 20th Century Gallery at the Victoria & Albert Museum, the National Museum of Art and Design, London. The Gallery is international and comes right up-to-date." "Form Follows Function? explains and then challenges the notion that form in architecture and product design is derived solely from practical functions. The text sets the role of function in a historical perspective quoting extensively from the writings of theorists and designers. The 70 illustrations include works of the Arts and Crafts movement, Modernism, Street Style and recent Italian and Japanese design. They highlight the symbolic, associative and decorative functions of objects, challenging many traditional assumptions."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

This book offers sound advice to practitioners of all the arts, and sound reasoning to students of aesthetics. Stating his principles in the mid-nineteenth century, Greenough was three generations ahead of his time. He reads today like a progressive contemporary, and many an architect, artist, and student of art may benefit by what he has to say. It was Greenough, not Whitman, who first protested against meaningless ornamentation. It was Greenough, not Ruskin, who first expressed the idea that the buildings are art of a pepole express their morality. It was Greenough, no Le Corbusier who first said that buildings designed primarily for us "may be called machines." It was Greenough, not Louis Sullivan, who first enunciated the principle that, in architecture, form must follow function. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1947.

Continuing the themes that have been addressed in The Humanities in Architectural Design and The Cultural Role of Architecture, this book illustrates the important role that a contradiction between form and function plays in compositional strategies in architecture. The contradiction between form and function is seen as a device for poetic expression, for the expression of ideas, in architecture. Here the role of the terms "form" and "function" are analyzed throughout the history of architecture and architectural theory, from Vitruvius to the present, with particular emphasis on twentieth-century functionalism. Historical examples are given from Ancient, Classical, Islamic, Christian, Byzantine, Gothic, Renaissance, Mannerist, and Neoclassical architecture, and from movements in the twentieth century to the present. In addition philosophical issues such as lineamenti, Vorstellung, différance, dream construction, deep structure and surface structure, topology theory, self-generation, and immanence are explored in relation to the compositions and writings of architects throughout history. This book contributes to the project of re-establishing architecture as a humanistic discipline, to re-establish an emphasis on the expression of ideas, and on the ethical role of architecture to engage the intellect of the observer and to represent human identity.

A renowned French architect provides an analysis of the sources, elements, and significance of design. Bibliogs.

Type, Form, and Function is a useful, comprehensive typography resource that both students and professional designers should have in their library. It looks at the influences of modern typography and symbols going back through time and examines certain type treatments and movements in design and logo types. It focuses on how type works and emphasizes typographic fundamentals, while touching on logo/logotype design and page layout (print and interactive). This book promises to guide designers through the visual typographic clutter to make their designed messages more meaningful.

The focus of Canine Form Follows Function: Separating Fact From Fiction is on functional anatomy for working and performance dogs. The type of physiology that enables difficult turns with sudden stops and starts for dogs at work and play. Canine Form Follows Function will allow the reader to see their dog or dogs in a slightly different light. The book dispels some long held beliefs about canine form and function.