The history of Western architecture from the earliest times in Mesopotamia and Egypt to the dramatic impact of CAD on architectural practice at the beginning of the 21st century.

This survey of western architecture is divided into two parts. The first deals with the basic properties of architecture, examining a building's structure and aesthetic appeal. The second is a chronological survey of western architectural development from prehistoric times to the present.

Containing over 6,000 entries from Aalto to Zwinger and written in a clear and concise style, this authoritative dictionary covers architectural history in detail, from ancient times to the present day. It also includes concise biographies of hundreds of architects from history (excluding living persons), from Sir Francis Bacon and Imhotep to Liang Ssu-ch'eng and Francis Inigo Thomas. The text is complemented by over 260 beautiful and meticulous line drawings, labelled cross-sections, and diagrams. These include precise drawings of typical building features, making it easy for readers to identify particular period styles. This third edition of The Oxford Dictionary of Architecture has been extensively revised and expanded, with over 900 new entries including hundreds of definitions of garden and landscape terms such as Baroque garden, floral clock, hortus conclusus, and Zen garden-design. Each entry is followed by a mini-bibliography, with suggestions for further reading. The full bibliography to the first edition (previously only available online) has also been fully updated and expanded, and incorporated into this new edition. This is an essential work of reference for anyone with an interest in architectural and garden history. With clear descriptions providing in-depth analysis, it is invaluable for students, professional architects, art historians, and anyone interested in architecture and garden design, and provides a fascinating wealth of information for the general reader.

Examines the several buildings making up the Acropolis as a group, or narrative.

This book introduces students, professionals and the general public to the architectural achievements of diverse cultures outside the Euroamerican tradition. Rather than concentrating on geographic or chronological categories, however, the authors have arranged their subject matter thematically in order to focus on the basic needs common to all human communities. The book is divided into five major sections, each of which deals with vernacular as well as monumental structures. These five topics are discussed in terms of particular architectural solutions, comparing and contrasting geographically separated buildings and construction traditions. For example, the issue of architectural meaning is studied through symbolic gardens in China, verbal ornament in the Islamic world, and the wall paintings of Ndebele women of southeast Africa. Theoretical issues related to particular building traditions are illuminated by these juxtapositions. Traditions in Architecture begins with an investigation into the ways in which the continuity of traditional forms is maintained. Next, the authors explore practical issues such as housing and food structures, climate and ecology, building materials, and architectural forms and methods. Architectural goals and purposes, which determine what is built, vary from culture to culture and are given special attention. Planning and design -- ways in which space is used in patterns of organization -- constitute a discussion ranging from urban plans to landscaped settings. The text concludes with an examination of cultural values, investigating the interaction between architecture and social relations, traditional theories, decision-making, and the economics of building.

This highly original and sophisticated look at architecture helps us to understand the cultural significance of the buildings that surround us. It avoids the traditional style-spotting approach in favour of giving an idea of what it is about buildings that moves us, and what it is that makes them important artistically and culturally. The book begins by looking at how architecture acquires meaning through tradition, and concludes with the exoticism of the recent avant garde. Illustrations of particular buildings help to anchor the general points with specific examples, from ancient Egypt to the present day. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Using detailed analyses of individual buildings as a point of departure, Professor Buchwald here examines various approaches to Byzantine architectural forms, and raises questions concerning the use of stylistic and other forms of analysis. One group of articles focuses on stylistic currents in Asia Minor, including that of the 13th-century Lascarid dynasty, previously unknown. Others explore methods which appear to have been used in the design of Byzantine churches, such as dimensional ’rules of thumb’, modular and geometric systems of proportion, and the quadratura, hitherto recognised only in Western architecture. The final essays pose further questions: what were the goals and achievements of Byzantine architects, when they transformed older existing buildings? How, and why, did they use stereometric Euclidean geometry? And was there any ultimately Platonic connection?

Architecture is far more than the construction of buildings. Architects marry form and function to create structures that are particularly suited to a purpose while adding visual drama to landscapes and skylines. For millennia, architects have fashioned homes, religious shrines, governmental spaces, public facilities, and more. The evolution of architecture in many ways reflects the history of how we live, think, worship, govern, and form societies. The progression of Western architectural thought and trends is chronicled in this comprehensive tome. Profiles of some of the most remarkable structures in the West are also included, exemplifying essential methods and practices.