After several pages of prologue summing up 18th century highlights--especially the rise in importance of geometry--some forty pages cover 1784-1916, focusing on the heavily fenestrated high-rises of the Chicago School and the iron and glass pavilions of Europe. The chapter spanning 1892-1925 concentrates on the many disputes over the trajectory of modernism: Nieuwe Kunst, Stile Liberty, Jugendstil, and Art Nouveau, all arguing the direction that the boom of prisons, hospitals, schools, town halls, and other institutional buildings would take. Three more time divisions follow and a concise compendium of architect biographies ends the volume. Along with an array of great pictures (par for Taschen), Gossel and Leuthauser--both active in the private sector--add a strong prose style attentive to debates among architects and the socioeconomic stage on which architects act. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Global investigation of 20th-century architecture, 750+ masterpieces richly illustrated.

The present volume offers eloquent testimony that many of the master builders of this century have held passionate convictions regarding the philosophic and social basis of their art. Nearly every important development in the modern architectural movement began with the proclamation of these convictions in the form of a program or manifesto. The most influential of these are collected here in chronological order from 1903 to 1963. Taken together, they constitute a subjective history of modern architecture; compared with one another, their great diversity of style reveals in many cases the basic differences of attitude and temperament that produced a corresponding divergence in architectural style. In point of view, the book covers the aesthetic spectrum from right to left; from programs that rigidly generate designs down to the smallest detail to revolutionary manifestoes that call for anarchy in building form and town plan. The documents, placed in context by the editor, are also international in their range: among them are the seminal and prophetic statements of Henry van de Velde, Adolf Loos, and Bruno Taut from the early years of the century; Frank Lloyd Wright's 1910 annunciation of Organic Architecture; Gropius's original program for the Bauhaus, founded in Weimar in 1919; "Towards a New Architecture, Guiding Principles" by Le Corbusier; the formulation by Naum Gabo and Antoine Pevsner of the basic principles of Constructivism; and articles by R. Buckminster Fuller on universal architecture and the architect as world planner. Other pronouncements, some in flamboyant style, including those of Erich Mendelsohn, Hannes Meyer, Theo van Doesburg, OskarSchlemmer, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, El Lissitzky, and Louis I. Kahn. There are also a number of collective or group statements, issued in the name of movements such as CIAM, De Stijl, ABC, the Situationists, and GEAM. Since the dramatic effectiveness of the manifesto form is usually heightened by brevity and conciseness, it has been possible to reproduce most of the documents in their entirety; only a few have been excerpted.

"A balance of sophistication and clarity in the writing, authoritative entries, and strong cross-referencing that links archtects and structures to entries on the history and theory of the profession make this an especially useful source on a century of the world's most notable architecture. The contents feature major architects, firms, and professional issues; buildings, styles, and sites; the architecture of cities and countries; critics and historians; construction, materials, and planning topics; schools, movements, and stylistic and theoretical terms. Entries include well-selected bibliographies and illustrations."--"Reference that rocks," American Libraries, May 2005.

Fully documented, richly illustrated guide to the great architectural achievements of the last one hundred years.

In his famously controversial style - Martin Pawley reviews a selection of books on the architecture of the 20th century. Books that we should have read, and indeed would have read - if only we'd had the time. Pawley digests and critiques them for us with an agility that has kept the readers of his newspaper and magazine columns provoked and amused for several decades. He provides us with both ammunition and armour - encouraging us to fight off the soporific PR-led commentary of today and to rekindle the passion of the architectural debate. Martin Pawley is an award-winning writer. He has written many books on architecture for UK and US based publishers and writes a regular column for national and international architectural magazines. Throughout his career he has reviewed books for The Guardian, The Observer, The London Review of Books, The Architects' Journal, Design Book Review, Blueprint, Architectural Design, Building, World Architecture, Architecture Review, Designer and The RIBA Journal many of which are published here. Gain knowledge on all the major books on 20th century architecture, by reading just one Hear the opinions of Pawley, and learn about the debates, on the development of architectural theory in the 20th century.

A richly illustrated survey, examining the movement in Europe and North America.

This revised edition of Grospierre’s celebrated tour of modernist architecture has been expanded beyond Europe and North America to a truly global reach, featuring buildings in Southeast Asia, Australia, Africa and South America. Featuring new and revised texts from Barbican, MoMA and independent curators, this book offers intriguing insights into the history of modernist design, the origins of architectural photography and the reasons why architectural forms repeat in otherwise dissimilar countries. Is form still function? How “modern” is modernist architecture? And what has happened to the style’s foundational utopian ideals? Nicolas Grospierre’s masterful photographic survey catalogues both famous and little-known buildings, challenging the viewer to consider modernist architecture’s complicated legacy. Drawn from Grospierre’s ever-expanding archive documenting his travels, these large-format photographs of almost 250 buildings are arranged purely by their shapes, prioritizing form over function and location to give a unique perspective of global structures. Uniform in perspective, and presented without comment, Grospierre’s photographs allow viewers to discover details and colors that a more narrative-focused presentation would prohibit. The work of nearly a quarter of a century, this ever-expanding collection reflects a labor of love, a photographer’s deep obsession, and a celebration of buildings both iconic and mundane all over the world.

An overview of twentieth-century architecture featuring short essays on innovations in design and profiles of architects. Includes photos, drawings, and building plans.