A Global History of Architecture
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- £52.99
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- £52.99
Publisher Description
Praise for the First Edition
"Because of its exceptionally wide perspective, even architectural historians who do not teach general survey courses are likely to enjoy and appreciate it."
—Annali d'architettura
"Not only does A Global History of Architecture own the territory (of world architecture), it pulls off this audacious task with panache, intelligence, and—for the most part—grace."
—Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians
Revised and updated—the compelling history of the world's great architectural achievements
Organized along a global timeline, A Global History of Architecture, Second Edition has been updated and revised throughout to reflect current scholarship. Spanning from 3,500 b.c.e. to the present, this unique guide is written by an all-star team of architectural experts in their fields who emphasize the connections, contrasts, and influences of architectural movements throughout history. The architectural history of the world comes to life through a unified framework for interpreting and understanding architecture, supplemented by rich drawings from the renowned Frank Ching, as well as brilliant photographs. This new Second Edition:
Delivers more coverage of non-Western areas, particularly Africa, South Asia, South East Asia, and Pre-Columbian AmericaIs completely re-designed with full-color illustrations throughoutIncorporates additional drawings by Professor Ching, including new maps with more information and colorMeets the requirements set by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) for "non-Western" architecture in history education.Offers new connections to a companion Web site, including Google EarthTM coordinates for ease of finding sites.
Architecture and art enthusiasts will find A Global History of Architecture, Second Edition perpetually at their fingertips.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Unabashedly huge in its proportions, this book differs from the standard architecture survey in that it doesn't approach the topic from a Western perspective, but rather, as the title indicates, through a global lens. This bodes well for its success as a textbook, but will also please the casual reader. Chronologically organized, the work spans the globe within each time period, occasionally taking time to discuss certain styles and major historical periods, but devoting most of its space to specific architectural works. This chronological organization keeps the book from feeling divided geographically, and maintains a diverse view without manic overextension-a look at the palace at New Delhi is followed by Swedish architect Gunnar Asplund, which is followed by the Hollyhock House in Los Angeles. Throughout, the authors make connections that have rarely been explored ("An important influence on European architecture in the west came from the direction of Armenia"). The book disseminates textbook amounts of need-to-know information, but it does so clearly-more like a down-to-earth conversation than a grad-school dissertation. A practicing architect and two academics, respectively, Ching, Jarzombek and Prakash aren't afraid to get into the meaning and emotion behind the architecture, addressing its passionate, intangible aspects, as in their discussion of irony's place in postmodern design. That personal and phenomenological angle, along with the book's giant scope, makes it a strong addition to the field, an example of successfully going macro without getting muddled. 1000 b & w photos, 50 color photos, 1500 b & w illustrations.
