Travels in the history of architecture / Robert Harbison.

By:

Harbison, Robert, 1940-

Material type: Text

TextPublication details: London : Reaktion Books, 2011, 2009.Description: 287 p. : ill. ; 24 cmISBN:

9781861898180 (pbk)
1861898185 (pbk)

Subject(s):

Architecture -- History

DDC classification:

720.9 HAR

Contents:

Egyptian -- Greek -- Roman -- Byzantine -- Romanesque -- Gothic -- Renaissance -- Mannerism -- Baroque -- Historicism -- Modernism I: functionalism -- Modernism II: expressionism, constructivism and deconstruction.

Summary: The twentieth-century architect Mies van der Rohe once declared that Àrchitecture starts when you carefully put two bricks together.\' In Travels in the History of Architecture renowned architectural writer Robert Harbison looks closely at such bricks, taking us on a journey through the great themes and movements of architecture, from antiquity to the present day. Using his own experience of the physical fabric of buildings, Harbison interprets the conceptions of the original architects and makers, pointing out carefully crafted detail and inspiring form along the way. Beginning with the great temples and tombs of the Egyptians, and the monuments and shrines of Greek and Roman architecture, and concluding with the museums of the twenty-first century, each chapter of Harbison\'s Travels focuses on a moment in architectural history, with chapters devoted to, among others, Byzantine, Baroque, Mannerism, Historicism and Functionalism. His free-ranging approach draws in references from history, literature and art to illuminate his theme: from a poem praising marble decoration to help us understand how its makers saw Hagia Sophia, to a French Rococo painting to probe the meaning of an English landscape garden.Summary: Architecture.

Holdings
Item type	Current library	Call number	Copy number	Status	Date due	Barcode
Standard Loan	Moylish Library Main Collection	720.9 HAR (Browse shelf(Opens below))	1	Available		39002100442772

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Mies van der Rohe, master of modern architecture, declared that "Architecture starts when you carefully put two bricks together." In Travels in the History of Architecture , renowned architectural writer Robert Harbison takes a closer look at these bricks, providing an engaging and concise companion to the great themes and aesthetic movements in architecture from antiquity to the present day.

Travels in the History of Architecture beings its journey with the great temples of the Egyptians and the shrines of Classical Greece and Rome and then provides a complete survey of architecture through the present day. Each chapter of this dynamic and approachable volume focuses on a movement in architectural history, including Byzantine, Baroque, Mannerism, Historicism, Functionalism, and Deconstruction. Unique to this work is Harbison's wide-ranging approach, which draws on references and examples outside of architecture--from literature, art, sculpture, and history--to further illustrate and contextualize the themes and ideas of each period. For example, the travel writing of Pausanias illustrates the monuments of ancient Greece, a poem in praise of marble decoration reveals how the builders of the cathedral of Hagia Sophia viewed their creation, and a French rococo painting speaks to the meaning behind the design of the English landscape garden.

Original, yet authoritative, Travels in the History of Architecture will be in an indispensable guide for everyone curious to know more about the world's most famous structures, as well as for students of art and architectural history seeking a definitive introduction.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

The twentieth-century architect Mies van der Rohe once declared that Àrchitecture starts when you carefully put two bricks together.\' In Travels in the History of Architecture renowned architectural writer Robert Harbison looks closely at such bricks, taking us on a journey through the great themes and movements of architecture, from antiquity to the present day. Using his own experience of the physical fabric of buildings, Harbison interprets the conceptions of the original architects and makers, pointing out carefully crafted detail and inspiring form along the way. Beginning with the great temples and tombs of the Egyptians, and the monuments and shrines of Greek and Roman architecture, and concluding with the museums of the twenty-first century, each chapter of Harbison\'s Travels focuses on a moment in architectural history, with chapters devoted to, among others, Byzantine, Baroque, Mannerism, Historicism and Functionalism. His free-ranging approach draws in references from history, literature and art to illuminate his theme: from a poem praising marble decoration to help us understand how its makers saw Hagia Sophia, to a French Rococo painting to probe the meaning of an English landscape garden.

Architecture.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

Preface (p. 7)
1 Egyptian (p. 13)
2 Greek (p. 34)
3 Roman (p. 59)
4 Byzantine (p. 80)
5 Romanesque (p. 95)
6 Gothic (p. 112)
7 Renaissance (p. 135)
8 Mannerism (p. 159)
9 Baroque (p. 173)
10 Historicism (p. 199)
11 Modernism I: Functionalism (p. 217)
12 Modernism II: Expressionism, Constructivism and Deconstruction (p. 236)
Afterword (p. 264)
Further Reading (p. 269)
Acknowledgements (p. 277)
Photo Acknowledgements (p. 279)
Index (p. 281)

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Robert Harbison is Professor of architecture at London Metropolitan University. His many books include Eccentric Spaces, The Built, the Unbuilt and the Unbuildable, and Reflections on Baroque.