Classical Architecture

Based on a series of lectures given by the author while he was the Harry Shure visiting Professor in Architecture at the University of Virginia, "Classical Architecture" provides the basis for a deeper understanding of this highly misunderstood subject. Appearing here as "Imitation in Architecture", "From Techne to Tectonics", "The Classical Order", "Character and Style", "Common Sense" and "Tradition and the New", this series represents a carefully considered and yet extremely accessible intellectual argument for the reasons behind the perennial appeal of convention. In a logical progression through the etymological implications of mimesis, or imitation, the author discusses the Aristotlean concept of techne, the fundamental meaning of both Classicism and style, the urban implications of today's pluralism and the true value of tradition. He says, for example - that "The Classical Order sets form over the necessities of shelter and tectonics over the contingencies of construction. It provides a definitive account of the laws of nature as manifested through construction and shelter.
Whereas the diversity for the contingent world is constantly on the verge of dissolution and the forms of the real world blossom and wilt, the Classical Order makes us see the immutable laws of nature by means of tectonic fiction". Descriptive photographs and sketches collected from a wide variety of locations visually support the text, which also includes a selection of source material that has been edited especially for this publication.