Architecture For Dummies
Published on 9. May 2011
336 pages
978-1-118-06966-0 (ISBN)
Description
When is a building just a building and when is it art? Thisaccessible guide cuts through the jargon and clearly explains theessentials of architecture, demystifying the incredible ways inwhich structures and spaces come alive. You'll gain a realappreciation for architecture and the confidence to talk aboutit--even to an architect.
* Just the essential information for readers on the go who wantto understand architecture.
* Covers the highlights of architectural history, from the GreatPyramids to Frank Gehry's Guggenheim museum in Bilbao.
* Explains how to look at a building and appreciate it. Explainswhen a building's a building and when it's art.
* Part of Tens includes Ten Great Architectural Masterpieces, TenBiggest Architectural and Engineering Failures, Ten of the MostInteresting Architects Working Today, and more.
* Just the essential information for readers on the go who wantto understand architecture.
* Covers the highlights of architectural history, from the GreatPyramids to Frank Gehry's Guggenheim museum in Bilbao.
* Explains how to look at a building and appreciate it. Explainswhen a building's a building and when it's art.
* Part of Tens includes Ten Great Architectural Masterpieces, TenBiggest Architectural and Engineering Failures, Ten of the MostInteresting Architects Working Today, and more.
More details
Other editions
Additional editions
Persons
Deborah K. Dietsch is an architecture and design critic who writes for major newspapers and magazines. She is the former editor-in-chief of Architecture Magazine and former executive editor of Architecture Record.
Content
Foreword.
Introduction.
Part I: Knowing and Appreciating Architecture.
Chapter 1: Knowing When a Building Is Just a Building and WhenIt's Architecture.
Chapter 2: How to Look at a Building.
Chapter 3: Building Your Architectural Vocabulary.
Part II: Nuts and Bolts: Looking at How Architecture IsDesigned and Built.
Chapter 4: How Buildings Are Born.
Chapter 5: Just What Do Architects Do, Anyway?
Chapter 6: A Simple Structure: How Buildings Stand Up.
Part III: Western Architecture: A Survey of the MostImportant Structures.
Chapter 7: Gimme Shelter: Prehistoric Structures and the AncientWorld.
Chapter 8: Acropolis Now: Classical Greece and Rome.
Chapter 9: Domes, Arches, and Vaults, Oh My: Byzantine andMedieval Architecture.
Chapter 10: Beauty Meets Mathematics and Drama: From Renaissanceto Rococo.
Chapter 11: Revivals Everywhere: The Classical and Gothic AreNew Again.
Chapter 12: Here Comes the Industrial Age: Prefab Is Here toStay.
Chapter 13: Flying High and Close to the Sun: Skyscrapers!
Chapter 14: Mother Nature versus the Machines: ModernStyles.
Chapter 15: The Only Constant Is Change: From Modern Purism toPostmodern Pluralism.
Part IV: Eastern Architecture: A Survey of the Most ImportantStructures.
Chapter 16: China and Japan: Traditions in Wood.
Chapter 17: More Than the Taj Mahal: Architecture in India.
Chapter 18: The Islamic World.
Part V: Arranging the Present and Saving the Past.
Chapter 19: Understanding Urban Design.
Chapter 20: Historic Preservation: Saving the Past for theFuture.
Part VI: The Part of Tens.
Chapter 21: The Ten Most Fascinating Architects WorkingToday.
Chapter 22: Ten Architectural Masterpieces.
Chapter 23: Ten Amazing Items of Trivia That'll Impress All YourFriends!
Chapter 24: The Top Ten Skyscrapers.
Index.
Introduction.
Part I: Knowing and Appreciating Architecture.
Chapter 1: Knowing When a Building Is Just a Building and WhenIt's Architecture.
Chapter 2: How to Look at a Building.
Chapter 3: Building Your Architectural Vocabulary.
Part II: Nuts and Bolts: Looking at How Architecture IsDesigned and Built.
Chapter 4: How Buildings Are Born.
Chapter 5: Just What Do Architects Do, Anyway?
Chapter 6: A Simple Structure: How Buildings Stand Up.
Part III: Western Architecture: A Survey of the MostImportant Structures.
Chapter 7: Gimme Shelter: Prehistoric Structures and the AncientWorld.
Chapter 8: Acropolis Now: Classical Greece and Rome.
Chapter 9: Domes, Arches, and Vaults, Oh My: Byzantine andMedieval Architecture.
Chapter 10: Beauty Meets Mathematics and Drama: From Renaissanceto Rococo.
Chapter 11: Revivals Everywhere: The Classical and Gothic AreNew Again.
Chapter 12: Here Comes the Industrial Age: Prefab Is Here toStay.
Chapter 13: Flying High and Close to the Sun: Skyscrapers!
Chapter 14: Mother Nature versus the Machines: ModernStyles.
Chapter 15: The Only Constant Is Change: From Modern Purism toPostmodern Pluralism.
Part IV: Eastern Architecture: A Survey of the Most ImportantStructures.
Chapter 16: China and Japan: Traditions in Wood.
Chapter 17: More Than the Taj Mahal: Architecture in India.
Chapter 18: The Islamic World.
Part V: Arranging the Present and Saving the Past.
Chapter 19: Understanding Urban Design.
Chapter 20: Historic Preservation: Saving the Past for theFuture.
Part VI: The Part of Tens.
Chapter 21: The Ten Most Fascinating Architects WorkingToday.
Chapter 22: Ten Architectural Masterpieces.
Chapter 23: Ten Amazing Items of Trivia That'll Impress All YourFriends!
Chapter 24: The Top Ten Skyscrapers.
Index.
