Synopses & Reviews
The words we use when we talk and write about architecture describe more than just bricks and mortarthey indicate the ways we think of and live with buildings. This original and thoughtful study provides the first thorough examination of the relationship between architecture and language as complex social practices. The first section of the book consists of six rigorously argued essays that investigate the language of modernism, language and drawing, "masculine and feminine" architecture, language metaphors, science in architecture, and the social properties of architecture. The second part provides a vocabulary of key words, providing rich analyses of critical terms such as Character, Form, History, and Space. Each investigation locates a word's modern meaning within a framework of historical enquiry and theoretical discussion, setting out clearly the term's invention and treatment by architects, historians, philosophers, critics, and the people who actually use buildings. This wholly original study changes and enriches the way we think and talk about architecture, and will interest anyone concerned with architecture and culture in the modern era. 216 illustrations.
Review
A riveting, immensely readable account. (LA Architect)
Review
A thoughtful exploration of the role language plays in an art form primarily oriented to the visual ...a sophisticated analysis. (The Art Book )
Review
"A riveting, immensely readable account of how words used freely in architectural discourse . . . have changed their meaning and acquired new significance over the past century." LA Architect
Synopsis
The words we use when we talk and write about architecture describe more than just bricks and mortar they direct the ways we think of and live with buildings. This groundbreaking book is the first thorough examination of the complex relationship between architecture and language as intricate social practices.
Six rigorously argued chapters and a vocabulary of key terms investigate the language of modernism; language and drawing; masculine and feminine architecture; language metaphors; science in architecture; and the social properties of architecture.
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Synopsis
This original and thoughtful study provides the first thorough examination of the relationship between architecture and language as complex social practices.
About the Author
Adrian Forty is Professor of Architectural History at the Bartlett School of Architecture and Planning, University College, London.