Synopses & Reviews
This collection of essays explores the development and influence of a wide range of architectural styles over the past three hundred years, providing interesting details about the construction of the buildings and exploring the societal and political pressures that influenced their creation.
Author Stephen Lees looks at how each generation of builders brought innovative new materials to the construction process that allowed for extending the scope and size of each project. The text is beautifully illustrated with more than fifty line drawings of a large variety of buildings and examples of great, visionary architecture in the Western world, including the Renaissance St. Pancras Hotel in London; the original Pennsylvania Railroad Station and Chrysler Building, both in New York; the Stoclet Palace in Brussels; and the Acropolis in Athens.
This book will appeal to both students of architecture and history and general readers with a passion for understanding great architecture.
Synopsis
This fascinating study of the development of Western architecture
focuses on a unique selection of 52 buildings - mostly from the last
300 years - examining why they have been designed in a particular way,
the methods and materials used to construct them and their impact on
the development of construction technology.
The buildings have been chosen for their interesting history or design,
or both, and are each beautifully illustrated as an architectural line
drawing. They range from St Pancras Hotel in London to the Pennsylvania
Railroad Station in New York City, to the Stoclet Palace in Brussels
and the Acropolis in Athens. Drawing on a range of subject matters,
from art through to politics, economics and religion, the author
reveals a story about each of the buildings and the motivations of the
societies, rulers or individuals that created them.
About the Author
Stephen Lees is an attorney specializing in Construction Law. His interest in construction and architecture are combined with a practical background in design innovation and building technology.