Synopses & Reviews
Historian and architectural critic William H. Jordy (1917and#150;1997) significantly shaped the way we understand the character and meaning of modern architecture and American culture. This collection of his thought-provoking essays encompasses Jordyand#8217;s entire career and includes his signature essay, and#147;The Symbolic Essence of Modern Architecture of the Twenties and Its Continuing Influence.and#8221; The collection also contains critical writings on works by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier, Louis Kahn, and Robert Venturi as well as significant but less-well-known pieces and one previously unpublished text.
Generously illustrated, the book demonstrates the range and depth of Jordyand#8217;s thinking. He leads his readers to discover important connections of architecture with art, literature, intellectual history, symbolic structures, social purpose, and community. Mardges Baconand#8217;s insightful introduction to the volume situates Jordyand#8217;s essays in historical and architectural context and offers a concise intellectual biography of this original and influential thinker.
Synopsis
This is the first collection of William H. Jordyand#8217;s influential essays on the character and meaning of modern architecture and American culture. Jordyand#8217;s writingsand#151;always incisive, witty, and accessible are drawn from his entire career and include critical studies of 20th-century architects and a previously unpublished text. Mardges Baconand#8217;s introduction provides an excellent intellectual biography of the important historian.
and#160;
About the Author
Mardges Bacon is Matthews Distinguished University Professor and professor of art and architecture, Northeastern University.