Thinking about Architecture : An Introduction to Architectural Theory.

Cover -- Picture credits -- Contents -- Introduction -- Chapter 1: Representation -- Sculpture and architecture -- Columns and the human figure -- Regularity in architecture -- Rhythm in architecture -- The importance of meaning -- Chapter 2: Language -- Denotation and connotation -- Sign systems -- Icon, index and symbol -- Ambiguity and double coding -- Aesthetic intentions -- Creating architectural meaning -- Deconstruction -- Collision and combination -- Chapter 3: Form -- The separation of form and matter -- Drawings and design -- Harmonic proportion -- The problem of perspective -- Proportional systems -- Modular co-ordination -- The Modulor -- The importance of scale -- Chapter 4: Space -- Medieval and Renaissance space -- Architectural space -- The phenomenological approach -- Modern space -- Building types -- Architecture and society -- Managing form and function -- Chapter 5: Truth -- The doctrine of honesty -- The High Tech style -- The classical tradition -- Ornament and pattern-making -- Representational ornament -- Structure and ornament -- Chapter 6: Nature -- Form, material, space -- Vernacular architecture -- Relationships and processes -- Natural forms -- Extended and intensive forms -- The architecture-nature relationship -- The virtual diagram -- Evolution and design -- Chapter 7: History -- The spirit of the age -- The artistic canon -- The concept of authorship -- The origins of authorship -- Chapter 8: The City -- Traditional urban forms -- The motorized city -- Digital technology, distance, and time -- Architecture and the virtual world -- Index -- Endnotes -- Bibliography.

In order to understand architecture in all its cultural complexity it is necessary to grasp certain basic concepts such as representation, form, and space. The aim of this book is to provide teachers, students, practicing architects, and curious general readers with a set of ideas that will enrich their conversation, their writing, and above all their thinking about architecture. The book is divided into eight chapters, each covering a particular aspect of architecture, and introduces difficult concepts gradually. Architectural theorists and philosophers are mentioned in passing and their works are listed in the bibliography, but they are not the subject of the book. Architecture, rather than philosophy, is at the center of the picture. The aim is to enable the reader to understand architecture in all its aspects, rather than to learn the names of particular theorists. Written in a conversational style, Thinking about Architecture is an invaluable and accessible standard introduction to architectural theory.

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Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2024. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.