books on iconie buildings around the world

Books on iconie buildings around the world series#

When I read it, in a manner it changed my life. It’s not a social history, but an artistic history and it’s very readable. It takes some of the most well-known buildings one sees in Italy, in Venice or Rome, and it explains the architectural theory behind them. I remember reading it when I was very young, when I was a teenager and it’s a companion to the Palladio in a way. Well, that’s one of those books it’s a personal choice. Tell me about the Architectural Principles in the Age of Humanism. You can get it at most bookshops.Īrchitectural Principles in the Age of Humanism It’s not an obscure, deep and dusty book. There are four of them so it’s quite a big read, is it? It’s not a history book as much as the others, not reflecting, but it has inspired great architecture and it remains an accessible read.

Books on iconie buildings around the world series#

In the 18th century this book was like a bible, setting out a series of rules to copy, to inspire, and, indeed, he ends up really creating what we now term Georgian architecture which is still much loved, admired and fostered. It sets out the proportions and argues that beauty in architecture is a divine gift and that if one follows these proportions that Palladio, through trial, error, observation and intellect, had gleaned from his study of Roman architecture and nature, you can create beauty, architecture with harmonically related paths which really are attuned to the divine beauty. In fact, the earliest translation was in 1710, so it was available in Italian, English, German, French and it sets out an architectural theory of what we now call Palladian architecture. There are various translations including an English one from 1738 by chap called Isaac Webb, so it very quickly became available in English. It’s the most important architecture book ever written, insofar as it spawned and inspired imitations throughout Europe and North America from the late 17th century almost until now. Let’s start with Andrea Palladio’s Four Books on Architecture. The Four Books on Architecture (I quattro libri dell'architettura) Foreign Policy & International Relations.