Classical Modern Architecture

"A historical survey -- from classical Greece through the Italian Renaissance and Scandinavian design up to the present-day traditional habitat"--Publisher's description.

Classical Styles in Modern Architecture From the Colonnade to Disjunctured Space Thomas L. Doremus The rise of Post-modernism in late twentieth century architecture has kindled a new, intense debate about the viability of classical styles in the modern city, a debate fueled by the Preservation movement, with many arguments heard on both sides. Unfortunately, too often these arguments have been couched in dense, theoretical terms and illustrated with highly technical documentation. Now, in Classical Styles in Architecture, acclaimed architectural theorist Thomas L. Doremus has avoided jargon and arcane language to provide a clear examination of the ways in which modernism is different from classicism. At the same time he demonstrates how each can be accommodated in contemporary life. In brilliant, lucid prose, he shows that the development of modern architecture was a much more gradual process in the United States than it was in Europe, and expounds the theory that modernism is not a rejection but rather a democratization of classical architecture, with elements from each given equal value rather than subordinated in a hierarchical system. Within this inclusionary view, he writes, it is possible to adapt modernist tenets to the information age and develop a viable approach to future design. Lavishly illustrated and impeccably credentialed, this book includes: * Photographs that show and reference ordinary, everyday buildings and civic structures along with some of the more familiar monuments of architecture * A historical section that identifies the growth of democratic governments as one of the foundations of modernism. Focusing on the United States rather than on the socialist societies of Europe, it is thus more relevant to the contemporary political situation * Discussions of leading theorists such as Giedion, Pevsner, and Venturi, as well as of key buildings and architects drawn from the past one hundred years * Technological, cultural, and formal analyses of both classicism and modernism * A discursive rather than scholarly review of why buildings look the way they do Classical Styles in Modern Architecture is certain to expand the debate on the subject and possibly even provoke controversy. Given the impact that many post-modern projects have had on the fabric of most American cities, however, it is bound to be of interest to any reader concerned about the future of ture in the United States--in the ways our cities will look and, consequently, how we will live in them

Through this presentation of fifteen residences, John B. Murray demonstrates the successful juxtaposition of classical elements in a contemporary context. John B. Murray is a recognized leader in adapting classical design principles for contemporary life, creating elegant and gracious urban and country residences. His firm, John B. Murray Architect, is committed to a timeless aesthetic, a simplicity of form, and superb craftsmanship enriched by an inventive interpretation of classical details. In Contemporary Classical Architecture, Murray reveals an extraordinary mastery of the classical vocabulary and a sensitivity to proportion and scale. Within that framework, he inserts the comforts of contemporary living in a way that is seamless and completely logical. The projects range from Fifth Avenue apartments with breathtaking terraces and Central Park views to a rambling shingle style house in the Hamptons and a pristine neoclassical retreat in Dutchess County to the restoration of the President's House at a New England university. John B. Murray Architect has received multiple Stanford White and Palladio awards, and the work is published regularly in Luxe, Veranda, Elle Décor, and other shelter magazines.

"Classical Greek Architecture is a definitive account of classical architecture, its influences, and its significance for the structures of today from leading scholar Alexander Tzonis. The work contains a wealth of contemporary and vintage photographs from major archives that, together with numerous line drawings of the monuments and sites of Ancient Greece, provide a breath-taking introduction to visual thinking and architectural culture".--BOOKJACKET.

The author's purpose is to set out as simply and vividly as possible the exact grammatical workings of an architectural language. Classical architecture is a visual "language" and like any other language has its own grammatical rules. Classical buildings as widely spaced in time as a Roman temple, an Italian Renaissance palace and a Regency house all show an awareness of these rules even if they vary them, break them or poetically contradict them. Sir Christopher Wren described them as the "Latin" of architecture and the analogy is almost exact. There is the difference, however, that whereas the learning of Latin is a slow and difficult business, the language of classical architecture is relatively simple. It is still, to a great extent, the mode of expression of our urban surroundings, since classical architecture was the common language of the western world till comparatively recent times. Anybody to whom architecture makes a strong appeal has probably already discovered something of its grammar for himself. In this book, the author's purpose is to set out as simply and vividly as possible the exact grammatical workings of this architectural language. He is less concerned with its development in Greece and Rome than with its expansion and use in the centuries since the Renaissance. He explains the vigorous discipline of "the orders" and the scope of "rustication"; the dramatic deviations of the Baroque and, in the last chapter, the relationship between the classical tradition and the "modern" architecture of today. The book is intended for anybody who cares for architecture but more specifically for students beginning a course in the history of architecture, to whom a guide to the classical rules will be an essential companion.

Postmodernism, multiculturalism, the alleged decline of the United States, deconstruction, leadership, and values - these topics have been at the forefront of contemporary intellectual and cultural debate and are likely to remain so through the 1990s. Participants in the debate can usefully enlarge the perspective to a comparison between the Greco-Roman world and contemporary society. In this thought-provoking work, a noted classics scholar tests the ancient-modern comparison, showing what it can add to the contemporary debates and what its limitations are. Writing for intellectually adventurous readers, Galinsky explores Greece and Rome as multicultural societies, debates the merits of classicism in postmodern architecture, discusses the reign of Augustus in terms of modern leadership theories, and investigates the modern obsession with finding parallels between the supposed "decline and fall" of Rome and the "decay" of U.S. society. Within these discussions, Galinsky shows the continuing vitality of the classical tradition in the contemporary world. The Greek and Roman civilizations have provided us not only with models for conscious adaptation but also points for radical departures. This ability to change and innovate from classical models is crucial, Galinsky maintains. It creates a reciprocal process whereby contemporary issues are projected into the past while aspects of the ancient world are redefined in terms of current approaches. These essays result in a balanced assessment and stimulating restatement of some major issues in both contemporary U.S. society and the Greco-Roman world. The book, which speaks to a wide interdisciplinary audience, is based on a series of lecturesthat Galinsky gave as a national visiting scholar for Phi Beta Kappa. It concludes with a discussion of the role of classical studies in the United States today.