A Dictionary of Architecture

Curl, James Stevens

ISBN 10: 0192100068 / ISBN 13: 9780192100061

Published by Oxford University Press, 1999

About this Item

Item in good condition. Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc. Seller Inventory # 00058816454

Bibliographic Details

Title: A Dictionary of Architecture

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Publication Date: 1999

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Good

About this title

Synopsis:

From Aalto to Ziggurat, this work is an accessible guide to architecture and its history. The book contains over 3500 entries and covers all periods of Western architectural history, from ancient times to the present day, in cultures ranging from Assyrian architecture to Flemish Mannerism. With entries for caternary, ingle-nook, misericord, and scissor-truss, this dictionary aims to cover as wide a range of architectural terms as possible in an accessible style. These terms are made more understandable with 150 illustrations, which help to differentiate between the various types of, for example, arches or crosses. There are also longer entries which explain the different schools of architecture and put them in their historical context. Biographical entries are provided for a great number of architects from the ancients to leading figures of today. From Brunelleschi and Hawksmoor to Le Corbusier and Richard Rogers, each entry outlines the architect's importance and gives examples of their most notable buildings.

Review:

Rarely does a reference work about a subject as vast and wide ranging as architecture appeal to the curious as well as serious researchers on the subject. This newly published, researched and up-to-date reference dictionary offers a complete guide to the history of the art of architecture. There are entries and biographies on historical as well as contemporary architects, designers and craftsmen with useful and relevant cross- references that together tell a complete story about a particular subject, style or theory. Architectural terms are made more assessable with attractive illustrations which help to better understand the differences between, for example, Doric or Ionic columns.

Biographical entries for a great number of well and lesser known architects, some with illustrations of their best-known works, and entries about their influences and contemporaries offer a well-rounded guide through the centuries of architectural achievement. James Stevens Curl is Emeritus Professor of Architectural History and a senior Research Fellow, School of Architecture, De Montfort University, Leicester, England. He has written many books including The Art and Architecture of Freemasonry which won the Sir Banister Fletcher Award for architectural writing in 1992.

This is a dictionary that is useful for students, professional architects, the general public and anyone with a passion for this most noble of the arts.