How To Enjoy Architecture
Download How To Enjoy Architecture PDF/ePub or read online books in Mobi eBooks. Click Download or Read Online button to get How To Enjoy Architecture book now. This website allows unlimited access to, at the time of writing, more than 1.5 million titles, including hundreds of thousands of titles in various foreign languages.
How to Enjoy Architecture
Author: Charles Holland
language: en
Publisher: Yale University Press
Release Date: 2024-04-02
Charles Holland challenges us to look beyond the day-to-day familiarity of buildings to rediscover the pleasure of experiencing architecture Architecture is bound up with our daily lives but, for most of us, it is experienced as a blur of habit. Our reactions towards the buildings that surround us are often culturally generated, and we experience them in ways that are immediate but often mundane. How to Enjoy Architecture: A Guide for Everyone encourages us to move beyond this and, instead, really look at buildings. Renowned architect Charles Holland talks about the buildings and architects that excite and inspire him, and the ideas and principles through which we can engage with architecture. By breaking buildings down into categories such as materials, structure, space, and use, Holland guides us through drastically different styles and building types--from the satisfying symmetry of a Queen Anne house to the thrill of a high-tech tower, or the social ideals that lie behind a housing estate. In doing so, he demonstrates how looking at, experiencing, and using architecture can bring joy in itself. "A book that will enrich any encounter with a building, it made me want to look harder and be more curious. We are led playfully through the fundamentals of architecture so that we might enjoy the details and the poetry of buildings all the more. A walk through the city feels more fun and also more profound after reading this book." Grayson Perry, artist "We so often encounter architecture when it goes wrong, or offends us with its looks. Holland, though, is the perfect, clear-headed tour guide to help us appreciate it with newly sharpened senses and fall in love again - even those buildings we think we hate." Tom Dyckhoff, academic and broadcaster "An enlightening and urbane exploration of architecture that resonates beyond conventional chronological histories" Catherine Slessor, architecture writer and critic
Architecture and You
"If you're looking for a book to introduce you to the pleasures of architecture; if you want to be able to enjoy buildings, just like music and art; if you want to learn how to appreciate the buildings you experience every day, as well as the ageless masterpieces, but you don't know where to begin, this is the book you've been waiting for. Here is a book that explains how to experience and appreciate the spaces and forms of architecture just as you experience a painting or a symphony. Written by practicing architects whose buildings are used by millions of people throughout the world, this down-to-earth, easy-to-read text answers the fundamental question: what is architecture and how do you perceive it? The authors communicate their love of architecture and take the mystery out of buildings so you can learn how to enjoy their magic. Richly illustrated with 280 photographs and line drawings and summarized periodically with memorable aphorisms, the text begins by defining the term "architecture appreciation" and shows why architecture is "a personal, enjoyable, necessary experience." and shows why architecture is "a personal, enjoyable, necessary experience." Then the authors cover the basics of space, form, and total-form. The "envelope" is analyzed: wall, roof, floor, window, structure, materials, connections. Style is described through such concepts as proportion, scale, and composition. Physical environment, including site and light, and psychological environment, consisting of ownership, symbolism, and color, are explored. The book shows the impact of societal needs on architecture, and the concept of economy is evaluated in terms of simplicity, cost, and energy. Time quality is defined in relation to history and technology. The authors conclude by discussing the idea that "design reconciles function, form, economy, and time," and then they review all the preceding chapters in a final brief wrap-up. This book will lead you to a new awareness of architecture and a new pleasure in your environment. You can enjoy buildings every day of your life." --
Experiencing Architecture, second edition
A classic examination of superb design through the centuries. Widely regarded as a classic in the field, Experiencing Architecture explores the history and promise of good design. Generously illustrated with historical examples of designing excellence—ranging from teacups, riding boots, and golf balls to the villas of Palladio and the fish-feeding pavilion of Beijing's Winter Palace—Rasmussen's accessible guide invites us to appreciate architecture not only as a profession, but as an art that shapes everyday experience. In the past, Rasmussen argues, architecture was not just an individual pursuit, but a community undertaking. Dwellings were built with a natural feeling for place, materials and use, resulting in “a remarkably suitable comeliness.” While we cannot return to a former age, Rasmussen notes, we can still design spaces that are beautiful and useful by seeking to understand architecture as an art form that must be experienced. An understanding of good design comes not only from one's professional experience of architecture as an abstract, individual pursuit, but also from one's shared, everyday experience of architecture in real time—its particular use of light, color, shape, scale, texture, rhythm and sound. Experiencing Architecture reminds us of what good architectural design has accomplished over time, what it can accomplish still, and why it is worth pursuing. Wide-ranging and approachable, it is for anyone who has ever wondered “what instrument the architect plays on.”