The Language of Architecture: 26 Principles Every Architect Should Know

Description

Learning a new discipline is similar to learning a new language; in order to master the foundation of architecture, you must first master the basic building blocks of its language - the definitions, function, and usage. Language of Architecture provides students and professional architects with the basic elements of architectural design, divided into twenty-six easy-to-comprehend chapters. This visual reference includes an introductory, historical view of the elements, as well as an overview of how these elements can and have been used across multiple design disciplines. Whether you're new to the field or have been an architect for years, you'll want to flip through the pages of this book throughout your career and use it as the go-to reference for inspiration, ideas, and reminders of how a strong knowledge of the basics allows for meaningful, memorable, and beautiful fashions that extend beyond trends. This comprehensive learning tool is the one book you'll want as a staple in your library.

ANDREA SIMITCH is the Director of the Bachelor of Architecture program in the Department of Architecture at Cornell University. She teaches courses in architectural design, architectural representation and furniture design. She has also served as associate dean of AAP from 2002-03 and as Director of Undergraduate Studies from 2007-08. VALWARKE is an associate professor at Cornell University's Department of Architecture, where he has been a department chair, a director of graduate studies, and is currently the coordinator of the first year B.Arch. program. He has authored numerous essays on architectural design and theory and has co-authored (with Thom Mayne) the book Morphosis. He is a partner in Simitch + Warke Architecture. He received his BArch from Cornell University in 1976 and his MArch from Harvard University in 1978.

"Architects Simitch and Warke (both, Cornell Univ.) offer an approachable, visual guidebook and reference to the basics of the discipline, equating learning the foundational principles of the architectural process to learning a new language. The language itself comprises 26 building blocks - basic principles that inform the integrity of timeless design. The authors identify these principles as "vital fundamentals." Although the authors have limited themselves to 26 elements in a nod to the alphabet, this volume does not belabor the analogy. It is erudite, insightful, and highly illustrated, reflecting the complexity and beauty of architectural language. As the introduction states, architecture is best considered comparable to "poetic language," and the authors deliver by honing difficult ideas to their essentials. In this volume for both students and professionals, each chapter is succinct and thought provoking. Summing Up: *** Highly recommended." - Choice