In this highly original introductory survey, British architect and planner, Bill Risebero covers the development of Western architecture from fifth century Europe to the present in terms of economic priorities, class relations, climate, natural resources, and other factors that affect our built environment. From the Gothic cathedrals to the White Towers in Los Angeles, Risebero discusses and illustrates architecture in the context of human affairs. He explains how the communtarian architecture of early societies afforded social satisfactions that compensated for their lack of technical sophistication, how the Greeks brought exquisite refinement to a simple structural system, and how grandiose Roman architecture attempted to impose security on a society plagued by inflation and unemployment. His own informal sketches and handwritten captions throughout the book provide helpful, visual outlines of each period.  Bill Risebero is also the author of Modern Architecture and Design: An Alternative History, which is a sequel to this book and available in paperback from The MIT Press.

The story of Western architecture

Arts & Photography

Risebero, Bill

History & Criticism

Herbert Press

This is one of the classic books on craftsmanship and design. In it, David Pye explores the meaning of skill and its relationship to design and manufacture. Cutting through a century of fuzzy thinking, he proposes a new theory of making based on the concept of good workmanship and shows how it imparts all-important diversity to our visual environment.

The Nature and Art of Workmanship

Pye, David

Paperback: 256 pages Publisher: Herbert Press Ltd (May 28, 1981) Language: English ISBN-10: 0906969093 ISBN-13: 978-0906969090

The story of Western furniture

Oates, Phyllis Bennett

The author's claim is that he has found the original order of Shakespeare's sonnets. His work has received high praise in England, and his ordering of the sonnets was read at The National Theatre, London, in 1980, by Simon Callow.

New Poems by Shakespeare: Order and Meaning Restored to the Sonnets

Padel, John

Literature & Fiction

Modern architecture and design: An alternative history

Science & Math

Biological Sciences

Surveys the whole range of Cotman's work, but deliberately concentrates on his early development and in particular on his greatest period, from 1805 to c.1810.

John Sell Cotman, 1782-1842

RAJNAI, Miklos, Editor

Greetings from Christmas past

Crafts, Hobbies & Home

HILLIER, Bevis

Antiques & Collectibles

This is David Pye's classic book on the theory of design. In it, he explores the many facets of good design, including the relationship of aesthetics with function.

The nature and aesthetics of design

David Pye

Crafts & Hobbies

The Bauhaus reassessed: Sources and design theory

Naylor, Gillian

Chronicles and shows the development and uses of the nursery and of nursery furnishings and decors from the mid-nineteenth century to the present

The world of the nursery

WHITE, Colin

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