Ideas That Shaped Buildings

by Hearn, M. Fil

• ISBN13: 9780262582278
• ISBN10: 0262582279
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-10-10
• Publisher: The MIT Press

Summary

Silver Award Winner for Architecture in the 2003 ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Awards In Ideas That Shaped Buildings, Fil Hearn identifies and codifies into theoretical systems the operative tenets of architectural theory from ancient Rome to the present. With this strikingly original synthesis of architectural history and theory, he constructs an intellectual armature on which virtually any architectural concept, past or present, can be positioned. Dealing mainly with the treatises that have been highly influential historically, he organizes their concepts thematically and analyzes their development through time. Straightforward and concise, Ideas That Shaped Buildingsis readily accessible to architecture students, practicing architects, and the general public-indeed anyone interested in understanding the design rationale of buildings. Its overarching message is that, far from being constricting, proper knowledge and application of architectural theory is enabling and inspiring, and makes creative freedom possible by providing the conceptual awareness needed to devise a design. After an introductory history of the development of architectural theory, the text is divided into four parts. The first deals with issues relevant to all theories of architecture. The second, treating theory from antiquity to 1800, focuses on the prescriptive conventions inherent in the classical tradition. The third, treating theory after 1800, focuses on the inspirational principles prompted by rationalist perceptions of the Gothic tradition. The fourth, treating theory since 1965, deals with rationales beyond rationalism and the influence of computers on design method and design formulation. The concepts discussed are illustrated with theoretical drawings and images of actual buildings.

Author Biography

Fil Hearn is Professor of History of Art and Architecture and Director of Architectural Studies at the University of Pittsburgh.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Preface: Architectural Theory Is Everybody's Business	xi
Introduction: Contours of Theoretical Development	1	(22)
I Underpinnings (Relevant to All Theory)	23	(56)
1 Of Architecture and Architects	25	(14)
2 Standards of Judgment and Design Justifications	39	(14)
3 The Uses of the Past	53	(26)
II Conventions (Theory before 1800)	79	(98)
4 Images of the Ideal and Classical Design Method	81	(16)
5 The Orders: Evolving Rules for Formal Beauty	97	(40)
6 The Alternative Aesthetic: Breaking the Rules	137	(24)
7 Proportion: The Orders and Architectural Spaces	161	(16)
III Principles (Theory from 1800 to 1965)	177	(126)
8 Rational Design Method	179	(14)
9 Generative Planning as the Basis of Design	193	(30)
10 Honest Structure as the Framework of Design	223	(32)
11 Truth to the Medium: Using Materials	255	(16)
12 Decoration and the Integrity of Design	271	(10)
13 Restoration: The Care of Inherited Buildings	281	(8)
14 Design of Cities	289	(14)
IV Convolutions (Theory since 1965)	303	(32)
15 Rationales beyond Rationalism	305	(18)
16 New Directions in Design Method	323	(12)
Conclusion	335	(2)
Time Line of Treatises (by John Hearn)	337	(6)
Bibliography	343	(8)
Credits	351	(4)
Index	355