Modern Architecture Since 1900

by William J.R. Curtis

Book Overview

Since its first publication in 1982, Modern Architecture Since 1900 has become established as a contemporary classic. Worldwide in scope, it combines a clear historical outline with masterly analysis and interpretation. Technical, economic, social and intellectual developments are brought together in a comprehensive narrative which provides a setting for the detailed examination of buildings. Throughout the book the author's focus is on...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0714833568
• ISBN13: 9780714833569
• Release Date: June 1996
• Publisher: Phaidon Press
• Length: 736 Pages
• Weight: 4.48 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.9" x 8.4" x 9.6"
• Age Range: 13 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 8 to Postsecondary

Customer Reviews

It's provoking. It's breath taking. It's excellent !!!

It's extremely difficult, if not impossible, task to write a review on Mr. Curtis's book on Modern architecture. Scope of time/space/subject is just so wide and deep to write down on a single page. However, the reason why this book stands out is that Mr. Curtis's writings are based on first hand experience of actual buildings. One can easily grasp that because he points out nitty-gritty aspects of Unique construction process and its critical position as "A"rchitecture. What impressed me personally was his stance on the tectonics of structure. He gives more credit (or may be it's just my reading of him) on the "visual structure" Than "actual structure." Issues of veiling, hence, comes to the foreground. Given his on-going interests in Spanish architects and his recent interviews and essays in El Croquis, it comes as no surprise. Mr. Curtis is extremely objective and logical in his analysis and his subject matter. However, what makes his book extremely tantalizing to read is that he takes a position that architecture could be more than just a composition of materials. Architecture should tell more than just its story. The intervention of the materiality and anti-gravitational nature of higher order puts architecture on a higher dimension Moreover, through the struggle between architect and client, and through The clash of public wantings and ambition of an architect, there is a moment that uplifts normative expression of construction into a higher and symbolic level. This sort of revealing of invisible or pervasive metaphors are ultimately achievable only through accuracy and precision This is only one aspect of the book. Grab it, you'll know what I mean.

The world of architecure 1900

This is book is one of the best books I've read concerning the world of architecture especially since the modern era. It covers every aspect in the field from history to theory, to inspiration and the connections in between. Everything since 1900 has impacted the world of architecture and architecture today in a much greater way than we realize. I recommend this book and it vastly covers all the needed areas of architecture and its subjects. The student of architecture must have this one in your library and is a must have to anyone covering the field. I rate this five stars because of the knowledge it contains and all the world of architecture it covers. I believe this one contains the most in depth knowledge of the subject and covers the history in a much greater way than any book I've seen before. It is a lengthly read but worth the patience, the knowledge it contains is much more than the time, especially in the world of architecture.

Changed my life - literally

During sophomore year at a small liberal arts college, I was an art history major who just happened to take "The History of Modern Architecture." Our literature for the 20th century was this book. May I add that by the end of the semester (and the book, I DARE you to read all of it) I decided to become an architect? This sort of critical survey changes the way you look at buildings, especially in the United States where so much of our architecture IS relatively modern or somehow fits into the grand scheme of modern architecture. Its a tough read at times, but it has been my Bible to use as a reference, as inspiration. The thing weighs a TON and you can bet I lugged it with me all the way to Italy when I studied there for a year! So if think architecture might be interesting to you but you don't know much about it, PLEASE buy this book. It is a fantastic resource and a very rewarding read. Thorough, with lots of pictures and a great flow and organization. If anything, it will give you an incredibly new appreciation of the architecture around us.

A very impressive survey of Modern Architecture

Modern Architecture since 1900 is an impressive overview, delving into the late 18th century and 19th century roots as well. Mr. Curtis approaches the subject thematically which makes it easier for the reader to understand the many currents in modern architecture. As one would expect Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius and Mies van der Rohe figure prominantly in this work. However, the author examines the influences on their work, as well as the impact they had on modern architecture, providing many intriguing links, such as the one between Wright and Mies.The chapters which particularly stood out in my mind were "Architecture and Revolution in Russia" and "Totalitarian Critiques on the Modern Movement." In the first mentioned chapter, Curtis charted the rise of the avant-garde in Russia, its leading figures, and its confrontation with the Constructivists. In the second mentioned chapter, Curtis examined the attitudes toward modern architecture by Hitler, Stalin and Mussolini, who was the only one of the three to accept modern architecture. Like all his chapters, Curtis presents the information in a clear cogent format.Most illucidating is the widespread influence of modern architecture in Asia, Central and South America. He focuses primarily on India, Mexico, and Brazil, illustrating how modern architecture has been adapted to suit the cultural as well as climactic concerns of these countries. Le Corbusier looms large. But Curtis also notes the regional influences that led to counter movements, such as that inspired by Hassan Fathy. Curtis is critical of the current trends in contemporary architecture. He questions the integrity of the latter-day modernists, post-modernists and deconstructionists. He is drawn more to the individual works of Norman Foster, Renzo Piano and Frank Gehry, which he feels express a deeper understanding of modern architectural principles.One couldn't ask for more in this book. It is the most impressive survey of modern architecture since Giedion's "Space, Time and Architecture."

Stylish, authoritative and stimulating.

This is indeed a substantial volume, yet quite unlike many others of its magnitude, stimulating and readable at the same time. William Curtis provides a detailed overview of very numerous architects and assesses the extent of their influence in a very even-handed manner, avoiding the arbitrariness one frequently observes in other literature of the ilk. It has been asserted that the publication is directed at Architecture undergraduates. I must comment, as an outsider to this field of study, that Curtis has written a book that is not only accessible to the uninitiated, but one which serves to encourage further interest, reading and involvement in the great school of modern architecture. This is a compliment which one can pay to only a very limited number of authors, in whatever domain their authority may lie.