The City Shaped: Urban Patterns and Meanings Through History

by Spiro Kostof and KOSTOF SPIRO

Book Overview

Spanning the ages and the globe, Spiro Kostof explores the city as a "repository of cultural meaning" and an embodiment of the community it shelters. Widely used by both architects and students of architecture, The City Shaped won the AIA's prestigious book award in Architecture and Urbanism. With hundreds of photographs and drawings that illustrate Professor Kostof's innovative ideas, this has become one of the most important works on urbanization...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0821220160
• ISBN13: 9780821220160
• Release Date: May 1993
• Publisher: Bulfinch Press
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 3.27 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 9.0" x 10.0"

Customer Reviews

Add to "City" library

This field of study has been a lifelong interest. It is a worthy addition to a basic library, and I bought it as a Xmas gift to a young friend who shares my interest.

excelent

este livro possui indicacoes excelentes para um pesquisador da forma urbana e da historia da cidade trilhar seus conhecimentos. pesquisa seria e escrita magnifica. boa escolha.

A classic

Well written, consistently interesting and structured around the challenges of topography and the urban form demands invoked by market needs, political architectures and cultural expectations through history, this beautifully illustrated book delivers the promise of its title and a lot more. Because the author, Spiro Kostof, organized his book by patterns and topological relationships, the text compresses history and geographies into a comparative perspective. This presents a disadvantage to the reader if he/she is interested in only one time, one culture or even just one architectural movement. On the other hand, the comparative perspective lends authority to Kostof's overarching theoretical approach of connecting urban forms to content and how those relationships persist across the spectrum of the human experience. A must for any architect's or planner's library.

a guidebook of magnificent ideas on city

Perhapes part of Kostof's category for urban patterns( as organic, grids, grand manner....) is arguable, but his wonderful ananlyses for each individual sample lead us into deeper understanding of urban patterns and social meanings behind. Many cities familiar to most of us (Siena, Paris, New Dehli....) appear refreshingly unfamiliar in his book.

A Bible for an Urban Designer

Probably the most comprehensive guide to the thoughts, theories and practical aspects of designing a city. Buy it and weep for your boring grid plan cities....