Modern Architecture: A Critical History (World of Art)

ıt is always enlightening to read Kenneth Frampton on architecture. Good book!

This is a MUST-BUY book for architecture students, architects and other people who have interest in architecture. KF is a very well known architecture critique, very in-depth essays collected in this book.

Sooo much heavier than I anticipated! But it's what I needed for class

It is easy to see why Kenneth Frampton’s Modern Architecture: A Critical History is a staple for modern architectural surveys. Frampton is incredibly thorough despite the vast scope of his work which covers well over three centuries of architecture in less than four hundred pages. This architectural survey takes a look the development of modern architecture as it arose from the ideas of the eighteenth century to architecture as we know it today.The book is divided into three major sections that loosely follow chronological order. Each chapter is introduced by a quote selected by Frampton to encompass the ideas of the men and buildings he discusses. The first three chapters focus on how the stage was set for modern architecture. Frampton highlights the shifting philosophy of the West during the mid-eighteenth century, the effects of major technological innovations, and the development of modern cities and how issues such as overcrowding and disease contributed to the development of modern architecture. The second section of the book is clearly centered on the Great Man theory of history. The twenty-seven chapters in this section are short, which makes this dense work more easily digestible. Each chapter focuses on well-known architects of an era and makes connections between the works and ideas of major players in the architectural world. It can be frustrating that Frampton often ignores the larger cultural, social, economic, and political context in favor of analyzing the flow of ideas from one great architect to another. The last section of the book focuses on architectural movements themselves and the many great men behind them. The most recent edition includes a chapter on the globalization of architecture and the spread and influence of ideas across the continents. The book is organized in such a way that it seems to have the careers of great men sandwiched between chapters with great men placed in slightly more cultural context.Frampton’s focus is less on the architecture itself, and more on the ideas of key architectural players, how their ideas developed over the course of their career, and what young, soon-to-be-great architects absorbed from those ideas. The author is clear about this focus in the introduction. He explains, “the history of modern architecture is as much about consciousness and polemical intent as it is about buildings themselves.” He is probably even less focused on the buildings than this quote indicates. A clear symptom of this emphasis is the inadequacy of the images in this book. The few images that are used are frustratingly small and are of relatively poor quality. For readers who wish to engage with the architecture and allow the architecture to speak for itself, access to images of higher resolution is essential.This book is a useful introduction to modern architecture and will be of significant interest to those wishing to acquaint themselves with the major players of modern architecture, how their ideas connect, and the nature and significance of their key works.

A succinct and focused survey of key moments and movements shaping Architectureover the past 150 yearsRecommended for all students of architecture and the built environment

Books are stored in good condition and worth reading! Strongly Recommend!

The author comes across as "embittered Brit with a poison pen" Yes I agree with virtually all of the reviews here more or less, but the author is opiniated and critical in a somewhat childish way that often can be found on college campuses where people tend live in an isolated social climate. His attitude bleeds through in his observations, which are often just really not needed at all.The main problem with the book however, is its publisher, who is dedicated to a book size that is totally unsuitable for the subject. THE BOOK FORMAT is far too small, text is tiny and the illustrations which were once printed on "E" size paper are now reduced to the size of badly smudged postage stamps. The only way I can read this tiny tome is by keeping a higher wattage bulb in my bedside table that I have to screw in to make the gray text stand out against a white page. You get a LOT of print and opinion for the price, its just that the damn thing is too small.

Express arrival did not disappoint, condition was perfect!!