This stunning volume presents America's finest masterpieces of modern residential architecture, featuring 34 houses by such luminaries as Richard Neutra, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Michael Graves. Frampton explores each house in depth, discussing its place in the progression of American architecture, its role in the architect's oeuvre, and its meaning in America. 200 illustrations, 150 in color.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
This gorgeous coffee-table book by Frampton, Ware Professor of Architecture at Columbia University and one of the most prolific architectural historians of our day, memorializes 34 of the greatest U.S. modern residences of the 20th century. Ascetic orthodox modernism is stressed throughout, from precursors like Greene and Greene in Pasadena to contemporaries like Steven Holl in Texas. Surprisingly, there are no houses by Frank Lloyd Wright dating from his magnificent Prairie years, nor any works by Robert Venturi or Robert A.M. Stern. Designer David Larken is famous for producing some of the most beautiful books on architecture of the past ten years, including Shaker: Life Work and Art (LJ 11/15/87) and Adobe: Building and Living with Earth (LJ 7/94). A fine addition for public and specialty collections.?Peter Kaufman, Boston Architectural Ctr.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Frampton, professor of architecture at Columbia University, has teamed up with designer David Larkin to produce a fresh, knowledgeable, and visually exciting survey of the modern house in America--the modern house, that is, as a work of art. The 34 featured houses, presented in superb color photographs, truly are gems: cool, angular, pristine, and aristocratic. One of Frampton's criteria for selection stipulated that each house "possess a certain level of complexity and poetic depth." And indeed these houses do, although their complexity becomes all but invisible as we move forward in time. Frampton begins with the Greene and Greene Gamble House, built in Pasadena in 1908, a beautifully realized synthesis of Japanese aesthetics and the American arts and crafts movement. The Japanese influence is prevalent throughout the book, while the warmth of the craft movement quickly fades. The houses become increasingly grid oriented and more open to natural light and the surrounding landscape, so it's no surprise that most are found in California. The masters include Frank Lloyd Wright, Walter Gropius, Mies van der Rohe, Philip Johnson (the famous Glass House), Craig Ellwood, Louis Kahn, Paul Rudolph, Michael Graves, and Frank Gehry. Donna Seaman
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thirty-three American residential masterpieces,
By Doug Duke (Sausalito, CA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: American Masterworks: The Twentieth-Century House (Hardcover)
This book successfully captures the vast architectural contributions achieved in the Twentieth Century in American residential design by spotlighting 33 masterpieces located across the country.The book begins with stunning photographs and drawings of remarkable homes built early in the century, including the Greene and Greene Gamble House in Pasadena, Ca., Rudolph Schindler's Lovell Beach House in Newport Beach, Ca., and Richard Neutra's Lovell Heath House in Los Angeles, Ca. Then, homes are featured that embody "the triumph of the modern American house," including Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater in Bear Run, Pa. The final and largest section of the book highlights "blueprints for modern living," such as Philip Johnson's Glass House in New Canaan, Ct., Louis Kahn's Korman House in Fort Washington, Pa., and Frank Gehry's house in Santa Monica, Ca. The book lets the images of the homes, exterior and interior, speak for themselves through extra-large photographs. The accompanying commentary focuses well on the architects' contributions to architecture. I very highly recommend this book. It is the best compilation of American residential masterpieces of the Twentieth Century that I've seen, and even more importantly, the authors have put the differing styles in perspective with the evolution of American architecture.
5.0 out of 5 stars
so pleased,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: American Masterworks: Houses of the Twentieth & Twenty-first Centuries (Hardcover)
I had been looking at this book for a while in the large chain bookstore that recently closed. I was practically drooling on all of the pictures of the Gamble House and Cranbrook school. Not to mention all of the others. I couldn't justify 50 bucks with a baby on the way and me not really NEEDING this book. A few weeks later I decided to look on Amazon and was able to get it for 9 dollars shipped to my door. That's a no brainer.Beautiful, beautiful pictures. Worth the price of admission for that alone.
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