Architectural Model as Machine and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Learn more


or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
or
Amazon Prime Free Trial required. Sign up when you check out. Learn More
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Architectural Model as Machine: A new view of models from antiquity to the present day
 
 
Start reading Architectural Model as Machine on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Architectural Model as Machine: A new view of models from antiquity to the present day [Paperback]

Albert Smith (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)

Price: $65.95 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping. Details
  Special Offers Available
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
Only 3 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).
Want it delivered Tuesday, January 31? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
Textbook Student FREE Two-Day Shipping for Students. Learn more

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Kindle Edition $51.96  
Paperback $65.95  

Book Description

0750656344 978-0750656344 November 16, 2004 1
This book offers an explanation of why scale models are important to the design process. Albert Smith takes the reader through the history and significance of models in architecture from the magic of the Egyptian scale model to the present day.


Through this description of the relationship between architecture and the scale model, Smith demonstrates the most effective process between concept and 'machine', between the idea and the final building. The great value of this book is to reveal the nature of the scale model and to unlock the tremendous potential of this design tool as a thinking and communicative advice.

His chronological analysis goes on from Egypt through Rome to the relationship between the Greek paradigm scale model and then on to Medieval and Renaissance models. It concludes with the models of the Spanish architect Antonio Gaudi, the Russian Constructivists, the American architect Louis Khan and finally looks at the role of scale models in the present day through the work of the Polish/American architect Daniel Libeskind and the American Frank Gehry.

* First book to address the question of why and how architects use scale models for projects allowing designers to learn the most effective ways of communicating their ideas through the model medium
* A unique insight into the dynamic thought process of designers through history to the present day to inspire today's practitioners

Special Offers and Product Promotions

  • Buy $50 in qualifying physical textbooks, get $5 in Amazon MP3 Credit. Here's how (restrictions apply)


Editorial Reviews

Review

'An extremely well-written and researched piece and, from my perspective, a deeply absorbing work.'
Tom Porter, author of Architectural Supermodels

Book Description

Takes the reader through the history and significance of models in architecture

Product Details

  • Paperback: 192 pages
  • Publisher: Architectural Press; 1 edition (November 16, 2004)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0750656344
  • ISBN-13: 978-0750656344
  • Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.6 x 0.4 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,330,090 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

 

Customer Reviews

1 Review
5 star:    (0)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars What is an architect and why do they build the models they do?, January 17, 2007
By 
David Shaw "Timbuktu Blues" (San Luis Obispo, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Architectural Model as Machine: A new view of models from antiquity to the present day (Paperback)
Somewhat academic approach to the role of architectural models in Western civilization, from the ancient Greeks up to the end of the 20th Century.

I found this in the architectural library at a nearby university (my daughter had a junior high school class project on building a scale model of a Gothic cathedral, and I first thought this book might be a handbook on building scale models, but not so). Still, it looked to be an interesting read (for those used to reading works by academics, at least).

Most readers of this book will be students of architecture, but for this non-architect I found the exploration of what an architect was and how they were trained over the past 5000 years an interesting mirror of how Western culture has changed over the centuries. (I'm speaking here as a social scientist more used to reading history than works in the humanities).

The first and fourth chapters are well-done surveys, though the second chapter seemed light in analytical depth in places. The third chapter provides formal framing of his argument between the first and second halves of the book, too academic for many readers but mercifully brief.

The payoff to the too-academic structure of the book comes in the last (fifth) chapter, as the author attempts to deconstruct the work of a handful of architects from the 20th Century, focusing on the role of drawings versus physical models of specific projects in their body of work. I found the approach persuasive for all of the architects examined except for the last, Andrew Libeskind (spelling?), but at least some illumination came of it.

A read of a day and a half for a casual reader outside the field. I'd be interested to hear what specialists in the field would have to say about the book. For instance, is this book based on refereed articles in the field? And how does it related to other scholarly work in the field of architectural studies?
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Only search this product's reviews



Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
This chapter proposes that traditionally architectural scale models were not only used for designing buildings but also served, with varying influence, as a means of defining a culture's universe. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
scale model machine, undergraduate student model, architectural scale model, funerary model, understandable scale, new reference standard, perceived chaos, thinking mechanism, model machines, architectural model, invisible things, ence standards
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Daniel Libeskind, Temple of Jerusalem, Middle Ages, Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopaedia Americana, Louis Kahn, Second World War, Ten Books, Oxford University Press, Villard de Honnecourt, Harvard University Press, Marcel Duchamp, Sagrada Familia, Webster's Third International Dictionary, Art Through the Ages, Cornell University Press, Dictionary of Philosophy, Encyclopedia Americana, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Helen Gardner, Mechanical Problems, Moshe Barasch, The Iconoclasts
New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats
Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!
Search Inside This Book:



Books on Related Topics (learn more)

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product).
 
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums


Listmania!


Create a Listmania! list

So You'd Like to...


Create a guide


Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject