Customer Reviews

Architecture Now! Museums

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Like other volumes in Taschen's "Architecture Now!" series, this book features brief but excellent case studies. A well-written introduction by Philip Jodidio covers the development of museum architecture since the mid 20th century, putting star museum architects into their historical and cultural context. The meat of the book is comprised of the case studies of over 50 museums around the world, including a few unbuilt designs. Each project is prefaced by a one-page description of the architect or architectural firm with a brief biography and list of important works. One to three double-page spreads are dedicated to each museum, with a description the design requirements and inspiration, interior and exterior photographs, plans, elevations, and occasionally sketches.

Each museum is accompanied by no more than a few paragraphs of text, so this is not a resource for in-depth studies of individual museums, the design process, architectural decision-making, or the construction process. However, it provides an excellent overview of contemporary museum architecture around the world, allowing readers to spot themes and connections as well as how different museums can be. Highly recommended as a source of inspiration during the initial planning stages of a design project, and as a source of broad information about the current state of museum architecture.