Customer Reviews

Campo Baeza (Contemporary World Architects)

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This tiny but substantial book carries a punch. To be featured in Contemporary World Architects publication, the architects must be critically acclaimed & that their works are ahead of their time & yet, they must be able to withstand the passing of time. Among the Board Members who made the decision are Richard Meier, Cesar Pelli, Graham Owen, Emilio Ambasz, Aaron Betsky, Charles Gwathmey, & the list continues. Therefore, we know that we are into something special when we read about Campo Baeza. Despite his relatively young age, he has produced quite a few number of works that are heavily featured in publications around the world except his hometown of Spain. The ever reliable & inquisitive Kenneth Frampton not only talks about his works but also, Campo as a mentor, a teacher, an inspiration for many up & coming idealists like himself. Campo is adamant that he doesn't belong to the Minimalist school despite that his name has been brought up again & again in some Minimalist books that defined him as a Meditarrean Minimalist architect. Campo is selective with his projects & he doesn't take on any projects. This book emphasises much about his much praised Turegano House, Gaspar House, et cetera. Here, we are shown his versatility with his involvements in not just residential houses, but also educational buildings & public buildings. An architect who is enthusiastic with strong form, the ever changing nature of light, the metaphorism of architecture which he derives from other art stream particularly Rembrandt's "Man In a Room", Johannes Verspronck's "Girl in Blue", Perez Villalta's "El Navegante Interior", the humanity of those buildings with its "right" proportion complementing the environment & their occupants. The Appendix consists of Selected Buildings in their timely sequence, location, & usage; List of Works & Credits: & Acknowledgments. A spendid book to read & browse through. Highly recommended. Having said that, the publication is done in 1997 & therefore, it would be ideal to have a new edition with addition of his later works.

just buy this book. beautiful pictures of beautiful buildings of one of the great european architects (but unfortunately still unknown in the netherlands)

Alberto Campo Baeza, one of Spain's outstanding modern architects and professor of architecture at American and European universities, has his elegant designs reviewed in Kenneth Frampton's book.