Experiencing Architecture [Paperback]

Steen Eiler Rasmussen (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0262680025 | ISBN-13: 978-0262680028 | Publication Date: March 15, 1964 | Edition: 2nd

Profusely illustrated with fine instances of architectural experimentation through the centuries, Experiencing Architecture manages to convey the intellectual excitement of superb design. From teacups, riding boots, golf balls, and underwater sculpture to the villas of Palladio and the fish-feeding pavilion of the Peking Winter Palace, the author ranges over the less-familiar byways of designing excellence.At one time, writes Rasmussen, "the entire community tool part in forming the dwellings and implements they used. The individual was in fruitful contact with these things; the anonymous houses were built with a natural feeling for place, materials and use and the result was a remarkably suitable comeliness. Today, in our highly civilized society, the houses which ordinary people are doomed to live in and gaze upon are on the whole without quality. We cannot, however, go back to the old method of personally supervised handicrafts. We must strive to advance by arousing interest in and understanding of the work the architect does. The basis of competent professionalism is a sympathetic and knowledgeable group of amateurs, of non-professional art lovers."

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A book of great charm and broad understanding." Architectural Forum

"...so lucid and clear that every layman and beginner will be able to understand and to enjoy it." Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism

About the Author

Steen Eiler Flint is Scientific Team Leader for Self-Organizing Systems at Los Alamos National Laboratory and Professor of Physics and Director of the Center for Fundamental Living Technologies (FLinT) at the University of Southern Denmark. He is also an an External Research Professor at the Santa Fe Institute.

Product Details

• Paperback: 245 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press; 2nd edition (March 15, 1964)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262680025
• ISBN-13: 978-0262680028
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,941 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #72 in Books > Professional & Technical > Architecture

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Experience, October 1, 2003

By 

P. Martin - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Experiencing Architecture (Paperback)

When I was looking for some books to begin to learn about architecture (on a purely amateur level), someone recommended "Experiencing Architecture". I could not be happier with this book. The author consistently uses simple, concrete and engaging examples to illustrate his points. He compares and contrasts; uses buildings, sidewalks, windows, doorways, and steps from all over the world and across the centuries. Given my love of travel and history these references (liberally illustrated throughout the book in black and white photographs and some drawings) brought the book to life and added an additional dimension of enjoyment.

The reviews printed on the back cover say it all-"Lively without ever becoming condescending...learned without ever becoming dull" and "...so lucid and clear that every layman and beginner will be able to understand and to enjoy it". I can't recommend the book enough for anyone that has even the slightest interest in learning about architecture.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent and Accessible Architectural Overview, March 12, 2004

By 

Robert I. Hedges - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Experiencing Architecture (Paperback)

I am interested in architecture as a hobby, and as a potential career at some point in the future, so the perspective I had when reading this book was that of an informed amateur. I can't praise this little book enough. In its pages are the best explanations and analyses of contrasts, textures, shapes, and colors that I have seen in one single, condensed location.

Originally published in Denmark in 1959, and therefore lacking some of the more contemporary and postmodern design trends, this is an invaluable analysis of primarily European design through the mid twentieth century. This book is profusely illustrated with black and white photographs (most of which were taken by Rasmussen himself) and a fair number of drawings, all of which greatly assist the reader with his understanding of the material.

Specific buildings mentioned are too numerous to list, but the run the gamut from St. Peter's basilica in Rome, to the haunting and sinister Palazzetto Zuccari (also in Rome), to the ultramodern Johnson Wax Company building in Racine, Wisconsin by Frank Lloyd Wright, and the very modern study in open spaces found in the Copenhagen Police Headquarters (one of my personal favorites.)

This would be a useful guide to architects, and is the single best introduction to historical architectural style that I have yet found. Anyone with even a passing interest in architectural design or history would love this book.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent overview of good architectural conditions., October 19, 1999

By 

K. Walker (Winchester, Virginia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Experiencing Architecture (Paperback)

Good for beginner architects. Rasmussen made my summer vacation very pleasant with Experiencing Architecture. The introduction of very key elements, such as Corbusier's modular system forces the reader to explore further the many varying conditions of architecture. Worth every penny.