Form, Function & Design (Dover Art Instruction and Reference Books) (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Great French architect analyzes eternal problem, definition of form. Provocative exposition, encounter with energy, mass, motion, proportion, climate, curves of life, landscape, psychology of structure, urban planning. Clear, broad investigation into fundamentals of visual, constructive arts. 422 illus.

Product Details

• Paperback: 238 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (June 1, 1975)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486201821
• ISBN-13: 978-0486201825
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #724,096 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Handbook of Beauty, Simplicity, & Functionality, July 18, 1999

By A Customer

M. Grillo jogs my perceptions of design--and life--out of tired ruts. This book is filled with wonderfully illuminating illustrations, many in surprising juxtapositions, like a farmhouse roof facing prevailing winds next to an inverted ship's hull, a shark beside a jet plane, a cloverleaf in Stockholm by a cut-away of the human heart. He SEES, and in his warm prose tells us what he sees and why it works.

He book not only explains elements of beautiful design but touches aspects of healthy thought. In his note to a young designer, he advises: "Do not be afraid: either of your ideas, no matter how wild---or of the ideas of others, no matter how disturbing. Fear is the motive power of all intolerance."

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Broad overview of what architecture really is., May 10, 2003

By A Customer

Architecture is not about appearance but function. This excellent book examines the environment: wind, sun, water. It explores human's needs. It dwells into the tie between humans and the environment. The environment is both necesary for life, and can cause death. As such a home should act like a second skin: keeping out harmful agents, and allowing the necessary agents to come in. This book is not only an overview of architecture, but includes an interesting outlook on philosophy, art, architectural evolution, movement, and human pcychology. This book is informative, easy to understand and a fun read. It's good.