Key Buildings of the Twentieth Century: Plans, Sections, Elevations [Paperback]

Richard Weston (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0393731456 | ISBN-13: 978-0393731453 | Publication Date: October 17, 2004

Key Buildings of the Twentieth Century: Plans, Sections, and Elevations features 106 of the most significant and influential buildings of the twentieth century, including classic works by such seminal architects as Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright, Mies van der Rohe, and Alvar Aalto, as well as those by more recent masters, such as Norman Foster, Frank Gehry, and Rem Koolhaas.

Accurate scale plans show each floor, together with elevations, sections, and site plans where appropriate for each of the buildings. All of these have been specially drawn for this book and are based on the most up-to-date information and sources. The concise accompanying text explains the important architectural features of each building and the influences it shows or generated; one or two full-color images offer exterior and/or interior views. Cross-references to other buildings highlight the various connections between the key buildings.The illustrated introduction gives a brief overview of the development of architecture in the twentieth century, paying particular attention to issues of spatial organization. A bibliography provides further reading about the architects and the buildings discussed. The quality and number of line drawings allow the buildings to be understood in detail and make this book indispensable for all students of modern architecture. As an added bonus, the book includes a CD-ROM containing digital files of all drawings. Includes CD-ROM (PC and Mac compatible).

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Richard Weston, an architect, landscape designer, and author, is professor of architecture at Cardiff University. His books include the monograph Alvar Aalto (winner of the 1995 Sir Banister Fletcher Prize) and the definitive monograph on the Danish architect Jørn Utzon; The House in the Twentieth Century; Materials, Form and Architecture; and Key Buildings of the 20th Century.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (October 17, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393731456
• ISBN-13: 978-0393731453
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 9.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #850,478 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Key Buildings of the Twentieth Century, February 8, 2007

By 

Nicholas T. Fox (Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Key Buildings of the Twentieth Century: Plans, Sections, Elevations (Paperback)

This is a very good reference that will appeal to practicing architects as well as students of architecture. The CD that comes with the book contains plans, elevations and sections of these key buildings and this is perhaps one of the main reasons for purchasing it. This 'strength' is also perhaps also one of the books major weeknesses as all drawings are in dxf and postscript formats, which means they are displayed in a single colour inside your CAD program and/or Photoshop. Given the size and complexity of some of the buildings in this book, having all lines as a single colour is at times very confusing for the eye. The dxf files do not contain any text, so it's a matter of looking at the drawings in both the book and on the screen at the same time; though the text in the book is also a bit on the 'light' side; and genreally you're often left to your own devices in determining the function of many rooms. All drawings are reasonably well executed but have an unfinished feel that I found quite annoying. That said, Key Buildings of the Twentieth Century is a valuable reference source for anyone wishing to study these key buildings. I don't think too many purchasers will be dissapointed with what they find inside its covers.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good resource, March 8, 2007

By 

Queen Elizabeth "the critical" (Raleigh, NC) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Key Buildings of the Twentieth Century: Plans, Sections, Elevations (Paperback)

This book delivers as its title promises, Plans, Sections, and Elevations. However, there are few (only one per building) pictures of the spaces in each building.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Resource, February 23, 2006

By 

Kevin Correia (NH) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Key Buildings of the Twentieth Century: Plans, Sections, Elevations (Paperback)

I am a current architecture student in college and found this book to be a wondrful resource. So often, as students, we are urged to look at precedents to learn how other architects have solved problems, or designed for a certain climate, or what materials they used for different projects. This book provides a good insight to many famous projects by many different architects and is a good read. It also comes with scaled drawings of each project on a CD-ROM which is also a nice bonus.