Learning From Palladio [Hardcover]

Branko Mitrovic (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2004

This book summarizes what is known today about the design procedures and methodology of Andrea Palladio, arguably the most influential Renaissance architect.

Even when Modernism dimmed interest in the work of classical architects, Palladio's opus never ceased to attract attention. This book sets Pallado in his contemporary context, discusses the theory of the orders, proportions, space composition, façade design, and presents this material in a way accessible to practicing architects and students, so that the ideas can be applied in their architectural work. 200 illus.

Editorial Reviews

Review

An extended meditation on the discrepancies between ideal form and physical realization. . . . Mitrovic correctly places the importance of Palladio in his formal design and not in verbal theories or issues outside the architecture itself. (Steven Semes - Period Homes )

Learning from Palladio sets Palladio in his context; discusses the theory of the orders, proportions, space composition, and facade design; and presents this material for practicing architects and students, so that the ideas  can be applied in their architectural work today. Mitrovic's comprehensive Learning from Palladio reveals what architectural historians, practicing architects, and students can learn from Palladio today….his prediction that Palladio's classical architecture is the architecture of the future is daring in an academic book, and fascinating. (SirReadaLot.org )

[A] significant and original contribution to the understanding of Palladio's design theory. (Stephen R. Wassell - Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians )

About the Author

Branko Mitrovic received his PhD. from the University of Pennsylvania. He teaches at the School of Architecture, UNITEC Institute of Technology, New Zealand.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (May 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393731162
• ISBN-13: 978-0393731163
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 8.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,513,377 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am an architectural historian with dual background in architecture and philosophy. For almost twenty years, my interests have concentrated on Italian Renaissance architecture--how Renaissance architects designed and what motivated their design decisions. My first book, "Canon of the Five Orders of Architecture" (New York: Acanthus, 1999) was a translation of with a commentary on Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola's influential treatise "Regola delli cinque ordini". My second book, "Learning from Palladio" (New York: Norton, 2004) presented an extensive analysis of Andrea Palladio's approach to design. An important thesis of this book was that the classical orders Palladio used on his facades at the same time determined the internal planning of his buildings. This thesis was subsequently confirmed by a survey of Palladio's villa Cornaro, that Stephen R. Wassell and I organized and whose results we published in the book we co-edited together: "Andrea Palladio. Villa Cornaro in Piombino Dese" (New York: Acanthus, 2006). Finally, my book "Serene Greed of the Eye. Leon Battista Alberti and the Philosophical Foundations of Renaissance Architectural Theory" (Berlin: Deutscher Kunstverlag, 2005) analyzes the philosophical background of Alberti's architectural theory. The book is English, but because it was published in Germany, it needs to be ordered through the German Amazon site: www.amazon.de.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent scholarship, August 22, 2008

By 

Paul A. Ranogajec "p.r." (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Learning From Palladio (Hardcover)

This book is an excellent summary of Palladio's design method. Although some of the discussion is quite technical and heavily formalist, Mitrovic offers a refreshing look at Palladio's singular achievement in architecture. At the end, he also offers an argument for the continuing relevance of Palladio's formal design for the contemporary architect--a viewpoint sure to rankle the die-hard modernist.