A Vision of Britain: A Personal View of Architecture [Hardcover]

The Prince of Wales Prince Charles (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 21, 1989

Prince Charles stresses the need to preserve the unique character of towns and cities, the desirability of reviewing existing planning laws, and the importance of providing architecture on a human scale. 300 color photos.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday (October 21, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 038526903X
• ISBN-13: 978-0385269032
• Product Dimensions: 11.7 x 9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #857,121 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An insightful manifesto that tells us a lot, October 25, 2000

By 

Andrew S. Rogers (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Vision of Britain: A Personal View of Architecture (Hardcover)

So much has happened in the years since this title came out that it's hard to remember what a storm The Prince of Wales' venture into architectural criticism caused. He seems to have made his peace with the profession now, but this is still an interesting and useful book that tells us as much, or more, about the author than it does about the art and science of building.

The Prince's opinions on architecture seem congruent with, for example, his more recent outspoken opposition to genetically modified food. As I've heard him described elsewhere, HRH seems to be a man not entirely comfortable with the twentieth (and now twenty-first) century. And a good thing, too: lots of discomforting things have come out of that century. While unpleasant architecture may not rank high on the scale of the twentieth century's crimes, one is reminded of Winston Churchill's saying that 'We shape our buildings, and afterwards our buildings shape us.'

The Prince's central point is that modern architecture has lost sight of its surroundings. Rather than creating structures that harmonize with their location, using local materials and respecting the history of the site, many modern buildings seem determined to draw attention to themselves -- or rather, to their architects. Like any art, architecture is a matter of taste. But while you can hide a bad statue or painting, an ugly building is a blot on the landscape that's darn hard to avoid. My tastes must be very similar to HRH's, because when he described a certain library building, for example, as looking like a place where books are burned rather than preserved, I nearly stood and cheered.

It's hard to say whether the Prince's activism had, in the long run, any impact on British architecture or the architectural profession. But it was noble (not to say 'royal') of him to use his position to present a viewpoint that seems all too rare these days.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars open your eyes and see, August 28, 2005

By 

matei (Ohio, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Vision of Britain: A Personal View of Architecture (Hardcover)

This book is about an honest account of a royal layman about the visual quality of his country. I'm an architect and I appreciate what he is trying to say even if I don't agree with all the points he is making. Architects today are too much restricted to their out "sub-culture", we need a more "holistic" approach to what we do. I wish this "vision" would have been more "ambitious" and "deep" because it deserves to be so! In time the most of the points of this "vision" will prove right, I'm sure!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Much-Needed Slap in the Face to Post-Modernism, June 17, 2009

By 

Flynn Farralone (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Vision of Britain: A Personal View of Architecture (Hardcover)

I found this book on the $5 table in a clearance book store many many years ago and as I'm a fan of good architecture and civic planning, I figured I'd go for it. I'm glad I did -- Prince Charles was quite brave to go on the offensive against the ills of post-modernist architecture (and post-modern thinking, for that matter), and I thoroughly enjoyed every page of it.

As I understand it, Charles was (royally) thrashed when this book was published -- the architectural elite and general intelligentsia blasted him to bits for what they felt was an out-of-touch and backwards love-letter to an architectural age gone by by a member of the Ivory Tower Club. No doubt they felt that as a non-architect, Charles has no right to criticize architecture; and as his criticisms were so pointed, sarcastic, and instantly read by millions due to his fame, the attack was very personal and embarrassing for all concerned.

Now does Charles come across and being 100% in-touch? Not really. What person growing up with his wealth and privilege can be? But still, he has eyes and knows what is pleasant to look at and experience. I think that Charles was simply saying what untold millions of non-architects and common folks have been saying for decades -- "These new buildings are awful", "Why did they tear down that nice building to make . . . this . . this . . . THING?" Charles cites several examples and they are vivid, undeniable proof that Le Corbusier was a menace, not a genuis.

What I remember most about this book after all these years is that I finished it and sat back and thought, "You know what? He's RIGHT!" It all makes wonderful sense -- from building to a human scale to using natural, local materials to re-embracing the "rules" that served architects and planners well for hundreds if not thousands of years. These ideas have been echoed over and over again in the ensuing years as we come to grips with the failures of post-modern architecture and social/civic planning.

Charles stood up and went against the rushing tide of post-modernism with this book, and I thank him for it. His critics are slowly being replaced by followers as we explore sustainable buildings, creating community, and a better way of life for all. Along with Thomas Hylton's "Save Our Land, Save Our Towns", I'd say this should be standard reading for planners and architects who are more interested in creating a world that people want to live in -- rather than what feeds their ego.