Key Buildings of the Twentieth Century: Plans, Sections, Elevations (Paperback)

by Richard Weston (Author) "In 1896 the local firm of Honeyman and Keppie won a competition to design new premises for the Glasgow School of Art..." (more)
Key Phrases: southwest elevation, desert house, floor plan, Ground Floor Plan, First Floor Plan, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Newly-drawn scale drawings of 100 significant and influential buildings brought together for reference in one handy volume.

This book provides the essential data for landmark buildings of modern architecture. Arranged chronologically for purposes of comparison, each building is represented by color photographs as well as accurate scale drawings prepared for use by students and professionals. Succinct text gives the history of each building and shows why it is innovative and important. An accompanying CD-ROM contains all the drawings, allowing readers to examine them in detail and to resize them for use in their own work. An opening essay gives a brief overview of the history of architecture in the twentieth century, highlighting key developments. Among the architects included are Frank Lloyd Wright, Antoni Gaudí, Walter Gropius, Mies van der Rohe, Alvar Aalto, Le Corbusier, Gunnar Asplund, Charles and Ray Eames, Jorn Utzon, Louis Kahn, Eero Saarinen, Robert Venturi, Norman Foster, Mario Botta, Richard Meier, Frank Gehry, Tadao Ando, Daniel Libeskind, Zaha Hadid, Rem Koolhaas, and many more. 150 color illustrations, 500 line drawings, CD-ROM.

About the Author
Richard Weston is professor at the Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff, England, and the author of Alvar Alto, Modernism, The House in the Twentieth Century, and other books.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co. (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 (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #392,722 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 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 (REAL NAME)

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.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

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

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

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.

5.0 out of 5 stars A must have, October 28, 2008

By	Patrick M. Stawski "godlyke1" (Norristown, PA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazing and complete floorplans! Gives a student a great basis to present powerful drawings and plans for presentations. But also shows the architects visions of some very well known buildings that you have yet to visit.