Thinking About Architecture: An Introduction to Architectural Theory Colin Davies

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

In order to understand architecture in all its cultural complexity it is necessary to grasp certain basic concepts such as representation, form, and space. The aim of this book is to provide designers, teachers, students, and interested laypersons with a set of ideas that will enrich their conversation, their writing, and above all their thinking about architecture. Written in a conversational style, it introduces difficult concepts gradually, step by step.Architectural theorists and philosophers are mentioned in passing and their works are listed in the bibliography, but they are not the subject of the book. Architecture, rather than philosophy, is at the centre of the picture. The aim is to enable the reader to understand architecture in all its aspects, rather than to learn the names of particular theorists. The book is divided into eight chapters, each covering a particular aspect of architecture. Thinking about Architecture will be an invaluable standard introduction to architectural theory for architecture students, practising architects and interested general readers.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Introduction (p. 6)
• Chapter 1 Representation (p. 12)
• Chapter 2 Language (p. 24)
• Chapter 3 Form (p. 42)
• Chapter 4 Space (p. 62)
• Chapter 5 Truth (p. 82)
• Chapter 6 Nature (p. 102)
• Chapter 7 History (p. 124)
• Chapter 8 The City (p. 138)
• Index (p. 154)
• Endnotes (p. 157)
• Bibliography (p. 158)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

Davies (London Metropolitan Univ.) here extends his considerable and distinguished record of publication on later modern British design and designers. He reappraises the theoretical framework of architecture and planning thematically, beginning with a consideration of its potential to embody or express ideas and states of mind or being. There follows a most engaging series of disquisitions on the more traditional definitions of architectural form-making. These discussions lucidly illuminate the constituent features of design and culminate in a remarkable summation of the imaginary, symbolic, and functional components of the city. The clarity of Davies' examination of the drivers, objectives, and capacities of architecture is matched by an excellent selection of illustrations showing edifices, buildings, and sites from across the large historical compass of (mainly) European and North American practice. Equally impressive is the judicious inclusion of a diverse range of types of architectural rendering and representation. This learned yet highly readable book, replete with bibliography and index, will enlighten professionals and academics. It will also interest a broader readership fascinated by the architectural enterprise and its impact on society. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and above; general readers. R. W. Liscombe University of British Columbia