Architecture: Celebrating the Past, Designing the Future

SYNOPSIS

America has no shortage of natural splendors, but that doesn’t stop people from lining up to see such spectacles as the Empire State Building in New York, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, or Frank Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. The lively story of the nation’s greatest buildings and the colorful individuals whose designs make them possible is memorably told in Architecture: Celebrating the Past, Designing the Future, a beautifully illustrated book commemorating 150 years of the American Institute of Architects. In this engaging account, readers take an unprecedented look at the role of architecture and architects in society to see what shapes the places where we work and play, how buildings are actually designed and constructed, and where our most familiar building types, including homes, schools, churches, and offices, are taking us in their evolutionary journey. Along the way, the narrative pauses to introduce extraordinary men, women, organizations, and ideas changing the course of cities, towns, and even regions of the United States and the world. A story this engrossing also gains from having many voices to tell it, so there are architects like Thom Mayne, scholars like James Steele, and media critics like Paul Goldberger contributing their unique points of view. Anyone inspired by design’s growing role in modern living will enjoy this book.

Frank Gehry, Mies van der Rohe, Zaha Hadid, Eero Saarinen, Thom Mayne, and Frank Lloyd Wright are some of the masters of architecture whose work, writings, and often controversial ideas make Architecture: Celebrating the Past, Designing the Future a must-have for those who appreciate the exciting impact of design on today’s world.

AUTHOR PROFILE

The editor, Nancy B. Solomon, AIA, is a freelance architecture journalist. More than 70 authors have contributed to the book, including practicing architects, scholars, editors, critics, and others.