Architecture, Liberty and Civic Order: Architectural Theories from Vitruvius to Jefferson and Beyond

ISBN-13: 9781138567801 / Angielski / Miękka / 2017 / 220 str.

Carroll William Westfall

Opis

This book brings to light central topics that are neglected in current histories and theories of architecture and urbanism. It traces two models for the practice of architecture. One follows the ancient model in which the architect renders his service to serve the interests of others; it survives and is dominant in modernism. The other, first formulated in the fifteenth century by Leon Battista Alberti, has the architect use his talent in coordination with others to contribute to the common good of a republican civil order that seeks to protect its own liberty and that of its citizens. It stresses the importance and urgency, of restoring traditional practices so that we can build just, beautiful, and sustainable cities and rural districts.

Spis treści

Chapter 1 Imitation in General; Chapter 2 Vitruvius; Chapter 3 Alberti on the Art of Building; Chapter 4 Alberti, Architect and Urbanist; Chapter 5 Vitruvianism and Palladio; Chapter 6 Events in the Classical Tradition on the Continent; Chapter 7 The Classical Tradition’s Fate West of the Channel; Chapter 8 Jefferson, Architect, and the Classical Tradition; Chapter 9 Imitation and Architecture’s Restoration; Chapter 10 The Beautiful and Good City;

O autorze

Carroll William Westfall’s PhD in the history of architecture was conferred by Columbia University. Since 1982 he has taught students in history and architecture at the Universities of Illinois in Chicago, Virginia, and most recently Notre Dame. His special interest has always been the history of the city with particular attention to the reciprocity between the political life and the urban and architectural elements that serve the needs of citizens. In classes and in two previous books and numerous articles he has explored the role of the classical tradition in architecture in serving and building the good and beautiful city. His approach uses theories of architecture and the practices of architects and those who hire them to interpret how their buildings serve and express the interests of those who possess the authority that allows them to build. The answer lies within the center of the classical tradition whose history is a constant revision to the best possible use of the universal and enduring qualities of the good and the beautiful in governing and building the good and beautiful city. In the center of this narrative is the role of the imitating the order, harmony, and proportionality of nature that uses tradition as a guide and innovation as a vivifying tonic, a topic neglected in the current narrative of the history of architecture.