| Summary: | The twentieth century has witnessed dramatic and fundamental changes in almost every branch of architecture. It has been a period of experiment in the use of new materials and constructional methods which has led to an extraordinarily wide range of buildings-from highly personal and emotional structures, to the cool geometry of pure forms. This is the first book to attempt in strictly chronological terms to survey all the major buildings of this century. It is arranged in decades from 1900 to 1970: within each decade, all significant completed buildings which have had a generic influence on twentieth-century architecture are examined. Each entry is fully documented, and the building's present state is given where known. Each building is illustrated with photographs, drawings and plans. An introduction sets the scene, looking back to the engineering achievements of the nineteenth century, to the architects technical inheritance and the aesthetic problems that have occupied architects and theorists of this century. Each decade is prefaced by a short evaluation of the developments within those years. The buildings themselves are presented in clear factual terms, and much hitherto unknown information is given. In addition to the decade chapters, the book provides a useful chronology of buildings erected between 1900 and 1970 and a comprehensive index. It is illustrated with nearly 1,000 monochrome and colour illustrations. The combination of background information with a large body of factual matter makes this book of exceptional value to anyone who is interested in the social and cultural life of the twentieth century. To students and historians it will become an essential reference work. -- from dust jacket.
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