A History of Building Types (The A. W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts)

An essential guide to vital and often overlooked features of the architectural and social inheritance of the West This book provides vital insights into the ways in which architecture reflects the character of society. Drawing on his immense erudition and keenly discerning eye, Nikolaus Pevsner describes twenty types of buildings ranging from the most monumental to the least, and from the ideal to the most utilitarian. He covers both European and American architecture, with examples chosen largely from the nineteenth century, the crucial period for diversification. Included are national monuments, libraries, theaters, hospitals, prisons, factories, hotels, and many other public buildings. Incisive and authoritative, A History of Building Types traces the evolution of each type in response to social and architectural change, and discusses differing attitudes toward function, materials, and style. Please note: All images in this ebook are presented in black and white and have been reduced. Available again in paperback, this first survey of building types ever written remains an essential guide to vital and often overlooked features of the architectural and social inheritance of the West. Here Nikolaus Pevsner shares his immense erudition and keenly discerning eye with readers curious about the ways in which architecture reflects the character of society. He describes twenty types of buildings ranging from the most monumental to the least, from the most ideal to the most utilitarian. More than seven hundred illustrations illuminate the text. Both Europe and America have been covered with examples chosen largely from the nineteenth century, the crucial period for diversification. Included are national monuments, libraries, theaters, hospitals, prisons, factories, hotels, and many other public buildings; churches and private dwellings have been excluded for practical reasons. The author is concerned not only with the evolution of each type in response to social and architectural change, but also with differing attitudes toward function, materials, and style

An essential guide to vital and often overlookedfeatures of the architectural and social inheritance of theWest This book provides vital insights into the ways inwhich architecture reflects the character of society. Drawing onhis immense erudition and keenly discerning eye, Nikolaus Pevsnerdescribes twenty types of buildings ranging from the mostmonumental to the least, and from the ideal to the mostutilitarian. He covers both European and American architecture,with examples chosen largely from the nineteenth century, thecrucial period for diversification. Included are nationalmonuments, libraries, theaters, hospitals, prisons, factories,hotels, and many other public buildings. Incisive andauthoritative, A History of Building Types traces theevolution of each type in response to social and architecturalchange, and discusses differing attitudes toward function,materials, and style. Please note: All images in this ebook arepresented in black and white and have been reduced.

National Monuments And Monuments To Genius -- Government Buildings From The Late Twelfth To The Late Seventeenth Centuries -- Government Buildings From The Eighteenth Century : Houses Of Parliament -- Government Buildings From The Eighteenth Century : Ministries And Public Offices -- Government Buildings From The Eighteenth Century : Town Halls And Law Courts -- Theatres -- Libraries -- Museums -- Hospitals -- Prisons -- Hotels -- Exchanges And Banks -- Warehouses And Office Buildings -- Railway Stations -- Market Halls, Conservatories And Exhibition Buildings -- Shops, Stores And Department Stores -- Factories. Nikolaus Pevsner. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 295) And Index. The study of building types is a history of institutions, of their changing architectural requirements, and of the way in which these requirements have been met. This work discusses many different types of building, from prisons and hospitals to shops and factories, with regard to these issues. Why does the Hilton Hotel look different from a coaching inn? Is it because of changes in architectural taste, or changes in the hotel business? Pevsner argues that the study of building types is a history of institutions and their changing requirements