Main entry:

Thomsen, Christian Werner, 1940-

Title & Author:

Visionary architecture from Babylon to virtual reality / Christian W. Thomsen ; [translated from the German by John William Gabriel].

Publication:

Description:

191 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 31 cm

Notes:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 189-190) and index.
Introduction. p. 7.
From the "Whore of Babylon" to the "New Jerusalem" to the Ideal Cities of the Renaissance. p. 11.
"Whore of Babylon". p. 11.
Heavenly Jerusalem and Medieval Conceptions of the Ideal City. p. 18.
Renaissance Conceptions of the Ideal City. p. 24.
Myth of the Tower: From Babylon to the Tour de l'Infini. p. 27.
Consciousness Goes Modern: Giovanni Battista Piranesi and His Successors. p. 46.
Revolutionary Architecture in France and Russia. p. 56.
Architecture of Dreams. p. 69.
Citizen's Dream: Xanadu. p. 69.
King's Dream: Neuschwanstein. p. 73.
Postman's Dream: The Palais Ideal. p. 74.
Dreamer's Dream: The Invisible Cities. p. 78.
Crystalline Architecture and Organic Sculpture. p. 80.
"To Seeing Born, To Scanning Called": Watchtowers, Lighthouses, Ivory Towers. p. 92.
Bizarre and Grotesque Architecture. p. 107.
Advance to the Past -- Return to the Future: Contemporary Visionary Architects. p. 116.
Massimo Scolari. p. 117.
Leon Krier. p. 118.
Postwar Viennese Avant-Garde: Hans Hollein, Haus-Rucker-Co., Coop Himmelblau, Raimund Abraham. p. 121.
Lebbeus Woods. p. 124.
Peter Cook and Archigram. p. 136.
Deconstructive Designs and Built Architectural Visions. p. 134.
Bernard Tschumi. p. 137.
Zaha M. Hadid. p. 140.
Coop Himmelblau. p. 143.
Gunther Domenig. p. 147.
Daniel Libeskind. p. 150.
Science Fiction and Aspects of Future Architecture. p. 155.
Architecture 2000: Media Architecture and Virtual Architectures. p. 167.
Notes. p. 186.
Index of Names. p. 191.
Translated form German by John William Gabriel.
Translation of: Architekturphantasien von Babylon bis zur virtuellen Architektur: Munich : Prestel, 1994.

Summary:

Since the dawn of time, there have been architects who have yearned to reshape the world in which we live. This is a book about actual and visionary projects proposed by creative thinkers, iconoclasts, high-tech enthusiasts, environmentalists, media freaks, and other architectural visionaries. In short, it is a book about those who have endeavored to preserve creativity in their profession and whose innovative ideas have led, in practical terms, to the development of new architectural concepts, new ways of living and working, and new aesthetic forms. Christian W. Thomsen's fascinating discourse spans the history of building, from Babylon with its infamous tower, the symbol for the wicked city of antiquity - to the skyscraper and beyond. He investigates the Renaissance concept of the ideal city, the work of Piranesi, the revolutionary architecture of France and Russia, the exotic structures of the nineteenth century, and crystal palaces, watchtowers, lighthouses, and ivory towers. The journey continues by way of bizarre and grotesque architecture to contemporary visionary architecture, science-fiction and futuristic architecture, and the innovative realizations of the deconstructivists, finally concluding with media and virtual architectures. We live in an age in which science-fiction is more and more becoming "science fact." This book seeks to define a framework for such developments.

ISBN:

3791314254 (English edition)
9783791314259 (English edition)
3791313975 (German edition)
9783791313979 (German edition)

Subject:

Architecture History.
Architecture Histoire.
Architecture.
História da arquitetura.
Arquitetura moderna.
Arquitetura deconstrutivista.
Arquitetura fantástica.
Visionary architecture

Form/genre:

History.

Holdings:

Location: Library main 108512
Call No.: ID NA1118.5.F7; ID:94-B3022
Status: Available