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Measures are the subject of this unusual book, in which Robert Tavernor offers a fascinating account of the various measuring systems human beings have devised over two millennia. Tavernor urges us to look beyond the notion that measuring is strictly a scientific activity, divorced from human concerns. Instead, he sets measures and measuring in cultural context and shows(...)
August 2007
Smoot's Ear : The measure of humanity
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Measures are the subject of this unusual book, in which Robert Tavernor offers a fascinating account of the various measuring systems human beings have devised over two millennia. Tavernor urges us to look beyond the notion that measuring is strictly a scientific activity, divorced from human concerns. Instead, he sets measures and measuring in cultural context and shows how deeply they are connected to human experience and history. The book explores changing attitudes toward measure, focusing on key moments in art, sculpture, architecture, philosophy, and the development of scientific thought. It encompasses the journey of Western civilization from the construction of the Great Pyramid to the first manned flight to the moon. Beginning with a review of early measuring standards that referred to the feet and inches of ideal bodies, the book then tracks how Enlightenment interest in a truly scientific system of measure led to the creation of the metric system. This “rational” approach to measure in turn has inspired artists, architects, writers, and others to seek a balance that takes the human story into account. Tavernor concludes with a discussion of measure in our own time, when space travel presents to humankind a direct encounter with the unfathomable measure of the universe.
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Recognized in his own time for extraordinary architectural achievements, Leon Battista Alberti (14041472) five hundred years after his death continues to influence the practice and theory of architecture. This book is the first full-scale study of Alberti's life and architecture in more than a quarter century. Robert Tavernor provides a biographical account of the(...)
On Alberti and the art of building
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Recognized in his own time for extraordinary architectural achievements, Leon Battista Alberti (14041472) five hundred years after his death continues to influence the practice and theory of architecture. This book is the first full-scale study of Alberti's life and architecture in more than a quarter century. Robert Tavernor provides a biographical account of the Italian architect and a detailed consideration of each of the building projects with which he was involved. With new reconstructions of Alberti's buildings and new interpretations of his design intentions, this book will fascinate every reader with an interest in Renaissance architecture. From Alberti's supreme knowledge of the thought and buildings of antiquity, he developed a set of writings on science and the visual arts, including his important treatise on architecture, De re aedificatoria. In this volume, Tavernor examines Alberti's architectural writings and his practical example, his relations with his patrons, how he extended his theory into practice through major building projects across Italy, and how he succeeded in raising the status of architecture to an art-one that sought harmony with the natural world. Focusing on the analysis of Alberti's buildings, the author sets each in historical context; provides a building history; and considers source material, proportional systems, and iconography. He concludes the book with a fresh view of Alberti's theory and practice and a summary of his design process.
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December 1998, New Haven
Treatises
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$67.50
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Since Greek antiquity the human body has been regarded as a microcosm of universal harmony. In this book an international group of architects, architectural historians, and theorists examines the relation of the human body and architecture. The essays view well-known buildings, texts, paintings, ornaments, and landscapes from the perspective of the body’s physical,(...)
Architectural Theory
November 2001, Cambridge, Mass.
Body and building : essays on the changing relation of body and architecture
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Since Greek antiquity the human body has been regarded as a microcosm of universal harmony. In this book an international group of architects, architectural historians, and theorists examines the relation of the human body and architecture. The essays view well-known buildings, texts, paintings, ornaments, and landscapes from the perspective of the body’s physical, psychological, and spiritual needs and pleasures. Topics include Greek temples; the churches of Tadao Ando in Japan; Renaissance fortresses and paintings; the body, space, and dwelling in Wright’s and Schindler’s houses in North America; the corporeal dimension of Carlo Scarpa’s landscapes and gardens; theory from Vitruvius to the Renaissance and Enlightenment; and Freudian psychoanalysis. The essays are framed by an appreciation of architectural historian and theorist Joseph Rykwert’s influential work on the subject. Written for a symposium in honour of Joseph Rykwert held in March 1996 at the University of Pennsylvania.
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November 2001, Cambridge, Mass.
Architectural Theory
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Summary:
Since Greek antiquity, the human body has been regarded as a microcosm of universal harmony. In this book, an international group of architects, architectural historians, and theorists examines the relation of the human body and architecture. The essays view well-known buildings, texts, paintings, ornaments, and landscapes from the perspective of the body's physical,(...)
Architectural Theory
April 2005, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Body and building : essays on the changing relation of body and architecture
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$30.00
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Summary:
Since Greek antiquity, the human body has been regarded as a microcosm of universal harmony. In this book, an international group of architects, architectural historians, and theorists examines the relation of the human body and architecture. The essays view well-known buildings, texts, paintings, ornaments, and landscapes from the perspective of the body's physical, psychological, and spiritual needs and pleasures. Topics include Greek temples; the churches of Tadao Ando in Japan; Renaissance fortresses and paintings; the body, space, and dwelling in Wright's and Schindler's houses in North America; the corporeal dimension of Carlo Scarpa's landscapes and gardens; theory from Vitruvius to the Renaissance and Enlightenment; and Freudian psychoanalysis. The essays are framed by an appreciation of architectural historian and theorist Joseph Rykwert's influential work on the subject.
Architectural Theory