A history of western architecture

Far and away the best narrative summary of western architecture in existence...it stands out as an intellectual triumph'

SIR JOHN SUMMERSON

This highly acclaimed study has now been brought fully up to date by the inclusion of an additional section on the worldwide architectural developments of the last ten years. In addition to the high-tech work of figures such as Norman Foster and Richard Rogers, this final piece covers the more traditionalist work of such architects as Thomas Beeby.

The author surveys the entire range of western architecture from its Classical origins. His approach throughout the book is to see architectural history as a living continuity rather than as a museum of neatly labelled styles. In particular, he emphasizes the validity and vitality of the Classical language of architecture which links, for instance, the work of Ictinus in fifth-century Athens with that of McKim, Mead and White in twentieth-century New York. In this way he sheds new light on the Modern Movement, rejecting the idea that it was the inevitable result of a preceding architectural progression.

This authoritative, highly illustrated survey provides a fresh perspective on an important subject.

David Watkin is Reader in the History of Architecture at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Peterhouse. He is the author of many books and is a leading authority on Classicism and its revivals in architecture.