Heavenly Mansions: And Other Essays on Architecture

A classic of architectural history and theory, Heavenly Mansions interprets architecture as a reflection of the age in which it flowers, and it traces the alternating themes of fantasy and functionalism as exemplified in various styles and in the works of a number of influential men, including Christopher Wren, Viollet-le-Duc, William Butterfield, and Le Corbusier. It gives an account of John Wood and the unique English Town-Planning Tradition begun early in the eighteenth century, and of J.M. Gandy, whose two curious books of designs paralleled the Romantic Age of literature and were yet unmistakably prophetic of cubism. Succinctly summarizing 800 years of viewpoints about architecture, it ranges from Gothic architecture to the Renaissance to the influence of modern abstract art on twentieth-century architecture. This work is invaluable to students of art, architecture, and the humanities in general.