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Walter Gropius (Dover Books on Architecture) by Giedion, Siegfried (May 19, 1992) Paperback
Excellent Book
- GenresArchitecture
Paperback
First published May 19, 1992
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 12, 2024
This book was published in 1954 while Walter Gropius was still alive and while he was still practicing architecture, so it is not a complete monograph.
What makes this book interesting and still relevant is that Giedion, a well-known architecture critic of the time, was also a friend of Gropius and other former Bauhaus masters. So he has first hand experience to share while writing about Gropius. This is very informative and is something you can't find in newer publications.
The book is not very long but over half of it is filled with illustrations, photos, and floor plans. Everything is black and white, but many of the photos you will likely not see in any other publication. Most scholarly monographs will have lengthy text often not easy to read, and then a minimal number of photos of each project. This book is the opposite. I think many of the photos were taken especially for this book so while there may be more thorough or lengthy books about Gropius, they won't have the breadth of photos this book has.
The book is organized in chapters of building/project types as opposed to chronologically. All the photos are at the back so you have to keep flipping back and forth when they are referenced. The text is easy to read and comprehend.
What i like about these older architecture books, is they usually present everything at face value, without over-analyzing, and without trying to find deep esoteric meanings that are not self-evident. The period photos and wide variety of projects documented with floor plans and previously un-seen photos make this a useful book even 70 years later.
If you can find a copy of this book, it is worth reading and if you are really into modernism or architecture, it may be worth adding to your library.
See Amazon review for photos of the actual book
What makes this book interesting and still relevant is that Giedion, a well-known architecture critic of the time, was also a friend of Gropius and other former Bauhaus masters. So he has first hand experience to share while writing about Gropius. This is very informative and is something you can't find in newer publications.
The book is not very long but over half of it is filled with illustrations, photos, and floor plans. Everything is black and white, but many of the photos you will likely not see in any other publication. Most scholarly monographs will have lengthy text often not easy to read, and then a minimal number of photos of each project. This book is the opposite. I think many of the photos were taken especially for this book so while there may be more thorough or lengthy books about Gropius, they won't have the breadth of photos this book has.
The book is organized in chapters of building/project types as opposed to chronologically. All the photos are at the back so you have to keep flipping back and forth when they are referenced. The text is easy to read and comprehend.
What i like about these older architecture books, is they usually present everything at face value, without over-analyzing, and without trying to find deep esoteric meanings that are not self-evident. The period photos and wide variety of projects documented with floor plans and previously un-seen photos make this a useful book even 70 years later.
If you can find a copy of this book, it is worth reading and if you are really into modernism or architecture, it may be worth adding to your library.
See Amazon review for photos of the actual book
February 15, 2021
More dense to read than I expected. Did not realize this was published before Gropius’ death so did not give full picture of Gropius, his work and his impact. Still interesting to read some of how he was radical and fundamental to architecture education while he was alive.
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May 24, 2014good
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January 19, 2014
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews