The Theory of Mouldings,

by Charles Howard Walker

Aclassic 1926 study that looks at mouldings from historical, practical, aesthetic, and perceptual points of view.With the revival of interest in traditional design, practitioners, students, and historians have begun to study and use the vocabulary of forms that so enriched our architectural heritage. None are as ubiquitous as mouldings, yet an in-depth analysis of them has been absent. This book fills an important gap in the current discourse of building. 92 illustrations.

Genres: Architecture, Nonfiction

144 pages, Hardcover

First published July 2, 2007

About the author

Charles Howard Walker was and American architect, designer and educator.

Reviews

[Frank Stein · Rating 2 out of 5]

Strange and repetitive, but I suppose if you want to know more about moulding profiles (you don't) this is the only place to go.

It did give me some perspective on why these little ubiquitous carvings are made the way they are; just little rules on variation, rhythm, shading, and shape help explain why humans find some pleasing and others not.

That said the book is already almost 90 years old and so many of its theories on the origins of moulding profiles are out of date. But what self-respecting architect today is going to come along and write a book on moulding theory to argue with him?