Why You Can Build it Like That: Modern Architecture Explained by John Zukowsky (August 24, 2015) Paperback

by John Zukowsky

In Why You Can Build It Like That, John Zukowsky examines buildings from the past half century or so that pushed the boundaries of what was architecturally acceptable when they were built. 100 striking international examples of modern architecture are categorized into thematic chapters that reflect form as well as society. Zukowsky explores the history of these buildings and their makers, presenting relevant biographical factors and socio-cultural influences that impacted on the distinctive designs. The book includes the works of heroic early modernist architects such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Frank Lloyd Wright, alongside long-established architectural firms such as Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. It also features mavericks of the past and present – Bruce Goff, Shin Takamatsu and Shigeru Ban – and singular architectural wonders that reflect their own times. Readers will find out why all the featured buildings look the way they do, and why they were created when and where they were. Zukowsky’s original text unravels the rich and complex stories that exist behind the design of some of the world’s more unconventional monuments, revealing exactly why each building is one of a kind.

Genres: Art, Architecture

Paperback

Reviews

[Ligita Dykumų Ugnis · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you treat the "Why" in the title of this book as an exclamation and read the title as "Why, You Can Build It Like That!", then you won't be deceived.

Because the book not even remotely explains anything. It just presents a bunch of buildings and structures—some of them interesting, some even beautiful, others just famous—and gives a few facts about the architects and some context. And that's it.

[John Helmon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was filled with tremendous feats of architecture and engineering, however, it didn't fulfill the premise. It did not explain for each building, 'Why You Can Build It Like That'. It also only provided one picture for each building. While that worked for some examples, with others, one was not sufficient to capture the project.

[Maureen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book interesting with some reservations. It is annoying that you need to scour the text before you find out where the building is, it should be in the heading with its name and date, before you get down to the detail. Also the book tells us interesting facts about what was built and by whom, but it certainly doesn't tell us 'why you can build them', as the title indicates. Apart from these niggles, I enjoyed looking at the photos and reading about these iconic buildings, from the downright ugly to the blissfully beautiful. I discovered some architects I wasn't familiar with and renewed acquaintance with some faves. Each of the buildings probably has a book devoted to it, but this is a nice overview.

[Anders Hanson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting book that gives a good overview of many of the most architecturally important buildings over the 20th and 21st centuries in a glossy and dynamic way with many photographs and titbits of information. However what it is is very much an overview and it leaves you wanting more and feeling that your understanding of each building on which it focuses, and the other related buildings mentioned in passing, is only skin deep. As someone who has always been fascinated by architecture but who has never studied it in any depth this was a good place to get a sense of what is out there but it also created a yearning for more information.

[Alex Tod · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book with a lot of facts and quotes, but for an architecture student is pretty basic in content