What's So Great About the Eiffel Tower?: 70 Questions That Will Change the Way You Think about Architecture

by Jonathan Glancey

Why do we find the idea of a multi-colored Parthenon so shocking today? Why was the Eiffel Tower such a target for hatred when it was first built? Is the Sagrada Família a work of genius or kitsch? Why has Le Corbusier, one of the greatest of all architects, been treated as a villain?

This book examines the critical legacy of both well known and either forgotten or underappreciated highpoints in the history of world architecture. Through 70 engaging, thought-provoking, and often amusing debates, Jonathan Glancey invites readers to take a fresh look at the reputations of the masterpieces and great architects in history. You may never look at architecture in the same way again!

Genres: Architecture, Nonfiction, Art

176 pages, Paperback

Published February 28, 2017

Reviews

[Kara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Satisfyingly skimmable introduction or reductive excuse to publish?

If you're interested in a sampler platter of major architectural advancements and movements, this is your book. ...cough cough... That said: Don't be surprised though if it leaves you surfing the interwebs for tellingly absent depth around many of the 70 questions it poses. For example, using Charles Rennie Mackintosh as a springboard into more obscure Scottish architect Alexander Thomson feels like short shrift to both.

I definitely learned about some new buildings and theories I was unfamiliar with, so it's entirely possible Jonathan Glancey has done his job. He's made me thirsty to learn more.

[Dinara Bekmagambetova · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The bell tower is for bells, of course, but it is also for lovers to climb up there on Sundays and admire the surroundings, and for children to play inside, awakening the old tales and stories that slumber in all of us: the bell tower is for orientation in space, and above all for the swallows to fly around it like arrows every spring.

These words belong to Uruguayan engineer Eladio Dieste, who built the modernist wave-shaped church in the small town of Atlantis. I love this way of looking at architecture because buildings really are not only used for their main functional purpose, but they also become landmarks and symbols of the cities where they are located. You can't imagine Paris without the Eiffel Tower, just like you can't picture Sydney without the famous sails of the Opera House.

"What's so great about the Eiffel Tower?" does exactly what it says on the tin - the author, British architecture critic Jonathan Glancy, poses 70 questions about architecture and answers them himself. The result is 70 short essays about the most famous, provocative and brilliant buildings, architects and architectural trends.

I like the fact that the author doesn't focus only on Europe and America, but includes buildings all over the world, from Baku to Tokyo. Also, Jonathan Glancy is unapologetic in his opinions on all the issues that concern him. For example, he hates modern downtown London and its sprawling skyscrapers, laments that modern airports look more like shopping malls than places of refuge for travellers, and speculates on why neoclassicism was as appealing to the American fathers of democracy as it was to the Nazis.

Because the essays are small (1-2 pages each) and the range of buildings is vast, the author ended up producing a series of peculiar appetizers that can whet a reader's appetite for something in particular. I, for example, became interested in French constructivism and the numerous (mostly unsuccessful) attempts to build beautiful and cheap social housing in Paris. Time after time, the authorities hire talented architects who come up with something original, but in practice, many such houses turn out to be uninhabitable, and tenants gradually abandon them. It is so difficult to strike a balance between aesthetics and practicality.

[Alexander Kuzmichev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Неплохо, но поверхностно

[Sarah Babkov · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book, but the text often lacks the depth that could have made it really good. I felt like background information was lacking in some chapters, and certain architects kept coming up again and again while others are barely mentioned, if at all. Why not put the chapters in a kind of chronological order? Why not have a cohesive, unifying idea for the book? Not sure. It seems like these were mostly a collection of “shower thoughts,” albeit from someone who knows a lot.

While I learned a lot, the author often mentioned buildings that were not pictured in the book. I found this frustrating, as I felt compelled to pause my reading to fetch my phone and google image whatever he was talking about. Surely, a book about architecture for casual architecture fans would be better about this? I also found it funny that some chapters had a more balanced perspective and others to be heavily opinionated.

Overall, a good read. I really enjoyed the chapter on Chartres.

[Keen Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Money, bullying and ignorance have done what the Luftwaffe failed to do: destroy the City of London.”

Who doesn’t love a book title that also doubles up as a challenge?...I’m not sure that this book succeeds with what it claims to do, but it is still of interest to those who maybe er interested. Glancey’s dry and at times waspish approach can be entertaining as it is provocative. You may not always agree with him, but at least he’s not afraid to nail his colours to the mast.

There are some compelling choices in here, with the inclusion of the Djenne Mosque in Mali and the mud city of Shibam in Yemen. Kengo Kuma’s incredible M2 Building in Tokyo, which add a bit of breadth and variety. We get some brief bios peppered throughout, on the likes of Albert Kahn, Rennie Mackintosh, Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright and many others.

His need to repeatedly crowbar in French terminology in a flourish of italics starts off as incredibly annoying, but as it happens so often it becomes a source of humour and would make for an ideal drinking game. So overall this is a pretty superficial, shapeless and vague guide, and it does not tell you what is so great about the Eiffel Tower and it didn’t change the way I think about architecture in the slightest, but I enjoyed it well enough.

[Jiwa Rasa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Salam Tahun Baru 2025

Tiada yang lebih menggembirakan daripada menghabiskan baca buku yang bagus pada hari pertama tahun baru.

Buku What’s so great about the Eiffel Tower; 70 questions that will change the way you think about architecture. Buku yang dijual murah di Bookexcess. Tak sangka ianya memberikan kepuasan yang maksimum kepada saya yang membaca. Sebagai seorang yang tiada latarbelakang arkitektur, terasa seperti masuk kelas sejarah dan falsafah arkitektur sepanjang zaman.

Jonathan Glancey membawa pembaca menikmati hasil ilham arkitek ternama sepanjang zaman. Saya jadi lebih kenal Le Corbusier, John Ruskin, Frank Llyod Wright, William Kahn, Pugin, Oscar Neimeyer dan Norman Forster.

Penulis bijak menanyakan soalan yang provokatif tentang tokoh arkitek, binaan, teori dan pemikiran. Rupanya banyak idea pembinaan yang dikagumi dunia mendapat tentangan dari berbagai pihak. Sangat menarik.

Penulis buku ini Jonathan Glancey rupanya adalah penulis bukan arkitek yang meminati binaan, menulis puluhan buku yang ada antaranya saya pernah baca tapi tak perasan. Selain dunia arkitek juga menulis tentang kereta, kapalterbang dan keretapi!

Pagi yang indah ditemani lagu-lagu lembut membelai dari busker The Vindorado's, goreng pisang bijan dan secawan kopi.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastically broad view of architecture, Glancey manages to describe and educate about opposite views on most major built works from recent and ancient history. At times, the 'questions' seem contrived and arbitrary and the comparisons of the two sides are often clearly biased. Nevertheless, this book peaked my interest in buildings that I had never heard of and achieved what the book aimed to do: made me rethink my views on many architectural precedent.

[Piyumi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed Glancey's witty rebuke at the status of architectural designs around the world and the big names of the 20th century. Glancey has a remarkable talent of placing the right anecdote, quote and research point where required and succinctly carry on with the discussion. His own personal experiences of the designs and the architects adds a nice touch to the collection.
This was a thoroughly enjoyable read on one of my favourite subjects

[Amelie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book presents mostly buildings, some architectural ideas in 1-2 pages per topic. I think it is a nice entry to architecture, but I was disappointed that a large part of the chosen questions pertain to western european buildings or styles. Some chapters were heavily opinionated, and all lacked analytic depth.
I also did not like the author's writing style. The chapters seem to be in no discernible logical order.

[Lesley Botez · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author has chosen well-known buildings and structures throughout the ages and asked questions about them. Examples include Crystal Palace, Guggenheim Bilbao and Bauhaus, Dassau. He also asks whether architect Le Corbusier was a hero or a vilain and John Portman a futurist architect or real estate developer. An interesting read.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. Any architecture fan will like to read through and make their opinions of the work in it. It's extremely content heavy, but I think it's definitely worth the read for any architecture/design lover.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Accessible and informative introduction to various styles of architecture throughout the centuries. The ‘questions’ become a bit of a needless gimmick after a while. Nicely designed and typeset with good photography.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the short chapters and pictures. It's not an in depth book, but it has many interesting facts.