The story of architecture

by Patrick Nuttgens

Traces the history of world architecture from temples in ancient Egypt and Peru to skyscrapers in modern New York, and explains architectural terms

Genres: Architecture, History, Nonfiction, Art, Education

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

Reviews

[Beatrice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but boring at times

[Satvinder]

I'm not sure about this book. Whilst it seems to cover all the basics, which is what I suppose it intends to do, it's really jumpy within each of the sections. I'd really like it to run chronologically. So reading it in tandem with 'A World History of Architecture', which on the contrary is excruciatingly detailed and orderly.

[Samuel · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Story of Architecture covers the world's history of architecture, from prehistoric caves to classical greek columns to post-modern houses, up to 21st-century skyscrapers. It amazes me that the author can find a way to summarize a super broad topic in fewer than 350 pages without losing any important part!

The book serves as an introduction to architecture for anyone who wishes to know more about the history & philosophy of architecture. There are some interesting bits & pieces that I liked. The author himself was an Architecture professor, so I'm not going to judge the credibility.

I find the photograph a bit old and outdated, but I loved the sketches and schematics. The writing's a little bland for me, to be honest. My interest kind of faded away as I turned to the next page, so I had to take breaks occasionally. I just wish there's a more engaging "introduction to architecture" book. You're going to need some basic understanding of architecture (especially structures) if you want to understand this book. I think maybe first-year architecture students or anyone who works in a design-related field will find this book interesting.

[Rendy Rhoads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Write

[Michael Grizer (He-Him) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview of 3000 years of architecture. Very dense.

[Alan Tsuei · Rating 4 out of 5]

很經典的一本建築史入門書，把人類歷史上形形種種的建築型式和歷史與文化做了一個聯結，除了建築專業的朋友外，尤其喜好旅遊的朋友們千萬不能錯過…

[Gen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating, but I'm nerdy that way

[Liam · Rating 3 out of 5]

good historical introduction to architecture

[Mark]

nice

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating history illustrated with perfectly chosen examples--brings the social context to life.