A Chronology of Architecture: A Cultural Timeline from Stone Circles to Skyscrapers

by John Zukowsky

A fresh take on the history of architecture, using cultural timelines to reveal little-known connections between society, engineering, and design. Roman architect and engineer Vitruvius defined architecture’s characteristics to include firmitas , utilitas , and venustas ―essentially, structural integrity, usefulness, and beauty. Amazingly, all three Vitruvian characteristics can be found one way or another in most buildings and constructions from antiquity through the present. A Chronology of Architecture is a groundbreaking survey that examines―together―engineering and architectural accomplishments. Sites are arranged within a sociocultural timeline that examines them in terms of historic events and trends, social change, economic developments, and technological innovations―factors that all helped shape architecture and engineering design solutions over millennia. The text is organized into seven chapters that chronicle these achievements and each chapter includes snappy “In Focus” sections that target sociocultural observations and technological developments related to particular sites and people. A Chronology of Architecture is an invaluable and comprehensive overview of architecture’s history. This will be a wonderful resource for architecture lovers and for those who want to better understand the world around them. 300+ color illustrations

Genres: Architecture, History, Nonfiction, Art

272 pages, Hardcover

Published January 14, 2020

Reviews

[Keen Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars!

This is a strange beast of a book, which at times seems to be as much about world history, with the architecture as a side comment or footnote. I found some of the opening sections pretty dull, but then there was also some really interesting stuff in there too.

The layout is pleasing enough to the eye, the text is clear, concise whilst still being informative, bringing in economics, religion, war and politics into the mix, which gives a broad but often distracting picture. I found the format a little bizarre, but then I also got a lot out of it too, as one of the more interesting aspects to this book is that is served as much as a history lesson, I lost count of the names, buildings or events I later looked up to learn a bit more about.

There are many examples of some stunning architecture from through the ages and across the globe. This makes the case that Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier are probably the most important and influential architects of the 20th Century, which is a fair point, and insists that Palladio would probably qualify as the most influential in history. But I thought there were some surprising and frustrating omissions; there was nothing on Edinburgh, no mention of the likes of I.M. Pei, Edwin Lutyens, the Narkomfin building or the Russian Constructivist movement, which Le Corbusier admitted was an influence on him and his work.

So overall this is a patchy, inconsistent but also really enjoyable book. It reads like the author got continually distracted by non-architectural facts, and although this can embellish certain aspects it also distracts from others and maybe partly explains some of the oversights and omissions.

[Bart · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is both enjoyable and frustrating. Enjoyable because the art is genuinely gorgeous and the photographs are stunning, and it does give you a variety of buildings to admire at a glance.

Frustrating on a number of levels -- for one, if you know nothing about architecture, this book won't teach you anything because it doesn't bother to actually explain what you're looking at. For example, it might reference a post and lintel design, but it doesn't actually tell you what post and lintel is. Nor will it go into things like the architecture of churches (e.g. this is a nave, this is a clerestory, etc) or other buildings. It also drops names of architects at a dizzying pace, giving absolutely no context to who they are or why they designed buildings the way they did.

There are also a number of curious omissions; some of this is understandable given just the sheer scope and limitations of the book, but I find it hard to understand why certain buildings (like the U.S. Capitol) or architects (I.M. Pei or Antoni Gaudi) or even entire parts of the world are left out. Aside from the Pyramids, almost all of Africa is left out. South America barely gets a glance. Even Asia, with its staggering array of modern skyscrapers, gets a relatively short shrift compared to Europe and America.

Heck, even movements and reactions don't get much of a nod, either. For example, the movement towards Brutalism is featured, but not the backlash. I'm not necessarily suggesting that the book needed to cover in-depth, say, the war between Robert Moses and Jane Jacobs, but even they don't get a throwaway sentence, and their struggle literally shaped the landscape of Manhattan.

All that being said, it does genuinely cover a huge scope of history and the accompanying images are stunning. Beware, though, it will leave you with a sick feeling your in stomach by the end, because you'll have spent all this time with beautifully built structures, inspiring cathedrals and impressive achievements, only to see the trend in architecture wind up in a place that is soulless, ugly, and even barbaric -- the stain of Brutalism and the depressing unnaturalness of Frank Lloyd Wright and the sameness of modern steel and glass skyscrapers leaves one inevitably comparing these blights to what came beforehand, and feeling more keenly the sense that we've lost something indelible.

[Richard Newton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this book, which sits somewhere between a coffee table book full of glorious pictures and something you can actually hold in your hands, read and learn something from. It is at times a bit of an awkward balance between the two, but it worked for me.

The book is formatted as a timeline that runs from about 9000BC through to the modern day, or at least the modern day when the book was published around 2019. It shows a series of mostly very beautiful pictures across time, with a running commentary about the architectural trends of that time, with some overriding historical points. Of course it is selective, any book is going to be, and it is as usually biased more to the west than anywhere else, but to be fair not entirely. The text on architecture is limited, but useful. The weaving in of key historical events is, if anything, annoying, as they are so high level and so selective as to be almost bland.

I am someone with a passing interest in architecture. One of a long list of things I dabble in without any deep knowledge, or desire to develop a deep knowledge. If you are a serious architecture buff then I think you will find this far too lightweight. But if you are like me, a dabbler in the field, its not a bad way to get some high level understanding of the main trends in architecture across time and see some very nice pictures of buildings. Although the large format of the book doesn't always help, I did manage to read it end-to-end and feel moderately more knowledgable about the field. For such a big field, that's not a bad achievement in my view from one book.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good overview of the history of architecture but can get frustrating when they skip over things without going into detail. I guess that's the sign of a good book - it leaves you wanting to learn more.

[Beth Kakuma-Depew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice primer for a interested amateur like myself.