Lost Buildings

by Jonathan Glancey

Have you ever wished that you could have seen King Solomon's mighty Temple in Jerusalem or climbed to the top of the legendary Tower of Babel? What must it have been like to have paraded up and down the great glass galleries of the Crystal Palace in London in 1851? Why is the Euston Arch, demolished in 1961, still missed? What would buildings described in much loved books have been like if these had existed outside their author's imaginations? Imagine walking through the labyrinthine corridors of Mervyn Peake's mythical Gothic fortress Gormenghast, or visiting Toad Hall. And what of the current trend for reconstructing buildings which were destroyed in wartime or for political reasons?"Lost Buildings" is an invitation to visit buildings long vanished or those demolished within living history, some by dim politicians, others by war or "acts of God", that we would pay good money and travel a long way to see, if only they existed, today. It looks, too, at buildings from literature, myth and children's stories, and some lost opportunities - fantastic, ambitious designs that were never built. There are countless buildings that remain vivid in the collective memory, whether they were once real or were only ever imagined. "Lost Buildings" brings these together for the reader's curiosity and delight.

Genres: Architecture, Nonfiction

256 pages, Hardcover

First published October 6, 2008

Reviews

[Maureen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just loved this book, couldnt put it down. It is the property of the Kinghorn Centre and I was reading a chapter whenever I went there so finally they said to take it home and finish it.
It describes, with many wonderful photographs, the buildings ancient and modern which have been lost from war, natural disaster, terrorism, demolition and those which fell down from poor workmanship or design.
Some were so spectacular that it beggars belief that they are lost. New York's Pennsylvania Station was demolished in 1963. The iconic Beaux Arts structure opened in 1910 with an exterior surrounded by 84 Doric columns and a concourse with a 150-foot vaulted ceiling, it was just spectacular. It was replaced by a sporting venue..........
Read this book and weep.

[Raluca Daniela · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this was a very intriguing read, full of visually stunning photos, drawings and etchings, there was a couple of things that kept bugging me.

1) The style in which the book was written. Maybe I am too used to reading either fiction books or scientific non-fiction books... but this one belonged to neither category. Most of the times, the information was presented in a pretty clear, straightforward and objective way. But quite often, the author also added just too much of his own opinion and judgement to what was being shown. Sometimes he even flat out called some buildings beautiful and others ugly!
I wish he stuck to just one style, whatever that was. Either write the book as a story full of personal connections to and impressions of the buildings
...or - and had he written this way, I would have enjoyed it much more - present the buildings in a less biased way and let the readers draw their own conclusions and impressions.

2) Just like the author admitted, there are too many examples from London. I wish there was a bit more diversity in certain chapters. Some buildings or events are mentioned but never shown or detailed; others just have very little info about them compared to the London buildings.

[Dfordoom · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of those books that manages to be both enthralling and terribly depressing. Enthralling, because there are just so many magnificent buildings that he talks about, and it’s packed with gorgeous illustrations of these architectural delights. But depressing because they’re all gone. Every single one of them. This is an extraordinary collection of lost treasures.