Brilliantly written essays on the aesthetic principles and enduring motives of architecture.

A classic of architectural history and theory, Heavenly Mansions interprets architecture as a reflection of the age in which it flowers, and traces the alternating themes of fantasy and functionalism as exemplified in various styles and in the works of a number of influential men, including Wren, Viollet-le-Duc, William Butterfield, and Le Corbusier. Succinctly summarizing 800 years of viewpoints about architecture, it ranges from Gothic architecture to the Renaissance to the influence of modern abstract art on twentieth-century architecture.

• "Each essay is a voyage of discovery. What is so interesting and what makes Mr. Summerson the architectural critic of his generation . . . is [an] aversion to dogma. . . . It is supremely well worth reading."—Spectator

A magnificent treasure house for a study in decoration, no other extant Roman monument has such rich examples of ornament from a single building campaign. McNally grabs the opportunity to consider the functions of rare fragments in situ to find a grand decorative scheme and a relationship with structure. This should also provide fixed points of comparison for other buildings at a defined period (early fourth century). Appendix dealing with the frieze inside the mausoleum, and the coffers of the Temple of jupiter.

Deetz's "Flowerdew Hundred" is a synopsis of the result of twenty-five years of archaeological investigations at Flowerdew Hundred, a former plantation on the south side of the James River in Prince George County, Virginia. Throughout the work, Deetz conveys the importance of combining historiography and archaeology to a reach a better understanding of the past. This multidirectional approach is displayed as Deetz examines smoking-pipe stems, Colono-ware pottery, and post-in-ground buildings at Flowerdew. Through examining regional history of the Chesapeake, comparing the Flowerdew archaeological record with that along the eastern seaboard (particularly in regards to icehouses and pits), and looking at the architecture of Salem, South Africa, Deetz is able to construct a contextual history of Flowerdew in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. For archaeologists, amateurs, and the general public, the book simplistically relays the intertwining of history, archaeology and folk studies and, of course, reveals a glimpse into life on a Virginia plantation.

An artist’s record of the homes of 89 leading creatives from interior designers to ceramicists, antiques dealers, florists and chefs. SJ Axelby brings new life to interior portraiture, capturing in paint the favourite rooms of 89 leading creatives from interior designers to ceramicists and antiques dealers (and florists and chefs). A sumptuously illustrated record of a home or special project, each interior portrait is accompanied by a charming and quirky interview with the owner, in which we discover invaluable nuggets of design advice, cocktail choice, life hacks and so much more – all illustrated in watercolour by SJ. There is a long tradition of painting rooms to provide a record of grand homes, giving a glimpse into the life and times of previous generations. Today there is a resurgence of interest in our living spaces, but there is no book in the tradition of illustrated room portraiture to inspire you. SJ Axelby's Interior Portraits will take you into multiple unique and colourful homes, seen through the artist’s eye. Creating an authentic and characterful scheme is much like the composition of a painting: the shape, form, contrast, colour, pattern and texture all need to work in harmony. This pictorial guide includes not only Sarah-Jane’s original watercolours but scrapbook pages annotated with design wisdom from each room’s owners, which will enthuse and empower the reader to try new ideas in their own homes. It’s a creative who’s who of the international design world featuring mouth-watering compositions bursting with colour and pattern and displaying the true joy of a home that reflects its owner’s personality. With a foreword by Kit Kemp of Firmdale Hotels. Just a few of the creatives featured: Alexandra Tolstoy Alice Stori Liechtenstein Anna Spiro Ashley Hicks Ben Pentreath & Charlie McCormick Cath Kidston Padgham Erica Davies Flora Soames Henry Holland Kit Kemp Lucinda Chambers Lulu Lytle Luke Edward Hall & Duncan Campbell Matilda Goad Penny Morrison Robert Kime Skye McAlpine Sophie Conran

Vaux-le-Vicomte's rich history began in 1641, when infamous Finance Minister Nicolas Fouquet bought the estate and enlisted architect Louis Le Vau, decorator Charles le Brun, and garden designer Andre Le Notre to transform it into a lavish residence. His extravagance piqued Louis XIV's jealousy, and he was thrown into prison for mishandling funds. The chateau inspired the design of Versailles, and was later home to the great chef Vatel, who famously died for his art. This volume traces the chateau's history from the seventeenth-century through the Belle Epoque, World War I, and its public opening in 1968. Exclusive photography and archival documents offer unprecedented access to the chateau, furnishings, and gardens, and illuminate the extraordinary secrets of court life and centuries of celebrations that include the enchanting candlelit tours held today.

Eltham Palace is famous for its links with royalty and national events over a period of three and a half centuries, between the reigns of Edward I and James I. This richly illustrated book follows these important moments in the building's history, along with the parallel stories of its architecture, gardens, vineyards and parks. The staff responsible for its upkeep and the effects on the local community of having a royal building in its midst are also chronicled here. What remains of the Palace's former splendour today are the moat bridge, part of its outer court and the magnificent great hall, built for Edward IV, which survived long years of use as a barn after the Civil Wars. A 1930s mansion now adjoins the hall and both buildings are administered by English Heritage. Eltham Palace was central to its local community as well as to the aristocratic levels of international society. While the court was at Eltham the palace was the centre of administration for the whole country as far as that part of the royal government which travelled round the country with the monarch was concerned. During such visits a great many people came to Eltham on official and personal business, the largest numbers arriving at Easter when alms were distributed to the poor. Surviving records are numerous and document many aspects of the royal manor and the parish, including sports and ceremonies and the activities of the home farm. The book traces the palace from its medieval and Tudor beginnings, with court visits, the arrivals of foreign royalty and ambassadors, and the tournaments and festivities, through the unfortunate destruction of many of its royal buildings in the 17th century, up to Eltham Palace's state and purpose today. Containing many details concerning the palace and people of Eltham which do not appear in earlier descriptions of its history, this vivid and in-depth work will be of great interest to local and tourists, as well as those interested in such a rich royal heritage and architectural history.

Some of England's grandest country houses are to be found in this prosperous rural county. The Elizabethan Renaissance Kirby Hall, the Jacobean mansion at Apethorpe, the late 17th-century French-inspired Boughton, Hawksmoor's stately Baroque Easton Neston, and the interiors of Althorp provide a fascinating survey of changing taste through the centuries. Complementing them are smaller buildings of great character, supreme among them those of Sir Thomas Tresham: the eccentric and ingenious Triangular Lodge at Rushton and the evocative New Beild at Lyveden. Of no less interest are the fine churches, from Anglo-Saxon Brixworth to the noble Gothic of Warmington, Rushden and Finedon and from All Saints, Northampton, one of the grandest 17th-century churches outside London, to Comper's St. Mary's, Wellingborough. Chief among the towns, Northampton has not only distinguished Victorian and Edwardian public, commercial and industrial buildings but also the principal work in England by Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

Marc Held entered history in 1965 with his famous Culbuto armchair, followed in 1966 by his furniture manufactured by Prisunic. Over a period of fifty years, he created some 150 furniture pieces, notably participating in 1983 in the interior design of the apartments in the Elysee Palace. Beginning in the 1970s, he also designed singular works of architecture, for individuals and for corporate clients such as IBM. At the end of the 1980s he chose to focus entirely on this passion of his when he settled on the Greek island of Skopelos. Interested in vernacular architecture, he dedicated a widely acknowledged book on Greece, Maisons de Skopelos, precis d'architecture vernaculaire published by Editions Skopelos.net, in 1994, to it. It was also on Skopelos where over a period of thirty years he built eight exceptional villas: Lemonia, Maistros, Nina, Loukas, The Temple, Mourtia, Myrto and Kapsari. Each house is an architectural manifesto in its own right. These eight villas, in spectacular sites beside the sea, built with local materials and in accordance with the construction techniques of the island - all the artisans were from there - with the magical landscapes in which they are integrated, are eight lessons on the notion of genius loci, which so inspired Marc Held's architecture. Photographed by Deidi von Schaewen - with spectacular shots taken via drone-mounted cameras - his eight beautiful villas are also presented with his drawings and plans developed during their conception phases. Text in English and French.

Built for Federico II Gonzaga Duke of Mantua between 1525 and 1536, Palazzo Te is the masterpiece of Renaissance artist, designer and architect Giulio Romano, the most accomplished and favoured of all Raphael's pupils. Ugo Bazzotti, former director of the Palazzo Te, takes the reader via superb photography through the atriums, halls, courtyards and gardens that constitute this elaborate masterpiece of Mannerist decoration, explaining its history and the inventiveness and versatility of its creator, Giulio Romano. From the erotic scenes of the Sala di Psiche to the famous Sala di Giganti, based on the mythological defeat of the Titans by the gods of Olympus, the High Renaissance ideal of classical harmony and balance is overtaken by breathtaking illusionist techniques, with images of giants, falling masonry and the gods' thunderbolts filling the visitor's imagination.

Published in memory of the architectural historian John Cornforth, these great house inventories document the taste and lifestyle of leading aristocratic patrons and the households that supported them. John Cornforth (1937-2004), the eminent architectural historian and passionate advocate of the historic interior, believed that inventories were an unrivalled primary resource for the interpretation of the historic interior. The book serves as a tribute to his lifelong interest in the field. Cornforth saw the importance of inventories in inspiring not just changes in approach to the history of the great house, but in underpinning the interpretation of the way in which these houses were used and lived in. They reflect the interest in household management, the daily lives of the servants who maintained the house while the owner was absent, and the equipment needed to provide for grand entertainments when the owner was at home. Now that there is such fascination with the history of food and life below stairs, the contents of the kitchen and scullery assume as much interest as the grand rooms of entertainment. These inventories provide an opportunity to compare the arrangements of the interiors of the great country houses and town houses of the same noble families in different generations. They will inspire yet fuller interpretations of the households they document, and appeal to country house visitors and historians of interiors, patronage and collecting, as well as to art directors of historical films and creative designers.

Text in French. Two volumes in a boxed set. A history and description of The Palace of Christian VII at the royal castle, Amalienborg, in Copenhagen.

The remains of Kaniakapp--King Kamehameha III's summer residence--bear no traces of the feast that once served ten thousand of his subjects gathered in celebration of Hawaiian sovereignty. Although not all historic Hawaii residences are still standing, the pictures, photographs, and comprehensive maps in this book can provide a wealth of knowledge. Discover the site of Queen Ka'ahumanu's death, Princess Ruth Ke'eliklani's house, which rivaled the splendor of King Kalkaua's official palace, and Lili'uokalani's home, where Robert Wilcox plotted an armed insurrection to overthrow the Constitution of 1887. Using accounts by missionaries, ship captains, early visitors, and reports in English and Hawaiian-language media, this groundbreaking book provides an extensive look into the now-lost residences of the kingdom's elite. Learn about the historic events that took place in the residences of Hawaiian royalty and see how the island chiefs lived their everyday lives.

Along with Hamlets Kronborg at Elsinore, Frederiksborg is the most magnificent early seventeenth-century residence in Northern Europe, visited by thousands of people from all over the world each year. Its splendid setting on three interconnected islands and the richness of its sculptural decoration is unparalleled. However, much of the structure and interior was devastated in a fire in 1859 and the large-scale damages necessitated substantial reconstruction. While the reconstruction is reasonably faithful to the original architecture, it was exceedingly lax when it came to the more than sixty freestanding sculptures that originally adorned the castles courtyards, galleries, arches and facades. This volume recreates an idea of how Frederiksborg presented itself to its visitors in the days of Christian IV. The book further unravels the profound inspiration Christian IV drew from his sojourns to Berlin, Dresden and, especially, to England, where in the summer of 1606 he visited his brother-in-law James I at Theobalds House. This visit provided inspiration that, even while construction of his residence in Denmark was in progress, would dramatically change the overall layout and facades of Frederiksborg, thereby turning the castle into the marvel that it remains to this day. In this pioneering study, featuring more than a hundred photos and illustrations, Patrick Kragelund etches out a new and important historical and architectural dimension to this magnificent monument.

Much of our time at the movies is spent in other people’s homes. Cinema is, after all, often about everyday life. Spectacle of Property is the first book to address the question of the ubiquitous conjuncture of the moving image and its domestic architecture. Arguing that in cinema we pay to occupy spaces we cannot occupy, John David Rhodes explores how the house in cinema both structures and criticizes fantasies of property and ownership. Rhodes tells the story of the ambivalent but powerful pleasure we take in looking at private property onscreen, analyzing the security and ease the house promises along with the horrible anxieties it produces. He begins by laying out a theory of film spectatorship that proposes the concept of the “spectator-tenant,� with reference to films such as Gone with the Wind and The Magnificent Ambersons. The book continues with three chapters that are each occupied with a different architectural style and the films that make use of it: the bungalow, the modernist house, and the shingle style house. Rhodes considers a variety of canonical films rarely analyzed side by side, such as Psycho in relation to Grey Gardens and Meet Me in St. Louis. Among the other films discussed are Meshes of the Afternoon, Mildred Pierce, A Star Is Born, Killer of Sheep, and A Single Man. Bringing together film history, film theory, and architectural history as no book has to date, Spectacle of Property marks a new milestone in examining cinema’s relationship to realism while leaving us vastly more informed about, if less at home inside, the houses we occupy at the movies.

The mansion along with its magnificent furnishings, art, gardens, and the owners' striving, hubris, and ultimate failure are the dramatis personae of this saga. Stanford White, the architect, wrote, "with the exception of Biltmore, I do not think there will be an estate equal to it in the country." An extravagant product of the desire for social acceptance, the portrait encompasses western mining and old versus new wealth, religious differences and the building of a church, art collecting, and the many people, from the architects, builders, and workers to the servants and staff who ran the house and gardens. Harbor Hill's story includes elements of farce and tragedy; in a sense it is an American portrait.

Text in English and German. Early in the 20th century, Robert Bosch, the founder of the Stuttgart electrical business, built a large villa on the hills east of the city. It was half Palladian, half in the reform style of the period before the First World War. The building was to meet the head of the company's need for prestige, and to provide a private refuge thanks to the pleasant qualities of its large park and open position. The foundation of the same name is now housed in the Villa Bosch, but the space available has not been adequate for some time. As the company also needed rooms for seminars and other events, a decision was taken to build new accommodation next to the villa. Seven well-known teams took part in a restricted competition, including Tadao Ando, Richard Meier and Richard Rogers. The commission went to Peter Kulka, based in Cologne and Dresden. He found a convincing solution to the problem of leaving the dominance of the old building untouched and at the same time making the foundation's new accommodation attractive in its own right. He came up with a second 'villa' slightly below the first one, precise in its volume and minimalist in its resources. The building responds impressively to the challenges of the topography, the landscape around it and its neighbouring building. Kulka's work combines transparency with physical presence, structural austerity with poetry. This villa suburbana represents a milestone in his career. Kulka, born in 1937, was a pupil of Selman Selmanagic and worked with Hermann Henselmann, Hans Scharoun and in various partnerships before setting up his own practice in 1979. He has been seen as a member of the German architectural avant-garde since his Dresden parliament building (1991-94).