German architecture prior to the modern period has received less
systemic, analytical study than that of Italy, France, and Britain.
Scholarly discussion of broad traditions or continuities within
Germanic or Central European facade design is even sparser. Baroque
era studies of the region mostly devote themselves to isolated
architects, monuments, or movements. Modernism's advent decisively
changed this: Germanic architecture enjoyed sudden ascendancy. Yet,
even so, study specifically of that region's facades still lagged -
nothing compares to the dozens of treatments of Le Corbusier's
facade systems, for example, and how these juxtapose with French
neoclassical or Italian Renaissance methods. Given the paucity of
multi-period studies, one can be forgiven for believing Germany's
effervescence of radical, modern works seems unprecedented. This
book takes up these multiple quandaries. It identifies and
documents a previously unrecognized compositional tradition -
characterized here as the 'screen facade' - and posits it as a
counter-narrative critiquing the essentialist, 'authentic' canon
currently dominant in Western architectural history. By crossing
evenly over the dividing line between the historical and modern
periods, it offers valuable insights on indigenous roots underlying
some aspects of Germany's invigorating early twentieth-century
architectural developments. The book chronologically examines 400
years of closely related facades, concentrated in Germany but also
found in Austria, the Czech Republic, German-speaking Switzerland,
and nearby areas of Central Europe. While nearly 75 buildings are
mentioned and illustrated, a dozen are given extensive analysis and
the book focuses on the works of three architects - Schinkel,
Behrens and Mies. Relationships between examples of these three
architects' facades far transcend mere homage amongst masters.
Glimmers of the system they eventually codify are apparent as early
as at Heidelberg Castle in 1559 and Nurnberg's Rathaus in 1622. The
book argues that in Germany, northern Gothic affinities for
bisection, intense repetition and rote aggregation intersected with
southern Classical affinities for symmetry, hierarchy and
centrality, thereby spawning a unique hybrid product - the screen.
Instead of graphic formality, this study is guided by on-site
perceptions, propositional contrasts, means of approach,
interpretive conflicts and emotion and it relates the design of
these facades to concepts proposed by contemporary philosophers
including Novalis, Hegel, Nietzsche, Freud, Adorno, and, most
importantly, Gadamer on hermeneutics.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
(2)
