A revised and updated edition of Sir John Summerson's classic book. Derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture in antiquity, the classical style has long dominated the history of western architecture from the Renaissance to the present. Sir John Summerson’s timeless text, as relevant today as it was when first published, distils the visual language of architecture into its core classical elements, and illustrates that building throughout the ages express an awareness of the ‘grammar’ of style and its rules even if they vary, break or poetically contradict them. From the original edifices of Greece and Rome to the recapitulations and innovations of the Renaissance; the explosive rhetoric of the Baroque to the grave statements of Neo-classicism; and finally, the exuberant eclecticism of the Victorians and Edwardians to the 'stripped Neo-classicism' of some of the moderns; Summerson explains how every period has employed classical language to make their statement. With a new introduction by academic and architectural historian Alan Powers, this introduction continues to be one of the defining texts on the subject and is essential reading for all students of architecture.

The first survey in nearly two decades of the work of John McAslan + Partners. Making Architecture both provides an up-to-date account of the work of John McAslan + Partners, one of Britain’s most respected and dynamic architectural practices, and analyses the culture of a studio that has made a remarkable contribution to architecture, place-making and the lives of individuals for four decades. A series of thematic chapters includes detailed, fully illustrated descriptions of many recent and ongoing international projects, from Central and Waterloo stations in Sydney and ten new stations for Delhi Metro to the transformation of King’s Cross station in London; from the sensitive restoration of the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, to the new Doha Mosque and nearby Msheireb Museums in Qatar. It also includes the pioneering initiatives for which the McAslan studio has become well known and that underline the practice’s humanity and sense of social responsibility: the urgent restoration of the Iron Market in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, after the devastating earthquake in 2010; the Hidden Homelessness initiative, begun in 2017; the N17 project that provided a pop-up design studio in Tottenham, London, after the riots of 2011, with the aim of inspiring young people to become engaged in the regeneration of their own community; and many others. Edited by Chris Foges, with a foreword by Kenneth Frampton and an introduction by Alan Powers, and with contributions by architectural specialists, this beautifully designed book offers the key to understanding the development and philosophy of one of the world’s most socially engaged architectural practices.

Bauhaus Goes West is a story of cultural exchange – between the Bauhaus émigrés in the years following the school’s closure in 1933 and the countries to which they moved, focusing in particular on Britain. Taking as its starting point the cultural connections between the UK and Germany in the early part of the 20th century, the book offers a timely re-evaluation of the school’s influence on and relationship with modern art and design in Britain, concluding with the school’s American legacy. Following the closure of the Bauhaus in 1933, teachers and students found new opportunities in Britain and the United States. Among them were Walter Gropius, Marcel Breuer and László Moholy-Nagy, who simultaneously spent time in London before moving to America, an episode often overlooked but freshly explored here in the context of the interaction between German Modernism and British-based design reform from 1900. Other Bauhaus-trained artists – women as well as men – stayed in the UK and made important contributions into the 1960s. In America, Mies van der Rohe and Josef and Anni Albers had significant late careers, but, over time, the Bauhaus became a shorthand for Modernism’s failure. This is a timely re-evaluation of the school’s influence on and relationship with modern art and design, offering fresh insights and challenging assumptions along the way.

The acclaimed biography detailing the lives of the British inter-war artists and designers centred on Ravilious - an enthralling narrative of creative achievement, joy and tragedy. In recent years Eric Ravilious has become recognized as one of the most important British artists of the 20th century, whose watercolours and wood engravings capture an essential sense of place and the spirit of mid-century England. What is less appreciated is that he did not work in isolation, but within a much wider network of artists, friends and lovers influenced by Paul Nash's teaching at the Royal College of Art - Edward Bawden, Barnett Freedman, Enid Marx, Tirzah Garwood, Percy Horton, Peggy Angus and Helen Binyon among them. The Ravilious group bridged the gap between fine art and design, and the gentle, locally rooted but spritely character of their work came to be seen as the epitome of contemporary British values. Eighty years after Ravilious's untimely death, Andy Friend tells the story of this group of artists from their student days through to the Second World War. Ravilious & Co. explores how they influenced each other and how a shared experience animated their work, revealing the significance in this pattern of friendship of women artists, whose place within the history of British art has often been neglected. Generously illustrated and drawing on extensive research, and a wealth of newly discovered material, Ravilious & Co. is an enthralling narrative of creative achievement, joy and tragedy.

For decades Alan Powers has studied bird vocalizations, developing the remarkable ability to imitate birds' songs and get them to respond and even change tunes. Through his years of study, he has discovered that birds can teach us important lessons about the world and about ourselves. As Powers explains, by communing cross-species we reach out to the timeless interconnected web of all life past and present--what Renaissance philosopher Giordano Bruno called in Latin the Uni-versus, the "Whole turned into One." Sharing his journey to learn birdtalk and his profound observations about the poetic, spiritual, and healing influences of birdsong, Powers explores the ancient language of birds and the depth of meaning birds convey. He explains how bird speech sounds like song to us, but birdtalk is urgent and nuanced, whether about predators or the weather. He details how he began learning birdtalk, listening to one bird each summer, learning their many vocalizations and variations. Discussing specific techniques, he shares insights into the birdtalk of many species, including the complex and intelligent speech of Crows, the emotional depths of Loons, the mimicry of Blue Jays, and the beautiful song of the Wood Thrush. Exploring the intertwined metaphysics of bird and human languages, Powers looks at the long-standing tradition of "avitherapy" throughout history, literature, and the arts. He shares insights into birds from Shakespeare and Emily Dickinson, reveals how birds appear in love songs throughout the world, and examines how famous writers such as Keats, Catullus, St. Francis of Assisi, and the French historian Jules Michelet found that talking to birds improves their state of mind. He also explores how song-talk with birds restores peace, calms anxiety, and enhances health.

This is the book that publishers withdrew because their lawyers said it was very dangerous. This book seeks justice for Diana and presents extremely incriminating evidence that all democratic nations should embrace. It's proven the paparazzi were kept away from court through "political intervention"; the decision to embalm Diana was taken at a "diplomatic level"; MI6 previously attempted to "pervert the course of justice" and are forced into acknowledging they murder people; senior police officers compared evidence to "get their stories straight" during the inquest and repeatedly sidestepped crucial questions, plus much more. The authorities are examined both pre and post the Paris attack. Disturbing evidence is presented and questions are raised over Britain's "democracy" where the people are supposed to be the law. If you share this book's view that this heinous act was intolerable then consider; Diana's murder needed the nod from someone in a position of considerable power; so, who gave the order? Post attack, the authorities were shamefully coerced into cooperating with a subterfuge just because the people's justice endangered one family and, of course, MI6; clearly an abuse of the people's democracy. This book shows evidence of murder that any honest court would accept. Murderous monsters assassinated Diana to preserve the status quo; an act of which the Nazi SS or the KGB would have been proud. But instead of burning books, these people now intimidate writers who seek justice and they are, in my view, guilty of treason; please read and consider your verdict.

Le Corbusier (1887-1965) is arguably the most influential architect of the twentieth century. Despite the fact that he designed no permanent buildings in the United Kingdom, more than any other individual he was responsible for shaping British post-war architecture.

Le Corbusier and Britain traces the growing awareness of work by this visionary figure in contemporary architecture journals and the popular press. Contributions by such prominent architects and critics as Edwin Lutyens, Herbert Read, Evelyn Waugh, Peter Smithson, Jane Drew, Basil Spence and Christopher Booker are accompanied by 150 illustrations, together with writings and drawings by Le Corbusier himself.

Also featuring the most comprehensive bibliography of British writings by and about Le Corbusier ever published, this book is an invaluable addition to the study of architecture.

Le Corbusier (1887-1965) is arguably the most influential architect of the twentieth century. Despite the fact that he designed no permanent buildings in the United Kingdom, more than any other individual he was responsible for shaping British post-war architecture.

Le Corbusier and Britain traces the growing awareness of work by this visionary figure in contemporary architecture journals and the popular press. Contributions by such prominent architects and critics as Edwin Lutyens, Herbert Read, Evelyn Waugh, Peter Smithson, Jane Drew, Basil Spence and Christopher Booker are accompanied by 150 illustrations, together with writings and drawings by Le Corbusier himself.

Also featuring the most comprehensive bibliography of British writings by and about Le Corbusier ever published, this book is an invaluable addition to the study of architecture.

Eric Ravilious (1903-1942) is now firmly one of the most popular artists of his period. Eric Ravilious: Imagined Realities includes illustrations of many previously unpublished paintings, including a number from private collections, as well as surveying his other artistic activities. The text draws on many letters and other documents, again previously unpublished, and is the most comprehensive account of Ravilious' career ever published. It also attempts to position the artist in relation to the English art of his time, and more recent critical and cultural issues.

More popular than ever, the work of Eric Ravilious (1903-42) is rooted in the landscape of pre-war and early wartime England. This best-selling book by Alan Powers, the established authority on Ravilious, provides the most comprehensive overview to date of the artist's work in all media - watercolour, illustration, printmaking, graphic design, textiles and ceramics - and firmly positions Ravilious as a major figure in the history of early 20th-century British art. Now available in paperback, the accessible and engaging text, copiously illustrated with reproductions of work drawn from a range of sources, discusses the part Ravilious' work played in creating an English style, positioned between tradition and modernism, and borrowing from naive and popular art of the past. The book analyses Ravilious' different spheres of activity in turn, covering his education and formative influences, his mural painting, his printmaking and illustration, his work as leader in forming a new style of watercolour painting between the wars and his final period as an official War Artist. In a career curtailed by an early death, Ravilious also played a significant role as a designer; Powers argues that Ravilious showed how decoration and historical reference could find a place in the reform of the applied arts whilst simultaneously renewing a sense of national identity. Eric Ravilious will be welcomed by all those with an interest in an artist whose imagination was backed by great skill and a sharp eye for the unusual.

Ernö Goldfinger (1902-1987) is noted for his pre-war Hampstead house, preserved with all its contents by the National Trust, and for his high-rise housing of the late 1960s. These buildings bookend a long and varied career as a modernist who thought deeply about domestic space, cities and the constructional discipline of architecture. Inspired by his teacher Auguste Perret, he carried the spirit of 1920s Paris to enliven the English architectural scene. Goldfinger offered imaginative alternatives to standard solutions for post-war schools, housing and offices, and excelled at the composition of clusters of free-standing buildings as well as fitting neatly into existing streets. An unexpected aspect of his work was the collaboration with Paul and Marjorie Abbatt, founders of Britain’s first modernist toy business. Based on thorough research in Goldfinger’s extensive archive and close knowledge of the full range of his projects, this book provides an accessible and generously illustrated account of a fascinating figure. A unique collaboration by two of Britain’s leading architectural historians of the twentieth century, Elain Harwood and Alan Powers have campaigned for the preservation of Goldfinger’s work for over thirty years.

Edward Ardizzone RA (1900-79) was one of relatively few British artists who defined the field of illustration for their generation. Although his work as an artist and illustrator was wide-ranging, it is for his illustrated children's books, almost continuously available since they were first published from the late 1930s onwards, that he is best known. This book provides the first fully illustrated survey of Ardizzone's work, analysing his activity as an artist and illustrator in the context of 20th-century British art, illustration, printing and publishing. Copiously illustrated with many previously unpublished images, Edward Ardizzone: Artist and Illustrator also contributes more broadly to the current reassessment and investigation of mid-20th-century British art and illustration. Alan Powers (author of the bestselling Eric Ravilious: Artist and Designer) has written a critically considered text which draws for the first time on the family's archives, those of Ardizzone's publishers, and conversations with those who knew the artist. This beautiful and enlightening book, which reflects in its design and production values the aesthetic of an artist who was closely involved in the production of his own illustrated books, will be a fascinating read both for specialists as well as for readers who have grown up with the unforgettable characters of Ardizzone's classic children's stories.

""An impressive reference work."- Library Journal (on the 1997 edition)"

"A richly detailed and easy-to-use reference to 500 years of architectural details and styles."

Owners and potential buyers of period houses, restorers, architects, interior designers and historical preservationists will find this reference invaluable.

The Elements of Style is the most comprehensive visual survey, period-by-period, feature-by-feature, of the styles that have had the greatest impact on interiors of American and British domestic architecture. Compiled by a team of experts, this is the first book on architectural styles that is comprehensive, incredibly thorough, and accessible in its presentation of individual details.

This magnificent volume covers more than 500 years of architectural styles from Tudor to Post-Modern and includes American and British vernacular styles. First published in 1991 (with 150,000 copies sold), this new edition is expanded to include the most contemporary styles.

Detailed illustrations include 3,000 analytical drawings and historic engravings, 400 photographs in color and 1,000 in black and white.

The heart of The Elements of Style is a chronological survey of the primary styles and periods of architectural design. Each chapter begins with an illustrated essay, then covers in detail features such as: DoorsWindowsWalls, floors and ceilingsStaircasesIronwork and hardwareWoodwork and built-in furnitureKitchen stoves and fireplacesEssential period architectural details, and more.

The book also includes: A useful system of quick reference, employing color-coded tabs showing how particular features evolved over time, andA fully updated resource list with contact information for locating suppliers of those design elements illustrated throughout the book.

The Elements of Style is the essential reference for preservationists, architects, interior designers, owners of period homes, and historians.