Title: The roots of architectural invention : site, enclosure, materials /
Authors: Leatherbarrow, David.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press,
Year: 1993
Subjects: Building sites Planning; Architectural design; Building materials
Abstract: The Roots of Architectural Invention is a study in the history and theory of architecture. Challenging the contemporary concentration on style, it argues that site, enclosure, and materials are fundamental elements in sound architectural design. Each of the chapters in this study reviews and criticizes current assumptions and then provides an analysis of historical texts, by such theoreticians as L.B. Alberti, G. Semper, A. Loos, and Le Corbusier, insofar as they illuminate current thinking. Considerable discussion is also devoted to significant buildings, both modern and historical, that provide the basis for the author's argument.
Contents: Foreword / Joseph Rykwert -- Introduction: Topical questions in architecture -- Pt. I. Limited Sites. 1. The space. 2. The context. 3. The land. 4. Sites within the potential whole. 5. The site platform. 6. Mediated sites. 7. Genius of the place. 8. Site projects -- Pt. 2. Enclosed Habits. 9. The architectural plan. 10. Plan elements. 11. Distribution of uses. 12. Proportional enclosure. 13. Forms of conduct. 14. Qualitative proportions and elastic geometry. 15. Instrumental plan geometry. 16. Lawful functions. 17. Raumplan -- Pt. 3. Material Possibilities. 18. Material choice. 19. The nature of materials. 20. Art exposing nature. 21. Design and construction. 22. Materials and site. 23. Rich materials. 24. Experiment and experience. 25. Imitation and self-expression.