New Classicism: The Rebirth of Traditional Architecture
Regardless of whether they favor New Classicist architecture themselves, architecture buffs interested in contemporary design will find the trends laid out in this volume quite thought provoking. Dowling presents a wide variety of examples of the style in the book's many oversized photographs, from palatial homes and university buildings to a financial center in Washington, D.C., and a "Georgian Club" in Tokyo. In her introduction, the author celebrates the recent rebirth of Classicism in both the United States and Britain, while unabashedly expressing her distaste for modern design. She sets up a dichotomy between the two styles, tracing the rise of modern architecture in the past century in opposition to the classical tradition, which Dowling feels has suffered from a decline in popularity since the 1930s, "when many professors from the Bauhaus ... immigrated to America to escape persecution in Nazi Germany." Dowling then quickly moves on to mention those designers featured in the book who resisted the dominant modern aesthetic in the past half century, such as Allan Greenberg and John Blatteau. A professor of architecture at Georgia Institute of Technology and author of American Classicist: The Architecture of Phillip Trammell Schutze, Dowling also discusses the recent revival of classicism in the training of design. The bulk of the book is dedicated to profiles of 13 architects who have produced work in the New Classicist style since the late '80s, featuring rich photographs of their extravagant projects. This is a worthwhile read for those who pay attention to contemporary architecture.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.