Table of Contents

Introduction - reflections on the scope of the tectonic; Greco-Gothic and neo-Gothic - the Anglo-French origins of tectonic form; the rise of the tectonic - core form and art form in the German Enlightenment, 1750-1870; Frank Lloyd Wright and the text-tile tectonic; Auguste Perret and classical rationalism; Mies van der Rohe - avant-garde and continuity; Louis Kahn - modernization and the New Monumentality, 1944-1972; Jorn Utzon - transcultural form and the tectonic metaphor; Carlo Scarpa and the adoration of the joint; postscriptum - the tectonic trajectory, 1903-1994; the owl of Minerva - an epilogue.

Promotional Information

In a word, Frampton's book is a wonderfully rich and resourceful companion to guide us along the shifting paths travelled by architectural ideas in the course of the last two centuries. Frampton is more conversant with historical thought and more compelling in his interpretation of architecture than most historians. I can think of no book, in any western language, that tackles this subject better. -- Kurt W. Forster, Professor of the History of Art and Architecture, Institut fur Geschichte und Theorie der Architektur, Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich Kenneth Frampton's Studies are a welcome contribution to the historiography of Twentieth Century architecture. In an editorial production saturated with empirical monographs and sometimes empty theorization, he cuts with passion and precision through a century of designs revealing the guiding path provided by the artistic interpretation of construction. -- Jean-Louis Cohen, Architect and Professor, L'Ecole d'architecture, Paris-Villemin Kenneth Frampton has not spared himself in exploring the hidden causes which underlie the always complicated history by which the discoveries of material technology are brought into the cultural realm. A great deal of original research has been necessary, and this has resulted not only in fresh and interesting textual matter, but in an array of illustrations which, in combination with the verbal analysis, amounts to an entirely new representation of the evolution of modern architecture. Because of the care with which this hidden history has been brought to light, this book will be of equal interest to engineers, the student of architecture, and the student of cultural studies. -- Robert Maxwell, Emeritus Professor of Architecture, Princeton University There is in architecture an anxiety to master the trade, to do it properly: it is for this reason that good architecture reveals the trace of the hand, the trace of the properly done...It is nice that a critic like Kenneth Frampton, great navigator of the history of contemporary architecture, explores this subject subtly and with an open mind: this is what will bring us closer to the truth. -- Renzo Piano Kenneth Frampton's book approaches a very important issue for understanding the way in which architects proceed: the continuity between form and construction. But to establish this continuity doesn't simply mean to accept pure constructive determinism, and Frampton's book helps us to comprehend that beside whatever technical discovery there is always the architect's effort to produce form. Using the work of outstanding contemporary architects such as Utzon and Scarpa, Frampton is able to show how architectural talent is manifested in continuous form invention. -- Rafael Moneo, Professor of Architecture, Harvard University The material, detail and structure of a building is an absolute condition. Architecture's potential is to deliver authentic meanings in what we see, touch and smell; the tectonic is ultimately central to what we feel...Kenneth Frampton's new book is important for architects, students and anyone interested in the secrets of architecture. -- Steven Holl, architect

About the Author

Kenneth Frampton is Ware Professor of Architecture at Columbia University.

Reviews

"No single author has so comprehensively studied the application of technology in building and its dialectic with form and style as Frampton does here." - James B. Garrison, Philadelphia Architect