- Reviewed in:
Publishers Weekly,
page
32.
- Review Date:
2007-12-31
- Reviewer:
Staff
Made up of essays that originally appeared in the New York Review of Books, this work is a wonderful introduction to 20th-century architecture. Filler focuses each chapter on a single architect or firm, discussing their place in the history of architecture as well as some of their most important works. For some architects, particularly those who have become synonymous with high-profile projects—such as Frank Gehry or Richard Meier—Filler uses a single signature building to shed light on the architect by reading its structure and features as representative of their style. For others—such as Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright—design philosophy is his focus: Filler demonstrates how their aesthetic vision shaped everything they created, from furniture and fixtures to residences and office buildings. The result is magnificent from start to finish. Filler writes elegant prose that captures the feeling of these buildings in a way that makes the illustrations almost unnecessary. He also discusses architecture in a way that will be both satisfying to specialists or practitioners and accessible to nonspecialists. No matter the level of previous experience with architecture, anyone with an interest in the subject will find Filler's work rewarding. (July)
