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In this exciting new survey of 20th-century architecture, Dennis Doordan selects significant moments from modern architecture and unravels the political, social, and technological strands that make up its history. Identifying key themes such as the nature of domestic space, the design of places of work (factories and offices) and recreation (cinema and sports), the author not only describes buildings but also includes the evolution of design tools and their impact on architectural design. Doordan provides an account of the multiple perceptions of the present and future as seen by 20th-century architects ranging from well-known names such as Le Corbusier, Norman Foster and Frank Lloyd Wright to lesser-known architects such as Geoffrey Bawa, Zaha Hadid, and Alison and Peter Smithson.

What is the appropriate architecture for modern times? Should it free itself from the shackles of earlier forms? Or should the received wisdom of the past be incorporated into new buildings? Architects and critics have debated these questions for over a century. Rather than validate a particular ideology, Dennis Doordan's thoughtful, wide-ranging survey follows the progression of modern architecture as a manifestation of this debate. Histories of modern architecture are often conceived as the struggle, triumph, and inevitable exhaustion of high modernism in Western Europe, the United States, and Scandinavia. The reader of Twentieth-Century Architecture will encounter instead a more global and open approach that considers what was possible, desirable, and appropriate during a volatile era of unprecedented opportunities. The book also places greater emphasis than existing surveys on popular forms of architecture such as Art Deco, period revivalism, colonial and post-colonial design, and environmentally friendly architectural practice. There are three parts: Confronting Modernity, 1900-1940; Modernist Hegemony, 1940-1965; and An Era of Pluralism, 1965-2000. Covering developments in the United States, Europe, Latin America, and Asia, Dennis Doordan discusses the form, function, materials, and technologies of domestic and recreational spaces, workplaces, and buildings that reflect the chosen image of the state, and he also provides some treatment of city planning. Along the way, the reader is treated to a thorough discussion of the work of architects and designers such as Alvar Aalto, Pietro Belluschi, Paul Bonatz, Le Corbusier, Bertram Goodhue, Walter Gropius, Zaha Hadid, Rem Koolhaas, Julia Morgan, Oscar Niemeyer, Marcello Piacentini, Raili and Reima Pietila, Alison and Peter Smithson, James Stirling, Mies van der Rohe, and Frank Lloyd Wright. Book jacket.

"Ettore Sottsass: Architect and Designer - the first significant study of the work of Sottsass for over a decade - emphasizes the continuing diversity and innovation of his professional life while illuminating his personal design philosophy, his belief in the intimate relationship between design and the individual, and his fundamental humanity and joie de vivre. Drawing in particular on the work of the two decades since Sottsass left the Memphis collective, this book reassesses his relationship to Modernism and Postmodernism, analyzes the increasing importance to Sottsass of his own architectural practice, and considers both his acceptance and his rejection of the traditional use of materials. In a series of interviews specially undertaken for this book, Sottsass reflects on the cross-currents of ideas and influences that have guided his long career."--BOOK JACKET.

"Ettore Sottsass: Architect and Designer - the first significant study of the work of Sottsass for over a decade - emphasizes the continuing diversity and innovation of his professional life while illuminating his personal design philosophy, his belief in the intimate relationship between design and the individual, and his fundamental humanity and joie de vivre. Drawing in particular on the work of the two decades since Sottsass left the Memphis collective, this book reassesses his relationship to Modernism and Postmodernism, analyzes the increasing importance to Sottsass of his own architectural practice, and considers both his acceptance and his rejection of the traditional use of materials. In a series of interviews specially undertaken for this book, Sottsass reflects on the cross-currents of ideas and influences that have guided his long career."--BOOK JACKET.