The World's Greatest Buildings - Hardcover

Cowan, Henry J.; Greenstein, Ruth; Hanna, Bronwyn; Haskell, John; Howells, Trevo

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1876778687 ISBN 13: 9781876778682

Publisher: Fog City Press, 2003

Synopsis

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About this title

From the Publisher:

This intriguing volume showcases 100 of the world’s most admired and timeless structures. A representative sampling includes churches, castles, palaces, forts, stadiums, museum galleries, bridges, canals, statues, memorials, parliaments, and skyscrapers. Photographs, diagrams, and illustrations show not only what these building look like, but also how they were built. You’ll marvel at man’s many engineering feats, from Stonehenge to the pyramids of Egypt to the Panama Canal. *Pictorial emphasis with extended captions *Structures ordered according to function and presented chronologically, with one spread devoted to each *Feature boxes profile remarkable architects, builders, and engineers, plus architectural styles, revolutionary materials, and historical content *Includes an introduction by an expert in the field, plus a glossary.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:

Chapter 1: Places of Worship Since ancient times, the Pantheon’s sense of space and seeming simplicity of design have induced awe in all those who stand under its great dome. Despite depredations and alterations over 2,000 years, it’s among the most complete and best preserved of all the ancient Roman monuments. Built by the Emperor Hadrian between AD 118 AND 125, the Pantheon covered a temple erected by one of the Emperor Augustus’s generals, Marcus Agrippa, in 27 BC. The artistic Hadrian seems to have been a modest man with a sense of history: He had Agrippa’s name inscribed above the columns of the entrance portico, vowing, with touching filial loyalty, to dedicate his own name to one monument only-that of his adoptive father, Trajan. The exterior, fronted by a portico eight columns wide and three deep, barely hints at the exposure within. A central block contains the huge, bronze covered doors, flanked by niches, leading into the immense rotunda. The dome is a half-sphere, its 144-feet (44.3m) diameter precisely equal to its floor-to-summit height. The oculus (“open eye”) at its center provides an unexpected view of Rome’s changing skies, and a natural light source.

About this edition

• Publisher: Fog City Press
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 1876778687
• ISBN 13: 9781876778682
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 256