The Prodigious Builders: Notes Toward A Natural History Of Architecture With Special Regard To Those Species That Are Traditionally Neglected Or Downright Ignored
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Fair
Jacket: Wear and tear with damage
Pages: Good
What if the most extraordinary architecture on Earth was never designed by an architect? The Prodigious Builders by Bernard Rudofsky presents a sweeping, unconventional survey of vernacular and anonymous architecture drawn from cultures across the globe, championing the ingenious building traditions of ordinary people, indigenous communities, and non-Western civilisations that mainstream architectural history has long dismissed or overlooked. With characteristic wit and erudition, Rudofsky chronicles the caves, tents, cliff dwellings, tree houses, and communal structures that represent millennia of accumulated human wisdom, arguing forcefully that these unsung builders deserve a rightful place in the canon of great architecture. A natural successor to his landmark work Architecture Without Architects, this volume extends Rudofsky's lifelong mission to challenge the elitism embedded within Western architectural discourse. His prose is sharp, irreverent, and richly illustrated, weaving together anthropology, history, and cultural criticism into a cohesive and provocative argument. For anyone who has ever questioned who truly gets to define beauty, ingenuity, and shelter, this book will permanently alter the way you see the built world.
Author: Bernard Rudofsky
Format: Hardback
Published: 1977, Secker & Warburg
Genre: Architecture
Condition remarks:
Book: Fair
Jacket: Wear and tear with damage
Pages: Good
What if the most extraordinary architecture on Earth was never designed by an architect? The Prodigious Builders by Bernard Rudofsky presents a sweeping, unconventional survey of vernacular and anonymous architecture drawn from cultures across the globe, championing the ingenious building traditions of ordinary people, indigenous communities, and non-Western civilisations that mainstream architectural history has long dismissed or overlooked. With characteristic wit and erudition, Rudofsky chronicles the caves, tents, cliff dwellings, tree houses, and communal structures that represent millennia of accumulated human wisdom, arguing forcefully that these unsung builders deserve a rightful place in the canon of great architecture. A natural successor to his landmark work Architecture Without Architects, this volume extends Rudofsky's lifelong mission to challenge the elitism embedded within Western architectural discourse. His prose is sharp, irreverent, and richly illustrated, weaving together anthropology, history, and cultural criticism into a cohesive and provocative argument. For anyone who has ever questioned who truly gets to define beauty, ingenuity, and shelter, this book will permanently alter the way you see the built world.