city and culture |
FROM HUMAN TO HUMANE
THE ARCHITECTURE OF NOTHINGNESS | Review by Rajat Ray
LA 68 |
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| The article is a longish version of a common book review. The subject matter of the book comprises discussion about certain fundamental aspects of building design with an almost universal appeal albeit within the ambit of modern architecture; yet significantly different from various prevalent approaches of architectural appreciation and theorization. Discursively written, connecting various bodies of knowledge, covering a range of important ideas tied together by an easily accessible language; encourages one to represent an immersive experience of reading through the text complemented by excellent illustrations, with a small amount of elaboration.
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Old Naturalism
In order to set up the context of his ‘story’ about searching for an objective explanation of quality and beauty in Architectural works, Frank Lyons begins his book by invoking Nature. He says Nature functions precisely, consistently and beautifully with a rigorous and absolute order that pervades the spheres of the Arts and the Sciences. But doesn’t it ring a bell! To begin with, there seems to be an attitudinal difference in his views vis-à-vis the familiar dominant classic western approach to nature. To articulate this distinction for us, an Indian audience, quasi aware about western thought, it may suffice to reiterate some historical facts, before proceeding with the author’s almost a lifetime work, informed by multidisciplinary erudition, executed with utmost love and care.
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