Classical Architecture

Classical architecture has its origins in simple houses and plain little temples built by the early peoples of the Mediterranean region. From these unselfconscious beginnings, classical style found perfect expression in the Doric and Ionic temples of the Greek city-states. The excellence of classical design is such that it has endured for more than two thousand years as the ideal of Western architecture. Moreover, the vocabulary of classical architecture-from acanthus to zoophorus-is not only alive but is enjoying yet another renaissance today. In Classical Architecture Robert Adam traces the history of classical design to the present day and provides examples of virtually everyone of its applications. He shows how the style of classical architecture has been echoed, adapted, and refined in subsequent school, including those as diverse as Hellenistic, Romanesque, and Baroque. Adam draws on an enormous range of source material to illustrate different types of classical buildings, the evolution of its orders, and its theories of proportion, He demonstrates for the first time the extent to which the language of architecture pervades our own culture, and he also lays down essential guidelines for the correct application of its principles. A special feature of this unique handbook is the presentation of illustrative material alongside the discussion of each subject. This juxtaposition of text and drawings shows at a glance the ways in which different features of classicism have been interpreted, and examples include buildings and architectural details in North America and Europe. Each illustration has been painstakingly researched, carefully drawn, and presented with scale. Every element of classical design is here, including entire sections devote to brackets, mouldings, and decorative details, as well as to domes, arches, pediments, doors, porches, windows, and even fireplace surrounds.