Space, Time and Architecture: The Growth of a New Tradition

The Charles Eliot Norton Lectures

by Siegfried Giedion

A milestone in modern thought, Space, Time and Architecture has been reissued many times since its first publication in 1941 and translated into half a dozen languages. In this revised edition of Mr. Giedion's classic work, major sections have been added and there are 81 new illustrations. The chapters on leading contemporary architects have been greatly expanded. There is new material on the later development of Frank Lloyd Wright and the more recent buildings of Walter Gropius, particularly his American Embassy in Athens. In his discussion of Le Corbusier, Mr. Giedion provides detailed analyses of the Carpenter Center at Harvard University, Le Corbusier's only building in the United States, and his Priory of La Tourette near Lyons. There is a section on his relations with his clients and an assessment of his influence on contemporary architecture, including a description of the Le Corbusier Center in Zurich (designed just before his death], which houses his works of art. The chapters on Mies van der Rohe and Alvar Aalto have been brought up to date with examples of their buildings in the sixties. There is an entirely new chapter on the Danish architect Jorn Utzon, whose work, as exemplified in his design for the Sydney Opera House, Mr. Giedion considers representative of post-World War II architectural concepts. A new essay, "Changing Notions of the City," traces the evolution of the structure of the city throughout history and examines current attempts to deal with urban growth, as shown in the work of such architects as José Luis Sert, Kenzo Tange, and Fumihiko Maki. Mr. Sert's Peabody Terrace is discussed as an example of the interlocking of the collective and individual spheres. Finally, the conclusion has been enlarged to include a survey of the limits of the organic in architecture.

Genres: Architecture, Nonfiction, Art, Design, History, Urbanism, Theory

897 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1941

Reviews

[Sahar Badiei]

Have read the Farsi version years ago in my undergrad school time. It's kind of an architecture reference book, creates a comprehensive understanding of how architecture evolves through time, birth and death of styles and their social, economical context as well as best practices.

[Duane]

Rereading this - it was the first architecture text I ever read. We'll see how it stands up to the intervening 13 years.

Mid Read note: I forgot how effing boring this is.
Not bad, just boring. Incredibly dry.

[Yifei Zhang · Rating 2 out of 5]

As readable as didactic. Unapologetically Hegelian. There are some interesting points, but the same ideas have been repeated over and over again in a 900-page book. A nice brush-off of high-modernism history and theory.

[Pouriya Parsa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A comprehensive history of modern architecture and the best one to gain an overview of the style.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still reading, but this is a classic, must read for any aspiring modernist designer. Giedion was a force to be reckoned with.

[Ada Ja • · Rating 2 out of 5]

Zaczęłam czytać tą książkę, bo uznałam, że może mi się przydać do dyplomu, ale jest tak cholernie nudna, że już wolę jej nie skończyć niż męczyć się przez kolejne miesiące. Bo już ponad pół roku mam ją zaczętą i jestem w stanie przebrnąć przez zaledwie kilka stron tygodniowo. Najzwyczajniej w świecie, to nie jest po prostu książka dla mnie.

[GreyAtlas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoughtful and relatively thorough history from ancient Rome to today. However, I was frustrated that the author mentioned Soviet Russia yet failed to devote an entire section to it, as communist architecture, especially Stalinist, is crucial to architectural history. Maybe I missed it, who knows. Otherwise, excellent read with lots of pictures.

[Emi · Rating 5 out of 5]

larguísimo el hdp
pero vale la pena

[Jarrodtrainque]

A milestone in modern thought, Space, Time and Architecture has been reissued many times since its first publication in 1941 and translated into half a dozen languages. In this revised edition of Mr. Giedion's classic work, major sections have been added and there are 81 new illustrations./ The chapters on leading contemporary architects have been greatly expanded. There is new material on the later development of Frank Lloyd Wright and the more recent buildings of Walter Gropius, particularly his American Embassy in Athens. In his discussion of Le Corbusier, Mr. Giedion provides detailed analyses of the Carpenter Center at Harvard University, Le Corbusier's only building in the United States, and his Priory of La Tourette near Lyons. There is a section on his relations with his clients and an assessment of his influence on contemporary architecture, including a description of the Le Corbusier Center in Zurich (designed just before his death], which houses his works of art. The chapters on Mies van der Rohe and Alvar Aalto have been brought up to date with examples of their buildings in the sixties. There is an entirely new chapter on the Danish architect Jorn Utzon, whose work, as exemplified in his design for the Sydney Opera House, Mr. Giedion considers representative of post-World War II architectural concepts./ A new essay, "Changing Notions of the City," traces the evolution of the structure of the city throughout history and examines current attempts to deal with urban growth, as shown in the work of such architects as José Luis Sert, Kenzo Tange, and Fumihiko Maki. Mr. Sert's Peabody Terrace is discussed as an example of the interlocking of the collective and individual spheres. Finally, the conclusion has been enlarged to include a survey of the limits of the organic in architecture./

[Danilo]

Canonical book, for it establishes some of the upcoming "moral values" of Modern Architecture. [return]Giedion's seminal work - first appeared as "Charles Eliot Norton Lectures for 1938-1939" - belongs to a centenary tradition of Classical Rationalists such as Viollet-le-Duc or Auguste Choisy, for whom architectural history derives directly from the history of building technology.[return]It is a classical work: a must-read for anyone interested in Modern Architecture and its early history.

[Anthony Caicco · Rating 5 out of 5]

This guy is so important its sick... A must read.

[Morteza · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Fantastic Architecture book that I recommend to all Architect to have a look at it.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read an earlier edition about ten years ago. It was a superb tour of modern architecture. The tone is sharp and arrogant. An exciting book.

[bram ieven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Phenomenal.