Poetics of Architecture: Theory of Design

In order for a book to succeed in presenting a theory of architecture, it must address aspects of imagination and creativity as well as the channels one can use to achieve truly significant architectural design. Poetics of Architecture explores the fundamental theories of Modern and Postmodern design and attempts to reconcile all that is worthwhile in these two movements into a new inclusivist attitude toward architecture. Anthony C. Antoniades looks at the many intangible and tangible channels one can harness in creating architectural design. By opening up architecture to the full range of creative influences, he tries to help readers produce designs that are richer on spatial, sensual, spiritual, and environmental levels. Some of the intangible channels to creativity explored in the book include fantasy, metaphor, the paradoxical and metaphysical, the primordial and untouched, poetry and literature, and the exotic and multicultural. Among the tangible channels covered are history and the study of precedents, mimesis and literal interpretation, geometry, materials, and the role of nature. The author presents rich and imaginative discussions of these various channels, explaining which were favored during the Modern and Postmodern movements and clarifying his theoretical analyses through the use of many vivid examples, tables, and illustrations. Included among the examples in the volume are many distinguished projects and theories by a wide range of noted architects such as Asplund, Aalto, Utzon, Pikionis, Barragin, Pietila, Predock, and Legorreta, who are latecomers to the attention of the media. Antoniades also provides fascinating material on the study of architectural biographies as a means of achieving an all-inclusive creativity in architectural design. Highly original yet based on solid principles, Poetics of Architecture will help architects, designers, and students increase their versatility and creativity in the studio. It will also deepen their understanding and appreciation of the creative process and its many influences.