We haven't had mention of books we're reading for a while, so I thought I'd put in a good word for Alain de Botton's 'The Architecture of Happiness' which ties in with a tv show on the same subject. Illustrated with b&w photos and written in his gracefully descriptive style, it's an interesting musing on why we are attracted to some building styles and shapes more than others, and what they may mean to us through our subconscious. Design features are analyzed in terms of our humanizing their characteristics: why one chair appears to be 'logical', while another's shape is 'lazy'. Magazines and catalogues 'for the home' will take on a new slant after reading this book.
At a time when Britain's new housing estates are being filled with rehashes and mish-mashes of past architectural visions, and no mass-market builder is flying the flag for the 21st Century, one wonders why, especially when radically different public buildings like the Sage Centre at Gateshead are accepted with mostly mass glee.
The book is easily-understood, occasionally amusing reading, which might give us pause for thought if we're seriously considering actually paying good money for yet another unimaginitive Tudorbethan knock-off.
£17.99 rrp, or £13.99 at Waterstone's for the hardback.
At a time when Britain's new housing estates are being filled with rehashes and mish-mashes of past architectural visions, and no mass-market builder is flying the flag for the 21st Century, one wonders why, especially when radically different public buildings like the Sage Centre at Gateshead are accepted with mostly mass glee.
The book is easily-understood, occasionally amusing reading, which might give us pause for thought if we're seriously considering actually paying good money for yet another unimaginitive Tudorbethan knock-off.
£17.99 rrp, or £13.99 at Waterstone's for the hardback.