Smith was wise to limit the scope of her study. From the title, one might expect to find a detaileddiscussionofAlberti's"De Re aedJficatoria," for example,which would haveentailed addressingdifferentdefinitionsofAlberti'sconceptionof classicism,such as those represented in the still formidableargumentsofWittkowerandArgan. After readingthis book, however, one is eagerto know how Smith would discussthe "De Re"within the well-craftedcontext she establishes. One of the most compelling though leastrigorouslyexploredthemesin this studyis the significanceof sensoryexperiencein Humanistepistemology- "The new desire to understandthroughsight None of these observations,however,should detractfrom this importantand innovative contributionto intellectualand culturalhistory.
This book is richer and raisesmany more questionsthan can be summarizedin such a brief review. It should be requiredreadingfor anyoneinterestedin earlyRenaissanceculture.
Melinda Schlitt Dickinson College Binding Passions. Guido Ruggiero. In BindingPassions,Guido Ruggiero has set himselfa twofold task:to contributeto the historyof"the bindingof passionsand the desireto do so";a history"intimatelyintertwined both with the broadissuesof order,stability,and power and with the more everydayissues of how people live together in families,neighborhoods,and largersolidarities";and to re- count "good and historical stories, so that they can be read simply as tales.
It is these talesthemselves-tales of the magicalbindingof love andlust within and without mar- riage,often acrossboundariesof classand status-rather than the motivesbehind the efforts of city and Church to reduce such transgressivebinding to order,that intrigue Ruggiero andhis reader.
We are-in all senses-in the land of Italo Calvino who appearsin epigraph,text, and bibliography ratherthan that of Norbert Elias who makesno appearance. Although Rug- giero assertsthat"the late Renaissancecity,much like the courtier,seemed to be much more This content downloaded from By Yvonne Elet.
By Jennifer Mason. By Glenn Hendler. After the industrial revolution, population moving and living in urban areas quadrupled while the population living in rural areas, even though decreased, was still able to produce efficiently, since the introduction of technology and agricultural machinery made much of the 3.
The shift from small workshops and cottage industries to factories also required labor hands. The people had a strong incentive and accumulated around factories and plants, needing housing, while their presence supported commercial development.
Another factor that supported urbanization was the development of cheap and fast transport, such as the steamboat and the railroad, allowing cities to grow quickly, but not without problems. The huge flood of population in the cities created poverty, as the cities were not prepared with adequate infrastructure to accommodate it.
Population density was very high; people lived in dirty and unhealthy tenements, without sewage systems Sennott, The cities became dark and polluted and architecture was called to provide answers to all the above, building faith in technology and science, since they were the only ones that could provide practical solutions to all the above.
Urbanism was a new development and required that cities be built in a fast, efficient and economic way in order to house the new dwellers.
The humanistic model of the past was no longer applicable, and the shift from humanism towards a post-humanist standard was thought as necessary in order 4. Urban zoning was based on to face the new problems set rational ground but separation of forth by the new era. The new land use made life in the cities dependent. The separation of land uses within the city was rationalized in health terms while the organic relationship between places was broken on a scientific basis Eckersley et al, The large-scale economy required large-scale factories, large-scale offices, large- scale parks, and large-scale blocks of flats.
It created total automobile dependency, because separating land uses means there are no services within walking distance of homes. Humanism was no longer in the picture and was replaced by functionalism in terms of measurement. The cities were gradually distancing themselves from the human body, 5.
Council estates were built to house the working class, who needed a place to live and and architecture, as it be productive, as a celebration to rationalization. Functionality signaled the negation of humanism and proportions became huge and inhuman Mikellides, Humanism and Architecture in the present Architecture, as we experience it today in the cities, gives us an equally thorny feeling as life in the cities itself.
Even though there is no scientific evidence that could prove the above statement, all city-dwellers can feel the impact of a piece of architecture. Because, as mentioned in the introduction, architecture is something that surrounds us, we move and live inside it, we come in contact with all our senses, we feel it: we see a building, we hear the sound of wind whirling around its corners, we touch the materials of which it is built, we smell the freshness or the humidity, we taste the surfaces.
It is important then for architecture to provide such stimuli that are close to human, therefore it is important to be a humanist architecture. But modern architecture has distanced itself from its humanist nature. The fast way, in which buildings are constructed for the sake of profit, limited time and space, does not allow for addition of the human factor.
The scale, the uniformity, the absence of character is similar to the industrialization process. The materials used, such as concrete, glass and steel, celebrate technology but are nowhere near the human nature. Sometimes, they even feel unnatural. Buildings are created as mass production objects, not designed for human needs. Rationalism in production has created the modern cities which make their dwellers gasp for breath, and without any humane urban planning, they eventually pollute and contaminate the environment.
Having realized the above, there is a movement towards a more humane environment, and an architecture that could succeed to bring human closer to nature. Modern humanist architecture has not yet developed a coherent style Siegel, , but is in the process of weaning itself from the old habits.
Modernist architecture is no longer applicable, since it no longer symbolizes social change and ideas. And if these needs move towards a global and ecological awareness, the new architecture ought to protect and preserve them. New Humanism and New Urbanism Or why humanism is essential in architecture Modern environment, as has been effected by human development, can no longer support the technological optimism, once gained from modern progress. The new humanist architecture is a sustainable one, that try to minimize the negative environmental impact of buildings by enhancing efficiency and moderation in the use of materials, energy and development space.
When talking about sustainability, the initial focus is the environment, but whatever actions and decisions we make today, in terms of architecture, these will inhibit the future of humanity.
Architecture should reject the pursuit of novelty Seigel, and return to human values and ethics. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about The Architecture of Humanism , please sign up. Be the first to ask a question about The Architecture of Humanism. Lists with This Book. This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list ». Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 3. Rating details. More filters. Sort order. Aug 02, Alexander Craghead is currently reading it. This book disappoints me a bit, but in other ways is useful. It seems more a polemic work of advocacy, a kind of argument for why a specific type of architecture is morally better than another, rather than an introspective analysis of a period of architecture.
This bothers me as a work of scholarship, but turning it on the head, it makes the work an interesting window into contemporary thought. It would be good to know how influential the author was on thinking about buildings and space in his t This book disappoints me a bit, but in other ways is useful.
It would be good to know how influential the author was on thinking about buildings and space in his time. Oct 30, Freddy added it. Ernesto rated it liked it Dec 06, Jonathan rated it liked it Dec 02, Patrick Webb rated it it was amazing Feb 20, Danielle Devoglio rated it it was amazing Apr 10, Bud rated it really liked it Mar 17, Zeke Balan rated it it was ok Aug 03, Alexa rated it really liked it Aug 29, Michael rated it really liked it Jan 10, Lindsey rated it liked it Feb 22, Mario Petillo rated it it was amazing Feb 22, David rated it really liked it Sep 07, Ennan rated it liked it Jun 05, Tony rated it liked it Nov 20, Samuel rated it liked it May 25,
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