Description: Offering explanations for terms ranging from Aalto to ziggurat, this dictionary is an authoritative and accessible guide to architecture and its history. With over 5,000 entries -- twice as many as its nearest competitor -- it provides extensive coverage for all periods of Western architectural history, from ancient times to the present day, and covers styles that vary from Assyrian architecture to Flemish Mannerism. Curl has included over 250 attractive illustrations, all of which add crucial visual information to such terms as arch or cross. There are also several longer entries that explain the different schools of architecture -- from Bauhaus to the Federal Style -- and that likewise aim to set each movement in its proper historical context. Biographical entries are provided for a great number of architects, dating from the ancientrs up to the leading figures of modern times; in these pages, one can find Brunelleschi and Gropius as well as Le Corbusier and Brunel. Wholly comprehensive and contemporary, this dictionary will be a must for anyone interested in architecture and its history.

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