THE METOPE AND THE TRIGLYPH. NINE LECTURES IN ARCHITECTURE
AUTORE Antonio Monestiroli
ANNO 2005
CASA EDITRICE SUN Publisher
LINGUA Inglese
ISBN 9058751708
In The Metope and the Triglyph Antonio Monestiroli expresses the believe in the need for a theory of design based on a unitary viewpoint on architecture, in a time when such a viewport seems to be lost. For this purpose Monestiroli tires to reconnect and, thus, continue with the rich tradition of architectural treatises and handbooks, a tradition that is based on a rational and systematic development of a body of architectural knowledge. Contrary to many convictions Monestiroli argues that a continuity can be identified within the historical experience of architecture that binds the classical with the modern tradition. This continuity is traced to basic themes of architectural theory such as construction & decoration, style, the question of method and the art of building cities. In the book these themes are discussed through the writings of architect-authors belonging to the long history of the profession: Vitruvius, Alberti, Boullée, Schinkel, Loos, Mies, Le Corbusier, Hilberseimer and Rossi. With its emphatic didactic premises this book is first and foremost a textbook of architecture, and as such it displays Monestiroli’s great skills as a teacher. The book expresses the wish to make architecture again a subject that can be systematically taught and learned.