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Analysing Architecture

The universal language of place-making
By Simon Unwin
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Analysing Architecture by Simon Unwin is a comprehensive introduction to architectural design, acclaimed internationally for its clarity and accessibility. Targeted primarily at architecture students, the book uses detailed illustrations from the author's own notebooks to explore architectural strategies across various historical periods and global contexts. The fifth edition expands on previous content with new chapters on spatial organisation themes like Axis, Grid, Datum Place, and Hidden, and improves the explanation of how analysis supports design. A rewritten introduction and redistributed case studies enhance the learning experience, highlighting how architecture shapes our interactions with the world.
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Format: Hardback
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Ideal for students and beginners in architecture seeking an accessible yet thorough guide to understanding architectural principles through drawing and analysis. Also valuable for enthusiasts of arts and culture interested in the foundational concepts behind architectural design.

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Now in its fifth edition, Analysing Architecture has become internationally established as the best introduction to architecture. Aimed primarily at those studying architecture, it offers a clear and accessible insight into the workings of this rich and fascinating subject.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Now in its fifth edition, Analysing Architecture has become internationally established as the best introduction to architecture. Aimed primarily at those studying architecture, it offers a clear and accessible insight into the workings of this rich and fascinating subject. With copious illustrations from his own notebooks, the author dissects examples from around the world and all periods of history to explain the underlying strategies in architectural design and show how drawing may be used as a medium for analysis.

In this new edition, Analysing Architecture has been revised and expanded. Notably, the chapter on ‘How Analysis Can Help Design’ has been redeveloped to clearly explain this crucially important aspect of study to a beginner readership. Four new chapters have been added to the section dealing with Themes in Spatial Organisation, on ‘Axis’, ‘Grid’, ‘Datum Place’ and ‘Hidden’. Material from the 'Case Studies' in previous editions has been redistributed amongst earlier chapters. The ‘Introduction’ has been completely rewritten; and the format of the whole book has been adjusted to allow for the inclusion of more and better illustrative examples.

Works of architecture are instruments for managing, orchestrating, modifying our relationship with the world around us. They frame just about everything we do. Architecture is complex, subtle, frustrating… but ultimately extremely rewarding. It can be a difficult discipline to get to grips with; nothing in school quite prepares anyone for the particular demands of an architecture course. But this book will help.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780367523572

Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 30 December 2020

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Routledge

Edition: 5th edition

Illustration: 951 Line drawings, black and white; 951 Illustrations, black and white

Audience: Tertiary education

DIMENSIONS

Width: 219.0mm

Height: 276.0mm

Weight: 1380g

Pages: 326

Collections

Arts & Culture Non-Fiction Simon Unwin

About the Author

Simon Unwin is Emeritus Professor of Architecture at the University of Dundee, Scotland. He has lived in Great Britain and Australia, and taught or lectured on his work in China, Israel, India, Sweden, Turkey and the United States. Analysing Architecture’s international relevance is indicated by its translation into various languages and its adoption for architecture courses around the world. Now retired, Simon Unwin continues to teach at The Welsh School of Architecture in Cardiff, UK.

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