St Paul's, Race to the Sky & House on the Water

St Paul's Cathedral

St Paul's was the first British cathedral to be built for the Anglican faith at the end of the 1600s. It is therefore ironic that its famous architect, Sir Christopher Wren, borrowed heavily from the Catholic Renaissance by adopting such features as the dome and Corinthian columns. The original St Paul's Cathedral was built on the same site in 604 by Bishop Mellitus. The Vikings burnt it down in 962 and it was rebuilt in the Gothic style. This was begun in 1087 and completed two centuries later in 1310. This cathedral was then destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666.
Set in the heart of London, St Paul's Cathedral is a building of immense dignity. Imposing in its scale and its Baroque splendor, and with a powerful spiritual presence, it is a masterpiece of architecture. In this superbly illustrated volume, the work of architect Sir Christopher Wren and his team of builders and craftsmen is charted in fascinating detail, as are the contributions of later artists and restorers. Two hundred fine color photos capture the character and the beauty of the cathedral: its architecture, the exquisite detail of its decoration, and its opulent accumulation of artwork and monuments. We are also offered a glimpse of the momentous events that have taken place in St Paul's-royal marriages, state funerals, and celebrations of great lives and deeds. A splendid history of one of England's best-loved treasures.
St. Paul's: The Story of the Cathedral
ISBN: 1843401398

Higher: A Historic Race to the Sky

In 1924, in the vibrant heart of Manhattan, a fierce rivalry was born. Two architects, William Van Alen and Craig Severance (former friends and successful partners, but now bitter adversaries), set out to imprint their individual marks on the greatest canvas in the world, the rapidly evolving skyline of New York City. Each man desired to build the city's tallest building. Each would stop at nothing to outdo his rival. Van Alen was a creative genius who envisioned a bold, contemporary building that would move beyond the tired architecture of the previous century. By a stroke of good fortune he found a larger-than-life patron in automobile magnate Walter Chrysler, and they set out to build the legendary Chrysler Building. Severance, by comparison, was a brilliant businessman, and he tapped his circle of downtown, old-money investors to begin construction on the Manhattan Company Building at 40 Wall Street.
From ground-breaking to bricklaying, Van Alen and Severance fought a cunning duel of wills. Each man was forced to revamp his architectural design in an attempt to push higher, to overcome his rival in mid-construction, as the structures rose, floor by floor, in record time. Yet just as the battle was under way, a third party entered the arena and announced plans to build an even larger building. This project would be overseen by one of Chrysler's principal rivals, a representative of the General Motors group, and the building ultimately became known as the Empire State Building. Infused with narrative thrills and perfectly rendered historical and engineering detail, Higher brings to life a sensational episode in American history.
Author Neal Bascomb interweaves characters such as Al Smith and Governor Franklin Delano Roosevelt, leading up to an astonishing climax that illustrates one of the most ingenious (and secretive) architectural achievements of all time.
Higher: A Historic Race to the Sky and the Making of a City by Neal Bascomb
Doubleday & Company, 2003
ISBN: 0385506600

Tower of Pisa

In Tilt, author Nicholas Shrady reveals how the campanile, or bell tower, in Pisa's Campo dei Miracoli became the iconic Tower of Pisa. Even standing straight and true, the tower's marble and lime facade would be instantly recognizable the world over. Yet its distinctive tilt, which measured 16 degrees from vertical when construction was completed in 1370, has long been a mystery. Was it the result of shoddy workmanship or the brainchild of a hunchback maestro who skewed the tower to avenge his own condition? Nearly a millennium since its construction, the tower still stands (more than 4 meters - or 5 degrees - askew) in defiance of logic, gravity, and soaring odds - a mute witness to history as it has unfolded.
A Skewed History of the Tower of Pisa by Nicholas Shrady
Simon & Schuster, 2003
ISBN: 0743229266

City in the Sky: World Trade Center

More than a year after the nation began mourning the lives lost in the attacks on the World Trade Center, it became clear that something else was being mourned: the towers themselves. They were the biggest and brashest icons that New York, and possibly America, ever produced - magnificent giants that became intimately familiar around the globe. Their builders were possessed of a singular determination to create wonders of capitalism as well as engineering, refusing to admit defeat before natural forces, economics, or politics. No one knows the history of the towers better than New York Times reporters James Glanz and Eric Lipton. In a vivid, brilliantly researched narrative, the authors re-create David Rockefeller's ambition to rebuild lower Manhattan, the spirited opposition of local storeowners and powerful politicians, the bold structural innovations that later determined who lived and died, master builder Guy Tozzoli's last desperate view of the towers on September 11, and the charged and chaotic recovery that could have unraveled the secrets of the buildings' collapse but instead has left some enduring mysteries.
City in the Sky: The Rise and Fall of the World Trade Center by James Glanz, Eric Lipton
Henry Holt & Company, 2003
ISBN: 0805074287

Unmistakably French by Betty Lou Phillips

Unmistakably French, the fifth book in Betty Lou Phillips' best-selling series on interpreting French décor for American homes, broadens yet again the limits of what French style can do for a home. No matter the location or size of the room to be decorated, the French rarely stray from favored and well-known characteristics of design-eighteenth-century furniture, sumptuous textiles, distinctive porcelains, and oil paintings in original carved-wood frames. In Phillips' newest book, she defines some of these specific secrets that French designers use to create an authentic French look-these certain basic decorating values they hold dear, seducing us with their self-assured approach to glamour, culture, and enduring respect for history.
The book includes four sections: Passion for French, Art of Living, Savoir-Faire, and Fluent French. The style and settings seen in these contemporary homes, while American, are Unmistakably French!
Betty Lou Phillips is a renowned designer and the best-selling author of Provencal Interiors, French by Design, French Influences, and Villa Décor. She lives in Dallas, Texas.
Unmistakably French by Betty Lou Phillips
Gibbs Smith, 2003
ISBN: 1586852892

House on the Water

Living at the Water's Edge is an almost universal desire. It's where views are longer, sites are spectacular, and you can almost feel like you own a little piece of infinity. But a house on the water is also something of a public trust. Just as building on a beautiful street has its obligations, building a house on the water requires respect for the public space that surrounds it. A waterside home gives great rewards, but it demands care in return.
The 24 homes in this book represent outstanding examples of the relationship of house to water - seaside, lakeside, and riverside - with clear explanation of the design and construction details necessary to create a beautiful house that can withstand the sometimes severe conditions at the water's edge. Each home in A House on the Water deals with these issues successfully, and the solutions to these technical problems enhance the quality of the design rather than forcing compromises in it. Whether you are actively creating a home at the water's edge or simply dreaming about it, A House on the Water provides both inspiration and valuable design advice for a home that respects the coastline, fits into the surroundings, and is built to withstand the unique conditions of the site for generations to come.
A House on the Water: Inspiration for Living at the Water's Edge
Robert W. Knight, Randy O'Rourke (Photographer)
Taunton Press, 2003
ISBN: 1561586072

More information

Architecture Main Page