Towards a Symbolic Architecture by Charles Jencks (Rizzoli 1985) presents the Thematic House (currently known as the Cosmic House), a conversion of a 1840s London town house into a total environment.
Everyone, to some extent, designs their own house; everyone needs to personalise the environment around them. Yet few people have succeeded as thoroughly as the critic and architect Charles Jencks in his thematic House. Using as his bsis an 1840s London town house, Jencks has created a total environment based on a symbolic programme accessible to all – the physical world of the cosmos, planets, sun, moon and seasons – yet with a rigour and attention to detail few could imagine.
Towards a Symbolic Architecture is a powerful argument in favour of symbolic design. The book opens with a forceful exposition by Jencks of his belief in the importance of a meaningful environment. Jencks then makes a brief journey through the stages of his architectural development before arriving at the Thematic House. Room by room descriptions are profusely illustrated in colour with specially commissioned photographs by Richard Bryant. The result is one of the most detailed expositions of a building in the history of architectural publishing – a book for anyone interested in houses, and for anyone bored with the general anonymity of our present environment.
– Charles Jencks, Towards a Symbolic Architecture: The Thematic House (Rizzoli, 1985), excerpt from the book description
The text is in English. The book is lavishly illustrated with photographs, architectural drawings and other visual material.
Our copy in stock is in good condition. The pages are clean, no markings. There is some slight toning on the edges of the pages. The binding is fine. The dust jacket shows some traces of edge wear and some signs of shelf wear and use.
