A highly useful if somewhat cursory look at the principals of classical architectural form. As an artist I found it to be very illuminating. Even more important was the author's attempt at developing a modern aesthetic which accounts for the lasting appeal of the classical.

Tzonis dose a very good job at laying out the foundations of classical architecture, for the biginner and the professional. This book has some very nice drawings incorperated into it that help with the understanding of the theories. This book is highly recomended for any one interested in classical architecture.

Before reading this book,I rarely imagine about how elegant can bridges be. Mr. Calatrava brings those imposibilities to people,especially those who never dream. Maybe I should not talk too much,because words can not bring Calatrava's thoughts to the readers precisely. Through this book,let us try to find a path to discover Calatrava's world.

This book contains a lot of information on Santiago Calatrava's buildings and bridges. It is not just a picture book, it also contains a lot of text which is very insiteful. Color and black and white photos, and Calatrava sketches. One of my favorite Calatrava books. The book's relatively small dimensions is a drawback, and in effect, some detail in the photographs is lost, but it seems to be a more complete collection of his work. Great book for learning more about Calatrava's work at very reasonable price.

Santiago Calatrava; quite a magnificent architect, his work is inspirational, musical, walking through any of his works gives great joy, just like listening to good orchestrated music. This book contains a selection from his work, from bridges (for which he is famous), to monuments to many other examples. the text is concise, photos are nice, but the figures are small in most of the times, trying to keep a small size low cost volume. Needs an experienced eye to understand fully what the figures are. apart from that the book is great, the book's subject is even greater.

A rather slight but very appealling work on Le Corbusier. Tzonis has distilled the rich and varied work of this master of Modern Architecture into a beautifully organized book. He covers Corbu's life from his humble origins in the Swiss Alps to the international influence his ideas would have on architecture. There are many illustrations of his buildings and evocative sketches from Corbu's journals, but this is less a study than it is an evocation of Le Corbusier.

Yet, Tzonis questions some of Corbu's positions especially in regard to his relationships with Stalin and Mussolini, making it seem that Le Corbusier was less an idealist and more a totalitarian when it came to his urbanistic visions. When Le Corbusier proposed the Plan Voisin for Paris, he paid homage to King Louis XIV, noting that only a despot could have carried out such grand visions.

Tzonis also discusses the important role Corbu's early travels had in shaping his views, particularly his "Journey to the East." It is here that he found many of the forms which he would reduce to a "kit of parts" that he employed over and over again in his later work, finding new meanings and many rich combinations.

This collaborative effects breaks the back on often overlooked issues of globalization. Tzonis brings the books into focus, creating layers of comparisons between conditions and countries otherwise unrelated. As well the book becomes the highlight on some unknown but rather talented architects working within a space cultured by globalization.