The Story of Buildings: From the Pyramids to the Sydney Opera House and Beyond - Hardcover

Dillon, Patrick

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0763669903 ISBN 13: 9780763669904

Publisher: Candlewick, 2014

Synopsis

Aspiring architects will be in their element! Explore this illustrated narrative history of buildings for young readers, an amazing construction in itself.

We spend most of our lives in buildings. We make our homes in them. We go to school in them. We work in them. But why and how did people start making buildings? How did they learn to make them stronger, bigger, and more comfortable? Why did they start to decorate them in different ways? From the pyramid erected so that an Egyptian pharaoh would last forever to the dramatic, machine-like Pompidou Center designed by two young architects, Patrick Dillon’s stories of remarkable buildings — and the remarkable people who made them — celebrates the ingenuity of human creation. Stephen Biesty’s extraordinarily detailed illustrations take us inside famous buildings throughout history and demonstrate just how these marvelous structures fit together.

About this title

About the Author

Patrick Dillon is an architect and historian. He is the author of The Story of Britain from the Norman Conquest to the European Union, a narrative history for children, and of two highly acclaimed history books for adults. On writing The Story of Buildings, he says, "My two favorite things are stories and buildings. Telling stories about buildings is as good as it gets." Patrick Dillon lives in London.

Stephen Biesty is the creator of Stephen Biesty’s Incredible Cross-Sections, which has sold more than a million copies worldwide since its publication in 1992. He lives in Somerset, England.

Reviews

Gr 5 Up—"Every building has a story to tell." Beginning with the Egyptian pyramid of Djoser and progressing through the Greeks and Romans, the Renaissance, and on to modern skyscrapers and Paris's Pompidou Center, Dillon ties advances in architecture and building to specific cultural and economic conditions. In some cases, he credits the genius of individuals, such as Palladio. Each chapter begins with a historical overview and is followed by a description and illustration of a representative building. Clear explanations of basic building concepts (cantilevers, arches and domes, reinforced concrete) are balanced with discussions of more abstract principles such as symmetry, geometry, and pattern. But the volume is truly set apart by Biesty's elaborate, meticulously detailed, and clearly labeled drawings (some stretching across two large-format pages plus two half-page fold-outs). Widely known for his 1992 Incredible Cross Sections, Biesty here adds a kaleidoscopic yet tightly integrated visual dimension that will transfix readers. The section on London's Crystal Palace, designed by gardener Joseph Paxton and built for the Great Exhibition of 1851, is fascinating, outlining the modular design and rapid construction from 300,000 sheets of glass and 1,000 iron columns. Sections detailing Beijing's Forbidden City, Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, the Taj Mahal, and other buildings from outside the European tradition are worked deftly into the narrative.—Bob Hassett, Luther Jackson Middle School, Falls Church, VA

This large, handsome volume combines broad discussions of architectural history with exceptional drawings of significant buildings from ancient to modern times. Though most of the 16 featured buildings were constructed in Europe, the Pyramid of Djoser, the Forbidden City, the Taj Mahal, the Chrysler Building, and the Sydney Opera House are included as well. A typical entry fills several large pages, including a beautifully drawn double-page illustration with a gatefold page highlighting related facts. An English architect, Dillon clearly knows his subject and presents it in a readable way. However, the time frame of historical events is sometimes vague, and occasionally a scene imagining the past is tinged with fiction. (No sources are appended.) Intricate and precise, Biesty’s colored-pencil drawings offer viewers a good sense of the scale as well as the form and presence of each building. Through his signature cross sections, details of interiors and construction can be seen as well. While the text, illustrations, and captions all provide information, it’s the drawings of buildings that make this a valuable resource. Grades 5-7. --Carolyn Phelan

Edition details

• Publisher: Candlewick
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0763669903
• ISBN 13: 9780763669904
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Biesty Stephen
• Number of pages: 96