Architecture in Austria

Architecture, European Studies, Urban Studies

From an exhibition mounted by the Architektur Zentrum Wien comes a handsomely produced, visually compelling catalog depicting 100 Austrian buildings. An inexhaustible wealth of photographs, plans, and elevations invites the reader to revel in this country's contribution to the built environment in the 20th century. However, a thematic organization that may have succeeded on the gallery floor seems loose and arbitrary when transferred to book format. The brief text is addressed only to those already well versed in the course of modern movements and theories. The later decades are over-represented, and the most significant architects are not made to stand out from lesser talents. An appendix offers architects' biographies, but a detailed table of contents doesn't compensate for the irritating absence of an index. These weaknesses aside, this is warmly recommended for academic libraries and collections specializing in architecture.
-David Soltesz, Cuyahoga Cty. P.L., Parma, OH Arnold, Dorothea (text) & Bruce White (photogs.).
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