Leading urbanist Carole Rifkind takes readers on an illuminating tour through half a century of design in this comprehensive and lavishly illustrated book. In words and pictures, she demonstrates the interplay between form and function, and how the uses of space, mass, materials, and ornament have evolved to produce the structures that surround us today.
Rifkind examines structures as varied as private homes and public housing, museums, religious and educational edifices, shopping centres, malls, and office buildings, making this the most thorough, comprehensive view of American architecture to be published since World War II.
This book is an essential reference for both casual observers and serious scholars. Its in-depth exploration of the postwar intellectual, social and artistic environment offers a unique perspective on our recent past and the forces that shape our modern landscape.
