The Modern Language of Architecture

I discovered this book in architectural school, and was intrigued at the way Zevi clarified everything I was then dealing with in vague ways in architectural school. The invariables, or "anti-rules", as Zevi calls them, are each given seperate chapters in this book. Listing of Functions, Asymmetry and Dissonance, Antiperspective Three Dimensionality, Four-Dimensional Decomposition, Cantilever, Shell and Membrane Structures, Space-in Time and Reintegration of Building, City and Landscape are all ideas present to varying degrees in various buildings at various times in history. Zevi shows how they can be used in a more deliberate and integrated fashion, no matter what the budget or funtion of any given building. He illuminates how these ideas are present in the architecture of times historical and times more recent, and underscores the value of non-conformist buildings for the enrichment of society.This book gave me a tremendous creative boost at just the right time in my life and it's influence continues in my work. Marvellously illustrated with three-dimensional drawings and with photos, it presents a summation of the thinking of a great and scholarly mind.

This book is by far one of the best books I have read in a while. It is simple and to the point and Zevi does not hold back. It is a little dated, but all of his seven principles are able to be directly applied to the current state of architecture. This should be a mandatory reading for all architecture students. His opinions of the tendencies within society to praise the priciples of Symmetry, proportion, and order, show how architecture has been plagued by standardization and repetitive forms throughout history. A great book for anyone who is troubled by the generality of architecture (with great exception to the current masters, no less)and would like to see the boundries broken.