| |
The
Atlas of American Architecture: 2000 Years of Architecture,
City Planning, Landscape Architecture and Civil Engineering
by Tom Martinson
Rizzoli, 2009
Hardcover, 544 pages
Any book that calls itself an atlas
will by virtue of that word's most familiar association
be BIG. This book does not disappoint in that regard. Lying
one foot by a foot and a half when open, this survey of
American architecture in the last 2,000 years deserves to
be perused in the manner of atlases with maps. This is certainly
not a portable guide, even though author and city planner
Tom Martinson calls it such. He admits the 544-page book
is a hybrid, a syllabus and guide, yet unconventional in
each sense. Approaching the book in both ways, as a syllabus
The Atlas of American Architecture excels, though
as a guide it raises concerns about the categorization of
its contents, as he eschews geography in favor of style
and discipline.
The book is split into seven chapters,
with four focused on architecture and one each on planning,
landscape architecture, and civil engineering. The inclusion
of these other disciplines in an atlas of architecture
acknowledges the impact of everything from Jefferson's 1785
U.S. Land Ordinance to dams and bridges. It broadens
the definition of architecture to include structures, landscapes,
and so forth that fall outside capital-A architecture. Therefore
vernacular buildings are found in abundance, as are follies,
indigenous dwellings, ruins, etc. Yet pieces of Architecture
prevail quantitatively, comprising most of the pages and
a good chunk of the 1,100+ illustrations. The chapters on
architectural buildings include two historical chapters
on pre-Columbian and Colonial times, with a survey of American
architecture in the last 225 years and a survey of building
types (rural, industrial, resorts, etc.). Ironically what
retained my interest the most were the entries falling outside
Architecture, as many have been previously covered in other
architectural history books. Martinson acknowledges this
state of affairs, and therefore smartly chooses to include
more information on lesser-known gems and only a few words
on masterpieces by Frank Lloyd Wright and other well-documented
architects.
Martinson's selections are broad
in geography, typology, time, scale, just about any factor
that describes a work of architecture and allows it to be
categorized. That said, his decision to categorize chronologically,
stylistically, typologically, and by discipline, while enabling
the inclusion of many works on a variety of scales -- from
the Long
Island Duck to the Land Ordinance -- leads to the isolation
of buildings from one another. This is a fairly common occurrence
in guides which aim to accompany a person on his or her
travels. Here it is a symptom of Martinson's ambition and
decision to eschew geography as a factor for grouping buildings
(a helpful state-by-state index is included). It's hard
to say if an alternate, more conventional approach to the
guide would make the book better, but the desire to find
something that binds the buildings together, gives them
context, raises the importance of the chapters on planning,
landscapes and civil engineering. The last can be seen as
the binding force upon the American landscape,
enabling movement and energy production across the 48-states,
doing as much damage to the land as help to its people.
These three chapters are the ones I'll return to in depth
as I attempt to structure the diversity and variety of American
architecture in all its forms.
or 
|
