Encyclopedia of Architectural and Engineering Feats

Encyclopedia of Architectural and Engineering Feats presents more than 200 achievements in architecture and structural engineering in all the inhabited continents, from prehistory to the present. An architect once described the built environment as "the manifestation of the human spirit in stone, wood, and steel." In this new volume, readers can explore the most innovative and magnificent architectural expressions of the human spirit, from pre-history to the present, from all parts of the world.Readers can visit the Acropolis and Chartres cathedral, along with less familiar places like the ruins of Great Zimbabwe, once the greatest city in sub-Saharan Africa, and China''s 71 meter high, 1,200 year old Grand Buddha, carved from stone. They''ll learn the secrets behind audacious engineering feats like the Panama Canal, the U.S. interstate highway system, and the Deltaworks in the Netherlands. They will discover that many of these awe-inspiring projects were not the work of trained architects and engineers, but of "underdeveloped" communities, where unified will, tight social organization, and shared commitment to a spiritual ideal were more important than the inventions of the Industrial Age.>

About the author

Donald Langmead is professor of architectural history at the University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia.

Christine Garnaut is research associate in the Louis Laybourne Smith School of Architecture and Design at the University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia.

Product details

• Authors: Christine Garnaut, Garnaut Christine, Donald Langmead
• Publisher: Abc Clio Press
• Languages: English
• Age Recommendation: from age 12
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 06.12.2001
• EAN: 9781576071120
• ISBN: 978-1-57607-112-0
• No. of pages: 396
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Art > Architecture; ARCHITECTURE / Design, Drafting, Drawing & Presentation, Architectural structure & design, TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING / History, History of engineering and technology, History of engineering & technology, Architectural structure and design