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Origins of Architectural Pleasure by Grant Hildebrand (1999, Hardcover)

Brenham Book Company (1571)

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Do survival instincts have anything to do with our architectural choices―our liking for a certain room, a special stairway, a plaza in a particular city?. In examining the appeal of such survival-based characteristics he cites architectural examples spanning five continents and five millennia.

About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherUniversity of California Press

ISBN-100520215052

ISBN-139780520215054

eBay Product ID (ePID)1031397

Product Key Features

Book TitleOrigins of Architectural Pleasure

Number of Pages200 Pages

LanguageEnglish

TopicGeneral, History / General

Publication Year1999

IllustratorYes

GenreArchitecture, Psychology

AuthorGrant Hildebrand

FormatHardcover

Dimensions

Item Height0.8 in

Item Weight25.6 Oz

Item Length10 in

Item Width7 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceTrade

LCCN98-008213

Dewey Edition21

Dewey Decimal720/.1/9

Table Of ContentAcknowledgments Some Introductory Comments A Prologue 1 The Aesthetics of Survival 2 Finding a Good Home 3 Exploring 4 Categorizing and Differentiating Some Closing Comments Notes Bibliography Index

SynopsisDo survival instincts have anything to do with our architectural choices--our liking for a certain room, a special stairway, a plaza in a particular city? In this engaging study Grant Hildebrand discusses ways in which architectural forms emulate some archetypal settings that humans have found appealing--and useful to survival--from ancient times to the present. Speculating that nature has "designed" us to prefer certain conditions and experiences, Hildebrand is interested in how the characteristics of our most satisfying built environments mesh with Darwinian selection. In examining the appeal of such survival-based characteristics he cites architectural examples spanning five continents and five millennia. Among those included are the Palace of Minos, the Alhambra, Wells cathedral, the Shinto shrine at Ise, the Piazza San Marco, Brunelleschi's Pazzi Chapel, Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater, a Seattle condominium, and recent houses by Eric Owen Moss and Arne Bystrom. Just what characteristics bestow evolutionary benefits? "Refuge and prospect" offer a protective place of concealment close to a foraging and hunting ground. "Enticement" invites the safe exploration of an information-rich setting where worthwhile discoveries await. "Peril" elicits an emotion of pleasurable fear and so tests and increases our competence in the face of danger: thus the attraction of a skyscraper or a house poised over a vertiginous ravine. "Order and complexity" tease our intuitions for sorting complex information into survival-useful categories. Gracefully written, with excellent illustrations that complement the text, Origins of Architectural Pleasure will open the reader's eyes to new ways of seeing a home, a workplace, a vacation setting, even a particular table in a restaurant. It also suggests important design considerations for buildings with a more pressing mandate for human appeal, such as hospitals, retirement homes, and hospices., Why do Some Buildings make us feel happy or excited or tranquil? What is it in architecture that elicits pleasure? Grant Hildebrand asks these general questions in Origins of Architectural Pleasure, as well as more specific ones: "When we choose a new dwelling place, or build one, or make landscaping decisions for one, or for that matter occupy a workplace, select a restaurant or a table in a restaurant, plan a vacation -- are there any characteristics we can identify that seem to improve our chances of contentment?" To answer them, the author examines buildings and groups of buildings -- from five continents and five millennia -- that have retained their remarkable appeal or excitement. The book explores the reasons for such responses to the physical environment and relates some of our pleasure in architecture to elements in nature essential to survival, from the self-evident need for shelter to the aesthetic satisfaction of discovering order in complexly organized surroundings -- or complexity in apparent order., Do survival instincts have anything to do with our architectural choices--our liking for a certain room, a special stairway, a plaza in a particular city? In this engaging study Grant Hildebrand discusses ways in which architectural forms emulate some archetypal settings that humans have found appealing--and useful to survival--from ancient times to the present. Speculating that nature has "designed" us to prefer certain conditions and experiences, Hildebrand is interested in how the characteristics of our most satisfying built environments mesh with Darwinian selection. In examining the appeal of such survival-based characteristics he cites architectural examples spanning five continents and five millennia. Among those included are the Palace of Minos, the Alhambra, Wells cathedral, the Shinto shrine at Ise, the Piazza San Marco, Brunelleschi's Pazzi Chapel, Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater, a Seattle condominium, and recent houses by Eric Owen Moss and Arne Bystrom. Just what characteristics bestow evolutionary benefits? "Refuge and prospect" offer a protective place of concealment close to a foraging and hunting ground. "Enticement" invites the safe exploration of an information-rich setting where worthwhile discoveries await. "Peril" elicits an emotion of pleasurable fear and so tests and increases our competence in the face of danger: thus the attraction of a skyscraper or a house poised over a vertiginous ravine. "Order and complexity" tease our intuitions for sorting complex information into survival-useful categories. Gracefully written, with excellent illustrations that complement the text,Origins of Architectural Pleasurewill open the reader's eyes to new ways of seeing a home, a workplace, a vacation setting, even a particular table in a restaurant. It also suggests important design considerations for buildings with a more pressing mandate for human appeal, such as hospitals, retirement homes, and hospices.

LC Classification Number98-8213