The Architecture of James Stirling and His Partners James Gowan and Michael Wilford: A Study of Architectural...

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Geoffrey H. Baker

The Architecture of James Stirling and His Partners James Gowan and Michael Wilford

A Study of Architectural Creativity in the Twentieth Century

Geoffrey H. Baker

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English

Routledge
02 December 2016

History of Art & Design Styles; Theory of architecture; City & town planning - architectural aspects; The environment; Regional & area planning

Sir James Stirling was arguably the greatest British architect of the twentieth century. This book provides the most comprehensive critical survey of Stirling's work to date, charting the development of his ideas from his formative years, through his partnership with James Gowan, on to his period in practice as sole partner; and finally, his partnership with Michael Wilford.

Using archival material, extensive interviews with his partners and others who worked for him, together with analytical examination of key buildings, this detailed critical examination explains his philosophy, working method and design strategy. In doing so, it sheds new light on the atelier structure of his office and who did what on his major buildings.

Geoffrey Baker is the first to analyse in depth the articulation systems used in major projects undertaken by Stirling. He confirms that the Staatsgalerie complex at Stuttgart does not demonstrate Stirling's interest in post modernism but rather an enhanced sensitivity towards context informed by his growing allegiance to the classical canon. Baker explains how this important development in his work, powerfully influenced by Karl Friedrich Schinkel, is consummated in perhaps the finest of Stirling's uncompleted works, the extension to London's National Gallery.

In a discussion of his mature works, Baker explains how Stirling's work can be understood in terms of several interconnected ideas. These include surrealism, historicism, myth and metaphor, inconsistency and ambiguity, bi-lateral symmetry, the garden, rusticity and arcadia, and the archetype, seen as the repository of the collective architectural memory.

As well as discussing his interests and those who influenced Stirling, the book compares his oeuvre with that of the pioneers of modern architecture, Mies van der Rohe, Frank Lloyd Wright,

Alvar Aalto and Le Corbusier.

This book charts a remarkable career, and offers invaluable insights not only into the masterly, timeless architecture, but also into the man himself: charismatic, irreverent, courageous, serious; sometimes rude, often stubborn, belligerent, yet gentle. He was endlessly inventive and deeply dedicated to his art, producing buildings that reflect all of the above, buildings that are magnificent and ultimately humane.

By: Geoffrey H. Baker
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 220mm, Width: 240mm,
Weight: 1.200kg
ISBN: 9781138252295
ISBN 10: 1138252298
Pages: 512
Publication Date: 02 December 2016
Audience: College/higher education , General/trade , Primary , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Geoffrey Baker is Professor Emeritus, School of Architecture, Tulane University, New Orleans, USA.

Reviews for The Architecture of James Stirling and His Partners James Gowan and Michael Wilford: A Study of Architectural Creativity in the Twentieth Century

'Baker's book is well researched and illustrated with many photographs and plans, alongside photographs by Stirling which reveal some surprising sources of inspiration.' ARLIS UK & Ireland News-Sheet '...This nearly-500-page book by Baker (emer., Tulane Univ.) will be very valuable to architecture and design libraries... Summing Up: Recommended.' Choice 'The Architecture of James Stirling is a comprehensive study of a fascinating architect. Written by a fellow practitioner, the book offers great insight into the process of architectural creation ... the volume is well researched and superbly illustrated. The book will prove invaluable to architects especially and to all those with an interest in twentieth-century British architecture. As we have seen, James Stirling himself recognized the quality of Professor Baker's architectural analysis and would surely have been delighted with this account of his eventful career'. Visual Culture in Britain