AMERICAN ARCHITECTURE - AN ILLUSTRATED ENCYCLOPEDI

Since the Spanish established their first settlement in St. Augustine, Florida, in 1565, America has been an architectural melting pot, reflecting the contributions of every immigrant group that brought its traditions across the sea and adapted them to the places where they settled. The rich diversity of this country's architecture is reflected in the nearly 200 styles, types, and modes of American architecture that are identified in these pages—more than can be found in any other book. Over 2,500 definitions and nearly 1,000 illustrations describe construction materials and techniques, landscape elements, decorative terms, and practical devices, from precolonial times to the present, and from indigenous dwellings to deconstructivist structures. This wide-ranging book is enriched with intriguing historical and biographical treasures. Students of architecture, architectural historians, preservationists, curators, and general readers will find it pleasurable, informative, and sometimes surprising. Over 1,000 b/w illustrations.