Book Review - Lost Buildings by Jonathan Glancey
Demolished, Destroyed, Imagined and Reborn Buildings of the World
Dec 14, 2008
In Lost Buildings (Cameron House, 2008), Jonathon Glancey has gathered information about a diverse range of buildings. With interesting information and facts about their construction and the events that led to their eventual destruction, Glancey offers an intriguing look into man’s attempts to create something of permanence, beauty and significance in an ever changing world.
Lost Buildings – Demolished, Destroyed, Imagined, Reborn
Glancey takes his readers beyond the natural assumption of buildings lost in wartime bombings, natural disasters, acts of terrorism or simply poor building quality.
By including mythical buildings and those that have progressed no further than early planning stages, he highlights a range of structures and concepts that offer insight into both man’s creativity and his ability to recklessly destroy.
Buildings Destroyed by Man, Nature and Physical Limitations
Lost in Myth – the Tower of Babel, the Colossus of Rhodes and the temples of Athena and Artemis are known more through legend than fact. The archaeological evidence for these and similar buildings is shared, offering insight into accuracy of artistic representations of these structures and the hopes for findings more factual evidence.
Lost in Peace – many buildings have been lost during peace time as a result of what is perceived at the time to be progress, social or political necessity or simply a desire to replace something that is old-fashioned and out of date with something more modern. Featured buildings are predominantly British and include Old London Bridge, Newgate Prison, Detroit City Hall and Les Halles Market in Paris.
Lost in War – featuring buildings lost in wartime bombing raids and acts of terrorism, Glancey focuses on the impact of the destruction and restoration of the buildings rather than the motivation of the destructive acts themselves. Featured buildings include Dresden’s Frauenkirche, the World Trade Center, Avala Tower in Belgrade and the Residency in Lucknow, India.
Lost too Soon – Featuring buildings such as Pennsylvania Station, New York’s Singer Building and the Imperial Hotel Tokyo, Glancey offers his subjective views on the acts of “political stupidity and rank commercial greed” that have seen buildings of beauty and architectural significance destroyed.
Acts of God – This chapter offers homage to many incredible buildings that were tragically destroyed unavoidable natural disasters. These include the Iranian city of Bam, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus (one of the seven wonders of the ancient world) and the city of Pompeii.
Political Losses – With a similar outlook to Lost too Soon, Glancey features buildings lost to political development programs and budgeting decisions. These include the Euston Arch at London’s Euston station, Solomon’s Temple, the Bastille and the Sukharev Tower in Moscow.
Lost in Dreams – A more whimsical chapter celebrating the great buildings of fantasy and literature, such as Kublai Khan’s “pleasure dome” Xanadu from Coleridge’s famous poem, Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast, Toad Hall from Grahame’s Wind in the Willows and Fritz Lang’s Metropolis.
Self-Destruction – Poor planning, inferior buildings materials and lack of sound architectural principals have seen many buildings simply collapse, including Fonthill Abbey, Beauvais Cathedral, Seoul’s Sampoong department store and the Tay Bridge in Dundee.
Left on the Drawing Board – For a variety of reasons, some buildings have never made it beyond the initial sketches and basic planning stages. Glancey considers many of these, often rejected due to budgeting constraints or technological limitations, as also tragically “lost” to the world. They include a mile-high skyscraper design by Frank Lloyd Wright and a rejected design plan for St Paul’s Cathedral.
An Architectural History Book with a Twist
Told in a conversational and personal style, Glancey has produced a very approachable, interesting and insightful overview of the changing priorities and perceptions of beauty and value in the field of architecture and general society. The large selection of accompanying photographs and art work complement the text well.
The inclusion of building plans and mythical structures and the exclusive focus on structures that no longer exist results in a fascinating collection of buildings, both real and imagined. Lost Buildings has something to offer both those readers with a specific interest in architecture as well as those interested in world history and the progress and development of modern society.
Lost Buildings (ISBN: 978-1-74173-033-3, 256 pages)
 |
