The Reasoning Architect [antikvár]

Foreword The essential purpose of this foreword is to forewarn readers that they do not have in their hands a book on architecture, or a book on science, or on mathematics, or on philosophy, but what I can only describe as an encyclopedia for the modern cultured person. I feel that such a warning is required by the nature of the book and is, I hope, useful. By misunderstanding architectural tradition the layperson, as well as the starting architectural student, often believes that architecture is a discipline to be exclusively listed among the arts. By misunderstanding the essence of science, the same two categories of people are often taught that while they are capable of understanding art, they are physiologically unable to penetrate the mysteries of science unless specifically trained in it. As a consequence of these misunderstandings they pass wrong judgments about architecture, unaware that this most demanding of contemporary disciplines has both an (obvious) artistic component but also a less obvious, and not less essential, scientific component. The masters of architecture, those of the past as well as those of the present, have been deeply aware of both components but have seldom raised their voices to emphasize the "duality" of architecture. Garry Stevens has gone to the printing presses as possibly the first architect daring to explain the two faces of architecture. To achieve his complex goal he presents a complete picture of the development of science and of the innumerable facets of mathematics, as well as an explanation of the interaction between science and mathematics in the growth of architecture. Many are the authors who have tried to explain the need for an understanding of basic science in the practice of architecture, but Professor Stevens is unique in the width and depth of his presentation. While most popularisers of science try their hardest to make it sound simple and intuitive, twisting through easy metaphors most of its real complexities, Stevens has grabbed the bull by the horns and gone widely into all phases of mathematics, from number theory to algebra, from the calculus to probability theory, and from topology to logic. He has simply been honest and honestly been simple, presenting each of his subjects through clear examples of their practical importance as well as through their historical and logical origins. Such an approach makes his book unique and in concert with the requirements of our society: at long last the reader is allowed to learn a total approach to the scientific aspects of architecture and to an understanding of how science, the basis of modern knowledge, is the natural issue of our entire cultural heritage. Because of the book's honesty and thoroughness it is impossible for a foreword to give even a vague idea of the contents. By the time they will have finished Stevens's opus those readers willing to learn from it will possess a new understanding not only of architecture but of all the disciplines that challenge them to become twenty-first-century persons. If at first some of the varied topics may appear complex, let the reader be told that the satisfaction to be obtained from this book will more than repay the time and concentration it requires. Professor Mario Salvador! Columbia University New York xv