Classical Language of Architecture

Classical architecture is a visual "language" and like any other language has its owngrammatical rules. Classical buildings as widely spaced in time as a Roman temple, an ItalianRenaissance palace and a Regency house all show an awareness of these rules even if they vary them,break them or poetically contradict them. Sir Christopher Wren described them as the "Latin" ofarchitecture and the analogy is almost exact. There is the difference, however, that whereas thelearning of Latin is a slow and difficult business, the language of classical architecture isrelatively simple. It is still, to a great extent, the mode of expression of our urban surroundings,since classical architecture was the common language of the western world till comparatively recenttimes. Anybody to whom architecture makes a strong appeal has probably already discovered somethingof its grammar for himself.in this book, the author's purpose is to set out as simply and vividly aspossible the exact grammatical workings of this architectural language. He is less concerned withits development in Greece and Rome than with its expansion and use in the centuries since theRenaissance. He explains the vigorous discipline of "the orders" and the scope of "rustication"; thedramatic deviations of the Baroque and, in the last chapter, the relationship between the classicaltradition and the "modern" architecture of today. The book is intended for anybody who cares forarchitecture but more specifically for students beginning a course in the history of architecture,to whom a guide to the classical rules will be an essential companion.
The author's purpose is to set out as simply and vividly as possible the exactgrammatical workings of an architectural language.