Have you ever stopped to think about how many buildings surround you? How they were thought out, designed and made? Just like painting, sculpture and photography, architecture can and should also be considered as art. The truth is that there are buildings and monuments that are so iconic and tell so much history, they can be compared to a book by any of the world's great writers.
World Architecture Day is celebrated on the first Monday of October. This time it fell on the 4th, but it could have been any other day. The important thing is to celebrate architecture, as it has been done since 1985. To celebrate this area, we show you four great architects who are highlighted by the Taschen publisher. If you want to know more about Zaha Hadid, Frank Floyd Wright, Santiago Calatrava and Oscar Niemeyer hang around and get tempted to explore the world of iconic buildings.
Zaha Hadid was born in Iraq, studied in the UK and has become a benchmark for any woman in the world who wants to be an architect. She wasn't a professional with many completed buildings but she made a lot of noise with her conceptual, deconstructive and moving designs. She was often inspired by nature and her ideas were used for architecture, interior design, fashion, jewellery and painting.
In Philip Jodidio's book Zaha Hadid, you will find in-depth information about the architect's most famous projects. From Olympic venues to an airport, the book has photographs, texts full of details and Hadid's sketches. Holder of the first female Pritzker Prize, the equivalent to a Nobel Prize in architecture, Zaha Hadid has works spread over several continents. In 672 pages, you'll get to understand the unique vision of this artist who marked the 21st century.
His name may sound strange, but you'll be surprised to know that Oscar Niemeyer was one of the most prestigious Brazilian architects ever. Like Hadid, Niemeyer also won a Pritzker, accompanied by fellow architect Gordon Burnshaft. He was, in fact, a key person in the development of modern architecture, especially in Brazil.
One of his most emblematic buildings is in Brasilia and on the cover of the Taschen book bearing his name. It is 120 pages packed with photographs, sketches, drawings, plans and essays of his works. His career was characterised by the use of glass, curves, free spans and concrete and he is often described as a sculptor of monuments. Of our list today, he was the architect who practised for the longest time, having done so virtually until he died at the age of 104.
From Brazil we go to Spain, where Santiago Calatrava was born. He is an architect, engineer, sculptor and painter. Still alive, Calatrava has become increasingly popular over the past few decades. He studied architecture and civil engineering, which paved the way for creations that are somewhat difficult to define due to their complexity and unorthodox constructions.
In the Taschen book named after him, you'll notice that Calatrava draws inspiration from organic forms, such as skeletons, surrealism, asymmetric shapes and nature. A good example of this is the Gare do Oriente in Lisbon. With tall columns inspired by palm trees, the capital's train station is one of his creations. Calatrava has works all over the world and is also known for the beautiful watercolour sketches he makes for all his works, which are often exhibited in museums.
We end with Frank Lloyd Wright, the American architect, historian and writer. For him, every project only made sense if it was integrated harmoniously into the space in which it was created. It may seem like a simple thought, but it actually influenced the direction of modern architecture in the 20th century. His practice was very much characterised by the construction of Prairie Houses, single-storey houses that complemented the landscape around them.
With many monographs written about him, in this Taschen book you can find the architect's private archives. There are 504 pages with complete projects and others that never left the paper, where you will get a better understanding of Lloyd Wright's ideology, as well as the way in which his works evolved, arriving to the construction of the Guggenheim museum in New York.
This time, we'll stop there. We didn't want to give you too many spoilers about the books of these four historical and important architects. So you can't miss the chance to grab your Taschen and read more about them. On a holiday eve, there's nothing better than choosing a good book to keep you company.
