Court & Garden: From the French Hôtel to the City of Modern Architecture

By Michael Dennis

The French H tel, an aristocratic Paris townhouse, is to the art of the plan as the Venetian Palace is to the art of the facade--the quintessential level of architectural achievement.

The development of the h tel between approximately 1550 and 1800 chronicles the formal transformation from an embedded urban building type to a free-standing suburban building type; it also illuminates the social transformation from total emphasis on the public realm under Louis XIV, to the dominance of private life in our time. In contrast to the principles of continuity and regularity of classical buildings, the design principles of the h tels were based on discontinuity and irregularity, allowing freer, more adaptable architectural compositions. The French H tel is a direct ancestor of the modern "free-plan," thus enabling a rich contemporary architectural vocabulary.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1966515235
• ISBN13: 9781966515234
• Release Date: January 1
• Publisher: Oro Editions
• Length: 336 Pages