In his celebrated manifesto; lsquo;Aircraftrsquo; (1935); the architect Le Corbusier presented more than 100 photographs celebrating aeroplanes either in imperious flight or elegantly at rest. Dwelling on the artfully abstracted shapes of noses; wings; and tails; he declared: lsquo;Ponder a moment on the truth of these objects! Clearness of function!rsquo;In Aircraft; David Pascoe follows this lead and offers a startling new account of the form of the aeroplane; an object that; in the course of a hundred years; has developed from a flimsy contraption of wood; wire and canvas into a machine compounded of exotic materials whose wings can touch the edges of space. Tracing the aeroplane through the twentieth century; he considers the subject from a number of perspectives: as an inspiration for artists; architects and politicians; as a miracle of engineering; as a product of industrialized culture; as a device of military ambition; and; finally; in its clearness of function; as an instance of sublime technology. Profusely illustrated and authoritatively written; Aircraft offers not just a fresh account of aeronautical design; documenting; in particular; the forms of earlier flying machines and the dependence of later projects upon them; but also provides a cultural history of an object whose very shape contains the dreams and nightmares of the modern age.
#3162958 in eBooks 2012-06-14 2012-06-14File Name: B008BU17Z8
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Written for a UK audience. not USABy brian williamsIf you are practicing in the USA. do not purchase this book. It wasnt obvious to me that this was written for a UK (and its process adherents) audience. As it happens I have practiced architecture in the UK and this book might have helped to guide the process. But for someone looking for a guide of this type for a job within the USA. this book is not for you. First time Ive sent a book back and was 5 stars with the return.
