What do Richard Upjohn’s Trinity Church, Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic domes, and Louis Kahn’s National Assembly Building in Bangladesh have in common? They are among the iconic designs that outline the evolution of stylistic sensibilities from the mid-19th century to the present, writes Ann Ferebee, director emerita of the Institute for Urban Design, in A History of Design from the Victorian Era to the Present. Exploring how globalization, new materials, and technology have contributed to the rise of Modern style, Ferebee goes beyond buildings to incorporate photography and graphic and industrial design—including Apple’s products, Toulouse-Lautrec’s Parisian caricatures, and furniture from Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier, and Marcel Breuer. Ferebee’s compilation suggests that Modern design has been profoundly formed by the culture and politics of each era and region it has touched. • $50; W.W. Norton, July 2011.
‘A History of Design from the Victorian Era to the Present’
1 MIN READ
W.W. Norton & Co.
