Christopher Curtis Mead – författare

The name of the architect Victor Baltard is inseparable from the Halles Centrales of Paris, the complex of iron-and-glass pavilions built between 1854 and 1874 in the historic heart of the city. Making Modern Paris is the only comprehensive study to address systematically not only the role Baltard played in the markets’ design and construction but also how the markets relate to the rest of Baltard’s work and professional practice. Christopher Curtis Mead interprets the Central Markets as a cogent expression of Baltard’s professional experience as he adjusted his academic training to new criteria of municipal administration, urban planning, and building technology. Considering his entire career over the three decades he worked for the Prefecture of the Seine, this investigation of how architectural and urban practice came together in Baltard’s work offers a case study of the historical process that produced modern Paris between 1840 and 1870.

The work of Bart Prince is recognized internationally for both its seminal creative vision and for carrying on an American tradition of individualism in architecture originating with Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Bruce Goff. Prince shares with these pioneers a fundamental way of thinking about modern American architecture, which in his work he has combined with a firm belief in the experiential impact of a building to render a contemporary style all his own.Originally published a decade ago, this updated version includes five new houses, demonstrating the architect’s maturing style and continued commitment to creating transcendent experiences in manipulated space. Stunning photographs and floor plans bring the reader as close as possible to experiencing these uniquely formed, magnificent buildings. A remarkable collaboration between the author, the photographer, and the architect, The Architecture of Bart Prince is the only comprehensive introduction to one of the most creative architects practicing in America today.