by
Manca, Joseph, 1956-
Call Number
711.409755291 23
Publication Date
2012
Summary
"George Washington liked to shape his own circumstances. Over the years he carefully crafted both his inner self and his public persona, as well as many aspects of his aesthetic world. Washington's life formed a unity, and his morality formed part of the backdrop to his designs at Mount Vernon. His house, gardens, and art collection - and his own writings about them - were a major part of the public face of his virtue. Washington usually acted with conscious moral purpose. "Moral" is meant here in the broadest possible sense, including such ethical matters as maintaining a public reputation, using one's time wisely, fulfilling one's duties to society, and living without luxuries. In the eighteenth century, the conception of morality also included the achievement of individual perfection, such as living a rational, tranquil, and harmonious life. Washington was obsessed, perhaps even more keenly than his contemporaries, with matters of honor, appearance, dignity, and duty to society. As a schoolboy, Washington copied down the maxim that "every action one takes should be in consideration of all of those present," and indeed his lifelong actions as architect, collector, and landscape gardener were done in consideration of the public's valuation of his moral worth ... More than one million people visit Mount Vernon each year - drawn to the stature and beauty of Washington's family estate. Art historian Joseph Manca systematically examines Mount Vernon - its stylistic, moral, and historical dimensions - offering a complete picture of this national treasure and the man behind its enduring design. Manca brings to light a Washington deeply influenced by his wide travels in colonial America, with a broader architectural knowledge than previously suspected, and with a philosophy that informed his aesthetic sensibility. Washington believed that design choices and personal character mesh to form an ethic of virtue and fulfillment and that art is inextricably linked with moral and social concerns. Manca examines how these ideas shaped the material culture of Mount Vernon. Based on careful study of Washington's personal diaries and correspondence and on the lively accounts of visitors to his estate, this richly illustrated book introduces a George Washington unfamiliar to many readers - an avid art collector, amateur architect, and leading landscape designer of his time."--Project Muse.
Format:
Electronic Resources
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5.0109
by
Ness, David A., author.
Call Number
307.764 23
Publication Date
2019
Summary
This book challenges the status quo where profligate building and urban development is described as 'green' and 'low carbon', exposing a number of 'elephants in the big green room 'that severely impact upon society and the environment. It questions the ethics, equity and sustainability of continued growth of the building stock in industrialized contexts amid diminishing demand, whilst the developing world is deprived of basic resources and infrastructure. Even a 'circular' built environment may not go far enough, when dramatic reduction in consumption of resources is required to meet 'sufficient' service levels. More socio-economic value may be derived from built resources by their stewardship, adaptation, reuse and equitable sharing, while ameliorating the adverse impacts of over consumption. By taking a wider perspective of a sustainable built environment, the text - illustrated by case studies from the Olympics and nine countries - reframes the policy debate and reforms current approaches through a new theory and manifesto. It will appeal to policy makers, architects, urban designers, educators, students and green building practitioners.
Format:
Electronic Resources
Relevance:
2.3050
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by
Burrows, Edwin G., 1943-2018, author.
Call Number
721.0449609747 23
Publication Date
2018
Summary
"Built in 1853 in New York's Bryant Park and immediately pronounced the most beautiful structure in America, the Crystal Palace was intended not simply to emulate but rival the famous Victorian landmark in London's Hyde Park. As with its English counterpart, however, its beauty was ephemeral. It caught fire, and on October 5, 1858, "great waves of lurid light" overtook spectators and those rushing to save it. Within thirty minutes, the beloved dome was nothing but a heap of smoldering debris. In his latest book, Edwin G. Burrows, winner of the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for History and co-author of GOTHAM: A History of New York to 1898, offers a memorable and elegiac look at the Crystal Palace. While it didn't match in dimension Robert Paxton's London original--the scale of which was truly colossal--the New York version became a beloved landmark almost from the instant of its creation. Centerpiece of the 1853 World's Fair, it was home to numerous exhibitions and became a showplace for displaying the growing industrial might of the nation. Walt Whitman rhapsodized about it as "Earth's modern wonder, History's Seven outstripping." Its sudden loss provoked intense mourning-matched only perhaps by the razing of the old Penn Station a century later-and then gradually it slipped from memory. The Finest Building in America will evoke the Crystal Palace's life and times, replete with beautiful period images. The first book-length account of the building's short but glorious life, Burrows book aims to restore it in the minds and hearts of New Yorkers and New York aficionados and fans everywhere"--
Format:
Electronic Resources
Relevance:
1.4816
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