On Weathering: The Life of Buildings in Time

Contrary to another reviewer's characterization of this text as 'wordy', I find it refreshingly accessible within the context of architectural theory. Its premise is simple. Often buildings are conceived as being finished products and in their most ideal state at the time of their construction's completion (like the pure white boxes of early modernism), and from this point they begin to degrade as they weather over time. But one can think of the situation differently, where construction's completion simply marks the beginning of the "life of buildings in time." In thinking this way one can anticipate the effects of weathering upon a building, and design it to accept or receive these inevitable traces of time's passage. This very clear theme is illuminated by the skillful analysis of architectural works ranging from the Renaissance (Alberti, and others) to Modernism and beyond (Wagner, Le Corbusier, Scarpa, and more).I would recommend this text to anyone in the field of architecture--from practitioners to students. It reminds us that when architectural works are realized, they exist within a temporal world and are exposed to the forces of nature, a situation replete with opportunities for a work's enrichment... that is, if one is thoughtful enough to take advantage of them.

the book is not that good, also need more information

On Weathering is entirely disappointing due to the contents and quality of photos, with the lack of technical text to compliment the body of information which it 'tries' to represent. The book would have been better if it were to have offered a more in-depth reading into each building or technique.Overall: B-

Brilliant