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Gottfried Semper, London Writings 1850–1855

Type of publication Peer-reviewed
Publikationsform Book (peer-reviewed)
Author GnehmMichael, HildebrandSonja, WeidmannDieter,
Project Architektur und die Globalisierung des Wissens im 19. Jahrhundert. Gottfried Semper und die Disziplin der Architekturgeschichte
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Book (peer-reviewed)

Publisher gta Verlag, Zürich
ISBN 978-3-85676-425-8
DOI 10.3929/ethz-b-000512309

Open Access

URL https://verlag.gta.arch.ethz.ch/publikationen/london-writings-18501855
Type of Open Access Publisher (Gold Open Access)

Abstract

Gottfried Semper (1803–1879) left behind a voluminous legacy of architectural-theory writings. The manner, in his works, in which he analysed architecture from a cultural-historical perspective as the key discipline in human artistry continues to exert a deep fascination up until today. The London Writings make available previously unpublished or little-known texts originating during Semper’s exile in London (1850–1855) in a critical and commented edition, including in their original wordings. Swayed by his impressions of the first Great Exhibition of 1851 and as a lecturer at the Department of Practical Art, it was in London that Semper laid the foundations for his theoretical magnum opus Der Stil (Style, 1860/63). He counterpoised the phenomena of the globalised flow of merchandise and a globalisation of knowledge that he observed with his thoughts on the global development of architectural culture in all its manifold material, social and political conditions.
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