Sir Banister Fletcher's Global History of Architecture

“A major monument in the writing of worldwide history” – Book of the Week, Times Higher Education Winner of the Colvin Prize 2020 (Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain)2020 Dartmouth Medal Honorable MentionSir Banister Fletcher’s Global History of Architecture is the acknowledged classic reference work for architectural history. It has been essential reading for generations of architects and students since the first edition was published in 1896 – and this tradition continues today as the new 21st edition provides the most up-to-date, authoritative and detailed account of the global history of architecture available in any form.Thousands of major buildings from around the world are described and explained, accompanied by over 2,200 photographs, plans, and drawings. Architectural styles and traditions are placed within a clear framework, and the chronological and geographical arrangement of the work’s 102 chapters allows for easy comparative analysis of cultural contexts, resources, and technologies. Published for the first time in full colour, and entirely rewritten throughout by over 80 leading international architectural historians, this is a landmark new edition of a classic work – one which reflects the very latest scholarship and brings a thoroughly contemporary understanding to over 5,500 years of global architectural history.Produced in partnership with the RIBA and the University of London, the new edition of Sir Banister Fletcher’s Global History of Architecture is available both as printed edition, and for the first time as part of a fully-searchable and interactive digital library available to institutions by annual subscription or on perpetual access (see www.bloomsburyarchitecturelibrary.com).

This is a book that deserves to be on the shelf not only of every architect and architecture student, but of anyone who wants to know more about the history of the world. Browsing through its thousands of pages, with their 2,200 illustrations, reveals architecture’s unique place as an index of human achievements, priorities, contradictions and identities – a dazzling visual history of world culture. Everyone will find in it new understanding and new pleasures., A hugely impressive enterprise, and an invaluable resource., A double delight ... An integral text in any aspiring home-designer’s education (it was voted book of the century by the American Institute of Architects in 2000), it looks at the development of the built form over the past 5,500 years., The book’s greatly increased range is remarkable, providing an encyclopedic global picture in which every reader will almost certainly find something new ... A contentious classic reinvented for a new generation through previously unheard viewpoints – and not a moment too soon., Book of the Century ... A thundering classic. No serious fan of architecture should be without it

Murray Fraser is Professor of Architecture and Global Culture at The Bartlett School of Architecture at University College London, UK. Trained both as an architect and architectural historian, in 2018 he received the RIBA Annie Spink Award for Excellence in Architectural Education. He is also Chair of the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain.