Designing Utopia: John Ruskin's Urban Vision for Britain and AmericaAlthough his name is not one that springs to mind when the public thinks of influential urban planners and designers, John ruskin was undoubtedly a most important influence. Art critic, social reformer, giant of English literature, his prodigious output of books, pamphlets and lectures, as well as his efforts at practical reform, established his tremendous reputation in Britain and America. More than providing a vision statement, he challenged artists, architects and town planners to collaborate on developing prototypes of his vision. To a remarkable extent they succeeded in doing so and thereby created a legacy of good community design that this book highlights. Designing Utopia presents a broad overview of John Ruskin's life: the development of his views on architecture and urban design, as well as his views on social justice; how his vision was developed in his writings; his efforts at practical application of that vision, in particular his efforts to build a guild based society. Finally the book analyses how Ruskin's urban vision influenced the work of a long line of progressive architects and planners and the buildings and communities they designed modern urban designers such as Lewis Mumford, Patrick Geddes, Ebenezer Howard. The work of these figures are then related to current practitioners of the New Urbanism such as Duaney and Plater-Zyberk. |
From inside the book
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Page 65
... cottages , nestled in the hilly ground behind simply decorated walls , and higher up the hill , several larger homes ... cottage industry of hand spinning and weaving of linen at Langdale in Westmoreland . Here with Ruskin's ...
... cottages , nestled in the hilly ground behind simply decorated walls , and higher up the hill , several larger homes ... cottage industry of hand spinning and weaving of linen at Langdale in Westmoreland . Here with Ruskin's ...
Page 66
... cottages and a piece of land for gardening presented to the Guild by Mrs. Talbot , that were located in the Welsh fishing village of Abermaw , now better known as the resort - town of Barmouth . These simple rough stone cottages were ...
... cottages and a piece of land for gardening presented to the Guild by Mrs. Talbot , that were located in the Welsh fishing village of Abermaw , now better known as the resort - town of Barmouth . These simple rough stone cottages were ...
Page 117
... cottages and an open air market with a market hall topped by multiple gables and an open turret . It appeared to have grown up by organic accretion over the years ; a small market town of modest yet beautiful terraced cottages and ...
... cottages and an open air market with a market hall topped by multiple gables and an open turret . It appeared to have grown up by organic accretion over the years ; a small market town of modest yet beautiful terraced cottages and ...
Contents
The Development Of A Visionary | 3 |
Ruskins Urban Vision | 19 |
Ruskins Efforts At Practical Town Planning | 48 |
Copyright | |
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Designing Utopia: John Ruskin's Urban Vision for Britain and America Michael H. Lang No preview available - 1999 |
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achieve Ackerman aesthetic American architecture artistic Arts and Crafts Ashbee Association beautiful British building built called Camden central Chipping Campden co-housing cottages Crafts communities Crafts Movement craftsmen described design approach Ebenezer Howard efforts England English environment environmental established felt Garden City Garden City Movement garden villages George Gothic green Guild Socialism Hampstead Garden Suburb Hill human ideal industrial influence inspired John Ruskin Kelmscott lecture Lethaby live London major medieval Modern Painters Mumford Museum nature neighbourhood neo-traditional open space organic Oxford Philadelphia Philip Webb planning system Price principles produced projects Radburn Raymond Unwin Red House regional planning result romantic Rose Valley Roycroft Ruskin and Morris Ruskin's urban vision Ruskinian socialist society sprawl stone street style suburban Swenarton town planners town planning traditional University Press urban design urban planning utopia vernacular Webb's William Morris workers wrote York Yorkship Village