Minoru Yamasaki and the Fragility of Architecture av Paul (Seattle University) Kidder

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<P>Few figures in the American arts have stories richer in irony than does architect Minoru Yamasaki. While his twin towers of New York¿s World Trade Center are internationally iconic, few who know the icon recognize its architect¿s name or know much about his portfolio of more than 200 buildings. One is tempted to call him America¿s most famous forgotten architect. He was classed in the top tier of his profession in the 1950s and ¿60s, as he carried modernism in novel directions, yet today he is best known not for buildings that stand but for two projects that were destroyed under tragic circumstances: the twin towers and the Pruitt-Igoe housing project in St. Louis. This book undertakes a reinterpretation of Yamasaki¿s significance that combines architectural history with the study of his intersection with defining moments of American history and culture. The story of the loss and vulnerability of Yamasaki¿s legacy illustrates the fragility of all architecture in the face of natural