St Paul's Cathedral, 1675-1710, is one of the most magnificent buildings ever constructed. With arches modelled on those in the ancient Basilica of Maxentius and a huge dome rivalling that of St Peter's, Wren's Cathedral reflects the glory of ancient and modern Rome. In structure, form and detail the design exemplifies Wren's principle of natural beauty, which he justified with reference to the history of architecture and the hidden truths of nature as cultivated by seventeenth-century science. Wren advised the architect to "think of his judges . . . those that are to live five centuries after him, as (well as) those of his own time", and St Paul's represents Wren's own attempt to set in stone an architecture of eternal validity.
'Architecture In Detail' is a superbly photographed and technically informative series of monographs which embraces a broad spectrum of internationally renowned buildings, drawn predominantly from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Each sixty-page volume contains a lucid text by a respected author; a sequence of large-format, high-quality colour and black and white photographs; a comprehensive set of technical drawings and working details; and a complete bibliography and chronology, thus making these books the definitive work on the subject. They are essential purchases for enthusiasts, practitioners and students alike.
