Windows are moments in modern architecture
where we look to ascertain elegance, technical expression and material language or to capture
a certain atmosphere. A window opening is as much an interval and an opportunity as it is a device for admitting light, air or views, it is simultaneously a physical aperture but also a philosophical opening of collaboration and reflection.
This book explores how the act of detailing and situating windows in buildings is a key proponent in the language of architecture, which both informs and works with the contingencies of design and construction. It investigates 18 case studies in-depth using painstakingly drawn details and vivid photographs in full colour to define what makes these windows ‘great’ and how each window is situated within both its technical and philosophical context and as an overall development of modern architecture.
Kevin Adams is a Teaching Fellow at the Edinburgh School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (ESALA), a practising architect and the founding principal of kalm architecture.
Great Windows in Modern Architecture, Kevin Adams, Routledge, 2024.
Image: La Maison de Verre, Paris, 1932.