Author(s): Robert F. Gatje

Art and Design

Here, analysed and drawn at a common scale for easy comparison, are forty outstanding urban spaces of the Western world. Robert Gatje explores the storied piazzas of Rome, Venice and Florence, the elegant places of Paris, via less familiar gathering places in Germany, the Czech Republic, Spain and Portugal. From the former marketplaces and graceful Georgian squares of the United Kingdom to the most interesting and impressive squares of the New World-Santa Fe, Portland, Boston and New York-Gatje offers new insights, stunning computer-generated plans and colour photographs to convey the spatial experience. The visual material is supplemented by a brief history of each square with details of its measurements and an assessment of its success in meeting human needs for inspiring outdoor space. There is no other source for this comparative data in one place. Review: Squares, to be great, rely on having an attitude about entries, exits, likely paths, surrounding edges, surfaces, and, like typefaces, consider history and associations and occasionally include trees, flower beds, and, of course, require repeated visits. The equivalent in graphic terms of illustrations or photographs used in print or on television. Squares are a fascinating and rich subject for everyone concerned about their visual environment. Bob Gattje understands them. -- Ivan Chermayeff Hardback 224pp h289mm x w286mm x s28mm 1842g 300 colour photographs and 35 colour plans