Robert AM Stern (Architectural Monographs No 17)

Robert Stern has an international reputation as an architect, writer and teacher. Born in New York, he has taught and designed throughout America and Europe and is widely acknowledged as one of the originators and key theorists of the post-modern movement in architecture. He is a fellow of the American Institute of Architects from which he was awarded the New York Chapter's Medal of Honour in 1984. Robert Stern's work as an architect is indivisible from his abiding concern with history and historical style. He regards post-modernism not as a random recycling of past styles, but as a necessary liberation from what he calls the "perennial present" of the modern movement. In the four essays reproduced in the monograph he urges contemporary architects to widen their vocabulary, to learn from the past in order to "reunite current production with the traditions that a previous generation tried so hard to subvert". The 33 projects featured here reveal the range of influences which have informed Robert Stern's projects and buildings: from the Lutyens and Kahn inspired Lang and Westchester houses of the early 70s to later "Shingle Style" solutions such as the Lawson and Marblehead residences. Also featured are a number of larger scale buildings such as the Mexx international headquarters in the Netherlands and the Disney Casting Centre in Florida which have consolidated Stern's reputation over the last five years. "Architectural Monographs" have enjoyed a positive critical response since first launched over ten years ago, and have now been revised, with an enlarged format. Often representing the first publication on the work of a particular architect or firm, "Architectural Monographs" focus on individuals of international stature, who have been influential in education and in practice. Including both built and unbuilt projects, each Monograph becomes an invaluable record of the architect presented, and an important source book for further study. Robert Stern's work as an architect is indivisible from his abiding concern with history and historical style, and he is seen as one the originators and key theorists of post-modernism. The 33 projects featured here reveal the range of influences which have informed Stern's buildings.