Cult Buildings

What distinguishes an impressive building from a truly remarkable one? In Cult Buildings, architecture critic Kenneth Powell looks beyond the famous and the grand to identify those buildings that have had an impact on architects and the wider public alike. Some buildings have been significant in opening up new areas of architectural design; others stand out as highly individual expressions of the visual ideas of their creators. Some embody the spirit of the period in which they were built, while others have a timeless quality that defies easy categorization. The book features 30 buildings across the world dating from the late 19th century to the present day, from William Van Alen’s beloved Chrysler Building in New York to Oscar Niemeyer’s magnificent Cathedral of Brasília and Zaha Hadid’s futuristic Phaeno science centre in Germany. While the selected buildings may not necessarily be the most famous works of their respective architects, all have a resonance beyond their formal architectural qualities. Cult Buildings offers a unique way of looking at the history of contemporary architecture; these buildings are simply unmissable.