The Most Beautiful House in the World..., Witold Rybczynski
The Most Beautiful House in the World..., Witold Rybczynski
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The Most Beautiful House in the World

Author: Witold Rybczynski

Narrator: Wanda McCaddon

Unabridged: 5 hr 24 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/14/2014

Categories: Nonfiction, House & Home


Synopsis

Witold Rybczynski takes us on an extraordinary odyssey as he tells the story of designing and building his own house. His project began as a workshed, but through a series of happy accidents, the structure gradually evolved into a full-fledged house. In tracing this evolution, he touches on matters both theoretical and practical, writing on such diverse topics as the ritualistic origins of the elements of classical architecture and the connections between dress and habitation. He discusses feng-shui and considers the theories of such architects as Palladio, Le Corbusier, and Frank Lloyd Wright. An eloquent examination of the links between being and building, The Most Beautiful House in the World offers insights into the joys of installing ourselves in a place, of establishing a spot where it would be safe to dream.

About Witold Rybczynski

Witold Rybczynski has written about architecture for the New York Times, Time, Atlantic, the New Yorker, and Slate, and is the author of the award-winning A Clearing in the Distance. He is the recipient of the National Building Museum’s 2007 Vincent Scully Prize. He lives with his wife in Philadelphia, where he teaches at the University of Pennsylvania School of Design.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Terri on February 10, 2014

This book is like a conversation with an architect and as conversations sometimes go, Rybczynski goes on many rabbit trails, some interesting, some tedious. And then he will land upon a nugget of real value to someone interested in designing a house. Things like, "A building has to be simple enough t......more

Goodreads review by Ioana on June 12, 2023

Just lovely. The whole project sounded awesome from the beginning and I simply loved how all architects and writers were weaved in the narration. This is a gem.......more

Goodreads review by phil breidenbach on September 01, 2020

Every so often I find a book that is exceptionally good, to me at least. A couple weeks ago while rummaging through a couple boxes of books at my favorite book store, (City Books) I came across a book with a nice looking dust cover, pebbled paper with a watercolor of a house on it. It was entitled......more

Goodreads review by Talbot on March 04, 2021

Beginning in whimsy and dream, Rybczynski was one day called upon to begin sailing, and, not only to sail, but to build the craft of his dreams. To that end, he needed a location; finding land, he found that, through the twists of fate, he and his wife accidentally ended up with their dream home. Th......more

Goodreads review by Jan on February 08, 2023

A fascinating look at the world of architecture. Rybczynski is an architect himself and in this book he tells the story of building what was to be a boat building shed that morphs into a house for he and his wife. Along the way he makes several digressions into the history of architecture.......more