Description:
In common usage the term "monument" usually refers to symbolic sculptural constructions that honor great people, military victories, or victims of disasters or genocide. In this book, however, it typically denotes actual buildings that serve practical purposes connected with death and burial. This may not sound like a particularly promising subject, but don't be misled: Monument Builders is a meaty and significant work that explores subtle issues of spirit and human mortality--and architects' attempts to capture and express it. An extensive essay--"Modernism, Architecture, and Death"--occupies a third of the book and traces the development of funerary architecture and sculptural memorials. It is followed by an eclectic portfolio of 29 designers' funerary projects, most of them recent. Familiar names and major talents such as Gunnar Asplund, Herman Hertzberger, Arata Isozaki, Maya Lin, Fumihiko Maki, Aldo Rossi, Moshe Safdie, Carlo Scarpa, and Peter Eisenman populate this section, along with less-well-known but often equally interesting designers. The constructions themselves run the gamut from a minimalist stone marker--Wim Cuyvers's grave for his father--to architecturally ambitious building complexes such as Rossi's near-legendary Modena cemetery ensemble. Nearly all of the included works achieve a quiet, contemplative serenity. Edwin Heathcote, an architect and editorial staffer at Church Building magazine, clearly knows his subject intimately, and has produced an enlightening and impressively authoritative book. Physically, it is equally impressive, featuring a large format, quietly elegant layout, and copious, well-reproduced illustrations--mainly in color. --John Pastier
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