Krier, Leon

Leon Krier's critique of the principles of the modernist movement, together with his many beautifully rendered projects, have earned him a reputation as one of the foremost classical theorists of this century. His calls for a return to pre-industrial urban models and the reconstruction of the traditional European city, have had a wide appeal worldwide and are now headed by a growing number of architects and planners eager to restore what he calls "common sense" to the built environment. The monograph brings together Krier's most important essays and all his projects, a number of which are published here for the first time. His more recent proposals for extending the town of Poundbury in Dorchester, which have received the support of both the local community and the Prince of Wales, complete an impressive sequence of urban interventions including Luxembourg's New Quarter, Tegel, Washington DC, and the new town of Atlantis on the island of Tenerife. Rita Wolff's poetic illustrations and Krier's own finely delineated drawings support his vision of a harmonious "civitas" as an alternative architectural and urban model.