The architect Bernard Maybeck called architecture "the handwriting of man." Maybeck might have been describing the vernacular architecture of the Aegean
archipelago, the subject of this remarkable book. In The Aegean Crucible, Michaelides describes an "architecture without architects": buildings
designed by untrained builders who flourished between the thirteenth century and the present, despite, and perhaps because of, the constraints imposed by
the tumultuous geopolitics of the archipelago. Given its more than 650 illustrations - the majority of them from the author's own slides - and the
knowledge of the region that his text conveys, The Aegean Crucible is a feast for the eyes and minds of laypeople and architects. In addition, the
book's pocket-friendly 6 x 9 inch size should endear it to travelers and armchair travelers alike. Those interested in other cultures and in the
relationship between the man-made and natural environments will find intriguing Michaelides's argument that "life and culture can be understood through the
examination of architectural form."
Far above all, The Aegean Crucible is a book about relationships and balances: between the archipelago's vernacular buildings and its landscapes
and seascapes; between the islanders' limited means and their pressing need for defensible space; between the vernacular and formal architecture; and
between the book's own illustrations and its text, each of which illuminates the other. Readers interested in architecture, history, the environment, or
the Aegean setting itself should be spellbound by Michaelides's "magic touch," as they enjoy the striking illustrations that make the text come so fully
alive.
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