The Monumental Impulse: Architecture's Biological Roots Book

"In this engaging, eminently readable, and frequently surprising exploration of the human urge to build, Hersey invites us to view architecture from an unaccustomed perspective--the perspective of biology. . . . With this coupling of architecture and biology, Hersey is fully engaged in that Enlightenment spirit biologist E. O. Wilson calls `the quest for the unity of knowledge.'" -- Norman Crowe, Department of Architecture, University of Notre Dame In The Monumental Impulse, art historian George Hersey investigates many ties between the biological sciences and the building arts. Hersey draws striking analogies between building types and animal species. He examines the relationship between physical structures and living organisms, from bridges to mosques, from molecules to mammals. Insects, mollusks, and birds are given separate chapters, and three final chapters focus on architectural form and biological reproduction. Hersey also discusses architecture in connection with the body's interior processes and shows how buildings may be said to reproduce, adapt, and evolve, like other inanimate or "nonbiotic" entities such as computer programs and robots.Read More