The Layman's guide to classical architecture

The British architect Quinlan Terry has created this book as the ultimate guide to classical architecture. With detailed sketches, he illustrates both the principals of which Classical architecture is based and the ornament that enriches it. The tradition of this architecture persisted into the 20th century, when other ideals began to take over. Terry, who is a strong advocate of classical architecture, wants to refocus on the kind of architecture which was dominant in the western world for almost 2,000 years, but whose background and structure is little known today. The book contains many of Quinlan Terry's drawings, sketches from travels and linoleum prints. The preface is written by Prince Charles, who holds Quinlan Terry as one of the top contemporary architects.

“The author has deftly pulled off a very difficult balancing act; being both a beautiful production that is very easy to read but also a book that is full of useful gems of wisdom and insight that I have never read anywhere else.”

Quinlan Terry's classical buildings, which are illustrated in elegantly drawn elevations and crisp black and white photographs, illustrate that the selection and interpretation of the language of classicism is a highly personalised choice.--Ptolemy Dean "The Critic"
-- "The Impractical Architect"

Quinlan Terry
CBE, AA Dipl, FRIBA - Senior Partner
Quinlan Terry CBE is synonymous with the highest quality classical architecture, having built up his reputation over four decades.

Quinlan studied at the Architectural Association after which he worked for Sir James Stirling, before becoming a pupil and later partner with the renowned classicist Raymond Erith RA FRIBA. Quinlan was a Rome scholar in 1968 to 69 which helped to cement his passion for classical architecture. From 1996-98 Quinlan served as a member of the Royal Fine Arts Commission.

Quinlan has won numerous awards for design and architectural excellence including the Driehaus Architecture Prize in 2005, and the Diaphoros Prize in December 2015 from the Georgian Group for Kilboy.

In the 2015 New Years Honours list Quinlan's contribution to the field of architecture was recognised when he was awarded the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).

Quinlan Terry has a keen interest in how traditional architecture contributes to the debate on sustainability. He has lectured frequently on this subject as well as the role of classicism in the world today; most recently at the Traditional Britain Conference in 2015 and the Institute of Classical Architecture in America 2015.

Quinlan continues to drive his practice's vision for the highest quality design and building.

Clive Aslet is an award-winning architectural historian and journalist. During a long association with Country Life, he was editor for 13 years. As author of The Edwardian Country House, The American Country House, Landmarks of Britain and Villages of Britain, he is an authority on the countryside, British history and architecture, and life at the turn of the twentieth century on both sides of the Atlantic. A lifelong advocate of Classicism, he helped establish the Ax:son Johnson Centre for the Study of Classical Architecture at Cambridge in 2021.

Acclaimed British architect Quinlan Terry's guide to more than 2,000 years of classicism in architecture In this beautiful illustrated survey, British architect Quinlan Terry (born 1937) presents his ultimate guide to classical architecture. With intricate and lively sketches, he explains the classical orders of architecture that were created by Vitruvius around 100 AD. The tradition of building using these orders was maintained well into the 20th century, until modernism began to dominate architecture. With this book, Terry, a strong proponent of classical architecture, aims to place focus on the kind of architecture that dominated the field for almost 2,000 years in the West--the vocabulary and heritage of which is known by few today. The book contains a large number of Terry's drawings and sketches from travels, as well as linocuts. Also included are his drawings of such quintessential examples of the use of classical orders as St. Mark's Square and San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice and Inigo Jones' St. Paul's Cathedral in London, alongside drawings of Terry's own structures, such as Brentwood Cathedral in Essex, England. In addition, Terry compares his own studies with those of Andrea Palladio and Vincenzo Scamozzi. Prince Charles, another advocate for classical architecture, who holds Quinlan Terry as his favorite among contemporary architects, provides the preface.

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