Architecture and Design
designed to celebrate the city’s year as
European Capital of Culture. Central to the
exhibit was a small greenhouse, emulating
the first botanic garden, and inside was a
selection of Roscoea plants, the Himala-
yan genus named after Roscoe.
‘The Botanic Garden’ exhibition was
held at the Walker Art Gallery (20
September–23 December 2008), for which
Bradley created an installation, a ‘virtual’
Liverpool botanic garden comprising a
suite of lightboxes with panoramic images.
In one lightbox two botanists pressed an
orchid in a herbarium; in another, two
security guards settled in for a palmhouse
nightwatch. This was a garden that did not
exist, but which drew on the hopes of
many Liverpudlians for the creation of a
new garden. It was shown along with
paintings from the permanent collection
that once belonged to Roscoe.
‘Fragrant’ was developed and produced
in collaboration with London Artist Pro-
jects, and curated by the Bluecoat in
partnership with National Museums Liver-
pool, Liverpool City Council’s Library
Service and Parks and Environment Ser-
vice. Bradley has been quoted as saying
that: ‘I hope we do Mr Roscoe proud.’
Indeed she has.
patricia andrew
Art historian, Edinburgh
LIVING BUILDINGS:
ARCHITECTURAL CONSERVATION:
PHILOSOPHY PRINCIPLES AND
PRACTICE
donald insall
Images Publishing 2008 $75.00 d39.50
272 pp. 545 col/85 mono illus
isbn 978-1864701920
T
he essence of architectural conserva-
tion is keeping old buildings alive
and flourishing but, as this book
clearly shows, that is no easy goal to attain.
All building materials eventually decay; even
the finest architecture can embody faults in
design and construction promising long-
term dangers; changes of use often make
destructive demands; additions and altera-
tions compromise architectural integrity. So
when buildings are in need of restoration,
there are hard choices to be made. Sound
judgement and immense skill are needed.
Today, architects have at their disposal
a range of amazing new materials and tech-
niques to aid in the restoration of historic
buildings, but in the wrong hands these
66 The Art Book volume 16 issue 3 august 2009 r 2009 the authors. journal compilation r 2009 bpl/aah
can lead to disaster. Conservation architects
need a foundation of sound philosophy,
sensitivity to the unique character of places,
and a real knowledge of architectural
history, traditional craftsmanship and the
nature of materials. This book offers a
valuable exposure to the field that will
prove invaluable to owners of old build-
ings, preservation activists, and their pro-
fessional advisers. It also has much to
offer to architectural historians.
The publication celebrates the fiftieth
anniversary of Donald Insall and Associ-
ates, a firm awarded the 2000 Europa
Nostra Medal of Honour for ‘outstanding
contributions to the cause of conserva-
tion’. It documents many of their projects
in a way that clearly reveals the firm’s
philosophy and decision-making process.
While the author has organised it as a
handbook of principles and methods, he
has taken every opportunity, through
fascinating examples and case studies, to
show how he has dealt with the complex
issues of morality and expediency to reach
decisions.
The book is well designed and co-
piously illustrated with high-quality
photographs, but most of all it is the
beautiful drawings by Insall and his asso-
ciates that bring the topics he discusses to
life. Charming watercolours show sensi-
tivity to architectural character, analytical
sketches reveal the process of exploration
and analysis, and three-dimensional, an-
notated drawings present proposals for
repair and rehabilitation in a way that is
easy for lay people to understand. For
example, a coloured axonometric drawing
of the Wren Library at Trinity College,
Cambridge shows the complex relation-
ship of all the parts, from concealed
structural elements to the columns and
statuary on the façade and the books-
helves within. This drawing by Ailwyn
Best enhances our understanding of Sir
Christopher Wren’s design while explain-
ing the architects’ proposals for resto-
ration.
Architectural historians tend to envi-
sion buildings as they appeared when first
built. They discuss them in their original
historical and theoretical context, and
examine them through the lenses of
scholars, but generally pay little attention
to their post-construction history. This
excellent book should open the eyes of
academics to the way that buildings of
various eras were built, and the types of
changes that took place during their
lifetime, as well as showing the interven-
tions and restorations by architects. Any-
one with a love of architecture, and an
interest in its physical nature, will find this
book enthralling.
Donald Insall is an esteemed British
architect and a leading exponent in the
field of architectural conservation. Prob-
ably best known for his restoration of
Windsor Castle after a devastating fire in
1992, Insall’s dedication to preservation
architecture has ensured the longevity of
many of Britain’s national treasures. These
include stately homes, town halls,
churches, entire city precincts, hospitals,
royal palaces, castles, public buildings and
public spaces.
A detailed examination of Insall’s
painstaking approach to architectural
conservation, Living Buildings is compre-
hensively illustrated by case studies, draw-
ings, plans and in-depth descriptions.
Donald Insall & Associates are also
involved in new design in sensitive or
conservation areas and design of new
monuments and statuary, examples of
which also appear in the book. Insall’s
Living Buildings is a practical handbook
in which the author shares his more
than 50 years of experience with ‘living
buildings’ and his thoughts for the future
of architecture.
henry matthews
Washington State University
FELIX CANDELA: ENGINEER,
BUILDER, STRUCTURAL ARTIST
maria e moreyra garlock & david
billington
Princeton University Art Museum/Yale University
Press d30.00 $45.00
207pp. 86 col/88 mono illus
isbn 978-0-300-12209-1
F
élix Candela (1910–97) is renowned
for the dramatic, thin-shell concrete
structures that he designed and built
in Mexico in the 1950s and early 1960s.
Although he was trained as an architect,
and conceived buildings holistically as an
architect should, he did not claim the role
of one: rather he worked as an engineer
and contractor. The authors of this book,
however, identify him most of all as a
structural artist. Through their discus-
sion of his philosophy, analytical process,
construction techniques, and the finished
forms of his buildings, they present con-
vincing arguments for this description.

Aided by excellent photographs, they bring
his work to life. Candela himself discov-
ered that the very act of building made it
possible for him to create art.
Few people realize that the only way to be
an artist in this difficult specialty of building is
to be your own contractor. In countries like
this [the United States], where the building
industry has been thoroughly and irrever-
sibly fragmented and the responsibility diluted
among so many trades, it may be shocking
to think of a contractor as an artist; but it is
indeed the only way to have in your hands the
whole set of tools or instruments to perform
the forgotten art of building, to produce ‘works
of art’.
Some of Candela’s clients were archi-
tects who approached him with designs
they wanted him to build; but he trans-
formed their projects structurally to create
works of art. With his combination of
intuition and calculation he produced
structures of astonishing elegance and
efficiency. For example, on his Cosmic Ray
Laboratory at UNAM in Mexico City, he
changed the roof structure from a barrel
vault into a shell with double curvature,
thus increasing the strength while keeping
it as little as 1.6cm thick. The aesthetic
r 2009 the authors. journal compilation r 2009 bpl/aah volume 16 issue 3 august 2009 The Art Book 67
appeal of this unique building results from
Candela’s ability to avoid thickening the
edges of the thin shell, thus allowing the
nature of its structure to be fully expressed.
Poised on two arched supports, its paper-
like forms float above the paving of the
campus.
Candela’s success rested on his ability
not only to conceive inspiring forms, but
also to build them within a budget.
Indeed, their beauty arises out of their
economical use of concrete. The authors
have pointed out that Candela’s build-
ings have fared very well over the half-
century since they were built. Compared
with many modern buildings that have
deteriorated badly, they retain their struc-
tural integrity and pristine form. They
are also surprisingly resistant to earth-
quakes.
In the early chapters, Moreya Garlock
and Billington place Candela in the
context of modern engineering history.
They discuss structural engineers in Eur-
ope from Thomas Telford to Eugène
Freyssinet and Robert Maillart, and move
on to consider the pioneers of thin-shell
concrete structures, Anton Tedesco, Pier
Architecture and Design
Fe¤lix Candela (1910 --97), Interior view of Church of
our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, Narvarte,
Mexico City (1955). Photograph by Bruce M White.
From Fe¤lix Candela:Engineer,Builder, Structural
Artist by Maria E Moreyra Garlock & David
Billington.
Luigi Nervi and Heinz Eisler, who inspired
Candela. Although Candela does not appear
to have been influenced by fellow Spaniards
Antonio Gaudi and Eduardo Torroja, who
both designed shells with double curvature,
their inclusion in the book seems appro-
priate.
The next section deals with Candela’s
early life in Spain, his service as an
engineer for the Republican side in the
Spanish Civil War, internment in a con-
centration camp in France and sudden
posting to Mexico. His professional ini-
tiation there coincided with a building
boom and extensive use of concrete, which
gave him scope to launch the career that
would make him famous. By the early
1950s, having built several experimental
thin-shell structures, he was much in
demand as a speaker at universities
and international conferences. At one of
them, while he was explaining the theore-
Architecture and Design

tical basis of a design, a member of
the audience asked many questions and
proclaimed Candela’s proposal infeasible,
whereupon he dramatically produced
pictures of the magnificent finished struc-
ture. Thus he came in contact with lead-
ing engineers and architects among
whom he made his mark as a structural
artist.
FOLLIES OF EUROPE: ARCHITEC- Larchill, Kilcock in Ireland. All periods are
TURAL EXTRAVAGANZAS covered, including very recent buildings
nic barlow, tim knox & caroline such as the Pavilion at Oare House
holmes near Marlborough, by I M Pei. There is a
gazetteer, an index and a bibliography.
Garden Art Press 2008 d35.00
256 pp. 286 col illus My only quibble is one likely to pitch
isbn 978-1-870673-56-3 folly-lovers into instant debate. Do all the
buildings in this publication really count
as follies? Where, for example, do you

A central chapter focuses on Candela’s
pioneering work on hyperbolic parabo-
loids, whose exciting form he found to be
particularly efficient because of its double
curvature and lack of internal stresses. He
demonstrated the surprising economy of
this type of structure because its frame-
work can be made up of straight timbers.
The next chapter deals with the principles
of umbrella structures, a type he employed
many times for industrial buildings,
markets and other practical purposes.
They were the bread and butter of his
practice, but he was able to implement
them in a variety of ways.
Finally, the authors offer detailed
description and analysis of Candela’s four
favourite works, the Church of our Lady of
the Miraculous Medal and the Bacardi
Rum Factory in Mexico City, the Chapel
Lomas de Cuernavaca, and Los Manan-
tiales Restaurant at Xochimilco. Many fine
photographs, many in colour, show the
sensual curves, the effects of light and
shade, and the quality of delicate, floating
roofs that define his work. Such images
are accompanied by detailed structural
analysis and construction pictures that
will be appreciated by engineers. This
handsomely designed and intelligently
written book is a significant addition to
the literature on Félix Candela.
henry matthews
Professor Emeritus, Washington State University
N
umerous publications on follies
have appeared in the past few years,
so I was interested to discover what
might be different about this one. In fact,
few of the follies featured here are new to
publication. Many, indeed, are old friends,
but they are re-visited, re-appraised and
treated to such stunningly good photo-
graphy that the book makes a splendid
addition to folly literature.
All three contributors are old hands at
folly publication: Nic Barlow, who photo-
graphs the buildings and their settings so
evocatively; art and architectural historian
Tim Knox, who writes the informative
Introduction; and garden historian Caroline
Holmes, who provides the individual history
of each folly. The design is excellent, and in
the small print of the Acknowledgements
page Nic Barlow writes revealing that ‘After
eleven other publications, this is the first
time that I have been so much a part of the
layout and the photographic editing process
and, undoubtedly, this is the book of which
I am by far the most proud’.
The book features follies from ten
European countries, ranging from small
groups to whole assemblages, such as
Guell Park in Barcelona and Portmeirion in
Wales. We find, as we expect to find, Sacro
Bosco, Bomarzo, and the Pyramid Tomb of
‘Mad’ Jack Fuller in Brightling Park,
Sussex. Several living oddities are included
for good measure, such as the llama and
emu that wander in the foreground of
draw the line between exuberant baroque
architecture and a folly? Tim Knox states
at the outset that follies are ‘extravagant
edifices raised for the amusement or diver-
sion – and occasionally for the residence – of
inspired patrons and artists’, so at least he
has stated his terms. Yet I find it rather
surprising that the built landscapes of
Stowe and Stourhead are included, or Van-
vitelli’s sculpture and cascades in the royal
park of Reggia di Caserta. To me, this is
stretching the definition of follies a little too
far. Surely follies should be more idiosyn-
cratic, more experimental, with rather less
conscious and professional design about
them? Perhaps the boundaries are widen-
ing. They are certainly contradictory. The
Folly Fellowship, a pressure group founded
in 1988 to protect, preserve, and promote
follies, has grown from a small group of
enthusiasts into a serious conservation and
consultative architectural heritage charity.
Their website homepage warns against
‘losing sight of the basic idea that these
buildings are fun – they were built for plea-
sure before purpose’; but they currently
advertise Fishing Huts: The Angler’s Sanctuary,
by Jo Orchard-Lisle (Excellent Press, Lu-
dlow, 2008), and for many people, these
quirky little buildings are what really count
as follies, despite a purpose that was often
utilitarian.
patricia andrew
Art historian, Edinburgh

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68 The Art Book volume 16 issue 3 august 2009 r 2009 the authors. journal compilation r 2009 bpl/aah