A monograph on one of the most influential visionary architects of the twentieth century
Claude Parent whose buildings and theoretical work directly influenced leading architects
Hadid Libeskind Nouvel and Gehry. The influence of the idealistic French architect Claude
Parent (1923-2016) extends far beyond the legacy he left in iconic commercial and residential
built works such as the Villa Drusch in Versailles (1963) the church of Sainte-Bernadette du
Banlay in Nevers (1966) and GEM shopping centre in Sens (1970). Movement was at the heart of
Parent's vision and is nowhere more evident than in his drawings many of which are published
in this book for the first time-- drawings which according to Frank Gehry are
extraordinary--beautiful fantasies full of poetry and which Edwin Eathcote writing for the
Financial Times described as breathtaking... in their ambition they not only presage Daniel
Libeskind and Zaha Hadid they arguably surpass them. Parent's work manifests the oblique
function theory he developed with Paul Virilio in 1963 that dictates that buildings should
feature slopes be wall-free where possible and have a predominance of space over surface.
Featuring contributions by some of today's most renowned architects this long-overdue
publication is a must-have for students of architecture and architects alike. Including initial
sketches for his best known buildings and never-before-seen drawings of unbuilt works Claude
Parent: Visionary Architect reveals the genius of a man who unquestionably changed the history
of architecture.
