Since my book is mainly about public buildings and how they are best implemented structurally, I started my search with this. For this search in “Ask Alice” I used the Xenotheka library. In the context bar I entered the word architecture. With these settings, I used various search terms to find the appropriate books. I started with the search term “civil architecture”, but only found books that did not match my search. Furthermore I entered therms like, „school“ or „hospital“
However I found the first suitable book by using the search term “public building”. The book is Mallgrave, Modern Architectural Theory. I searched further with the same search term and found my second book, Blackwell, Nineteenth Century Architecture.
Architectura civilis by Fruttenbach Joseph is a much older book. I think that’s why it took me a long time to find the right books. Time changes the context, but it can also be positive that there is so much time between books. I find the contrast between the books very exciting, because my selection shows the differences of the time. All the books deal with the same subject matter but have a different focus. In this way, the mentality of the different times can be indirectly understood.
Unfortunately, the themes of the books are therefore not exactly the same. Modern Architectural Theory and Nineteenth Century Architecture are both books that deal specifically with an era and how they answered the function of buildings architecturally. Fruttenbach Joseph, as I understand it, wants his work to be as valid for him as it will be for the generations that come after him. I think you can see that in the titles of the books. Architectura civilis is universally valid. Unlike Modern Architectural Theory Nineteenth Century Architecture, which is limited to a specific period.