"The words we use when we talk and write about architecture describe more than just bricks and mortar - they direct the ways we think of and live with buildings. This original and thoughtful study provides the first thorough examination of the relationship between architecture and language as complex social practices.".

"The book is divided into two parts. The first section consists of six rigorously argued chapters that investigate the language of modernism, language and drawing, 'masculine and feminine' architecture, language metaphors, science in architecture, and the social properties of architecture. The second part is a vocabulary of key words, providing rich analyses of critical terms such as Character, Form, History and Space.

Each investigation locates a word's modern meaning within a historical framework and theoretical discussion, setting out clearly the term's development and its purpose for architects, historians, philosophers, critics and the 'users' of buildings themselves."--BOOK JACKET.