Tradition and invention in architecture : conversations and essays / Robert A.M. Stern ; edited by Cynthia Davidson.

Regionalism and the continuity of tradition -- What the classical can do for the modern -- Designing the American dream -- Housing America: 1920-1929 -- Architecture and place -- The suburban alternative for the "middle city" -- In praise of invented towns -- Landscape and gardens: a conversation -- The fall and rise of New York: trends and travesties in the service of community pride -- The Buell Center: an interview -- The modern architecture symposia: an interview -- The relevance of a decade: 1929-1939 -- Television and architecture: notes on Pride of place -- An architect's impressions of France -- Buildings and brands -- Rationalism and romanticism in the domestic architecture of George Howe -- Robert Moses as architect -- On Philip Johnson -- Remembering Louis Kahn -- Charles Moore: the architect running in place -- Norman foster at Yale -- Principles and values.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Among practicing architects today, perhaps only Robert A.M. Stern once contemplated a career as a historian, an interest that has informed both his built work and his writings. Tradition and Invention in Architecture brings together 26 of Stern's essays and conversations from the past five decades. Topics range from modern classicism, American housing, gardens, and New York City to the work of Norman Foster, Louis Kahn, Charles Moore, and Robert Moses. Reminders of Stern's own broad career in architecture are found in his thoughts on his PBS television series Pride of Place, his discussion of the planning of Seaside and Celebration, Florida, and his view on institutional branding through architecture. Known as much for his candor as for his profound knowledge of American architecture, Stern's observations on the architecture of his time are equally valuable. As he writes, "For an architect, writing is one way of reconsidering history while working in the present--always in search of the best from the past and the present, which allows us to invent for the future.