This is an excellent resource for interested lay people as well as professionals in the field. It is recommended as a ready reference tool for public, academic, and highschool libraries. It is an architectural dictionary written in the language of design and is heavily illustrated! Unlike any other architectural dictionary currently available, the "Illustrated Dictionary of Architecture, 2e" is focused almost entirely on design. While other design dictionaries are overloaded with construction-related terms, this unique resource contains nearly 4000 design-related definitions and more than 3000 illustrations - far more than any other dictionary."The Illustrated Dictionary of Architecture" covers everything critically important to those in the architect/design field: architectural styles, details, building elements, forms, and building systems. And added to this edition is more than 300 architect biographies with classic examples of their work. Meticulously written, heavily cross-referenced, and unique in the fact that it is a dictionary that can truly be called a visual resource, the "Illustrated Dictionary of Architecture, 2e" is the best way for any designer to gain a full understanding of architectural elements.