Fifty years after Le Corbusier wrote Towards a New Architecture, Venturi likewise turned the design field on its head, arguing that modernism and modern were not synonymous. He offered a new, more encompassing vision of modern design that would bestir the field for almost a half century.

From an architect’s point of view this book opened so many vistas, liberating designers to think about architecture in a new way. A noted contemporary once said Robert Venturi makes great plans. It is ironic that one of the great strengths of this postmodern thinker is his modernist way of approaching design by starting with a plan.

Venturi, who knows a lot of architectural history and has an extremely good eye, brings the past to life. His lucid book predates the descent into obfuscatory jargon that bedevils most theoretical texts. Still a stimulating read, even if the movement it helped to launch—postmodernism—fizzled out.