Sinan: An Interpretation.

Another book on Sinan, but what an excellent one! This will be of interest to architects, engineers, urban planners and above all students of the built environment, because through his unstinting interest and enthusiasm over 20 years Hans Egli has got inside the mind and the eye of Sinan. When Egli first stepped into the courtyard of the Haski Hurrem imaret in Istanbul he realised his own expectations were going to be surpassed. He conveys this on every page of this book assisted by his obvious ability to draw and focus on the essentials of Sinan's architectural and engineering masterpieces while describing his times and patrons.

Egli empathises with the masterpieces, he analyses them with the eye of a sensitive architect, he responds to their colours, their materials, the evocative patinas produced by age and orientation. He explains the distinct use Sinan made of circular and rectangular columns, uses which can lead the eye to glance at or glide over them. Sinan's plans are dissected and their complexities described including their three-dimensional forms, their symbolism and their paths of spiritual transformation. The standard locations and hierarchies projected by specifically designed elements are identified and when irregularities occur Egli provides acceptable explanations for them.

I really do consider this book a useful and informative one, and I like the visual balance created by Egli's fluid sketches juxtaposed with matt black and white illustrations.