Architectural Styles Throughout History:
Throughout history, man has developed, manufactured, and used a variety of architectural styles. Any of these types are now considered old, but they are still useful as objects to remind us of the past events and significance that gave rise to their creation. These architectural styles have developed over time in response to changes in demand and sociopolitical conditions, as well as for the sake of modernism. The architectural evolution may have also arisen as a result of a revolution in ideas and the advent of improved drawing tools. In the paragraphs below, three major periods in the history of architecture are explored and underlying reasons and importance demystified.
Baroque Architecture
Ingersol (2000) described baroque architecture as a term used to dispense the architectural tendency of embarrassingly decorative features. This is not to mean that these forms of architecture were not attractive, however, only that great attention was paid to decoration elements and the overall appeal of the building and other architectural elements emerging in Italy in the 16th century. Ingersol (2000) observed that Italian architects in this period abandoned the renaissances classism rules of architecture to make visually appealing pieces of architecture.One notable significant piece of architecture of this era was Roman Catholic churches. Precisely speaking, baroque architecture can be argued to have evolved due to religious reasons to appeal and invoke emotions of religious congregations in Rome. These churches were designed to be inclusive, physically accessible from both sides, and legible within a given settlement. Elements of decorations include perfect curves such as ellipses and parabolas that were made possible by the invention of superior drawing equipment such as Blondel's pantograph. The Saint Peters church in Italy and Petersburg in Russia, for example, were such buildings which had numerous pillars and columns decorated with knotted, overlapping of interwoven curves.To increase the sensibility and feeling of motion, bright colors and decorations were made on the wall and ceilings. Statues were made on the walls to increase the beauty and symbolize important personalities. Although the baroque architectural design was originally used to design centers of religion, it was later adopted in the whole of central European countries such as Germany up to the 18th century to design royal palaces for kings.
Palladian Architecture
Buildings designed in this era include those in Britain such as Winston house and Queens house. Elliss (2012) observed that these buildings showed carefully balanced proportions and reduced decorations. Wilton House in Britain, for example, was used as a courtroom hence its design tailored to suit this purpose. While the baroque architectural design was meant to promote inclusivity, Palladian architecture was to promote seclusion, separating the subjects from the lords and judges. For example, in the Wilton house, the layout of the rooms was in a concept of progression (Ellis, 2012). This meant that some rooms were shared between the ruled and the rulers while some high profile rooms with restricted entry were set aside for the judges as offices or private rooms. These separation concepts arguably inspired the design of residential buildings in Britain in this era. People began to prefer apartments with several living rooms to enhance privacy.One notable similarity between baroque architecture and Palladian architecture is the use of high roof pitch/ceilings. This could have been to humble people and create fear of the authorities or God. This particularly worked with the principal of human scale where humans feel small and insignificant in the presence of the judge or God. Windows were large with an arch surrounded by rectangular components.
Neoclassical Architecture
Neoclassical architecture began in France in the mid-18th century but was widely applied in other central European countries such as Britain and Germany. Brandenburg gate in Germany is an example of such architectural design built with long columns with a high gabled roof at the entrance. Balance was the major design principle applied with the building having large windows that were asymmetrically placed.The neoclassical architecture also had unique features that distinguished it from the rest of the architectural designs. The designs were carefully thought of to suit the motives of aesthetics and political dominance. For example, it was common to design a building with beautiful pediments at the top of the windows and the doors. To enhance aesthetics, the windows were made of circular arches that blend with rectangular components. Corinthian capitals and ionic decorations were made especially on the long columns, which punctuated the entrance area framing the views while creating intimidating human scale while still visually attracting the human eye.Domes and towers formed important features of neoclassical architecture. The domes are a shared feature that makes these designs similar to the baroque designs. The towers, however, could have been important for political reasons specially to monitor the movement and activities of the enemy and hence help the ruler's guard territorial integrity. The towers, therefore, functioned as high platforms where the warlord could see the whole or a significant part of the territory.Just like the baroque architectural designs, buildings in this era sometimes had gathering places like squares and courtyards, this time not for congregations but for the kings and rulers to address subjects or issue case verdicts. In the former periods, these common areas sometimes could have been treated as holy or secluded for the few, while in the case of neoclassical architecture, the squares are used by all.
Conclusion
Architectural forms discussed from the above three periods are very significant in the history of human settlement developments. Unlike the contemporary buildings, these architectural had meanings and importance that were relevant to the contexts in which they existed, for instance political, religious, or sociocultural dispensations. These pieces of architectural artifacts are not entirely obsolete and hence cannot be discarded. Instead, the contemporary architect should investigate and borrow from them when designing buildings today. In doing so, the architect must tradeoff between having the design dominated by the current feature or the ancient ones. Importantly, these architectural forms hold information about the history of human life from ancient civilizations and periods, which makes them worthy of preservation. They offer valuable insights into the social arrangements of the ancient societies and corresponding lifestyles. Additionally, these ancient art forms are important in informing improvements and changes in the quality of current architectural forms.
References
Ellis, S., 2012. Palladian Wilton house. [Online] Available at:
https://britishheritage.com/palladian-wilton-house/[Accessed 2012 April 2017].
Nga.gov, 2017. The triumph of the Baroque. [Online] Available at:
https://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2000/baroque/intro1.shtm[Accessed 25 April 2017].
