Historical Periods in Architecture
Egyptian
Egyptian architecture dates from about 3000 to 30 BC.
Due to the climate and weather of this area Egyptians lacked forestry, hence,
wood as well. This forced the Egyptians to find other methods of building. They
started making buildings from limestone, sandstone, and granite. Because of the
structural integrity, they had to build their walls thick and close together.
These buildings where not your typical buildings; these were monumental
buildings. Other designs include the pyramids. They were built as tombs and
lasted longer than most other buildings. They had a specific method of
construction. They made the buildings very precise by lining up the edges with
particular stars. However, they did not continue the making of these for long.
The valued possessions of these tombs became subject to thefts. One tomb
surpassed this, the tomb of King Tut. These tombs were in underground tunnels.
Carter discovered this particular tomb in the early 1900’s.
Stone
Structures
Clay was
used in Egyptian architecture partly because of a lack of trees for wood.
Thus brick was a main building material. Large
blocks of granite, limestone, and sandstone were used for building temples and
tombs. Architects planned carefully as building was done without mortar, so the
stones had to be able to fit precisely. Pillars were used to sustain short
stone supports. Scant tree growth inhibited the extensive use of wood as a main
material. Fine clay was deposited by the floodwaters of the Nile and they
used this fine clay to make both sun-dried and kiln-dried bricks, which were
used most. Fine sandstone, limestone, and granite were available for obelisks,
sculpture, and decorative uses.
Post And Lintel
Post and lintel construction
involves two or more vertical beams called posts with a horizontal beam laid
across the top called a lintel. Post and Lintel- the simple and
very ancient system of construction in which the basic unit consists of two or
more uprights, or posts, supporting a horizontal beam, or lintel. Across two
lintels laid parallel to each other, other lintels may be laid at right angles
to support a roof or ceiling. Most stone lintels are used, and the supports must
be close together because of the brittleness of the stone.
Columns
Egyptian columns are thought to be modeled after the shape of the
lotus flower indigenous to the Nile. These columns taper out at the top and are
often ornamented with palm-like leaves near the capital. Other features include
horizontal rings about one-quarter and three-quarters of the way up the shaft.
Greek
Doric
The Doric order is
a unique expression of a geometrically based Architecture relying on
juxtaposition and stacking. The Doric style is rather sturdy and its top (the
capital), is plain. This style was used in mainland Greece and the colonies in
southern Italy and Sicily.
The main feature of the Greek Doric is that it has no base and the height of the
column in relationship to its diameter , the height of the column, including
capital and base, is five and one-half diameters.
Ionic
Their
columns were more slender than those of the Doric order. Their dimensions were
eight to nine meters high, instead of four to five. The columns had a molded
base which was placed under them and then sculpted figures on the lower part of
the shaft were added. At the top of these shafts, were rectangular blocks of
stone, which were carved in the shape of hair or other wave and line shapes.
Corinthian
Highly
ornamented adaptation of Ionic style with distinctive floral capital of acanthus
tendrils and Ionic volutes.
The designer of
the Corinthian style said to be inspired by seeing a basket on a grave of a
young women with acanthus leaves growing up around it. This certain style was
seldom used in the Greek world, but could often be seen on Roman temples.
Roman
The
Roman architectural period existed from 800 A.D. to 1100 A.D.
Use of
Concrete, Brick, Marble, Plaster
In Ancient Rome the
Romans used stone to build their homes. The homes were mainly built from
Concrete Brick, Marble and Plaster. The Romans used artificial limestone to
build the exterior of there homes. They later came to find out that when
the limestone was mixed with water it mad a much stronger brick, so then the
Romans began to use this to begin building a much stronger exterior for there
homes. The Romans used concrete brick to build strong exteriors for their
kings so that it would not be torn down as easy.
The Romans also used marble in their
homes.
The Romans also used
plaster in their homes. The type of plaster that they would use was called
gypsum plaster. They used this plaster mostly on the interior of there homes.
They chose to use this kind of plaster because of fire protection and it gave
the roman king’s and emperors a safer environment.
Barrel Arch
Barrel arches are
curved arches made of stone. One of the early uses of the Roman arch was for the
construction of the Roman "aquaduct."
Keystones
A keystone is a wedge-shaped stone in the arch that locks all the parts in the arch together.
Keystones can be curved or flat, they can sometimes have pictures engraved on
them too.
Atrium
The atrium was a large airy room lighted by an
opening in the roof. It was the formal room where guests were received and
clients assembled to wait for their customary morning visits to their patron,
but it was also a room for family occasions. On either side of the atrium were
small rooms (cubicula) used for various purposes. Beyond these small
rooms the atrium frequently opened out into two “wings” (alae).
In the center of the atrium, directly
beneath the opening in the roof was a shallow pool. This had the practical
purpose of collecting rainwater but also added greatly to the attractiveness of
the room. Often the walls of the atrium were adorned with wall paintings,
perhaps as simple as
colored panels,
but more often depicting
graceful patterns,
mythological motifs like this
head of Medusa,
or charming scenes like this image of Cupids playing hide and seek.
Gothic
Arches
The Gothic arch form
is taller and narrower than the Greek arch. Gothic arches are pointed at
the top.
Buttress
A buttress is a support
that is usually brick or stone and is built against a wall for support. Its also used to
reinforce the wall by making it stronger. A scientific
characteristic of gothic architecture is height. The higher the wall, the more
force there is pushing outward. Buttresses allowed builders to go higher with
their walls as it allowed more support.
Flying Buttress
A flying buttress is a
free-standing buttress attached to the main structure by an arch or a half-arch.
walls could now climb to unbelievable heights holding enormous vaulted ceilings
with the comings of the flying buttress. The flying buttress came
from the desire to make walls higher. The pointed arch arose from the necessity
of efficiency to hold more weight taking strain away from the roof and walls.
Stained Glass Windows
Mural paintings were gradually replaced in favor of stain glass. Stain glass
windows were made by the cutting of colored glass by a hot iron. Then details
would be painted on the glass with black enamel paint. The glass would then be
heated to bake the enamel onto the glass. The pieces would then be put together
with a strip of lead to hold the glass pieces together many of the windows were
in 12 large piece sections. Gothic stained glass windows are mostly found in
cathedrals.
Renaissance
Taking
their cue from the simple lines of the architecture of ancient Greece and Rome,
the architects of the Renaissance designed buildings with the flat, wide windows
that new engineering techniques made possible, but used simple arches,
pediments, and columns. The Renaissance was an age in which artistic,
social, scientific, and political thought turned in new directions
Tudor
This type of residential design was popular in the 1920’s – 1930’s, and is
continues to be a mainstay in suburbs across the nation. Some defining
characteristics may include: half timbering on bay windows and upper floors; and
facades that are dominated by one or more steeply pitched cross gables. Other
common features include pattern brick, stone walls, rounded door ways,
multi-paned casement windows, and large stone chimneys.
Elizabethan
The style of architecture known as Elizabethan ranged from the late 1500's
throughout the 1600's. Externally, these Elizabethan styles of houses have many
different features. The mixture of unusually tall buildings and towers made for
an effective skyline. The estates of these great houses consisted of beautiful
gardens, large stables, and sometimes halls were not attached to the main house.
From far away one could see the grand, grid-shaped windows, which were conceived
from the idea of the pre-Renaissance churches. Elizabethans
typically made the ceilings and fireplaces extremely ornate. Instead of having
art on the walls, they made the walls their own art form.
Generally residential structures were built between 1920 and 1940 and are of
brick, stone or stucco. Two or more stories, buildings of this style also
feature casement windows, occasionally divided by heavy mullions, and front
facade chimneys with diagonally set stacks or flues. Elizabethan buildings are
generally constructed of one material in contrast to a Tudor structure, which
may use two or more structures.
Georgian
French Regency
French regency
houses have a different type of roof, called the mansard roof, which is a
hip-type roof having two slopes on each of the four sides and an almost flat
center. Often dormers were also used in this style framing the houses rounded
windows. French regency also used a curved design with extending walls that
curved concavely sometimes with pillars or columns. Also the windows and
doors of the houses had curved characteristics, a triangular space formed in the
middle of a gable, and had round or oval windows on the front of the house.
Glass entrances are mostly used to provide separation between rooms and to
provide entranceway into porches and shutters.
English Regency
This period of architecture spans
thirty years of the 19th century. In many ways it is the same style
as the Georgian style, which preceded it.
Italianate
The Italianate style
architecture has about two or three stories, a low pitched roof, and tall narrow
L or U shaped windows. This style architecture was commonly used for bell towers
or campanile. These type of structures have gained a “haunted” look to them.
Inside they are actually really cheerful, with high ceilings, windows that often
extend to the floor, and plenty of decorations. These buildings are usually cube
shaped and may contain small chimneys in odd places.
Spanish
The
entrance to the Spanish renaissance era represents the plateresque style of
architecture. Plateresque refers to the Spanish variation of the Renaissance
style. The word plateresque is derived from "plata" which means silver in
Spanish. Plateresque architecture is more ornamental in nature than that of the
Italian renaissance. This structure is a direct representation of the
plateresque style of architecture, with its intricate columns and overall
ornamentation.
Victorian
The Victorian style homes
were very popular in the 1800's and early 1900's. Victorian homes require
a lot of stone and wood carvings. They are usually in warm light colours
such as white, beige and grey. The Victorian "home interior" uses al ot of
moldings, golden chandeliers and mirrors. Many of these homes had carved
stone mantles.
Cape Cod
Modern
Rolled and
Wrought Iron
There are
two types of wrought iron. The firs type is Antiquity, now known as “Charcoal
Iron”. The second type of wrought iron is a mass-produced iron, produced in
the 19th and the early 20th Century as “ Puddled
Iron”. The Iron Age followed the stone and the Bronze Age and is thought to
have commenced about 1000 B.C.
Organic Architecture
New organic architecture describes a way of building that is aesthetically
pleasing and kinder to the environment . The present of eight keys themes drawn
from the work of organic architects , with emphasis on the inspiration, the
roots and concepts behind the style , and the geometric and the environmental
challenges architects have to overcome.
Bahaus
There are a number of
characteristics of the Bauhaus/International Style of architecture:
1) It shuns
ornamentation and favors functionality
2) Uses
asymmetry and regularity versus symmetry
3) It grasps
architecture in terms of space versus mass
Bauhaus buildings have
flat roofs, smooth façades and
cubic shapes. Colors are white, gray, beige or black. Floor plans are open and
furniture is functional.
Bauhaus is a German
expression meaning "house for building." In 1919, the economy in Germany was
collapsing after a crushing war. Architect Walter Gropius was appointed to head
a new institution which would help rebuild the country and form a new social
order. Called the Bauhaus, the Institution called for a new "rational"
social housing for the workers. Bauhaus architects rejected "bourgeois" details
such as cornices, eaves and decorative details. They wanted to use principles of
Classical architecture in their most pure form: without ornamentation of any
kind.
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