What is architecture? Is it the practice of designing or rather the art of designing buildings? Is architecture the necessity of shelter? If so, then when did humanity transcend living in caves and progress on to communal living as seen in the remains of Catalhoyuk? Humanity did not stop the progression of architecture at communal living; architecture continued to evolve to accommodate the ever increasing needs of humanity. Has architecture existed since the days that humanity resided in caves and simply evolved with humans to become the modern day building method? These questions and many more have been asked and debated for centuries, and as architects we study the arguments and ideals of the greatest of the host who have asked: what is architecture?
Thesis: Gottfried Semper and Karl Friedrich Schinkel are two of the most notable names in architecture and architectural theory from the 19th Century. Both of these men practiced architecture during the 1800’s in Europe and both men held strong convictions regarding their personal answers to the question of what architecture is and should be. By critically examining the works and writings of these men, discerning the similarities and differences of beliefs and practices, delving into the historic contexts and reasoning behind their beliefs, we as architects gain a better understanding of the art of designing the built environment.
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Karl Friedrich Schinkel was born in 1781 in Germany. He was a student of architect Friedrich Gilly whose work at the Berlin Academy Exhibition initially inspired Schinkel to become an architect. Schinkel’s philosophy was most influenced by Johann Fichte. Fichte believed fervently in the power of man to create. Schinkel latched onto Fichte’s bel...
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...hes slightly both Schinkel and Semper held many things in common. While Semper lived and designed by Gesamtkunstwerk, and Schinkel believed that his buildings were a profound social tool to rework a society both men achieved the same overarching end: an architecture that became a stepping stone for the next age. Designing the built environment is an all inclusive college of study. We must look forward to the future and make conscientious decisions regarding it. We must look to our left and right to see what is around us now, and the society, the people for whom we are creating. And lastly, we must look behind us. We must study the old, learn from its mistakes, from its great achievements. Men like Gottfried Semper and Karl Friedrich Schinkel created our present from their past, now we must look all around in order to create the future's present from our past.
...ewarding a good architect like it could be expected from a critic, rather Toohey cared only about changing the direction of the unstoppable force that was Howard Roark. Toohey understood in the fullest that Roark would prove to be incontrovertible, and also understood that the only way to stop him from attaining universal acclaim in the world of architecture would be by filling the space before Roark could reach it.
It is the new decade after the end of world war two and modernism is a well-established practice. Its pioneers and spearheads are prevalent figures looming over the new architects and designers who are trying to make their mark in the shadows of such historically influential people. With new technologies and materials emerging from the world wars the next era of modernism had started to evolved, bringing with it philosophies and ideas which seemed far removed from those of the pioneers of modernism “What emerged in the late 1940s and 1950s was an expanding synthesis of questions utterly removed from the confident statements of the pioneers.”(Spade 1971,10) Two significant buildings were designed in the 50's, both of them for educational institutes and to house students of architecture, there were both designed in completely different styles and methods. The first is Ludwig Mies van der Rohes' Crown Hall, finished in 1956 and designed as a part of a campus master plan for the Illinois Institute of technology in Chicago. Mies' design for Crown Hall is one of his most realised expressio...
...oane express architecture in the interdependence of form structure, and light in buildings such as Lincoln Fields Inns. His ability to abstract the classical architectural element and modify with his own style made him a versatile and imaginative designer in the history of English architecture. Semper on the other hand is dominated architectural theories to much greater extend than Soane did within their cultural and national context. Mallgrave claims that “it is impossible to understand the impulse of German modernism at the turn of the century without recourse to his idea.” 3 In a sense Samper renewal architecture in the 19th century from the bottom up, that is through reexamining the history and theory based on new ideology and observation of historical architectural. As a result, the use of decoration and polychromy is apparent in much modern architecture.
It will discuss the different types of dwellings throughout recorded human history from the perspective of how art and culture influences building design. This will fulfill my own curiosity to understand the different influences on homebuilding and design over the years and how people have dealt with these changes.
Thomas Herzog was born in during World War 2 (1941), in Munich, Germany. In 1965 he completed his diploma for architecture at the Technische Universität München (University of München) and in 1973 he became Germany’s youngest professor of architecture at the age of thirty-two. He is now known famously for his work on eco-tech architecture.
“In the Cause of Architecture” is an essay written by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1908. In this work, Wright outlines many of his architectural values. This text goes into great detail about the philosophy behind Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture, as well as many important milestones in his life, such as working for Adler and Sullivan. This text is useful because it comes straight from Frank Lloyd Wright himself. It talks about many things important to his role as a notable American, such as his influences for his architecture and his architectural
Post modern architecture: A revival of architectural elements of the past or a version of aestheticism?
Q: Use St Peter’s basilica and Donato Bramante’s Tempietto in Rome, in opposition to John Balthasar Neumann’s Pilgrimage Church of Vierzehnheiligen in Bamburg, Germany, to argue that a rational engagement with architecture is a more effective means to comprehend and understand architectural form.
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, later addressed as Mies, was born in the German town of Aix La Chapelle. At a young age he gained fundamental experience in the craftsman’s tradition and skills, later after commissioning his first project as an independent architect, Mies “executed in the then popular traditional style of steep roofs, gables and dormer windows with precision and careful attention to detail.” Next, he had the opportunity to train under Peter Behrens, where Mies learned to appreciate order and fine detail, as well as new ideas on proportion, simplicity, and the use of steel and glass. Mies acquired a romantic language from Behrens that derived from “ his domestic architecture from Karl Friedrich Schinkel. It was characterized by a unique sense of rhythm and proportion, a purity of form, and a nobility that stemmed from the practice of placing structures on wide platforms or pedestals.” T...
People are made of complexities and contradictions. Venturi recognized that buildings should be complex and complicated, too. He theorized and built buildings inspired by this principle, and succeeded because of his emphasis on individual experience and the interaction between humanity and architectural forms. In pursuit of this goal, his pluralist and revolutionary style of architecture embraced difference and ambiguity and rejected the rigid rules of modernism. While undoubtedly influenced by Venturi’s ideas, later postmodern architects failed to live up to his principles by forming their own inflexible rules and not concentrating on the human experience with buildings.
The German Pavilion, more commonly known as the Barcelona Pavilion, is one of the most recognizable buildings of the modern period during the early 20th century. It encapsulates every element of modern architecture in one structure. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, one of the fathers of modern architecture, was the architect of this beautiful building. In this essay I will explore how Mies impacted the modern movement in architecture through his groundbreaking ideas using the Barcelona Pavilion as a case study.
In the process of development of human society, architecture and culture are inseparable. Cuthbert (1985) indicates that architecture, with its unique art form, expresses the level of human culture in different historical stages, as well as the yearning towards the future. According to his article, it can be said that architecture has become one of the physical means for human to change the world and to conquer the nature. Consequently, architecture has been an important component of human civilization. Since 1980s when China started the opening and reforming policy, a variety of architectural ideas, schools and styles have sprung up. Accompanying with a momentum of...
architecture to just the designing of buildings. He feels that architecture involves more than just
As a proponent of Architectural Realism, Otto Wagner was interested in urban planning. Although Wagner began as a traditional architect, he promoted the transition from historicism to the idea of an architecture that spoke to its time. As an architect, Wagner began his career with buildings that were designed in the conventional Baroque and neo-classical styles. Wagner attempted to turn away from the accepted traditional forms of architecture by bringing together structural rationalism and technology. However, he retained a sense of historicism and eclecticism. (Wagner 21). Wagner’s architectural style embraced and clearly manifested a distinct change in traditional and the emergence of purpose built buildings. The church at Vienna’s Steinhoff sanitarium, the Postal savings Bank and several entrances for Vienna’s city railway are some of Wagner’s most memorable buildings. (100) . The belief of art having purpose was expressed when he stated, “ The practical element in man, which is particularly pronounced, is evidently here to stay and every architect is going to have to come to grips with the postulate, a thing that is unpractical cannot be beautiful” (100). In the exploration of the idea of modernity in architecture, he used the designs of his own buildings, where he used new technology, materials and simpler ornamentation.
Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier are two very prominent names in the field of architecture. Both architects had different ideas concerning the relationship between humans and the environment. Their architectural styles were a reflection of how each could facilitate the person and the physical environment. Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House, is considered one of the most important buildings in the history of American architecture and Le Corbusier s Villa Savoye helped define the progression that modern architecture was to take in the 20th Century. Both men are very fascinating and have strongly influenced my personal taste for modern architecture. Although Wright and Corbusier each had different views on how to design a house, they also had similar beliefs. This paper is a comparison of Frank Lloyd Wright‘s and Le Corbusier ‘s viewpoints exhibited through their two prominent houses, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House and Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye.