History of architecture beauty of building - Essay Example

History of Architecture Beauty of Building Many first time visitors to urban areas especially the great metropolis like New York and Washington DC, the most striking fetters are the architectural wonders that dominate the skyline crating what is popularly described as a concrete jungle. However, many of these buildings are much more than just concrete, they the products of fertile imaginations and some inspired by historical innovations, many which date back as long as hundreds of years ago. The architectural genius that goes into the construction of some of the splendid building and structures is an embodiment of the powerful combination that results when art and imagination at its best are combined with scientific, minute geometric calculations.

In this paper, I will seek to discuss the architectural and aesthetic attributes of three of the greatest architectural masterpieces of architecture in America today, namely the Empires state building, the Walt Disney concert hall building and the Chrysler building. The empire state building is at present the third tallest building in America, the quadric-faced pharos of the city stands a dizzying 1252 meters high with 102 floors and indented setbacks at the centers of each of them, and t is the most conspicuous structure in Manhattan.

Unlike most modern skyscrapers, it is done in an art decor design akin to New York architecture in the Pre-World War II era. The decorative Indiana limestone panels that have been used on its exterior accentuate the beauty of the structure. Floodlights that are used to illuminate it at night decorate its upper floors. The coolers of these lights are often varied depending on the certain occasions such as independence and Christmas day providing a beautiful glow visible from as far off as Brookline.

This building evidently meets Perrault’s criterion for beauty since its claim to beauty is not only in the sheer size but also the richness of building materials (Gomez 35-38) varying from aluminum foyers, to limestone panels and steel, it was one of the first the first building to have over 6800 glass windows in its time. Its combination of architectural and aesthetic attributes makes it one of the wonders of modern architecture. When Walter P Chrysler commissioned the construction of the Chrysler building, he was not content in scrapping the sky, he wanted to provoke and pierce it.

These he achieved and in more than one way from the majesty of the structure in stature to its timeless and awe-inspiring beauty. The Chrysler building is no doubt one of the most important architectural edifices of our times. In what many described as a ploy to generate myths, the 7 story pinnacle of the building was assembled inside the house to be hoisted in less than two hours’ time from the top floor. This pinnacle is the crowing jewel of the building that remained the tallest building with 77 floors in New York until the empire state was completed.

Unlike the empire state covered in limestone, the Chrysler building was covered in stainless steel on large exposed areas of the buildings surface. With every setback, the ornamental design on the masonry is varied to inculcate even basket wave designs representing car parts quite an appropriate and practical idea because the owner was one of America’s first car magnates. The Walt Disney concert hall was designed by Architect Frank Gehry at the behest of Lillian, Walt Disney’s window and is arguably one of the most acoustically sophisticated concert halls in the world.

It is said to provide visual and aural intensity and harmony giving life to any performances therein and no doubt unrivalled in both uniqueness and beauty. It is made up of stainless steel curves, and its interior is strikingly beautiful consisting of state of the art wood paneled auditoriums all painted a soft yellow color The exterior of the children’s amphitheater and founders room were done in polished glass, giving the structure a magnificent finish and beautiful glow in the sun. However, this was found to be a risk to traffic in the surroundings since the reflection caused auto accidents, and it was later lightly sanded to prevent this.

The building's design is highly modern and its beauty is enhanced by the minute details in shaping and curving the arcs with a perfect precision. Nonetheless, it is worth noting that possibly because of the nontraditional approach has, however, resulted to criticism for the building as wasting space since there are a lot of underutilized areas in the interior. Further criticism has been put forward but mostly by those who hold the view that allowing new ideas of beauty in architecture could result to too much freedom and devalue the art (Gomez 27).

Ultimately, an architectural design is only as good as the imagination of the architect and the competence of the builders charged with breathing life into the design. However, a building has to have some deeper significance past the overt for its beauty to be fully appreciated since like anything else, the beauty in a building has to exist in the beholders eyes first. The buildings described are similar in the fact that, in their unique ways, they have been able stand out, because of not only their height or shininess but the manner in which people interacted with them and the perceptions with which they were beheld.

Each held special significance to the builder and the society around it, and they were famous because they symbolized peoples ideals held high for all to see. Work Cited Gomez, Alberto Perez. Architecture and The Crisis of Modern Science. London, England: The MIT Press