Combination of Past Styles with New Styles in the Formation of a New Architecture - Term Paper Example

Architecture Exam 2. Both ical and medieval architecture have served as models for a “modern” architecture. Select 3 examples of how an architect has used the past to create a “new” architecture. What is similar or different from the historical model that he has selected and why? Introduction Through the history of architecture, past mediums have been incorporated into present day styles to create a wholly new and ‘modern architecture’. While the 18th century invention of Neo-Classicism is the first widely recognized occurrence of such adoptions, it has occurred in other forms, as “Carolingian architects had looked to Roman, Early Christian, and Byzantine buildings for inspiration, and the architects of the Italian Renaissance had made extensive studies of the ruins of Rome and the writings of Vitruvius.”1 This essay examines combination of past styles with new styles in the formation of a new architecture. It specifically examines Neo-Classicism in the Royal Saltworks, the Gothic Revival in the works of Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, and Post-Modernism in the Piazza d’Italia. Neo-Classicism: Royal Saltworks at Arc-et-Senans During the Enlightenment Period artists, writers, and philosophers, explored many classical ideas of antiquity, incorporating them into modern artistic formulations. As historians began the first chronology of history many ideas, particularly of Greek and Roman antiquity came to the forefront. As these ideas were published and incorporated into architecture, a new style known as Neo Classicism was formed.2 Neo-Classicism took on different forms among different parts of the world, so that there initially developed divergent forms such as English Neo-Classicism and French Neo-Classicism. One of the most prominent of the French Neo-Classicists was Claude-Nicolas Ledoux. Ledoux’s Royal Saltworks at Arc-et-Senans has come to be recognized as a preeminent example of both eighteenth-century society and classical artistic forms, “while completely Neo-Classical in their architectural language they explore the phenomenon of eighteenth-century industrialization.”3 With the progress made during the Industrial Revolution cities had to devise new ways of structuring factories and production. Ledoux’s Royal Saltworks is such an example. In Ledoux’s first plan he designed the Saltworks using a rigid geometrical pattern. It seems that in great part this is an eighteenth-century move towards the alignment of nature and civilization as the geometrical patterns bring the inhabitants in closer contact with nature. One witnesses this as the Saltworks is constructed in a circular form with the houses located on the outside in close proximity to gardens and green space. Such a conception is said to have arisen out such philosophical ideas eighteenth-century thinker Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and also to be so fully modern that it influenced later developments, such as the Garden City movement.4 There are other similar elements inspired by eighteenth century philosophy, “The cemetery building is a sphere, symbolizing the eternal cosmos.”5 While the Royal Saltworks was heavily influenced by eighteenth-century philosophy and the Industrial Revolution it was also influenced by classical Greek and Roman architecture. When one walks into the circular structure the gateway is clearly influenced by such ancient structures from Greece. Indeed, one of the most characteristic things about Greek architecture is the Doric columns. These are the famous columns that stand in front of famous Greek structures. When one enters the Royal Saltworks they enter through a Doric entrance, particularly inspired by the Paestrum temples.6 This is a good example of the Neo-Classical elements of the Royal Saltworks. While very few elements of Ledoux’s Saltworks plan was ever built the elements that were finally constructed between Arc and Senans, “make use of simplified versions of the classical orders realized in heavily rusticated masonry.”7 Gothic Revival: Eugène Viollet-le-Duc While Romanticism was initially understood as an entirely new movement it became more serious and historical as it adopted the forms of medieval architecture. One of the most notable incorporations of medieval architecture occurred in the Gothic revival. One of the leading Gothic revival architects and theorists in France was Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. While other Gothic revivalist, notably Northmore Pugin, focused on the religious elements of medieval architecture, Viollet-le-Duc was focused on the rational basis.8 While Viollet-le-Duc created many original works of architecture, he is perhaps most relevant for his theory writing and works in restoration. His vision was to see the medieval, “system of rib vault, pointed arch, and flying buttress as analogous to nineteenth-century iron framing.”9 Indeed, Viollet-le-Duc viewed his role as an architect and restoration specialist, to bring new life to established projects using the theme of rational design. He notably stated, “to restore a building is not only to preserve it, to repair it, or to rebuild, but to bring it back to a state of completion such as many never have been completed at any given moment.”10 Many of Viollet-le-Duc’s ideas were famously set-down in his Encyclopedia of French Architecture from the Eleventh to the Sixteenth Centuries, as well as his Discourse of Architecture. One sees such combination of Gothic elements with nineteenth-century ideals in Viollet-le-Duc’s restoration of the Notre Dame Cathedral. The restoration project included nineteenth-century steel in the constructed of spires, influenced by the same spires used in medieval architecture projects. In addition, Viollet-le-Duc added his contemporary signature – a bat – to the historic Gothic cathedral. Post-Modernism: Piazza d’Italia Post-Modern architecture emerged after the early 20th century forms of modernism is architecture had largely become irrelevant. This occurred most after World War II. One of the thinkers that helped found post-modernism was Robert Venturi. In his book Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture he wrote, “I like elements which are hybrid rather than ‘pure,’ compromising rather than ‘clean’.”11 In great part Venturi was talking about a form of architecture that differed from the staunchness of modernism. This post-modern art would combine many elements of past architectural forms with contemporary approaches to design to form a wholly new architecture. One of the most renowned post-modern architects was Charles Moore. Moore had been the head of the Yale school of architecture. As New Orleans had been home to many Italian immigrants, the city wanted to construct a building project that would stand as a testament to the Italian ancestry. Moore was got to make such a project and his Piazza d’Italia is an excellent example of the combination of classical forms of architecture was modern elements to form a new architecture. The structure, “consists of a flamboyany, wildly Neo-Classical, neon-outlined, scenographic backdrop for a contour map of Italy set in a pool of water that is demarcated by concentric rings of marble paving.”12 While language is at a loss to fully describe the structure, upon viewing it one immediately recognizes the columns and stone steps of antiquity, as well as the easily identifiable Latin writing. Combined with these historic elements, the structure clearly has a modern day feel. In a way it seems that if the building’s Neo-Classical style is slightly ironic and humorous. The Piazza d’Italia combination of old and new techniques in forming a new architecture has been well noted: For historians there are references to the Marine Theatre of Hadrian and the triumphal gateways of Schinkel; for the Scilians there are references to archetypical piazzas and fountains; for the Modernists there is an acknowledgement of skyscrapers and the use of current technologies (the neon and concrete); for the lover of pure architectural form there are cutaway imposts finished in speckled marble and a most sensuous use of polished stainless steel.13 Conclusion As the three examples discussed demonstrated throughout history architecture has adopted past forms with new forms to develop new architectures. In Neo-Classical works we see eighteenth century architecture adopted with Greek and Roman ancient art. In the Gothic revival we see the incorporation of industrial engineering with medieval gothic styles. Finally, in post-modern architecture we see a combination of many styles and histories in the formation of a wholly new style. References Charles M. Moore ‘Piazza d’Italia, New Orleans’ http://www.idehist.uu.se/distans/ilmh/pm/moore-piazzaditalia.htm, March 2010 Fazio, M. Moffett, M. Wodehouse, L. (2008) Buildings across Time. McGraw Hill. Pg 547 Gallet, Michel, Claude-Nicolas Ledoux (1736–1806), Paris, 1980. Architecture Exam 3. The eighteenth century marked the development of new aesthetic models with the Picturesque and the Sublime. Define these new aesthetic terms, noting how these new aesthetics differed from that of Beauty, and explain how they were interpreted in architectural or landscape forms. Introduction In the eighteenth-century new aesthetic models began which existed in opposition to the past concept of Beauty.14 Neo-Classicism was very interested in rational thinking and order and looking into the past to find these elements. In opposition to this form emerged Romanticism, which sought to define itself along different lines of aesthetics. Romanticism promoted asymmetry and irregular aspects, whereas Neo-Classicism preferred symmetry and perfect forms. Emerging from Romanticism were the aesthetic models of the Sublime and the Picturesque. These new forms functioned to characterize the new forms of architecture and art that emerged during this period, and still continue today. This essay investigates how the aesthetic models of Beauty, Sublime, and the Picturesque are defined and are different from each other. It also explains how they were interpreted in architectural and landscape forms by examining a series of structures. Beauty When understanding these new aesthetic models, one must begin with an understanding of beauty. Before the emergence of the sublime the aesthetic model was almost entirely the only aesthetic model ever used. It characterizes the architectural intentions of structures from antiquity through the medieval period to the Renaissance. The Oxford English Dictionary defines beauty as, “(1) excelling in grace of form, charm of colouring, and other qualities which delight the eye, and call forth admiration, (2) affording keen pleasure to the senses generally, (3) impressing with charm the intellectual or moral sense, through inherent fitness or grace, or exact adaptation to a purpose, and (4) relating to the beautiful; æsthetic."15 In these concepts of beauty one can consider the notion of the ‘classical ideal’ or idealized forms. Indeed, Plato had a concept of idealized forms in which there were a priori idealized forms of objects in existence. Symmetry also is another greater factor of beauty, as beauty is believed to be symmetrical. When considering forms of beauty as interpreted in architecture models, one can consider such structures as Robert Adam’s Neo-Classical Elevations of Luton Hoo, which exhibits perfect symmetrical columns and smooth surfaces.16 One can also consider the Renaissance sculpture of David, with its idealized form of beauty and shape. Sublime The concept of the sublime emerged as a description of particular aesthetic experiences that differentiated themselves from those of Beauty. Edmund Burke wrote about the Sublime and stated that it was a different aesthetic concept than beauty. In his Philosophical Inquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful, Burke argued that Beauty and Sublime could be understood as an aesthetic experience which was different along the original way they were experienced.17 Burke said the cause of beauty was love, while the cause of the sublime was fear. As a result these forms of aesthetic appreciation were seen in different objects or art. For Burke, the sublime was exemplified by power, vastness, and obscurity; in his philosophical treatise, Burke characterized it as “dark, uncertain, and confused.”18 Simply put, one could characterize Burke’s concept of the Sublime as the aesthetic appreciation of the ugly, while Beauty was the recognition that something was beautiful. When considering the appearance of the Sublime in architectural forms it’s often not entirely possible to differentiate between the two forms. When identifying the Sublime in art one looks for the feeling of vastness, the grotesque, or even disturbing. For instance, when considering the Notre Dame Cathedral one will both notes its vastness of scale, but also the grotesque gargoyle figures on it. This aesthetic experience isn’t necessarily one of Beauty, however one appreciates it for its Sublime nature. Other examples of the Sublime don’t necessarily involve the grotesque, but refer to the vastness of the structure. The Oxford Dictionary of Art states, “In architecture the Sublime was associated with great size, overwhelming scale, the primitive (especially the unadorned Doric Order), and stereometrical purity (as in much Neo-Classicism, e.g. Boul-lées work, and the visions of gaols by Piranesi).”19 While Edmund Burke characterized the Sublime along artistic or aesthetic lines, later writers such as Emmanuel Kant said that it only referred to objects in nature. This is significant because then it no longer meant that the intention of the artist or the architect were important when considering if an object was Sublime.20 In this sense one could even characterize the Greek or Roman ruins as exemplifying a sublime quality, through their vastness and ghost-like reference to a bygone time. Picturesque Edmund Burke defines the Picturesque in relation to the Sublime and Beauty. In Philosophical Inquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful, “he differentiated between picturesque conditions that were beautiful --- possessed of such qualities as delicacy and smoothness – and those that were sublime – possessed of such alternative qualities as power, vastness, and obscurity.”21 In Burke’s sense the Picturesque can be understood as a middle ground between the Sublime and Beauty. While emerging as a description in landscape painting, as, “Travel author William Gilpin first defined the landscape term as expressing ‘that particular kind of beauty which is agreeable in a picture,’”22 it came to refer to an aesthetic model that was evident in architecture. An example of the Picturesque can be seen in Lancelot Brown’s Blenheim Palace Grounds. While the landscape exhibits Beauty in form through the visual appeal of it, it also exhibits particular Picturesque qualities. It has been said that English architects such as Brown, “sought to imitate the irregularity of nature rather than artificially ordering natural elements in Geometric patterns.”23 In this sense, one sees the Sublime aesthetic model as it involves irregularity and natural elements, however it also exhibits characteristics of Beauty as they are self-consciously formed into a visually appealing landscape. Another example of the Picturesque can be seen in Richard Mique’s Hamlet. The house was constructed at Versailles for Marie Antoinette, and one can assume that it was constructed to be used as a getaway retreat from the pomp of the famous castle. When viewing the hamlet one notes that it is purposely rustic in form and like other Picturesque buildings and landscapes has the indescribable beauty and sublime nature that make it suitable for a picture. Conclusion With the advent of Romanticism in the eighteenth-century it’s clear that new aesthetic models needed to be invented to describe the types of art and architecture being produced. While Beauty refers to classic models of shape and form, the Sublime celebrates the special feeling when gets when experiencing art or nature of a vast, powerful, or obscure nature. Finally, the Picturesque combines elements of the feeling of the beautiful with the irregularity and natural elements of the Sublime into an entirely new aesthetic model. References Burke, Edmund. 1756. Philosophical Inquiry into the Origin of our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful. Chilvers, Osborne, & Farr (eds.) (1988) The Oxford Dictionary of Art. Oxford University Press. Fazio, M. Moffett, M. Wodehouse, L. (2008) Buildings across Time. McGraw Hill. Kelly, Michael (ed). 1998. Encyclopedia of Aesthetics. Volumes 1 and 4. NY: Oxford University Press. Smith, Laura. (2003) beautiful, sublime. University of Chicago. http://csmt.uchicago.edu/glossary2004/beautifulsublime.htm Read More