The Role of Architecture as a Symbol of Culture in the United Kingdom - Term Paper Example

THE UK ARCHITECTURE Foreword: The research paper gives a short outlook of the UK architecture and tries to explain in what way architecture influences culture. Thesis: Architecture is not the initial issue that forms the national culture, but rather the one that reflects it. Every culture consists of several elements that dictate the general way it is formed and developed. The phenomenon of culture is the moving one, since the tendencies and preferences change from century to century. The notion of artchitecture is one of the main constituents of any culture. It is represented not only by the historical sights of architectural art but also by the historical heredity that influenced different styles in architecture. One should keep in mind that the concept of architecture embraces also the modern style in building and cobstruction spheres. The architecture of the United Kingdom that is the subject of investigation of this essay represents a very complicated and variable thing. The majority of sientists tend to call the British architecture an eclectic one, since it covers the styles that preceded the criation of the nation and those that were introduced during the British Empire existance. The architecture of the UK as the nationl heredity started during the Roman invasion and then it has been constantly enhanced by different styles and directions. The member countries of the UK: England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland have experienced slightly different architectural styles that were determied by the nationality of the territory owners and in a sence by the landscape features. «Although there are prehistoric and classical structures in the British Isles, British architectural history effectively begins with the first Anglo-Saxon Christian churches, built soon after Augustine of Canterbury arrived in Great Britain in 597» (Hawkes, 1968 p. 9 ). The Norman architecture appeared since 11th century in the form of the vast castles and churches in order to introduce the Norman culture to the British Isles. In this case it can be surely said that architecture were used with the view to change the nation’s culture in a desired way. The Gothic style in architecture originated in France but after moving to The British Isls aquired some unique features. This style in architecture developed greatly during the 11-16 centuries. Throughout the vast territory of the British Isls the medieval period has left the monumental castles made of stone. These castles can be found along the border line of the Anglo-Saxon territory and were built in the 15th century while the War of Scottish Independence. «The invention of gunpowder and cannons made castles redundant, and the English Renaissance that followed facilitated development of new artistic styles for domestic architecture: Tudor style, English Baroque, Queen Anne Style, and Palladian while Georgian, Scots Baronial and Neoclassical architecture advanced after the Scottish Enlightenment, and since the 1930s various modernist forms appeared, though traditionalist resistance movements continue with support from Charles, Prince of Wales» (Downes, 2007 p. 45). Speaking about the influence of the British architecture on other countires it is necessary to mention the South India architecture that was borrowed from the 19 th century Britain. It happened due to the British dominance in India during this time period. Such Indian cities as Chennai, Mumbai, and Bangalore can boast the court buidings, old hotes and railway stations performed in the style of Gothic Revivalism as well as neoclassicism. The units of architecrural value in the UK are protected by the state and are owned by it. None can buy or relay the right to own it. In this way the state managed to preserve the majority of the monuments from being redecorated or reconstructed in business aims. In the UK the above mentioned buildings are called the listed monuments, i.e. they preserve a cultural, historical or art value for the nation. According to statistics the number of the listed monuments has reached one million already and it continues to extend. «It is a widely used status, applied to around half a million buildings in the UK, enacted by provisions in the Town and Country Planning Act 1947 and the Town and Country Planning Act (Scotland) 1947» (Atkinson,1998 p. 12 ). The Roman style that is widely-spread in the UK can be exemplified with the Roman Baths complex in Somerset, and English Country House is represented by Castle Howard in North Yorkshire. Many of the architectural buildings are listed in the UMESCO heritage list. These include Wesrminster Palace, The Parliement and many others. «A collaboration between Augustus Welby Pugin and Sir Charles Barry, it is the building that most enshrines Britains national and imperial pre-tensions» (Colgrave, 1985 p. 7). The United Kingdom also has prehistoric constructions reffering to Neolithic period on its territory. The Roman air can be easily recognized in small, cozy villas, reasonably-planned towns and the first running water systems. After the Roman Empire was ruined in about 400 year, the majority of the historical monuments were destroyed because of two reasons. They were predominantly built from wood and therefore were not durable and continouos. And the second reason was that the nation entered the Dark Ages. For the same reason the pieces of Anglo-Saxon dominance preserved till nowadays only in rear cases. The Anglo-Saxon buildings that are characterized by sophisticated outword desighn were also made of wood. The Norman Conquest that took place in 1066 originated the era of stone, long-lived and durable buildings. The Norman invasion in Scotland finished in Scoto-Norman architecture such as Dunfermline Abbey, St. Margaret’s Chapel and St. Magnus Cathedral. In Britain and Ireland the common feature for all architectural buildings were simlicity and convenience. The following castles were built in military purposes: Alnwick Castle, Caernarfon Castle, Stirling Castle and they protected the people who were in because of their perfect functionality. During the feudal system the functionality was ascribed to some household buildings especially houses of poor people. For many, houses were "dark, primitive structures of one or two rooms, usually with crude timber frames, low walls and thatched roofs. They werent built to last. And they didnt" (Colley, 1992 p. 45). The mantions that were constructed during the Late Middle Ages were planned to represent grandiosity and beuty not through a rich desighn but through the hospitality. The Perpendicular style was widely spread with churches and civic buildings in the 16th century. Wihin the period of 1500-1660 Britain underwent great changes in culture, education and other spheres due to the Unions of the Crowns. At that time the country consolidated and developed greatly, it became isolated from the rest of Europe and worked out its own cultural style. Catholic ownership was distributed among others landlords, so the architectural monuments changed the cultural owners. «The architecture of Britain of this period reflects these changes; church building declined dramatically, supplanted by the construction of mansions and manor houses» (Tinniswood, 2010 ). The architecture of this period is characterized by massive stone castles as a rule located on the hill in order to provide the proper guard for it. The advantages of such location provided the ability to notice the enemy long before the attack and to maintain the defense of a castle. The majority of buildings were built in the way that windows faced each other. The enemy had no chance of getting into the interior part of the castle. Due to the difficult relations with the Catholic Europe the Renaissance architecture penetrated very slowly into Britain. That is why even today there are many buildings in Britain that are built rather in Gothic style than in the Renaissance one. The Italian style influenced the buildings greatly in the following way: the preference was given to large rooms rather than to the small ones, there appeared symmetrical decorations on the facade as well as a gorgeous front entrance. The British first world-known architect Inigo Jones developed greatly the Gothical style that is characterized by pointed roofs, high constructions and all other attributes of the sacral life. He constructed such historical buildings as Queen’s House and Banqueting House, situated in London. Despite all luxurious building for the royal and rich families, the middle class still dwelt in wooden huts, most of them being build the century before. The choice of building materials was determined by those that were freely available in that area. Moreover, the buildings of 16th-17th centuries were desighned with the view to increase the building functionality. Though, within the century the stone and brick constructions drove the wooden ones away from Britain even for poor class. Flemish people who appeared on the British territory in 17th century introduced the so-called weavers’ cottages that can be often seen in the UK. The 18th century represents the real step forward for British architecture. This period is characterized by formation of new United Kingdom of Great Britain. The represantatives of Scotland, Wales and England used to meet in London to solve some of their political issues. That brought about the distinct changes in the architectute of London - it expanded with luxuary and in great scale. The UK architecture is also peculiar with the Scottish Enlighten patterns of art innovations. The Industrial Revolution also influenced greatly the architecture of Britain in the way of upgrading and making it more functional. Georgian architecture appeared in Great Britain while the House of Hanover. Originnally - it was «a variation on the Palladian style, which was known for balanced facades, muted ornament and minimal detailing» (Colley, 1992 p. 75). To sum up everything sated above it is necessary to point out that architecture is not the initial issue that forms the national culture, but rather the one that reflects it. The British cultute is a unique one in this sense. One can see the buildings that revive various epochs and eras in the development of the country. Each epoch has contributed greatly to the developemt of the nation’s heritage. The modern architecture includes the elements of all epochs but performs it in a modern hi-teck style. Nowadays the architecture strives for functionality (skyscrapers) because of the urbanization as well as for having an astonishing outword. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Atkinson, T. English Architecture. London. Read Books. 1998.  2. Colgrave, Bertram Two lives of Saint Cuthbert. Cambridge University Press, 1985 3. Colley, Linda Britons: Forging the Nation, 1701-1837. Yale University Press, 1992  4. Downes, Kerry. Christopher Wren. Oxford University Press. 2007.  5. Hawkes, Jacquetta. The Shell Guide to British Archaeology. London: Michael Joseph. 1968.  6. MacGibbon, David; Ross, Thomas; Ross, Thomas. The Ecclesiastical Architecture of Scotland: From the Earliest Christian times to the Seventeenth Century. London, 1996.  7. Monticello, Ill.: Vance Bibliographies, Bibliographies on all aspects of architecture and of varying quality. Three self-indexes bound within series. (Dec. 1990) 8. Pevsner, Nikolaus An Outline of European Architecture (2nd ed.). Pelican, 1951  9. Singh, Sarina; Butler, Stuart; Jealous, Virginia; Karafin, Amy; Richmond, Simon; Wlodarski, Rafael . South India (4th ed.). Lonely Planet. 2001 10. Tinniswood, Adrian. “A History of British Architecture», 2010, Web. 10 Dec. 2010 Read More