Uncanny Architecture- Signifier of Victorian Architecture - Research Paper Example

Name Course Class Instructor Date "Uncanny" architecture- Signifier of Victorian architecture Introduction The victoria architecture has much to tell us on the traditional history of colonialism and cultural exchange. The fine pieces of art can be read and understood in many ways to stand out as witnesses to the rapacity of the empires representing the indigenous cultures, architectures and styles. Victoria architecture represents a series of architectural revival styles and features that took place in the mid to the late ninetieth century. The word Victoria refers to the reign of the queen “queen victoria” who was on thrown between the period of 1837 to 1901 a time referred to as victoria era. During the period, the Victorian styles were used for construction but it was until the Victorian reign that the element of the “Victorian architecture” became popular. These Victorian styles often entailed electric revivals and interpretations of the historical qualities and styles that were mixed with styles from the Asian and Middle East influences. Victorian architecture represents French and British custom naming architectural styles for the reigning monarch. The amazing builders born at the time embraced new technologies and materials of creating houses that no one had ever seen before developing qualities that represent the “Victorian architecture.” Mass transit and production made the ornaments parts available and affordable for the architecture. The Victorian builders and architects used and applied decoration liberally to combine different features that were a key quality of art that were borrowed from many different eras with flourishes of their own imaginations to make the designs. When you keenly observe a house that was built and created during the era, you might observe deferent qualities and features such as Federalist style, Greek revival pediments or any other colonial revival feature. You can also observe the medieval ideas i.e. the exposed trusses and Gothic windows as well as spindles, scrollwork, brackets part of the architecture (Barringer, 152). Thus, there are many Victorian styles each with its own unique array of features and qualities that was significant during the time. The Signifier of Victorian architecture and key qualities that define Victorian architecture A common imagination of the Victorian architecture home looks like a dollhouse that has elaborate trim and bright colors. The era spawned several well-known features and styles i.e. Italianate, Gothic revival, Queen Anne, Romanesque, Second Empire and Shingle style. These styles evolved largely from the imposition of the Gothic style that was appealing to the romantic Victorian idea that architecture and fashion should be beautiful and wonderful rather than practical (Bremner, 54). For example, a wealthy Victorian involved hoop skirts, corsets and dresses that utilized yards of fabrics. In the creation of different and several styles, the architects and designers were free to combine different designs to produce unique ones. As a result, there are only a few Victorian homes and architects that look alike, but all have common similarities. Therefore, a combination of different features and styles was a common feature of the Victorian architecture. The Gothic style idea may have started the Victorian style, but the start of the industrial revolution nationalized the whole trend. This revolution lead to the introduction of steam-powered sawmills that made a material elaborate thus were cheaper and faster to acquire. As a consequence, the victoria architecture and homes became increasingly ornate making even the low and average income families to afford the patterns turning their homes into “folk Victorians.” The brightly colored architecture and homes elaborate the images and pictures that most individuals think of when they picture a Victorian household. However, the Arts and Crafts movement was formed and began to hit the country that accused the Victorians of their needless clutter and complexity thus advocated for more streamlined handcrafted architectures. This lead to the fall of the “Victorian architecture” but still the architecture is still prevalent due to its features in the historic communities around the country. The architecture dating from the Victorian architecture is convictions and monuments of the lost glory of the world. The buildings are very significant as they exhibit the pictures of the colonial architecture that was estimated to have been developed during the nineteenth century. The buildings are good representations of the untold stories of the cultural exchange that took place at a time and over the years. They represent the untold tales that took place during the colonial period. The Victorian styles were made absurdly incongruously and were a total representation of what was happening during the period of construction. This kind of architecture is vividly applied on almost all the buildings that are dated the Victorian age. The buildings have a variety of readable meaning attributed to the architectural style, monuments and convictions. They depict the cultural and religious aspect of the Victorian age. The windows, door frames and roofing were significant aspects of the Victorian architecture during the time as arched windows panels; double doors and brick roofing tiles were very significant in the style of architecture (Crinson, 15). However, the Victorian architecture has over the years has been transformed especially after the Arts and Crafts movement as well as a result of the continued interactions of different cultural groups over time and influence from the modern styles of architecture but have remained significant. Crinson work was supported by Luck piece of work which stated that the “Victorian architecture era” was symbolization of convictions and monuments that illustrated the lifestyle and culture during the period. The buildings exhibited a colonial architecture that was estimated to be built between the 19th century. The victoria architectural building are important as they tell a tale of Victorian colonialism and civilization (Luck, 10). Thus, the conclusion is that the pieces of architecture were a representation of what was happening during the time. There was a similarity in the architecture that was applied an almost all the buildings dating back at the time as they have readable meaning symbolizing the religious and cultural ways of life during the period. According to Psarra (2009), the buildings of the Victorian type of architecture have a tale to tell that is shown through the building spaces and designs that were adopted. There were several designs with differences in the special areas that provided for a special concept, movement and a social narrative aspect. They were key in the provision of constitute ways of seeing, using and perceiving these structures. Thus, the special design was a key feature of the Victorian architecture. The spatial, social narrative and conceptual ordering show that the Victorian architecture symbolism was perceived in an extraordinary manner among the people. However, the social narrative, conceptual and special orders varied greatly in the Victorian art architecture but elements of colonialism as well as culture greatly affected the fine pieces of art but never affected the views and perceptions of the architecture. As a result, the buildings were constructed in different ways but they had similar qualities that were defining the Victorian architecture. The social narrative and spatial ordering of the building had different variations among the architecture because of a number of factors i.e. colonialism and culture influences provided a great influence of the different designs (Psarra, 254). In an era, different cultures embraced different designs according to their different cultural architects that were a great feature of the era. Colonialism also had a great impact on the Victorian design and it lead to blending of different designs creating unique designs but however how different designs were created the different architectural design proved to be similar i.e. in their spaces designs, doors and windows and structure designs that was a unique feature of the Victorian architecture (Michelle 260). However, Dixon and Mutheisus (1985) disapproves with Psarra argument. They went ahead to state that details and speculation of construction were key and served special purposes in the Victorian architecture. “There has been peculiarities and functionality of the Victorian architecture in order to form the correct impression of the Victorian style.” Dixon and Mutheisus (1985) stated. There were many significant architects during the era of the Victorian architecture. Each of the architects and designers work was very different from the others piece of art. Therefore, the claims are that the buildings of the Victorian age were very different as they all served different purposes. Dixon and Mutheisus go ahead to explain that changes in the political systems and technology were easily reflected in the pieces of architecture, and it was thus possible to recognize the signs of the époque in the Victorian architecture. Therefore, the Victorian architectural pieces had no similarities but can rather be categorized according to their purposes and types i.e. living, entertainment and religious architectural designs. Among the qualities defining the Victorian architecture, Dobraszczyk (2014), states that manufactures, engineers and architects from the Victorian era believed that fusing ornaments and iron was a key feature that would end up in the reconciliation of art and technology as a result of the evolving technological architecture (Marbruk 259). Iron was introduced, and its use was embraced very well creating a new dimension of the new architecture. It was utilized in the construction of the window panels, door frames and roof frames with different designs but had a similarity creating the “Victorian architecture.” The evolving architecture led to the creation of modern and new architectural designs. Due to the development of mechanized iron architecture ornament during the period, the Victorian architecture developed several recognizable meanings. This resulted to flourishing and theorization of architecture that could be understood by the good adoption art that evolved with the changing culture (Dobraszczyk 261). However, some designers and architectures never embraced the use of iron, however, how much it flourished during the era. Mechanized iron architecture ornament was a key feature that symbolized how architecture became modernized in the era of “Victorian architecture” as iron utilization was generally received well and became the choice for many architects. According to Hood (2009), in his article he states that the collection of armor and arms and their utilization in the architectural decorations is a key feature and it became extremely popular all over Europe in the nineteenth century. This was because the armor and the arms were utilized in the creation and decoration of the hall in the Gothic castles. After the end of the Napoleonic war, the utilization of arms and armor became very popular then than it was before and it became a major influence in the world that ultimately affected architectural art at the time as there was an abundance of armor and arms all across Europe in every market (Hood 151). The conquering French army liberated a bulk of this material as trophies of war, and they originated from arsenals and various dynastic collections from across Europe, especially those of Vienna and Munich. Much of this ultimately found its way into the possession of the Parisian antiquity dealers and, in turn, used for decorating buildings. More so, hood has supported claims of William Burges a designer and a collector that had similar claims regarding the Victorian architecture. The conclusion drawn from the study is that arms and armors were significant qualities of the “Victorian architecture” that were used for architectural decorations. Victorian architecture can be viewed as a corruption of Renaissance architecture that was in existence before as both shares some similarities though these similarities are considered minimal. The renaissance architecture can be termed as the godfather of the Victorian architecture as it was the first to come to existence. However, many changes took place from the renaissance, Victorian and the modern architectural designs (Wheeler, 98). The argument is supported by the British architectural journal that was published in the 1880’s that was very influential at the time in describing the Victorian architectural designs that proved it to be adopted from the Renaissance architecture that had diminished before. There are several similarities that prove the argument as true that cannot be disputed that is better illustrated in the existing similarities existing between the modern architecture and the Victorian architecture. Thus, modern architecture is attributed to be founded from Victorian architecture. However, not all the scholars agree with the argument but it is quite evident that the Renaissance and Victorian type of architectures shared some similarities. According to Curl (2007), there was not only one type of style but were many styles that had their unique array of features. However, the pieces of art showed similarities of architecture. Curl disagrees with Wheeler work explaining the different types of styles adopted during the Victorian era and showing their differences with other eras. Among the different styles that describe the Victorian architecture, include the Italian style that became rampant in the middle of the 18th century a time when the Victorian era was just gearing up. Features of the design included low roofs, ornamental brackets and wide eaves. Another style was the Gothic Revival style that inspired all other sorts of flourishes during the era. Key features were pointed windows and arches blending it with other designs. The Queen Anne style is another style used by architectures during the time. The style expressed the exuberance and inventiveness of the industrial age builders. The Folk victoria style entailed additional of spindles and Gothic windows to simple l-shaped and square building as the Shingle style often built along the coastal areas were used as lavish summer homes. All these types of styles illustrate the differences of the Victorian architecture from other types of architecture. The period was a time of development and change of the architectural designs. Advances in the building technology i.e. the development of balloon framing and factory built architectural products and components made it possible and easier building complex and more decorated architectures. The railway road expansion allowed the construction products and equipment to be easily transported across different regions of the country that was significant in the era. Luxury designs and elements were adopted and employed in a wide variety of buildings. It provided for a revolution in the architectural culture and the constructions while the period reflected that. Most of the styles looked for historic precedents for inspiration, but the designs and the features were not exact reciprocals of the earlier architectural designs. Conclusion The Victorian architecture has much to tell us on the traditional history of colonialism as well as cultural exchange. The fine pieces of art can be read and understood in ways to stand out as witnesses to the rapacity and self-delusion of the empires representing the indigenous cultures, architectures and styles. Victoria architecture represents a series of architectural revival styles and features that took place in the mid to the late ninetieth century. There are many Victorian styles but have similar characteristics i.e. Italianate, Gothic revival, Queen Anne, Romanesque, Second Empire and Shingle style. The windows, door frames and roofing, were significant aspects of the Victorian architecture. The amazing builders born at the time embraced new technologies and materials of creating houses that no one had ever seen before developing qualities that represented the uniqueness of the “Victorian architecture.” The architecture dating from the Victorian architecture is convictions and monuments of the lost glory of the world. This architecture is very significant as it exhibits the pictures of the colonial architecture that was estimated to have been developed during the nineteenth century. Thus, the buildings are good representations of the untold stories of the cultural exchange that took place at a time and over the years. There were several designs with differences in the special areas that provided for a special concept, movement and a social narrative aspect. They were key in the provision of constitute ways of seeing, using and perceiving these structures with several designs with differences in the special areas that provided for a special concept, movement and a social narrative aspect. Many different architects adopted different styles of architecture. Iron introduction was a key feature of the era, and its adoption was good. The collection of armor and arms and their utilization in the architectural decorations was also a key feature in the era. Most of the styles looked for historic precedents for inspiration, but the designs and the features were not exact reciprocals of the earlier architectural designs. However, with the introduction of the Arts and Crafts movement, critic criticized the Victorian architecture and advocated for a more streamlined and advocated home causing the style to fall out of fashion but it remains in the historic communities. Work citied Barringer, T. J. “Nature’s Museums: Victorian Science and the Architecture of Display, and: On Exhibit: Victorians and Their Museums (review).” Victorian Studies 2002 : 151–153. Bremner, GA Alex. “‘ Some Imperial Institute’: Architecture, Symbolism, and the Ideal of Empire in Late Victorian Britain, 1887-93.” The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 62 (2003): 50–73. Print. Crinson, Mark. Empire Building: Orientalism and Victorian Architecture. Routledge, 2013. Print. Curl, S. (2007). Victorian Architecture: Diversity and Invention. London: Spire Books LTD. Dixon, R. & Mutheisus, S. (1985). Victorian Architecture: With a Short Dictionary of Architects and 250 Illustrations. New York: Thames & Hudson. Dobraszczyk, Paul. Iron, Ornament and Architecture in Victorian Britain: Myth and Modernity, Excess and Enchantment. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Company, 2014. Print. Hood, Jamie S. "William Burges -- Designer, Scholar And Collector: Accurate Representations Of Arms And Armor In The Architecture Of Cardiff Castle." Arms & Armor 6.2 (2009): 144-174. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Oct. 2014. Psappp rra, Sophia. Architecture and Narrative: The Formation of Space and Cultural Meaning. Routledge, 2009. Print. Wheeler, Katherine. Victorian Perceptions of Renaissance Architecture. Farnham Surrey, England ; Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2014. Print. Pronat, Luck. Victroian age: culture and Architecture. Routledge, 2010. Print. Michelle, Deson. The tale of Victrian Architecture. Routledge, 2009. Print. Mabruk. Andrew, Iron and ornamet use In Architecture: The Victorian Age. Routledge, 2009. Print. Read More