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Architecture

A Brief Introduction to Frank Lioyd Wright

...It is believed that Frank Lloyd Wright was predestined to be one of the greatest architects not only in the American industry but in the the world. He was a patriotic one however trying to build in a mostly American style stressing his country’s democratic nature and solidarity. His early years weren’t too rosy as his family wasn’t as happy as he wished.  After his parents divorced in 1885 and his father abandoned the family,  Wright began working for the Dean of the University of Wisconsin to help support his family. During that time, he was able to attend the University of Wisconsin's School of Engineering. However, he only completed two semesters due to his decision to leave Wisconsin in 1887 and move to Chicago to pursue a career in architecture. In 1889, Wright met and married his first wife, Catherine Tobin, and built a house in Chicago's Oak Park suburb, where they made a home together and had six children. During that time, Wright began his architectural career working for such architects as Joseph Silsbee and Louis Sullivan. However, while working under Sullivan, in his spare time he designed homes on his own, which was not allowed under his contract with Sullivan. He was terminated in June of 1893 and soon after began his own architectural practice. Wright began to create what he called "organic architecture," which brought the environment and building together as one (Wright 227)...

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All modern creations must correspond to the new materials

...In discussing the flow of style throughout ancient history Wagner states, "each new style gradually emerged from the earlier one when new methods of construction, new materials, new human tasks and viewpoints demanded a change or reconstitution of existing forms". He believes that architects, also artists, have always represented the time and culture they live in. He believes that the imitation and simple copying of existing forms denies creativity, and the architect fails to give something great to the public. Wagner is concerned and aware of the public, and that art is there to serve them, to accommodate them, to better the quality of life for mankind. After evaluating the evolution of ancient cultures and their architecture, Wagner offers the lesson that this is the path we must return to. "All modern creations must correspond to the new materials and demands of the present if they are to suit modern man; they must illustrate our own better, democratic, self-confident, ideal nature and take into account man's colossal technical and scientific achievements"...

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Alvar Aalto’s great design

...Aalto's output was huge during the middle of the last century and  he had a couple of churches designed by the time of the commission to at Imatra, an industrial center in Finland that badly needed services as well as a master plan, which Aalto also provided. The community was solidly working class, and as with all Lutheran churches, there was a need to provide space for other community activities. Support of the church is  extremely high in Finland, where ninety per cent elect to be members of the church and pay taxes towards it running and new church building. At Imatra, Aalto sought to provide separate spaces for the parish, with the ability to unify them in to one homogenous form when the need arose. He developed more completely a form that had generated from a previous competition, a church for Lahti, creating in plan a tripartite fan. The conservative ature of the church meant that requirements such as the central aisle to the altar, the placing of the organ to the right of the altar, and the pulpit to the left, had to be followed strictly. With this arrangement though Aalto sought to create a space that flowed towards the altar, even past it, into infinity, using light and form to direct the individual. The interior was almost completely white, with huge fins traversing the space, and undulating walls, with separate inner and outer skins to allow the moveable partitions to be hidden into. When the space was unified, 800 people could congregate...

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Spanish Genius- Gaudi

...Gaudi lived and created his masterpieces in Barcelona for the most part of his life. The great master was inspired by the Gothic Quarter that stretches through the city and reveals its secrets to the wondering eye. It is believed that Gaudi was a follower of a famous Catalan Gothic style. This particular Spanish style was derived from the French Gothic style, with wide naves and two side aisles, elaborate geometrical designs and stylizations are used for the decoration of these buildings. The Santa Eulalia and the holy cross is certainly impressive, it stands 79 meters long, 25 meters wide and 26 meters high, but when compared to the Sagrada Familia, one of Gaudi's most famous works, it looks like a bungalow next to an office block. The Temple de la Sagrada Familia was hard to miss as I turned the corner from the Metro station, my jaw dropped in awe of such a huge structure. Its sheer size is certainly one of its shock elements, the jelly tot like shapes on the top of each of the four visible towers seemed capable of gazing at the whole city. Gaudi began work on this amazing church on November 3rd 1883 and dedicated the rest of his life to this on going project, towards the end of his life he worked solely on the Sagrada Familia even living on the site. He calculated it would take two hundred years to complete, and is still in the process of being built today with a fleet of men erecting brick by brick the most fantastic piece of architecture I have ever seen...

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Old architecture

...Saint Paul’s Cathedral, a major landmark in London, is one of British architect Sir Christopher Wren’s greatest achievements. After the Great Fire of London destroyed the old Saint Paul’s in 1666, the city commissioned Wren to design a replacement, which was completed in 1710. In the 18th century few English buildings followed the ornate patterns of the baroque and rococo architectures used in Europe. Rather, a more restrained, neoclassical style was introduced in Britain by Scottish architect Robert Adam. This style was based on the ancient ruins of Greece and Rome and incorporated such elements as colonnades and stone domes. English furniture and ceramics also became renowned in the 18th century. Thomas Chippendale and Thomas Sheraton were noted for their elegant furniture styles, and the ceramic designs produced by Josiah Wedgwood are still made.  Victorian architecture borrowed from a variety of styles, including classical, Gothic, and Renaissance, and was characterized by ornate decoration. The most famous Victorian neo-Gothic building is Parliament, built between 1840 and 1870. The only truly original building of the Victorian era was the Crystal Palace, which housed the Great Exhibition of 1851. It was made of metal and glass, materials architects would come to use in constructing office buildings in the 20th century...

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