The History of Architecture

Egyptian Architecture

Mastabas 3000 BC

Step Pyramids 2600 BC

Straight Pyramids2000 BC

Greek Architecture

Temple to Athena at the Acropolis, The Parthenon448-432 BC

Temple to Nike420 BC

Roman Architecture

The Pantheon

The Coliseum 72AD

MedievalGothic

Notre Dame Cathedral, France 1145-1220 AD

Ancient Far East

1st Century AD stacked Pagoda

Forbidden City: Imperial Palace, Beijing1200-1400 AD built/ rebuilt

Most commoners lived in one room mud huts

Early Southwest and South American

Dwellings/Structures

Aztec Burial Pyramid 1100 AD

Mesa Verde, Colorado 1100 AD

India

Taj Mahal 1630-1650

Baroque

Palace of Versailles, FranceOriginally a hunting lodge, 1624Louis XIV, rebuilt it in later 1600’s

American Architecture can fit into four main categories

• Renaissance Revival -based on English, Italian, French and Dutch Architectural Methods of the 14th+ Century

• Classical Revival -based on Greek and Roman Architecture

• Medieval Revival -based on Dark Ages/Medieval Architecture

• Modern -based on putting aside the past and looking toward the future

Renaissance Revival:(Colonial 1607-1830)

1775—1783: American Revolutionary War. Despite winning their independence, the colonies continue to model their architecture on English forms for many years.

1789: US Constitution Ratified. George Washington becomes 1st President.

1801: Thomas Jefferson becomes President of the United States. Rise of Federal Era.

English Colonial

Seventeenth-century settlers from England brought with them a rural English architecture that resembled late medieval forms. The familiar New England Saltbox and Cape Cod styles were common to this era.

Dutch Colonial

Houses in the Dutch colonies incorporated steeply pitched gambrel roofs, batten doors and paired chimneys — details common to the architecture in their homeland.

French Colonial

Elements of French Colonial architecture still exist in southern Louisiana and Mississippi. French Colonial homes featured tall, narrow doors and windows. The roofs were hipped or side gabled, and windows often had paired shutters.

Spanish ColonialOne story, low-roofed dwellings characterized the homes and public buildings of Spain's American colonies. These homes often had a number of external doors but few windows. Stucco and adobe walls and flat or red tile roofs gave these dwellings their distinctive appearance. This style continues to influence the architecture of the American Southwest

Georgian

Georgian homes incorporated characteristics of the well-known English Colonial homes along with paneled doors with ornate crowns and support pilasters. Georgian homes were designed to be high-style formal dwellings. They were typically symmetrical and evenly proportioned, with gabled or hipped roofs and double-hung windows with nine to twelve panes for each sash.

Mostly found in the southern states.

Square, symmetrical shapePaneled front door at centerDecorative crown over front doorFlattened columns on each side of doorFive windows across frontPaired chimneysMedium pitched roofMinimal roof overhang

Federalist/AdamShortly after the adoption of the U.S. Constitution, the Federal, or Adam, style became widely popular throughout the newly unified country. Based on the designs of British architect Robert Adam, this style incorporates many features found in Georgian homes, such as cornices with tooth-like dentils or other decorative molding and double-hung windows with six panes in each sash. Additionally, they often incorporate an elliptical fanlight over the front door, with side lights and decorative crowns as ornamentation

Low-pitched roof, or flat roofWindows arranged symmetrically around a center doorwaySemicircular fanlight over the front doorNarrow side windows flanking the front doorDecorative crown or roof over front doorTooth-like dentil moldings in the cornicePalladian window•Circular or elliptical windowsShutters•Decorative swags and garlandsOval rooms and arches

Significant Dates• 1800: Completion of first White House -Federal style heavily

influenced by Georgian architecture. • 1803: Louisiana purchase. America's territory expands past the

Mississippi River. Westward immigration begins.• 1812 — 1815: War of 1812. The war marks a shift from America's

dependence on English trade and architectural forms. • 1814: British forces burn the first White House and much of

Washington DC. • 1825: Erie Canal is completed, speeding the immigration of European

settlers into the western territories. • 1861—1865: US Civil War. The war marks the end of the popularity of

Federal architecture. Much of the historical architecture of the Southern states is destroyed during the war

Classical Revival (1780-1940)

Greek Revival America began to define its own emerging architectural independence from its European heritage. Greek Revival exteriors may include an entry porch supported by square or round columns, decorative pilasters, hipped or gabled roofs, transom windows and side lights surrounding the front door. These buildings often had flat roofs and colonnades inspired by the monuments of ancient Greece.

Pedimented gableSymmetrical shapeHeavy corniceWide, plain friezeBold, simple moldingsEntry porch with columnsNarrow windows around front door

Neo-Classical

Very similar to Greek Revival but may have more elaborate column work- Corinthian columns rather than Doric, always extending the full height of the house and with front gable pediment.

Medieval Revival 1837 – 1914

Significant Dates• 1837: Queen Victoria I begins reign in United Kingdom. • 1848: European and American immigrants populate the

newly opened territories, spreading American architectural forms into Texas, California, and the Midwest.

• 1865: Transcontinental Railroad finished, speeding America's industrialization and westward expansion.

• 1890: Louis Sullivan designs the Wainwright Bldg. — considered by some the first skyscraper.

• 1914—1918: World War I marks the decline of Victorian styles.

Gothic RevivalEarly Victorian houses drew inspiration mostly from Western Europe, usually reinterpreting medieval forms. Multi-colored and textured walls, steeply pitched roofs and asymmetrical facades are traditional features. Gothic Revival homes are most easily identified by the elaborate “gingerbread” trim below the gables, and the strong vertical emphasis of the windows and rooflinesSteeply pitched roof

Pointed windowsGrouped chimneysAsymmetrical floor planVerandaSpiresGabled roofsTowers

Italianate

Italianate homes featured elaborate porch decoration, decorative eaves, symmetrical facades and arched windows which were often paired. Some Italianate homes featured a central square tower or cupola, and most had flat or low-pitched hipped roofs.

Low-pitched hip or flat roofBalanced, symmetrical rectangular shapeTall appearance, with 2, 3, or 4 storiesWide, overhanging eaves with brackets/corbelsSquare cupolaTall, narrow, double-paned windows with hood moldingsSide bay windowHeavily molded double doorsRoman or segmented arches above windows and doors

Second Empire

Inspired by the ornate cityscapes of Paris, Second Empire architecture incorporates rectangular or square floor plans, tall flat facades capped by Mansard roofs with dormer windows, and double entry doors. Roofs are frequently patterned and bay windows are also common.

Mansard roofDormer windows project like eyebrows from roofBrackets beneath the eaves, balconies, and bay CupolaPatterned slate on roofWrought iron cresting above upper corniceClassical pedimentsPaired columns

Tall windows on first storySmall entry porch

Victorian: Queen Anne

Queen Anne homes frequently feature irregular floor plans, multiple steep roofs and porches with decorative gables. Dominant octagonal or circular towers, corbelled chimneys, and highly decorative windows and entry doors with glass panels.

Steep roofComplicated, asymmetrical shapeOften front-facing gableOne-story porch that extends across one or two sides of the houseRound turrets or square towersWall surfaces textured with decorative shinglesOrnamental spindles and bracketsBay windows

The Voigt House

Victorian: Eastlake

Hackley and Hume Homes in MuskegonThis colorful Victorian home is a Queen Anne, but the lacy, ornamental details are called Eastlake or Stick. The ornamental style is named after the famous English designer, Charles Eastlake, who was famous for making furniture decorated with fancy spindles.

Victorian: Shingle Style

A Victorian home covered in shingles.

Typically found in New England coastal regions.

AsymmetricalShinglesArchesOpen Porches

Richardson RomanesqueRomanesque architecture features massive stone walls, large arched windows, porches, and entries, paired columns, extensive use of sculptural stonework, and grandly scaled interiors reminiscent of the great palaces of Europe. Often found in public buildings, rarely in homes.

Constructed of rough-faced, square stonesRound towers with cone-shaped roofsColumns and pilasters with spirals and leaf designsLow, broad "Roman" arches over arcades and doorwaysPatterned masonry arches over windows

Tudor RevivalThe inclination away from standardization was nowhere better portrayed than in the ideals of the Tudor Revival. Exterior color schemes were typically of brown, white and black, sometimes combined with red brick. Incorporating exposed framing, thatch or shingle roofs, and rough-hewn stonework, Tudor Revival homes were intentionally made to appear older than they actually were. In fact, the apparently primitive construction details of such houses were often purely decorative

Decorative half-timberingSteeply pitched roofProminent cross gablesTall, narrow windowsSmall window panesMassive chimneysDecorative chimney pots

Modern 1890 – 1940+Significant Dates• 1830: Inventions of Railroad and Steam Power. Arts & Crafts movement is a

reaction against industrialization. • 1849: California Gold Rush prompts many to go west. Spanish Colonial

architecture influences the rise of Mission style architecture. • 1865: End of Civil War and the beginning of Reconstruction mark the rise of Arts

and Crafts Movement in earnest. • 1901: Gustav Stickley begins publication of "The Craftsman". The first issue is

dedicated to William Morris and the second to John Ruskin, leaders of the Arts & Crafts movement in Europe.

• 1908: Sears Roebuck catalog introduces the mail order house: the average kit home has 30,000 pieces. Between 1908 and 1940, 100,000 homes are sold.

• 1929 — 1939— The Great Depression: The comparatively affordable bungalow gains popularity over more elaborate styles.

• 1935: Frank Lloyd Wright builds Fallingwater; modern architecture with elements drawn from the Arts & Crafts Movement.

• 1941: Start of World War II marks the decline of Arts & Crafts movement.

Arts and Crafts:Craftsman/BungalowIts greatest American proponent was Gustav Stickley, whose periodical "The Craftsman" gave the style its name. Craftsman houses were generally one and a half to two stories tall. They were environmentally sensitive structures that made exceptional use of their surroundings.

Wood, stone, or stucco sidingLow-pitched side gabled roofWide eaves with triangular bracketsExposed roof raftersPorch with thick square or round columnsStone porch supportsExterior chimney made with stoneOpen floor plans; few hallwaysNumerous windowsSome windows with stained or leaded glassBeamed ceilingsDark wood wainscoting and moldingsBuilt-in cabinets, shelves, and seating

Arts and Crafts:Prairie

Another stylistic variation within the Arts and Crafts Movement is the Prairie style, popularized through the work of Frank Lloyd Wright. Often appearing to nestle into their surroundings, Prairie forms often are horizontal in emphasis with low pitched roofs and large over-hanging eaves. Although firmly grounded in the Arts and Crafts tradition, their forward looking use of materials such as reinforced concrete and dramatic expanses of windows, have lead many to consider this the first Modern style.

Low-pitched roofOverhanging eavesHorizontal linesCentral chimneyOpen floor planRows of small windowsOne-story projections

Meyer -May House

Arts and Crafts: Four-Square Prairie

Symmetrical design with a “box” foundation, although porch may be off-centered.

Most prominent characteristic of prairie would be the long overhanging eaves.

MissionAs populations in California and America's Southwest expanded, architecture throughout America was increasingly influenced by the remnants of Spanish colonial design. One resulting style was Mission, spanning not only architecture but furniture design and other decorative arts. Mission architecture showcases stucco walls with decorative parapets, red tile roofs, arched rooflines above square piers, and open, widely overhanging eaves.

Smooth stucco sidingRoof parapetsLarge square pillarsArcaded entry porchRed tile roof

Art Nouveau 1890-1905Known as the New Style, Art Nouveau was first expressed in fabrics and graphic design. The style spread to interior architecture and furniture in the 1890s. Art Nouveau buildings often have asymmetrical shapes, arches and decorative surfaces with curved, plant-like designs.

Art Deco 1925-1935These were the buildings of the future: sleek, geometric, dramatic. With their cubic forms and zigzag designs, art deco buildings embraced the machine age and scientific planetary discovery.Stream-line

Curved wallsVertical juxtaposition against rectilinearGlass wallsHorizontal or zig zag banding

International Style 1930’s -

Box- likeWhite-typicallyGlassOpen floor plan

Part of the Modern Movement.Architects working in the International style gave new emphasis to the expression of structure, the lightening of mass, and the enclosure of dramaticspaces.

Form follows Function.

Post WW 2 Homes early 1950’s-

• Pos- war housing.• Cheap, product-

based home.• Pre-manufactured

elements• Tight fit

neighborhoods• Limited decorative

exterior and interior

Mid Century Modern Ranch

Influenced by the Early Modern Movement. Homes are known for being one story with walk out. Open floor plans with wood interior and large south facing glass exteriors to patio.

Large stone fireplaces typically two sided.

Earth Friendly Homes -1960’s-• Earth bermed/ earth sheltered /hay bail homes• Solar-Passive• Natural Materials that are native to the land• Directional placement• Wind powered

Current Trends in Architecture

• “Mc Mansions”– Urban sprawl– Building for the extremes

• New Urbanism– Combating urban

sprawl– Building communities

through intentional architecture and landscape

New Town of Kentlands, MD

• Co-Housing– Intentional

community– Shared work and

resources– Environmentally

conscious

• Sustainable and Green Architecture– Recycling of materials– Advantages of the

systems of the earth– Combating global

housing needs– LEED certification– Concern for environment– Concern for social and

political issues