RENAISSANCE ARCHITECTURE

The Renaissance architecture begins in England in the middle of 16th century. It consisted in a very original synthesis of the previous Tudor Gothic and classical styles.

Tudor Gothic

Classical styles

Renaissance

The main characteristics of this style are large windows, steeply pitched roofs, and tall chimneys. Also brick and stone begin to be used more than wood.steeply pitched roofs (tetti spioventi)

The most common building type for private buildings are mansions (case signorili), manor houses (case

padronali) and town houses.

Mansion

Manor house

In this period the sponsors themselves helped some non-professional constructors to be trained in the theory of design and building, so that most of the buildings was carried out by masons or carpenter designers.

Masons

TWO MASTERPIECES

The two masterpieces of Renaissance in Great Britain are Hampton Court palace and St.Paul's cathedral.

Hampton Court palace

St.Paul's cathedral

HAMPTON COURTHampton Court is a grand palace beside the river Thames. It was built by cardinal Wolsey in 1515 and it was made even bigger by King William III in 1689.

The building is now open to the public and it is famous for its gardens and maze.

ST.PAUL'SSt.Paul's is the cathedral of London. It is a splendid Renaissance edifice with two Baroque towers above the double portico facade. The lower inner drum of the great dome, its perystile, the upper drum and the lantern are all of stone.

The interior strikes visitors by its dimensions and great deal of decorations and patterns.

GEORGIAN TOWNHOUSES

Georgian townhouses, dating back to the XVII and XVIII centuries, are simple but quite terraces houses. They are typical of many british towns and cities.

This house are built on more floors, at the ground level are situated cellars and storage, at the first floor are situated formal area and in other floors are situated dressing room and in a top floor are situated children’s lodgins ( bedroom,playroom…)

The tall narrow front configuration of georgian townhouses garanted a large number of living accomodations, which raised the building value.

The erection of some terraces around a free area created the so called “garden square”, an enclosed space used by resident for social purposes and recreation.

THE GOTHIC REVIVAL

The Gothic revival was the return to the previous Gothic style in British architecture that

occurred between the middle of the 18th century and the middle of 19th century.

The rebuilding of the country house Strawberry Hill was one of the frist examples of this revived style.

This style was also used for buildings such as hotels, railway stations and government buildings, including the Houses of Parliament, the Law Courts and Tower Bridge.

August Pugin was the English architect and designer and he was the leading figure of British Gothic revival. He designed several catholic churches and cathedrals. His best work was one decoration inside the Houses of Parliament.

THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT

It is the group of buildings beside the river Thames in central London where the HOUSE OF COMMONS and

the HOUSE OF LORDS meet.

HOUSE OF COMMONS HOUSE OF LORDS

In 1834 the palace was demaged by fire , but after it was put up by Charles Barry and Augustus Pugin.

During the second world war’s battles the House of Commons was destroyed by bombs, but it was built

again in the revived style.

Big Beng is the famous clock tower of the House of Parliament. It sound is well known because it is

used to introduce news broadcast.

TOWER BRIDGE

It was built between 1886 and 1894.Its towers are in neo-Gothic style and the part of the bridge with the road on it can be raised to allow ships to pass through.

NEOCLASSICISMNeoclassicism was a style of art, architecture and design that is strongly influenced by the styles of ancient Greece and Rome. In 18th century this styles became famous in Europe and in Nord-America, when the buildings were designed with geometrical forms, straight lines and Greek columns. The principal characteristic of neoclassicism architecture was the use of antique forms in a new context. Robert Adam was the Scottish architect and he started new neoclassical style in British buildings and furniture design. He arrived in London after he has seen the Romans ruins and Renaissance palaces. He created a completely new combination of styles based on a range of contrasting room patterns and he created a new global geometric plan.

Some of the most famous neoclassical buildings in London are:

The British Museum

The Mansion House

Convent Garden Theatre

The British Museum: found in 1753 in Bloomsbury, includes the famous reading room, a large round room

that was the British library.

The Mansion House: the official house of the Lord Mayor of London completed in 1753 and contains the Egyptian

Hall where are held official dinners and other events.

Convent Garden theatre: or Royal Opera House. The original flower market building, called the Floral Hall, is

now part of the Opera House.