History of Architecture - Quiz 1 PDF

# Architecture in the 19th Century in America ## Time: - Between 1890 and 1920. ## Influencing Factors: 1. Academically trained architects started to direct and take charge of the architecture, many of whom had studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. 2. They had the ability to design buildi...

# Architecture in the 19th Century in America ## Time: - Between 1890 and 1920. ## Influencing Factors: 1. Academically trained architects started to direct and take charge of the architecture, many of whom had studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. 2. They had the ability to design buildings that responded well to the needs of their time besides their good awareness of the history of architecture. ## General Characteristics: 1. The grandeur of the Boston Public Library that was designed based on the Roman and Italian Renaissance styles, inspired many cities to build grand public buildings as well. 2. The production of cheap steel in the second half of the 19th century gave many designers the opportunity to get rid of thick walls on ground floors which limited the building's height. 3. In 1883 Chicago architects began constructing office buildings using a steel frame with an exterior cladding of brick or stone. 4. During the 1880s, buildings' height increased gradually and changed the skyline of some major cities worldwide. 5. The first architects who accepted and embraced this vertical character were Adler & Louis Sullivan from the Chicago. ## Example: Woolworth Building - Design Criteria: 1. This 60-story building was the tallest building in the world until 1930. 2. The building's steel construction system was covered by Gothic-style. 3. The lobby ceiling is inlaid with colored glass in Byzantine mosaic style. 4. The Building was recognised as a “Cathedral of Commerce”. 5. The height of the building's floors is so high (3.3-6m.) that the building is actually considered to be 80 floors. 6. The lobby was designed in Gothic-style and covered with marble and bronze with a vaulted ceiling. ## Frank Lloyd Wright - Design Theory Criteria: 1. Using natural materials. 2. Responding to the customer's needs. 3. He believed in “Form follows function”. 4. He was the pioneer of “Naturalism” and “Organisms”. 6. Walls, slabs and floors have to be shown as separated components. 7. Organic unity & continuity between the construction, materials, planning, and site. ## His Famous Designs: ### Fallingwater House: #### Design Criteria: 1. Free and irregular form. 2. It is the most known house not built for Royalty. 3. Reinforced concrete balconies cantilever over the waterfall. 4. Windows meet at each room's corners, fusing the house with its site. 5. It was set up as a part of the landscape without damaging the environment besides using natural stone as cladding. 6. Floors and ceilings expand outward independently, vertical elements extend this movement skyward. 7. Frank said that he designed it to the music of the waterfall, it is an instance of how the sound can be a part of the architectural design. ### Robie House: #### Design Criteria: 1. Brick is the construction material. 2. Windows on the first floor are shielded by a balcony. 3. A Great roof of the 2nd floor cantilevers from the sides. 4. The furniture and design are based on geometric forms. 5. The main purpose of the design is to respond to the owner's needs "privacy and quietness". 6. The wall in front of the house protects the ground floor from passers-by. 7. Horizontal continuity is achieved by long lines of walls and balconies. 8. Windows are on both sides of the living room which makes it airy and integrated with nature. 9. Functions have been vertically detached: - The garage, playroom, and services are on the ground floor. - The living and dining area is on the first floor. - Bedrooms are on the second floor. ### Guggenheim Museum: #### Design Criteria: 1. Display potentials are unrestricted. 2. The continuous interior ramp is a quarter mile long. 3. The construction spirals around a six-story interior court. 4. The building includes one of the first open interior spaces. 5. The building has a circular form with exterior leaning walls. # Art Nouveau ## Definition: A French terminology for a “New art” movement in the Western world, which reached its top in the 1890s. ## General Characteristics: 1. Complicated curving lines. 2. The preference of handcraft productions to the industrial ones. 3. Employing the new materials and rejecting inspiration from earlier styles. 4. In Scotland & Austria, the right-angled forms of Art Nouveau were favorite. 5. The decorative motifs of the style are interlocking organic forms such as stems and flowers. 6. The movement set a principle that architects should participate in designing every detail of the building including the construction, furniture, wallpaper, carpets, accessories & even the fireplace. 7. Instead of the previous separation of art into the fine arts & applied arts; Art nouveau considered all forms of art and design to be at the same category; architecture, furniture, glassware, painting, pottery, metalwork, textile, etc. ## Examples: ### Entrances for the Paris Metro Stations - by Hector Guimard: #### Design Criteria: 1. Cheerful naturalistic motifs. 2. Memorable models of the art nouveau. 3. The decorative motifs are floral patterns and bird claws. 4. The Curving characteristics of the Art Nouveau style have been used. 5. The entrances were constructed using wrought iron, bronze, & glass. ### Casa Batlló (House of Bones) – by Antoni Gaudi: #### Design Criteria: 1. Straight lines were mostly avoided. 2. It does have a strong feeling of skeletal & organic forms using stone and iron. 3. Rounded and irregular openings and balconies that have a wavelike characteristic. 4. At the beginning, it was prepared as a residence for a family then modified to be the headquarters of Barcelona district.