As I have decided to do an architectural project, I felt it would be appropriate to research the different styles of architecture throughout history which will give me an awareness of the reasons there are different types of architecture in different places. I am also planning on doing a contextual post of architecture in Leicester which will explain certain architectural factors and the reasons they are there.
There are several types of architecture styles which have different purposes and functions. In many cities, there are often combinations of modern architecture and historical architecture which I find captivating as it demonstrates how the world has changed which is pivotal, history has a lot of importance and showing how we’ve moved on is very interesting in my opinion.
‘Architectural styles – a visual guide’ by Owen Hopkins. Published in 2014.
‘Architectural style’ is largely a creation of the 19th century. ‘Style’ is associated with Heinrich Wölfflin a Swiss architectural historian. he established 5 pairs of opposing concepts linear/painterly, plane/recession, closed form/open form, multiplicity/unity, and absolute clarity/relative clarity. His theory overlooked content in favour of form while ignoring the social economic or material factors that determine the creation of a building or piece of art. style is considered in a broad sense and is used to group and analyse buildings according to particular traits to highlight cultural trends or particular traits, to highlight cultural trends or particular architectural strategies that buy together works that superficially might seem unrelated. Architects often change styles throughout their careers depending upon clients.
Some architectural styles:
- Classical – Ancient Greek and Ancient Roman
- Early Christian – Byzantine And Romanesque
- Gothic and Medieval – Early Gothic, High Gothic, Late Gothic, Venetian Gothic, Secular Gothic and Castle
- Renaissance and Mannerism – Early Renaissance, High Renaissance, Northern Renaissance and Mannerism
- Baroque and Rococo – Italian Baroque, German and Eastern European Baroque, Spanish and Latin American Baroque, French Baroque, English Baroque and Rococo
- Neoclassicism – Palladianism, Classical Revival, Greek Revival, Empire Style, Picturesque and Sublime
- Eclecticism – Gothic Revival, Orientalism, Beaux-Arts, Arts and Crafts, Art Nouveau and Art Deco
- Modernism – Chicago School, Expressionism, New Objectivity, International Style, Functionalism, Constructivism, Totalitarian Reactions, Essentialism, Brutalism, Metabolism and High Tech
- After Modernism – Realism, Postmodernism, Deconstructivism, Echo Architecture, Expressive Rationalism and Contextualism
1) Classical architecture is the style of buildings created by the Ancient Greeks and Romans.
Ancient Greek:
Region – Greece and Mediterranean colonies.
Period – Seventh Century to First Century BCE.
Ancient Roman:
Region – Europe (Italy, the Mediterranean – North Africa, Asia Minor and the Middle East.)
Period – First Century BCE to Fourth Century CE
2) Early Christian architecture is the buildings that were created by Christians or under Christian patronage from the earliest period of Christianity.
Byzantine:
Region – Eastern Mediterranean
Period – Fourth to fifteenth century
Romanesque:
Region – Europe
Period – Mid eleventh to mid twelfth century
3) Gothic and Medieval architecture evolved from Romanesque architecture and was most popular during the high and late medieval period.
Early Gothic:
Region – France and England
Period – twelfth to mid thirteenth century
High Gothic:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Gothic
Region – Europe, particularly England and France
Period – 13th to mid 14th century
Late Gothic:
https://keithpcombs.weebly.com/late-gothic-flamboyant.html
Region – Europe, particularly England, Germany and Spain
Period – Mid 14th to 15th century
Venetian Gothic:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venetian_Gothic_architecture
Region – Venice, Italy
Period – 12th to 15th century
Secular Gothic:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothic_secular_and_domestic_architecture
Region – Northern regions of Europe
Period – 12th to 15th century
Castle:
https://www.castlesandmanorhouses.com/architecture_03_walls.htm
Region – Europe
Period – 12th to 15th century
4) Renaissance and Mannerism. Renaissance architecture was created between the early 15th and early 17th century showing a development of early ancient Greek and Roman architecture. Mannerist architecture involved architects experimenting with forms found in Renaissance architecture to emphasise solid and spatial relationships.
Website where I found information for Renaissance
Website I found information for Mannerism
Early Renaissance:
https://www.britannica.com/art/Western-architecture/High-Renaissance-in-Italy-1495-1520
Region – Italy, particularly Florence
Period – 15th century
High Renaissance:
Region – Italy
Period – 16th century
Northern Renaissance:
Region – England, Europe, France, Germany and the Netherlands
Period – 16th century
Mannerism:
Region – Italy and Spain
Period – Mid to late 16th century
5) Baroque and Rococo. Baroque architecture has a highly decorative style and appeared in Italy in the 17th century. It celebrated the wealth of the Catholic church, being linked to the Counter-Reformation. Rococo architecture was more graceful yet more elaborate than Baroque architecture as Baroque architecture was very focused on religion while Rococo was more light hearted. . Rococo architecture focused more on privacy than publicity.
Italian Baroque:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Baroque_architecture
Region – Italy
Period – 17th and 18th century
German and Eastern European Baroque:
https://www.nomadepicureans.com/architectural-guides/baroque-architecture-europe/
Region – Germany and Eastern Europe
Period – 17th and 18th century
Spanish and Latin American Baroque:
https://www.nomadepicureans.com/architectural-guides/baroque-architecture-europe/
Region – Spain and Latin America
Period – 17th and 18th century
French Baroque:
https://www.nomadepicureans.com/architectural-guides/baroque-architecture-europe/
Region – France
Period – 17th to early 18th century
English Baroque:
https://www.nomadepicureans.com/architectural-guides/baroque-architecture-europe/
Region – England
Period – Mid 17th to early 18th century
Rococo:
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(webp)/rococo-Helblinghaus-529765486-crop-598fd70d396e5a0010682092-5c363b2646e0fb000185d550.jpg)
https://www.thoughtco.com/rococo-art-architecture-4147980
Region – Europe, particularly France, Germany and Russia
Period – 18th century
6) Neoclassism. Neoclassical architecture was a revival of classical architecture in the early 18th and 19th centuries.
https://www.britannica.com/art/Neoclassical-architecture
Palladianism:
https://www.architecture.com/knowledge-and-resources/knowledge-landing-page/palladianism
Region – England and America
Period – 18th century
Classical Revival:
https://noehill.com/architects/style_neoclassical.aspx
https://victoriaheritagefoundation.ca/archstyles/classical.html
Region – Europe and America
Period – Mid 18th to mid 19th century
Greek Revival:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austrian_Parliament_Building
Region – Europe, particularly England and Germany
Period – Mid 18th to mid 19th century
Empire Style:
Region – France
Period – Late 18th to mid 19th century
Picturesque:
https://tclf.org/category/designed-landscape-style/picturesque?page=1
Region – Europe, particularly England and France
Period – Late 18th to early 19th century
Sublime:
https://www.eutouring.com/history_rotonde_de_la_villette.html
Region – Europe, particularly England and France
Period – Late 18th to mid 19th century
7) Eclecticism – an architectural style which incorporates diffeent elements of previous architecture styles to create something new.
Gothic Revival:
Region – Europe
Period – 19th century
Orientalism:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orientalism
Region – Europe and USA
Period – Mid 18th to early 20th century
Beaux-Arts:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaux-Arts_architecture
Region – France and USA
Period – Mid 19th to early 20th century
Arts and Crafts:
Region – England and USA
Period – Mid 19th to early 20th century
Art Nouveau:
Region – Europe, particularly Brussels, Paris and Venice
Period – Late 18th to early 19th century
Art Deco:
https://www.elledecor.com/life-culture/travel/g12242834/art-deco-architecture/?slide=10
Region – Europe and USA
Period – 1920s and 1930s
8) Modernism is an architectural style based on new construction methods involving the uses of certain materials including reinforced concrete, glass and steel with a sense of minimalism and making form more important than function.
Website where I found information
Chicago School:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_school_(architecture)
Region – USA
Period – 1880s to 1900s
Expressionism:
Region – Germany and the Netherlands
Period – 1910s to mid 1920s
New Objectivity:
Region – Germany
Period – Mid 1920s to mid 1930s
International Style:
https://www.theartstory.org/movement/international-style/
Region – Initially Europe, later worldwide
Period – 1930s to 1950s
Functionalism:
Region – Europe, particularly Germany and Scandinavia
Period – 1930s to 1960s
Constructivism:
http://architecture-history.org/schools/CONSTRUCTIVISM.html
Region – Soviet Union
Period – 1920s to early 1930s
Totalitarian Reactions:
Region – Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Stalinist Soviet Union
Period – 1930s Germany and Italy to 1950s Soviet Union
Essentialism:
Region – USA
Period – 1910s to 1970s
Brutalism:
https://www.gq.com/story/9-brutalist-wonders-of-the-architecture-world
Region – Britain
Period – 1950s to 1960s
Metabolism:
https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/metabolism-japanese-architecture-artsy/index.html
Region – Japan
Period – 1950s to 1970s
High Tech:
https://www.dezeen.com/2019/12/20/15-key-high-tech-buildings/
Region – International
Period – 1970s to 1980s
9) After Modernism
https://www.city-journal.org/html/after-modernism-11801.html
Regionalism:
Region – International
Period – 1960s to now
Postmodernism:
Region – International, particularly Britain and USA
Period – 1970s to early 1990s
Deconstructionism:
http://www.designcurial.com/news/deconstructivist-architecture-eight-iconic-buildings-4503184/2
Region – International
Period – 1980s to early 1990s
Eco-architecture:
https://www.trendhunter.com/slideshow/eco-architecture
Region – International
Period – 1970s to now
Expressive Rationalism:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rationalism_(architecture)#Early_20th-century_rationalism
Region – International
Period – 1990s to now
Contextualism:
,%20Leningrad,%20USSR,%20Alexander%20Gegello%20and%20David%20Krichevsky.jpg){kind=link}
Region – International, particularly Europe
Period – 1960s to present
Why I felt I should research different architectural styles:
I decided to research into the different architectural styles throughout history as I felt that it would do me good to see how architecture has evolved as new uses for buildings arose. I felt that seeing the ways things have changed and the reasons for it such as providing housing for a lot of people, giving people efficient places to pray, schooling. Demands for things are constantly changing, with needs/wants for different amounts of decorative architectural elements. I feel like it is also eye opening to see how different things used to be in the past as without those things having happened, we wouldn’t be where we are today. Also as my project is focused on architecture, this seemed like a good foundation to get going. Identifying different architectural styles of windows and roofs was important also as it allows me to identify different elements which could be used to develop my project further somehow, possibly by being able to label drawings, adding annotations for a different effect.