Architectural history

Architecture first evolved out of the dynamics between needs (shelter, security, worship, etc.) and means (available building materials and attendant skills). Prehistoric and primitive architecture constitute this early stage. As humans progressed and knowledge began to be formalised through oral traditions and practices, architecture evolved into a craft. Here there is first a process of trial and error, and later improvisation or replicati ...

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Architecture, Architecture - Scope and intentions, Architecture - Architecture and buildings, Architecture - Architectural history

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An apse lined with mosaics and open to the air still preserves the memory of one of the most famous halls of the ancient palace, the "Triclinium" of Pope Leo III, which was the state banqueting hall. The existing structure is not ancient, but it is possible that some portions of the original mosaics have been preserved in a three-part mosaic: in the centre Christ gives their mission to the Apostles, on the left he gives the keys to St. Sylvester and the Labarum to Constantine, while on the right St. P ...

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Basilica of St. John Lateran, Basilica of St. John Lateran - Lateran Palace, Basilica of St. John Lateran - Reconstruction, Basilica of St. John Lateran - Architectural history, Basilica of St. John Lateran - Lateran cloister, Basilica of St. John Lateran - Lateran baptistry, Basilica of St. John Lateran - Catholic liturgy

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Architectural history studies the evolution and history of architecture across the world through a consideration of various influences- artistic, cultural, political, economic and technological. In general, the question is one of relating meaning (intangible functions, purposes, symbols) with the built environment (material tables, windows, roofs, paths) through the necessities of life (food, work, communion etc.) within the historical context. Architectural history, like any other form of historical knowledge, is subject to the limit ...

Including:

• Architectural history - Prehistoric architecture
• Architectural history - Historic architecture Dated Events
• Architectural history - Ancient architecture
• Architectural history - Western Architecture — Classical to Eclecticism
• Architectural history - Classical architecture
• Architectural history - Medieval architecture
• Architectural history - Italian Renaissance architecture
• Architectural history - Baroque architecture
• Architectural history - The Age of Enlightenment
• Architectural history - Consequences of Enlightenment
• Architectural history - Modern architecture and beyond
• Architectural history - Writing Tabula Rasa
• Architectural history - Postmodern architecture
• Architectural history - Critical Regionalism
• Architectural history - Regional architecture

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Architectural history - Classical architecture. Main article: Classical architecture The architecture and urbanism of the Greeks and Romans were very different from those of the Egyptians or Persians in that civic life gained importance. During the time of the ancients, religious matters were the preserve of the ruling order alone; by the time of the Greeks, religious mystery had skipped the confines of the temple-palace compounds and was the subject of the people or polis. Greek ...

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Architectural history, Architectural history - Prehistoric architecture, Architectural history - Historic architecture Dated Events, Architectural history - Ancient architecture, Architectural history - Western Architecture — Classical to Eclecticism, Architectural history - Classical architecture, Architectural history - Medieval architecture, Architectural history - Italian Renaissance architecture, Architectural history - Baroque architecture, Architectural history - The Age of Enlightenment, Architectural history - Consequences of Enlightenment, Architectural history - Modern architecture and beyond, Architectural history - Writing Tabula Rasa, Architectural history - Postmodern architecture, Architectural history - Critical Regionalism, Architectural history - Regional architecture

Read more here: » Architectural history: Encyclopedia II - Architectural history - Western Architecture — Classical to Eclecticism

Architecture (classical Greek: αρχή, 'start', τέχνη, 'craftsmanship') is the art and science of designing buildings and structures. A wider definition would include within its scope the design of the total built environment, from the macrolevel of town planning, urban design, and landscape architecture to the microlevel of creating furniture. Architectural design usually must address both feasibility and cost for the ...

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• Architecture - Scope and intentions
• Architecture - Architecture and buildings
• Architecture - Architectural history

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Chinese architecture refers to a style of architecture that has taken shape in Asia over the years. Over the centuries, the structural principles of Chinese architecture have remained largely unchanged, the main changes being on the decorative details. Since the Tang Dynasty, Chinese architecture has had a major influence on the architectural styles of Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam. The following article gives a cursory explanation of traditional Chinese architecture, before the introduction of Western building methods durin ...

Including:

• Chinese architecture - Features
• Chinese architecture - Classification by structure
• Chinese architecture - Imperial architecture
• Chinese architecture - Commoner architecture
• Chinese architecture - Religious architecture

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There are certain features common to Chinese architecture, regardless of specific region or use. The most important is its emphasis on the horizontal, in particular a heavy platform and a large roof that floats over this base, with the vertical walls de-emphasised. Thus, in contrast to Western architecture, which tends to grow in height and in depth, Chinese architecture stresses on the visual impact of the width of the buildings. The halls and palaces in the Forbidden City, for example, have rather low ceilings when compared to equiv ...

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Chinese architecture, Chinese architecture - Features, Chinese architecture - Classification by structure, Chinese architecture - Imperial architecture, Chinese architecture - Commoner architecture, Chinese architecture - Religious architecture

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The style emphasizes verticality and features almost skeletal stone structures with great expanses of glass, sharply pointed spires, cluster columns, flying buttresses, ribbed vaults, pointed arches using the ogive shape, and inventive sculptural detail. These features are all the consequence of a focus on large stained-glass windows that allowed more light to enter than was possible with older styles. To achieve this "light" style, flying buttresses were used as a means of support to enable higher ceilings and slender columns. Many of these features had already appeared, for example i ...

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Gothic architecture, Gothic architecture - Origins, Gothic architecture - The Term Gothic, Gothic architecture - Characteristics, Gothic architecture - Brick Gothic, Gothic architecture - Gothic Architecture in England, Gothic architecture - Sequence of Gothic Styles: France, Gothic architecture - Sequence of Gothic styles: England, Gothic architecture - Gothic revival, Gothic architecture - Gothic in the 20th Century, Gothic architecture - List of notable Gothic structures, Gothic architecture - Some famous Neo-Gothic structures

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In reviving, the glories of the Achaemenian past, the Sassanians were no mere imitators. The art of this period reveals an astonishing virility. In certain respects it anticipates features later developed during the Islamic period. The conquest of Persia by Alexander the Great had inaugurated the spread of Hellenistic art into Western Asia; but if the East accepted the outward form of this art, it never really assimilated its spirit. Already in the Parthian period Hellenistic art was being interpreted freely by the peoples of the Near East a ...

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Sassanid architecture, Sassanid architecture - The origin, Sassanid architecture - Uniqueness, Sassanid architecture - Sassanid influence, Sassanid architecture - Foreign influence

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There were certain architectural features that were reserved for the Emperor of China. The most noticeable were the yellow roof tiles; yellow was the Imperial colour, so yellow roof tiles still adorn most of the buildings within the Forbidden City. The Temple of Heaven, however, uses blue roof tiles to symbolize the sky. The roofs are almost invariably supported by brackets, a feature shared only with the largest of religious buildings. The wooden columns of the buildings, ...

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Chinese architecture, Chinese architecture - Features, Chinese architecture - Classification by structure, Chinese architecture - Imperial architecture, Chinese architecture - Commoner architecture, Chinese architecture - Religious architecture

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The difference between architecture and building is a subject matter that has engaged the attention of many. According to Nikolaus Pevsner, European historian of the early twentieth century, "A bicycle shed is a building, Lincoln Cathedral is a piece of architecture". In current thinking, the division is not too clear. Bernard Rudofsky's famous Architecture Without Architects consolidated a whole range of structures ...

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Architecture, Architecture - Scope and intentions, Architecture - Architecture and buildings, Architecture - Architectural history

Read more here: » Architecture: Encyclopedia II - Architecture - Architecture and buildings

According to the very earliest surviving work on the subject, Vitruvius' De architectura, good buildings satisfy three core principles: Firmness, Commodity, and Delight[1]; architecture can be said to be a balance and coordination among these three elements, with none overpowering the others. A modern day definition sees architecture as addressing aesthetic, structural and functional considerations. However, looked at another way, function itself is seen as encompassing all ...

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Architecture, Architecture - Scope and intentions, Architecture - Architecture and buildings, Architecture - Architectural history

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From the point of view of modern times, the ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean sometimes seem to blend smoothly into one melange we call the Classical. This stylistic designation elides the 8 or 10 centuries the period spans and the remarkable changes in technology and architectural design that took place. While later architects reviving classical forms in the Renaissance or the Neo-classical styles picked what they wanted to imitate, it is essential to separate the parts. A working division can be made into: Greek architecture before Alexander the Great ...

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The term Victorian architecture can refer to one of a number of architectural styles predominantly in the Victorian era. As with the latter, the period of building that it covers may slightly overlap the actual reign of Victoria after whom it is named. Neoclassicism Gothic Revival Italianate Second Empire Neo-Grec Romanesque Revival (Includes Richardsonian Revival) Renaissance Revival Queen Anne Jacobethan architecture (the precusor to the Queen Anne style) British Arts and Crafts mo ...

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For at least ten thousand years, the Nile valley has been the site of one of the most influential civilizations in the world. Even today, its architectural monuments, which include Great Pyramid and the Great Sphinx, are among the largest and most famous buildings in the world. Ancient Egyptian architecture - Characteristics. Due to the scarcity of wood, the two predominant building materials used in ancient Egypt were unbaked mud brick and stone. From the Old Kingdom onward, stone was generally reserved for tombs ...

Including:

• Ancient Egyptian architecture - Characteristics
• Ancient Egyptian architecture - The Giza pyramid complex
• Ancient Egyptian architecture - Karnak
• Ancient Egyptian architecture - Luxor

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The conquest of Persia by Alexander the Great had inaugurated the spread of Hellenistic art into Western Asia; but if the East accepted the outward form of this art, it never really assimilated its spirit. Already in the Parthian period Hellenistic art was being interpreted freely by the peoples of the Near East and throughout the Sassanian period there was a continuing process of reaction against it, However Sassanid architecture borrowed a definit ...

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Sassanid architecture, Sassanid architecture - The origin, Sassanid architecture - Uniqueness, Sassanid architecture - Sassanid influence, Sassanid architecture - Foreign influence

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Sassanian art revived forms and traditions native to Persia; and in the Islamic period these reached the shores of the Mediterranean. The influence of sassanid architecture reached far beyond their borders, it had a distinctive influnce on Byzantine architecture and Islamic architecture. Islamic architecture in fact borrowed heavily from Persian architecture. Baghdad, for example, was based on Persian precedents such as Firouzabad in Persia. In fact, it is now known that the two designers who were hired by al-Mansur to plan the city's design were Naubakht, a former Persian Z ...

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Sassanid architecture, Sassanid architecture - The origin, Sassanid architecture - Uniqueness, Sassanid architecture - Sassanid influence, Sassanid architecture - Foreign influence

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The designations of styles in English architecture still follows conventions of labels given them by antiquaries in the 18th century: Early English (ca 1180 - 1275) Decorated (ca 1275 - 1380 ) Perpendicular (ca 1380 - 1520 ). Early English: Salisbury Cathedral Wells Cathedral Westminster Abbey Decorated or "Flamboyant": Exeter Cathedral See also:

Gothic architecture, Gothic architecture - Origins, Gothic architecture - The Term Gothic, Gothic architecture - Characteristics, Gothic architecture - Brick Gothic, Gothic architecture - Gothic Architecture in England, Gothic architecture - Sequence of Gothic Styles: France, Gothic architecture - Sequence of Gothic styles: England, Gothic architecture - Gothic revival, Gothic architecture - Gothic in the 20th Century, Gothic architecture - List of notable Gothic structures, Gothic architecture - Some famous Neo-Gothic structures

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The designations of styles in French Gothic architecture are as follows: Early Gothic High Gothic Rayonnant Late Gothic or Flamboyant style These divisions are effective, but debatable. Because Gothic cathedrals were built over several successive periods, each period not necessarily following the wishes of previous periods, the dominant architectural style changes throughout a particular building. Consequently, it is often difficult to declare one buildi ...

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Gothic architecture, Gothic architecture - Origins, Gothic architecture - The Term Gothic, Gothic architecture - Characteristics, Gothic architecture - Brick Gothic, Gothic architecture - Gothic Architecture in England, Gothic architecture - Sequence of Gothic Styles: France, Gothic architecture - Sequence of Gothic styles: England, Gothic architecture - Gothic revival, Gothic architecture - Gothic in the 20th Century, Gothic architecture - List of notable Gothic structures, Gothic architecture - Some famous Neo-Gothic structures

Read more here: » Gothic architecture: Encyclopedia II - Gothic architecture - Sequence of Gothic Styles: France

Main article: Brick Gothic. In Northern Germany, Scandinavia and northern Poland, in areas where native stone was unavailable, simplified provincial gothic churches were built of brick. The resultant style is called Backsteingotik in Germany and Poland. The biggest brick gothic building is the Teutonic Knights Castle of Malbork in Poland and the biggest brick gothic church is the St. Mary's Church, Gdańsk in Gdansk. The most famous example in Denmark is Roskilde Cathedral. Brick gothic buildings were associated with the Hanseatic League and the Teutonic Knights. There are over one hundred brick gothic castl ...

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Gothic architecture, Gothic architecture - Origins, Gothic architecture - The Term Gothic, Gothic architecture - Characteristics, Gothic architecture - Brick Gothic, Gothic architecture - Gothic Architecture in England, Gothic architecture - Sequence of Gothic Styles: France, Gothic architecture - Sequence of Gothic styles: England, Gothic architecture - Gothic revival, Gothic architecture - Gothic in the 20th Century, Gothic architecture - List of notable Gothic structures, Gothic architecture - Some famous Neo-Gothic structures

Read more here: » Gothic architecture: Encyclopedia II - Gothic architecture - Brick Gothic