Architectural Change after the Industrial Revolution

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Palace Westminster/ Houses of Parliament (1836-68 A.D.)Designed by Sir Charles Barry, this building was in the Gothic revival

style. The old Palace of Westminster was destroyed by a fire in 1834. Sir

Charles Barry obtained the expert assistance of A W N Pugin for the Tudor

details of the building, which reflects the character of the contemporary

Gothic revival. Few can deny the brilliance of Barrys plan, with its lucid

hierarchies that differentiate between public & private areas & the

grandeur of the approaches to the great octagonal hall that separates the

Houses of Lords from the House of Commons.

i. Formal planning but not symmetrical

ii. All subsidiary suits arranged around a series of courts showing

Gothic monastic planning influence

iii. Heating through air flowing through duct spaces specially built the

floors, walls & roofs, the lantern over the central octagon acting as

an outlet for the ventilation system.

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iv. Constructed with iron joists & roofed over with cast iron plates (use

of cast iron led to wider spans, lighter weights & speed of assembly

& cheapness of columns & beams)

v. A.W.N Pugin made the design & supervised the work for all interior

wall decoration, the decorative art stained glass, the fittings,

furniture & all the ornaments

vi. An internal spine, which allows for a special sovereigns entrance at

one corner of the building, was buffered by various open-air courts

that allowed light into surrounding offices, libraries, & meeting

rooms.

vii. The exterior-done almost uniformly in a soft, yellowish limestone-

designed in a Perpendicular Gothic style that replicated the taste of

the 15th century.

viii. Despite the monotone treatment of the buildings external mass,

Barry was able to introduce picturesque elements to the skyline by

the asymmetrical positioning of the vertical elements- the Victoria

Tower (102m), the lantern over the octagonal room(& the

intermediate fleche or spire), the Big Ben(36m), Parliaments now-

famous clock tower.

ix. The river front arrangements of the rooms create a prolonged

dignified faade.

The Crystal Palace, London (1850-1851)

Paxtons idea arose from his experience at Chatsworth & was to build a

giant conservatory with a cast iron frame & ridge & furrow glazing system

which he had developed earlier. Crystal Palace in 1851 is an example of

construction of exhibition pavilion in modular units of iron. . The Crystal

Palace was a landmark in construction during those days for its size & the

speed of construction.

Following are its characteristics.

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i. Complete vocabulary of iron & glass structure & elements

displayed with iron girders, columns, trusses, gantries &

movable cranes

ii. The roof appears to consist of a number of span roofs joined

together

iii. Introduction of a transept at a larger stage having a barrel

vault.

iv. composed of thin, relatively lightweight elements that were

mass produced & assembled on site.

v. Tension wires kept the structure from falling over. The effect

was of a building that seemed almost to be woven, withcompression & tension forces brought into the open as no other

building had ever done before.

Paxton also understood that the structure had to be tall & inspiring & so

designed its central element in the form of a long nave filled with

exhibits, trees, & gardens. Under the crystal palaces roofs there was the

1st public display of English mass-produced machines & products. The

colonies & distant lands were also represented, but their displaysemphasized handcrafted products & raw materials.

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Initial Sketches for Crystal Palace by Paxton

Ridge & Furrow glazing system (sketches only for reference. Do not draw)

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RAILROAD STATIONS

Britain took the lead in the introduction of railways during the mid 19th

century. By 1850, nearly 11,000kms of railway lines linking different

neighbouring cities was already laid along with the national & the

international routes. The provision of railway stations from small buildings

on the branch lines to the metropolitan terminus was one of the most

revolutionary among the 19th century communication structure.

St. Pancras Station, London (1864-68)

The height of the tracks was to be adjusted as it came 5m above the

height of the existing street. Filling up the street would lead to the

loss of profit making commercial space along the street & hence the

tracks were lifted on the floor of wrought iron girders (for tensile

strength) & cast iron columns (for compressive strength) with

immense foundation of bricks. This provided around 4 acres of floor

space at the street level.

The tracks were covered with wrought iron truss. It was designed by

engineer William Barlow along with R.M Ordish. It was the largest &

the most spectacular of the High Victorian Period.

St. Pancras Station in London (1863-76), contained a volume of

space within its 80-meter span that defied anything architecture

previously could have striven for.

The large steel members were brought to the construction site by

the railroad itself.

In front of the shed, facing the city was a building that contained

baggage facilities, waiting rooms & offices of various sorts.

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St. Pancras Station... Axonometric view

France

Biblioteque St. Genevieve, Paris (1843-50)

Designed by Henri Labrouste

Ground Floor stacks

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Upper Floor Reading Room

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Biblioteque St. Genevieve, Paris (1862-68)

Also designed by Henri Labrouste this structure shows further shows

further advances in planning & structure over the Biblioteque St.

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Genevieve. The reading room is well known for its remarkable interiors.

Its features

The room is divided into 9 equal compartments each covered by a

pendentive dome of terracotta, each pierced at its crown with an eye

providing natural top light

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Slender, delicate iron columns & arches of cast iron with tiny Corinthian

capitals carrying the roof

Delicate decoration on the vaults, arch soffits & the wall surfaces of the

book stack

Galerie des Machines, International Exhibition, Paris (1889, demolished

1910)

This was designed by architect Charles Louis Ferdinand Dutert (1845-

1906). The engineer for the project was Victor Contamin.

The following were the characteristics

i. Support span of unprecedented 114m

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ii. Use of iron on a large scale

iii. Four centered arched hinged at the apex & the base

The Eiffel Tower was also deigned & erected at this time by Gustave Eiffel

as the entrance archway to the exhibition. The following were thecharacteristics of the tower

i. Worlds tallest structure at that time & was so till 1930

ii. Total height 300m

iii. Stands on 4 legs, presence of hydraulic jacks inside the base of each

leg enable the raising & the lowering of the structural elements so

that they could be perfectly aligned

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iv. 12,000 iron pieces designed independently to reflect the variable

inclination & to bear different loads.

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Palm Houses & conservatories

Palm Houses & conservatories were designed as an early venture in iron

& glass. Some of them are

The Conservatory, Chatsworth, Derbyshire (1836-40, demolished)

An early venture in iron & glass by gardener Sir Joseph Paxton,

assisted by Decimus Burton. Following are its characteristics

i. 84m long, 37m wide, rising to a height of 20.4m in the centre

ii. Use of laminated timber

iii. Arrangement of glass in ridge & furrow system

The Palm House, Kew Gardens, London (1845-47)

It was a joint venture by Decimus Burton & Richard Turner.

Following are its characteristics

i. 110m long, centre rises to a height of 18.9m, span of 32m

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ii. Double vault section in the centre of wrought & cast iron,

covered by glass

The Opera House (also called Academie Nationale de Musique) (1851-74)

A competition was held for this venue of opera, ballet & concert. 171

entries were received & the final winner was Jean Louis Charles Garnier. Itwas the finest design of the Period identified with the Second Empire

Style (High Victorian phase in Britain). He was from the Ecole-des-Beaux

arts school in Paris, France. Its features

i. The auditorium is horse shoe shaped, consisted of 4 tiers of boxes

with a seating capacity of 2000 people, covered by a half dome

elevated on a drum

ii. The auditorium dome is externally flanked by two smaller domes

over shoe entrances

iii. Behind the half dome (roman) of the auditorium rises the

rectangular pedimented (Greek) form of the stage. The front, when

taken as a whole, could also be seen as a very wide triumphal arch.

In that sense the building successfully negotiated the complex

political situation in which it was situated without referring to Rome

or Greece in any direct way. (As desired by Napoleon III)

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iv. The staircase that lies between the entrance narthex & the theatre

is itself a three dimensional theatre intended to allow ____________ to

see & to be seen, the encounters themselves becoming an elaborate

social _________ at the time.

v. The building is characterized throughout by opulent grandeur,

internal lobbies & foyers has many sculptures, an elaborate

staircase being the main feature of the interiors & externally it is

treated in sculptural way making use of many classical details in the

form of polychromatic ornamentation enriched with gold mosaic.

vi. Structurally the building is of Steel, rendered invisible by stone &

brick

vii. The interior consists of interweaving corridors, stairwells, alcoves

and landings allowing the movement of large numbers of people and

space for socializing during intermission.

Charles Garnier

Eugene Emmanuel Viollet le duc

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Architectural Change after the Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century

where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining,

transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the

socioeconomic and cultural conditions of the times. It began in the United

Kingdom, and then subsequently spread throughout Europe, North

America, and eventually the world. Technological innovations brought

about a great deal of change in the work of an Architect. This was the

period of expansion of creativity and brought about various

Architectural Transformations.

Cultural Transformations

The period before and of the industrial revolution, i.e. 17th & 18th century

is easy to comprehend as

Architectural design was seen as one single whole design

Methods of design & cost varied according to time and place but

were within the limits of the established framework

(1800-1830 : Classical revival (Greek, Roman & Egyptian; bold clear

buildings using the Greek Doric Order & sometimes the ionic order,

Roman & Egyptian architecture. Architects took ideas & initiatives fromthe past styles with decreasing regards to their faithful reproduction.

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Hence architecture then was extravagantly ornate (decorated). Numerous

new projects were undertaken to cover greater spans & erect taller

buildings

1840 onwards: Industrial Revolution & Gothic Revival; 1st in England but

later spread all over the world)

Urban population grew tremendously owing to better job

opportunities in industries & overall improvement in health &

hygiene owing to introduction of sewage systems

Marked by religious tolerance, decline of power of the religious

leaders as well as demand for churches & prayer houses but all

increase in demand of other type of public buildings like Houses ofParliament, Administrative buildings, stations, hotels, exhibition

halls, theatres etc.

Vernacular character of buildings lost due to the extensive use of

cheap & standardized building components

Some of the characters of the Neo-classical style are mentionedbelow:

Clean lines Massing of simple form

Decisive detailing

Careful proportions

Skilful use of light sources

Technical transformations in Architecture.

With the advent of the industrial revolution the relationship between

society & architecture began to change. In Europe, Britain was 1 of the 1st

few countries to get industrialized, as it was rich in minerals like coal &

iron, required by the industries of that period

Iron was used for brackets, trusses, cantilevers & all other purposes

from train shed roofs to supports & decorative details.

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Effects of climate on architecture diminished owing to hot water

heating systems for buildings etc...

Glass was the next material. Both the materials revolutionized the

approach to architecture

Territorial transformations

Extensive development of transport networks like roads, railways &

canals made easy distribution of building materials, thus elimination

sharp differences between regional architecture

Exploration in the fields of town planning & transportation.

The royal Albert Bridge (1859)

Eg. St. Pancras Station...

By 1800 many types of tropical plants had been brought to grow in

Britain. These plants needed a great deal of light & warm & damp

air. some of the revolutionary glass houses were designed by Joseph

Paxton & Decimus Burton.eg...

i. The Conservatory, Chatsworth, Derbyshire (1836-40)

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ii. The Palm House, Kew Gardens, London (1845-47)

The French used ferrovitreous for a variety of buildings. Notable among

them are the libraries by Henri Labrouste (National Library & the Library

at St. Genevieve).(

Iron was also used as a structural material in church design especially in

Gothic buildings & commercial structures as the International Paris

Exposition. (Galerie des Machines, International Exhibition, Paris)

The most famous iron monument in Paris is the Eiffel tower, designed by

Gustave Eiffel, an engineer. It was 300m high & then the tallest structure

in the world.

An example of this is the use of iron in the Westminster Palace, which is a

Gothic Revival building.

Iron was also being adopted as a suitable material for complete

staircases/ Gothic vaults. eg

Biblioteque St. Genevieve, Paris

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Architectural Change after the Industrial Revolution

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