HISTORY OF EUROPEAN ARCHITECTURE

8/11/2019 HISTORY OF EUROPEAN ARCHITECTURE

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Inventions &

Discoveries

Less is More

Form Follows

Function

Minimalism

Truthfulness of

Form, Material

& Expression

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Modern Architecture-Origins & Manifestations


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Modern Architecture-

Origins

The Industrial Revolutionwas 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 socio economic and cultural conditions

of the times.

A Watt steam engine, the steam

engine fuelled primarily by coal that

propelled the Industrial Revolution in

Great Britain and the world.

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It began in the United Kingdom, and then subsequently spreadthroughout Europe, North America, and eventually the world.In the two centuries following 1800, the world's average per

capita income increased over 10-fold, while the world'spopulation increased over 6-fold.

"For the first time in history, the living standards of the massesof ordinary people have begun to undergo sustained growth. ...Nothing remotely like this economic behaviour has happened

before.

It started with the mechanisation of the textile industries, thedevelopment of iron-making techniques and the increased use

of refined coal. Trade expansion was enabled by theintroduction of canals, improved roads and railways.


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Innovations during the Industrial

Revolution

The commencement of the Industrial Revolution is closely linked to a small

number of innovations, made in the second half of the 18th century:

Three 'leading sectors', in which there were key innovations, which

allowed the economic take off by which the Industrial Revolution is

usually defined

The only surviving

example of a Spinning

mule built by the inventor

Samuel Crompton

Model of the spinning

jenny in a museum in

Wuppertal, Germany. The

spinning jenny was one of

the innovations that

started the revolution

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TextilesCotton spinning using Richard Arkwright's water frame, James

Hargreaves's Spinning Jenny, and Samuel Crompton's Spinning Mule (acombination of the Spinning Jenny and the Water Frame). The end of the patentwas rapidly followed by the erection of many cotton mills.

Steam powerThe improved steam engine invented by James Watt andpatented in 1775 was initially mainly used to power pumps for pumping water

out of mines, but from the 1780s was applied to power other types ofmachines. This enabled rapid development of efficient semi-automated

factories on a previously unimaginable scale in places where waterpowerwas not available.

Iron makingIn the Iron industry, coke was finally applied to all stages of ironsmelting, replacing charcoal. This had been achieved much earlier for lead and copper

as well as for producing pig iron in a blast furnace, but the second stage in theproduction of bar iron depended on the use of potting and stamping (for which apatent expired in 1786) or puddling (patented by Henry Cort in 1783 and 1784).


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Innovations during the Industrial

RevolutionTransfer of knowledge

Knowledge of innovation was spread by several means. Workers who were

trained in the technique might move to another employer or might be

poached. A common method was for someone to make a study tour,

gathering information where he could.A Philosopher Lecturing on the

Orrery (ca. 1766)

Informal philosophical societies

spread scientific advances

Coalbrookdale by Night, 1801,

Philipp Jakob Loutherbourg the

Younger Blast furnaces light

the iron making town of

Coalbrookdale

Another means for the spread of innovation was by the network ofinformal philosophical societies, like the Lunar Society of Birmingham, in

which members met to discuss 'natural philosophy' (i.e. science) and often

its application to manufacturing.

There were publications describing technology. Encyclopaedias such as

Harris's Lexicon Technique (1704) and Abraham Rees's Cyclopadia (1802

1819) contain much of value.

Periodical publications about manufacturing and technology began to

appear in the last decade of the 18th century, and many regularly included

notice of the latest patents.


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Transport in Britain during Industrial

Revolution

The Industrial Revolution improved Britain's transport infrastructure

with a turnpike road network, a canal and waterway network, and arailway network. Raw materials and finished products could be

moved more quickly and cheaply than before. Improved

transportation also allowed new ideas to spread quickly.

Coastal sail

Sailing vessels had long been used for moving goods round the

British coast. The transport of goods coastwise by sea within Britain

was common during the Industrial Revolution, as for centuries before.

This became less important with the growth of the railways at the

end of the period.Navigable rivers All the major rivers of the United Kingdom were navigable

during the Industrial Revolution. Some were anciently navigable, notably the

Severn, Thames, and Trent.Canals

Canals were the first technology to allow bulk materials to be easily

transported across the country. By the 1820s, a national network was

in existence. Canal construction served as a model for the

organization and methods later used to construct the railways.

Roads & Railways

Railways helped Britain's trade enormously, providing a quick and easy way ofto transport mail and news.

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, Llangollen,

Wales

Puffing Billy, an early railway

steam locomotive, constructed in

1813-1814 for colliery work.

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Rise of Metal-frame Architecture

A. Early Modern ca. 1850-

1900

B. Late Modern ca. 1900-60 C. Postmodern ca.

1960-present

Culmination of iron-frame

architecture (Crystal

Palace, Eiffel Tower)

Chicago school: skyscrapers,

functionalism Louis

Sullivan)international style(Gropius, Corbusier, Mies),

Wright (organic architecture)

Total aesthetic freedom

D.Art Deco ca.

1920-40

Antonio Gaudi

E. Art Nouveau ca.

1890-1910

The Thames Tunnel (opened 1843).

Portland Cement was used in the

world's first underwater tunnelCotton mills in Ancoats about 1820

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Social effects of the

Industrial Revolution

John Lombe's water-powered silk mill at

Derby.

England ("Cottonopolis"), pictured in

1840, showing the mass of factory

chimneys

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In terms of social structure, the Industrial

Revolution witnessed the triumph of a middleclass of industrialists and businessmen over a

landed class of nobility and gentry.

Ordinary working people found increased

opportunities for employment in the new mills

and factories, but these were often under strict

working conditions with long hours of labour

dominated by a pace set by machines. However,

harsh working conditions were prevalent long

before the Industrial Revolution took place. Pre-

industrial society was very static and often

cruelchild labour, dirty living conditions, and

long working hours were just as prevalent before

the Industrial Revolution.

York


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The transition to industrialisation was notwithout difficulty. Some industrialists themselves

tried to improve factory and living conditions for

their workers. One of the earliest such reformers

was Robert Owen, known for his pioneering

efforts in improving conditions for workers at the

New Lanark mills, and often regarded as one ofthe key thinkers of the early socialist movement.

.

New Lanark-Ideal Worker Village- Robert

Owen

Over London by Rail Gustave

Dor c.1870.Shows the

densely populated and polluted

environments created in thenew industrial cities. 9


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.

Pitiable living conditions

Workers- Lancanshire

Whole streets, unpaved and without drains or main

sewers, are worn into deep ruts and holes in which

water constantly stagnates, and are so covered

with refuse and excrement as to be impassable

from depth of mud and intolerable stench.

As a result of the Revolution, huge numbers of the

working class died due to diseases spreading

through the cramped living conditions. Chest

diseases from the mines, cholera from polluted

water and typhoid were also extremely common,as was smallpox. Accidents in factories with child

and female workers were regular. Strikes and riots

by workers were also relatively common.

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Modern Architecture Part -2

Materials of Modern Architecture

Age of iron and steam(age of iron-frame

architecture)

ca. 1750-1900

Age of steel and electricity(age of steel-frame

architecture)

ca. 1900-present

iron-frame masonrybuildings,

iron-and-glass buildings,

iron bridges

steel framing and reinforcedconcrete serve as the

primary structural materials

of large-scale architecture

A cast iron frame must use arched construction. The alternative, post-and-beamconstruction, is not feasible due to the brittleness of cast iron. (The term

brittle is equivalent to lacking in tensile strength)

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Post-and-beam Construction vs. Arched Construction

The familiar post-and-beammetal frames of todays architecture only became

possible with the mass-production of steel, which has immense tensile strength.

During the steel and electricity phase of the industrial age, which could also be

called the age of steel-frame architecture, steel and reinforced concrete becamethe predominant structural materials of large-scale architecture.

Reinforced concrete which is simply concrete filled with reinforcing steel bars, or

rebars, is thus combining the tensile strength of steel with the compressive

strength of concrete.

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Early Modern Architecture

ca. 1850-1900

Iron-frame architecture, which flourished primarily in England, France, and (eventually) the United

States, occupies the transitional zone between traditional and modern architecture.

Iron-frame buildings were erected mainly during the age of iron and steam (ca. 1750-1900). As noted

earlier, this architecture included iron-frame masonry buildings, iron-and-glass buildings, and iron

bridges.

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Utilitarian structures (and utilitarian products in general) were important for demonstrating the

aesthetic potential of plain, mass-produced materials. Whereas iron supports in grand architecture were

often hidden behind masonry (such that the buildings retained a traditional appearance), they were left

exposed in structures where appearance was deemed unimportant (e.g. mills, factories) or where

masonry was unnecessary (e.g. bridges, railway stations).

Utilitarian buildings also often lacked traditional ornamentation, again due to lack of concern for

appearance.

As the nineteenth century drew on, many architects began to embrace these features (plain industrial

materials and lack of ornamentation) as aesthetically desirable.


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ca. 1850-1900

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Abraham Darby commissioned this painting by William Williams in 1780 to promote the Bridge. There are

482 main castings, but with the deck facings and railings the number rises to 1,736. There were no injuries

during the construction process, which took three months during the summer of 1779, although work on

the approach roads continued for another two years. The Bridge was opened to traffic on 1st January 1781.

Movement in the south abutment was severe and it had to be demolished in 1802 and replaced by two

timber side arches, which in turn were replaced in cast iron in 1821 and remain to this day. In 1934 the

Bridge was closed to vehicles and scheduled as an ancient monument, but pedestrian tolls continued until

1950.

Universally recognised as the symbol of the Industrial Revolution, Severn the Iron Bridge stands at the

heart of the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site.

The Severn Bridge

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Early Mod ern Architecture

ca. 1850-1900


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The Severn Bridge- An aerial View.

It is still used as a foot over bridge

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Severn Bridge:

The stages of construction

All the large castings were made individually as they all were slightly different. The joints would all

be familiar to a carpenter - mortise and tenons, dovetails and wedges - but this was the traditional

way in which iron structures were joined at the time.

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E l M d A hit t


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Iron-and-glass architecture culminated in the mid-nineteenth century, with LondonsCrystal

Palace (destroyed), designed by Joseph Paxton (a renowned architect of greenhouses) as the main

pavilion of the first Worlds Fair. The Crystal Palace was a cast-iron and plate-glass building originally

erected in Hyde Park, London, England, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. More than 14,000

exhibitors from around the world gathered in the Palace's 990,000 square feet (92,000 m2) of exhibition

space to display examples of the latest technology developed in the Industrial Revolution.

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ca. 1850-1900:The Crys tal Palace
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The Great Exhibition building was 1,851 feet (564 m) long, with an interior height of 128 feet (39 m).Because of the

recent invention of the cast plate glass method in 1848, which allowed for large sheets of cheap but strong glass, it

was at the time the largest amount of glass ever seen in a building and astonished visitors with its clear walls and

ceilings that did not require interior lights, thus a "Crystal Palace".19


ca. 1850-1900: The Crystal Palace


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ca. 1850-1900

Iron-and-glassarchitecture culminatedin the mid-nineteenth century, with

Londons Crystal Palace(destroyed),

designed by Joseph Paxton as the main

pavilion of the first Worlds Fair.

Then, near the end of the nineteenth

century, the foremost iron-frame

structure of all time was constructed:

the Eiffel Tower, designed by the bridge

engineer Gustave Eiffel. The fierce

controversy provoked by the towers

modern aesthetic illustrates the eras

lack of mainstream acceptance for plain,

unornamented construction.

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The Eiffel Tower, designed by Gustave Eiffel. The fierce controversy provoked by the towers

modern aesthetic illustrates the eras lack of mainstream acceptance for plain, unornamented

construction. The Eiffel Tower is an iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris,

named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower.


ca. 1850-1900

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ca. 1850-1900The Guaranty Building, which is now called

the Prudential Building, was designed by

Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler, and builtin Buffalo, New York. Sullivan's design for the

building was based on his belief that "form

follows function"

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The next step in the development of modern architecture was the shift from iron-frame to steel-frame

construction. Steel-frame architecture emerged in Chicago, among a circle of architects known as theChicago school, which flourished ca. 1880-1900. At this point in history, architects faced growing

pressure to extend buildings upward, as cities grew and property values soared. In response, the

Chicago school built the worlds first skyscrapers. (A good definition of skyscraper, for the purposes

of architectural history, is a metal-frame building at least one hundred feet tall.) The Home Insurance

Building(1884; demolished), by William Le Baron Jenney(a member of the Chicago school), is usually

considered the very first skyscraper.


ca. 1850-1900

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ca. 1850-1900While this building featured a metal frame

composed of both iron and steel, pure steel-

frame constructionemerged (in works of theChicago school) within a decade.

It should be emphasized that in metal-frame

architecture, the entire weight of the buildingis

supported by the frame. The buildings walls thus

serve as mere curtains or screens, which are

hung upon the frame merely to seal the buildings

interiorfrom the elements. In other words, themetal frame is the buildings skeleton, while the

walls are its skin.

The skyscraper was the great technical

achievementof the Chicago school. Yet the school

is also responsible for a great aesthetic

achievement: the gradual reduction of traditional

ornamentationin skyscraper design.

Whereas buildings of ordinary height lend

themselves well to traditional styles, skyscrapers

were an entirely new building type, for which

traditional aesthetics proved unsatisfactory;

consequently, skyscrapers acceleratedthe

development of the modern aesthetic. 24
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Early Modern ArchitectureThis transition away from traditional ornamentation

culminated in the development of functionalismby Louis

Sullivan, the foremost architect of the Chicago school.Functionalism is an aesthetic approach in which a building

is simply designed according to its function, then graced

with features that are naturally suggested by its internal

structure.6 This approach, which leads to the simple

geometryof the modern aesthetic, is aptly summarized in

Sullivans guiding principle: form follows function.

Functionalism provided the modern aesthetic with a

theoretical foundation; consequently, Sullivan is often

referred to as the father of modern architecture.

Sullivans masterpiece is the Wainwright Building. The

exterior of this building reflects its three-part internal plan

(a two-story base, a middle section with seven floors of

offices, and a service floor at the top), and a brick pierindicates each column in the steel frame.

The horizontal dividers are recessed behind the piers,

which emphasizes the buildings verticality: an aesthetic

choice that illustrates the creative freedom within the

bounds of functionalism.5 Most surfaces are plain,

although the horizontal dividers feature stucco decoration.

The intricate frieze alongthe top of the building

along with the bull's-eye

windows

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Art NouveauIn the meantime, a rival aesthetic emerged: Art Nouveau,

a style that flourished in Europe and America at the turn of

the century (ca. 1890-1910).7 Like functionalism, Art

Nouveau was purposely developed as an all-new aesthetic,free of traditional ornamentation. Yet this was an

exuberantly decorative style, defined by organic, curving,

asymmetrical linesinspired by natural forms (e.g. stems,

flowers, vines, insect wings).

The intricate frieze along

the top of the building

along with the bull's-eye

windows

The piers read as pillars

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The Bauhaus, German school of design by Walter Gropius

In the early twentieth century, the modern aesthetic(simple, unadorned geometric forms) finally matured,

becoming the mainstream aesthetic of architecture and design across the world. This was achieved primarily by

the Bauhaus, a German school of design that operated for most of the interwar period. The school was closed

when the Nazi government came to power, forcing many of its scholars to emigrate to the United States, where

they continued to serve as leaders of the architecture/design world (such that the Bauhaus age actually

stretched decades beyond the closure of the school).


Late Modern Architecture ca. 1900-1960

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The International StyleThe scope of Bauhaus efforts included architecture, visual art, interior design, graphic design, and industrial

design (product design). It should be noted that while Bauhaus designers generally embraced the aesthetic theory

of functionalism, deliberate use of this theory (or even familiarity with it) is not a prerequisite to designing worksthat feature the modern aesthetic. Thus, for any given modern-style building or object, the designer may or may

not have had functionalism in mind.

The modern aesthetic reached maturity when excess material (including traditional ornamentation) had been

stripped away, leaving only a basic structure of plain geometric forms. As noted above, this maturation was

achieved in the early twentieth century, with the Bauhaus leading the way (in terms of both innovation and

propagation). Architecture that features the mature modern aesthetic is known as international style architecture,

due to the rapid global diffusion of this style once it emerged.


The scope of Bauhaus included

interiors, furniture and accessories

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The international styles three most influential pioneers were Gropius, Corbusier, and Mies.

Walter Gropius, founder and first director of the Bauhaus, designed the buildings of the schools second

campus. Plain walls (white and grey) and screens of glass, sometimes several stories in height, predominate.

Gropius balconies showcase an impressive new structural possibility of steel-frame construction:

cantilevering(platforms fixed only at one end), which further contributes to a sense of architectural

weightlessness.


The Intern ational Style

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While Gropius and Le Corbusier made ample use of reinforced concrete, pure glass-and-steelconstruction in

the international style was perfected by Mies van der Rohe(another director of the Bauhaus), who believedso firmly in eliminating all embellishment that his guiding principle was simply less is more. Mies brought

the international style to the height of its influence, as descendants of his glass-and-steel skyscrapers

appeared in every corner of the globe. The Seagram Buildingin New York, essentially a steel frame sheathed

in curtains of glass, is often considered his masterpiece. The Lake Shore drive apartments brought in a

revolution in high-rise residential lifestyle.



The Seagram Building The Lakeshore Drive Apartments-

Chicago

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Contemporary with the Bauhaus age was the career of the greatest American architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, who

focused primarily on residentialdesigns. Wright sought to make his buildings organic; that is, to adjust their layouts

and features until they merge with their natural surroundings, rather than simply imposing a rectangular box of ahouse on any given locale. Wright felt that a house should not be located ona site, but rather be a natural extension

ofthe site.The exterior walls of a Wright house are articulated in a relatively complex, asymmetrical manner(so as to

avoid a stiff, boxy appearance), and the house is often visually united with the earth via broad, flat surfacesparallel

with the ground (e.g. eaves, cantilevered balconies). Interiors are open and flowing(rather than mechanically

subdivided into small rooms), and ample windows(including windows that bend around corners) throughout the

house merge the interior with the world outside. A mixture of building materials(e.g. brick, wood, stone, concrete)

further contributes to the sense of the house as an organic feature of the landscape.


e e a o a S y e

The Robie House

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Despite the contrast between functionalism and

Wrights organicism, both are clearly modern(i.e. not based on anything traditional), and

consequently similar in appearance to a

significant degree. Wright shared the

functionalist appreciation for simple geometry

and plain, unadorned surfaces, and he

embraced mass-produced building materials.

One could categorize Wrights architecture as a

branch of the international style, or as a cousin.

Wrights first great works were his Prairie

Houses, built in the Midwest; best-known

among them is Robie Housein Chicago. His

most famous building of all is Fallingwater,

Pennsylvania, while his foremost urban work isthe Guggenheim Museumin New York.


y

The Falling WaterBear Run Pennsylvania

The Guggenheim Museum

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Toward the end of the Late Modern period, the

international style experienced two notable

trends. One was more extensive use of

curvilinear geometry(as illustrated by Wrights

Guggenheim Museum, as well as Corbusiers

later work). The other was brutalism: a style that

features harsh, bulky concrete structures, often

with unfinished surfaces. These trends are

considered the transitional phaseto postmodernarchitecture, as architects grew impatient with

the severe simplicity of the international style.


After The Intern ational Style

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Postmodern A rchi tec ture


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Postmodern Architecture

ca. 1960-present

As advances in building materials and engineering opened up

incredible new possibilities for architectural design, it was only amatter of time until the severe international style was rejected in

favor of total aesthetic freedom. (Given its timeless appeal,

construction in the international style has continued since ca. 1960,

albeit to a more limited extent.) Consequently, it is difficult to

generalize postmodern architecture beyond the observation that

anything goes.


The Sydney Opera house

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Nonetheless, postmodern architecture does exhibit a range of common

features, such as complex geometry (including curvilinear geometry),

blending of modern and traditional elements, colorfulness, and

playfulness. Many postmodern buildings have a sleek, futuristic

appearance; these are often described as high-tech or space-agearchitecture.


Postmod ern Archi tec ture

The Gherkin Building38

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