History of Architecture
From Greece to the 21st Century
American architect Ludwig
Rohe rightly said
“Architecture is the will of an
epoch translated into space.”
"The final goal of all artistic
activity is architecture.“
-Walter Gropius
Architecture is life . . .
. . . or at least it is life itself taking form and
therefore it is the truest record of life as it
was lived in the world yesterday, as it is
lived today or ever will be lived . . .
-Frank Lloyd Wright, An Organic
Architecture, 1970
Whatever else architecture is, it is
at least an effort to enclose the
greatest amount of unobstructed
space with the least amount of
material . . .
~R. Buckminster Fuller
Ancient Greece
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The Parthenon, 450 BCE
Athena, Classical Greece
Doric order
Post and lintel
Colonnade, peristyle
Optical refinements
Athenian democracy
Greek Orders
Roman Architecture
 Rounded Arches
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replaced the post and
Lintel system.
Spacious interiors
basilicas
Use of concrete
Use of Barrel vaults
Examples of Important Roman
Architecture
Key Terms
 Rounded Arch
 Barrel Vault
 Pilasters
 Coffers
 Concrete
 Arcade
 Concrete
Early Christian and Byzantine Art
 Earliest art forms found in the catacombs,
underground passageways.
 Christian Basilicas modeled on Roman Empire
admin centers-basilicas-to accommodate the
large numbers of Christians.
 Technical advances from Roman architecture
made making larger structures possible.
 Christian churches=sacred space for large
congregations
Plain Exterior but Ornate Interior
 The Basilica was designed with a large
central aisle called a nave. At the end,
there was a semi-circular area called the
apse.
Cruciform floor plan
Basilica of Constantine
Old St. Peter’s
Sant’ Apollinare in Classe.
Ravenna, Italy AD 533-49
Mosaics
 http://www.sacreddestinations.com/italy/ravenna-santapollinare-classe-photos/index.htm
Byzantine Architecture
 Constantinople = capital
 330 – 1453 CE
 Cross in square capped with domes
 Pendentives, piers
 Lavish interior, plain exterior
 Combine church + state
 Heavenly atmosphere, mysterious
HAGIA SOPHIA, INSTANBUL, TURKEY
Anthemias and Isidorus, 535 CE
Hagia Sophia’s dome rests on four hug piers, massive vertical
pillars, that support arches made of cut stone.
Use of pendentives, transition pieces from wall to dome
SAN VITALE, RAVENNA, ITALY
545 CE
Central plan
Concentric Octagons
Off-axis narthex
Interior golden mosaics
Tesserae
Justinian and Theodora
Basilica Plan vs Central Plan
Islamic Architecture
Mihrab
Qibla wall faces
Mecca
Taj Mahal, Agra, India, c. 1650
Mughal India Empire
Romanesque Architecture
 11th-12th Century Europe
 Combining features of contemporary Western Roman
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and Byzantine buildings
Compartmentalized, cruciform
Massive, sturdy piers, thick walls
Round arch, barrel vault
Stone sculpture
Massive, segmented structure, fortress-like
Accommodate pilgrims, ambulatory
Regional differences, e.g. Durham Cathedral, UK
Groin Vaults
 A groin vault or groined vault = the
intersection at right angles of two barrel vaults.
The word groin refers to the edge between the
intersecting vaults.
 Sometimes the arches of groin vaults are
pointed instead of round. In comparison with a
barrel vault, a groin vault provides good
economies of material and labour. The thrust is
concentrated along the groins so the vault need
only be abutted at its four corners.
 In the Gothic era, groin-vaulted naves were
supported by flying buttresses.
Barrel vaulted
nave
Example of Romanesque Architecture
St. Sernin
Toulouse, France
c. 1,000 CE
Romanesque Portal
Gothic Art
 13th and 14th Century
 Gothic is a term used to identify a period
that began around the middle of the 12th
century and lasted to the end of the 15th
century and in some places, the 16th
century.
 Romanesque style paved the way to the
Gothic style
Gothic Art
 Unified interior
 Pointed arches rather
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than rounded arches
Ribbed groin vaults
piers, compound piers
Verticality
Stained glass
New Jerusalem
Chartres Cathedral
c. 1200
Dedicated to Virgin
Mary
Notre Dame
The (West) Royal Portal, Chartres Cathedral
Flying Buttreess
 “Flying Buttress” is a
support structure that
reach the side aisles
of the church that
created a thrustcounterthrust system
that supports the
groin-vaulted ceiling.
Stained Glass
 Many stories of bible, Jesus, the Virgin
Mary, etc. Colored Illuminations
 Size- huge areas in cathedrals were
dedicated to these windows.
 Color-artisans added minerals to the glass
while it was molten to color the glass
 Design-small pieces of stained glass were
joined with lead-strips and reinforced with
iron bars.
Lux Nova
Renaissance, Florence
15th Century Italy
Brunelleschi
Revitalized Classical ideals
Clarity, harmony, geometry
Ideal proportions
Foundling Hospital
Brunelleschi
Florence Cathedral
Dome = double shell
Alberti
Palazzo Ruccellai
1450
3 horizontal floors
Vertical pilasters
Strong cornice
Baroque
Relies on movement
Large, meant to impress
Facades undulate, interplay of forms
Oval plans
Interiors = richly designed, elaborate &
Incorporated all the arts
Landscaping becomes important in
Eng/France
Reason & Romance in England
Chiswick House, 1725
Royal Pavilion, 1820
Cast Iron Age
Joseph Paxton
Crystal Palace, 1850
1st large freestanding
iron frame building
Glass curtain walls
Enormous interior
space
Industrial Revolution
Prefabrication
Eiffel Tower
Paris
1889
Wrought iron design
Arts and Crafts Movement
 Arts and Crafts = late 19th-century
movement to revive handicrafts
 Sought a spiritual connection with the
surrounding environment, both natural and
manmade
 Functional objects with high aesthetic value
William Morris
Green Dining Room
Charles Rennie
Mackintosh
Ladies’ Luncheon
Room
Art Nouveau
 Outgrowth of Arts and Crafts Movement
 Relies on vegetal and floral designs
 Complex designs, undulating
 Curvilinear
 Wrought ironwork
 Buildings designed as whole works
Antonio Gaudí
Casa Mila
Barcelona,
Spain
1907
Art Nouveau detail on the
Wainwright Building
by Louis Sullivan
Soaring To New Heights
Late 19th century - Early 20th
century
Beginnings of the skyscraper
Louis Sullivan, Form Follows
Function
“Modern” technology, smaller
footprint
Steel skeleton
Orderly, light-filled, elevators,
heating, ventilation
Exterior expresses interior
Sullivan, Guaranty Building
Buffalo, NY, 1895
Organic Architecture
Organic Architecture is a term Frank Lloyd Wright
used to describe his approach to architectural design.
The philosophy grew from the ideas of
Frank Lloyd Wright's mentor, Louis Sullivan,
who believed that "form follows function."
Wright argued that "form and function are one."
Organic Architecture
 Organic architecture strives to integrate
space into a unified whole.
 Frank Lloyd Wright was not concerned
with architectural style,
 because he believed that every building
should grow naturally from its
environment.
Frank Lloyd Wright
Taliesan West
Robie House
PRAIRIE
STYLE
Frank Lloyd Wright
Kauffman House – FALLING WATER
1939, Bear Run, Pennsylvania
Bauhaus
 School of architecture and design,
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Germany, 1919 - 1933
All art forms should be designed as a unit
Technology embraced
Economy in the use of space, materials,
time, and money
Avoid Romantic embellishments
Walter Gropius, The Bauhaus,
1925
Dessau, Germany
International Style
 Le Corbusier’s dictum=
 Building= “Machine for modern living”
 Clean lines
 Skeletal system
 Great planes of glass wrap walls of
 Ferroconcrete construction
 Austere glass box, devoid of ornamentation
Le Corbusier, VILLA SAVOYE,
1929
Poissy-sur-Seine, France
Philip Johnson, Glass House
New Canaan, Connecticut, 1949
Art Deco
Popular in 1920’s and 1930’s
Reaction to simplified forms of International Style
Streamlined art that focused on industry
Motifs from industry, machine aesthetic
Motifs from industry and machines, e.g. cars,
Cruise ship portholes and railings
Celebrates “modern” living
William Van Alen, THE CHRYSLER BUILDING
New York, 1930
Extending the International Style
Less Is More
Rietveld
Schroder House, Utrecht, The Neterlands, 1924
Mies van der Rohe
Seagram Building
New York
1955
Later Le Corbusier
Notre Dame du Haut, Ronchamp, France, 1955
Later Frank Lloyd Wright
Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY, 1959
Postmodernism
1960’s – 1970’s
Out with “sleek” -- anything goes
Use of past elements self-conciously\
Embraces history, symbolism, ornamentation, playful
Transform, distort, exaggerate features
Connect with public
Diversity is king -- multiplicity
“MODERNISM” focused on function & technology
Postmodern
Michael Graves, Disney World Swan Hotel
Orlando, Florida, 1989
Michael Graves
Portland Public
Services Building
Portland, Oregon
1983
Deconstructionist
 1970s 
 Seeks to disorient
 Disrupts conventional categories of
architecture
 Disorder, dissonance, asymmetry
 Haphazard volumes, masses, planes
 Challenges assumptions/views about
architecture
Frank Gehry, Guggenheim Museum
Bilbao, Spain, 1997