Architecture
Building first evolved out of the dynamics between needs and means. Early human settlements were mostly rural, relying on available building materials and attendant skills to create shelter, security, and worship spaces. As cultures developed, knowledge began to be formalized through oral traditions and practices. This process turned building into a craft, eventually giving rise to the term architecture for highly formalized aspects of that craft. Success was widely assumed to have been achieved through trial and error, with progressively less trial and more replication as results became satisfactory over time. Neolithic archaeological sites like Göbekli Tepe in Turkey and Çatalhöyük in modern-day Turkey show these early efforts. Other examples include Jericho in the Levant and Mohenjo-daro in modern-day Pakistan. These structures demonstrate how prehistoric communities used local resources to meet their immediate survival requirements before any written records existed.
The earliest surviving written work on the subject of architecture is by the Roman architect Vitruvius in the early 1st century BC. His treatise established three principles commonly known as firmness, commodity, and delight. A good building should stand up robustly and remain in good condition according to durability standards. It must also be suitable for the purposes for which it is used under utility guidelines. Finally, it should be aesthetically pleasing based on beauty criteria. Centuries later, Leon Battista Alberti developed his ideas further, seeing beauty primarily as a matter of proportion rather than superficial ornamentation. For Alberti, rules of proportion governed the idealized human figure and the golden mean. The most important aspect of beauty was an inherent part of an object rather than something applied externally. By the 18th century, his Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects had been translated into Italian, French, Spanish, and English. This translation spread Renaissance architectural theory across Europe and influenced generations of builders who sought to apply these classical ideals.
In Renaissance Europe from about 1400 onwards there was a revival of Classical learning accompanied by the development of Renaissance humanism. This movement placed greater emphasis on the role of the individual in society compared to the Medieval period. Buildings were now ascribed to specific architects such as Brunelleschi, Alberti, Michelangelo, and Palladio. The cult of the individual had begun during this era when no dividing line existed between artist, architect, engineer, or any related vocations. At this stage it was still possible for an artist to design a bridge since structural calculations remained within the scope of generalists. A significant example occurred when Filippo Brunelleschi added the dome to the Florence Cathedral in Italy during the early 15th century. He transformed not only the building but also the city and the role status of the architect himself. His work demonstrated how one person could reshape both physical structures and professional identities simultaneously through innovative engineering solutions combined with artistic vision.
Around the beginning of the 20th century general dissatisfaction with revivalist architecture gave rise to many new lines of thought serving as precursors to Modern architecture. Notable among these was the Deutscher Werkbund formed in 1907 to produce better quality machine-made objects. Following this lead the Bauhaus school founded in Weimar Germany in 1919 redefined architectural bounds prior set throughout history. It viewed creation of a building as the ultimate synthesis of art craft and technology. Immediately after World War I pioneering modernist architects sought to develop a completely new style appropriate for a new post-war social and economic order focused on meeting needs of middle and working classes. They rejected academic refinement of historical styles which served rapidly declining aristocratic orders. Approach involved reducing buildings to pure forms while removing historical references and ornament in favor of functional details. Buildings displayed their functional and structural elements exposing steel beams and concrete surfaces instead of hiding them behind decorative forms. Architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright developed organic architecture where form was defined by environment and purpose with prime examples being Robie House and Fallingwater.
Many architects resisted modernism finding it devoid of decorative richness found in historical styles. As first generation of modernists began to die after World War II second generation including Paul Rudolph Marcel Breuer and Eero Saarinen tried expanding aesthetics through Brutalism. These were buildings with expressive sculpture façades made of unfinished concrete. But even younger postwar generations critiqued modernism and Brutalism for being too austere standardized monotone and not taking into account richness of human experience offered in historical buildings across time and places. Beginning in late 1950s and 1960s architectural phenomenology emerged as important movement in early reaction against modernism. Architects like Charles Moore in United States Christian Norberg-Schulz in Norway and Ernesto Nathan Rogers popularized interest in new contemporary architecture aimed at expanding human experience using historical buildings as models and precedents. Robert Venturi famously defined postmodern architecture as a decorated shed which is ordinary building functionally designed inside and embellished on outside. He upheld this concept against modernist and brutalist ducks described as buildings with unnecessarily expressive tectonic forms.
Environmental sustainability has become mainstream issue with profound effect on architectural profession since 1980s. Many developers who support financing of buildings have become educated to encourage facilitation of environmentally sustainable design rather than solutions based primarily on immediate cost. Major examples include passive solar building design greener roof designs biodegradable materials and more attention to structure's energy usage. This major shift changed architecture schools to focus more on environment. There has been acceleration in number of buildings seeking to meet green building sustainable design principles. Sustainable practices that were core of vernacular architecture increasingly provide inspiration for environmentally and socially sustainable contemporary techniques. U.S. Green Building Council's LEED rating system has been influential in this regard. Other energy efficiency and green building rating systems include Energy Star Green Globes and CHPS Collaborative for High Performance Schools. Concurrently recent movements like New Urbanism Metaphoric architecture contemporary Traditional architecture and New Classical architecture promote sustainable approach towards construction appreciating smart growth architectural tradition and classical design.
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Common questions
What is the earliest surviving written work on architecture?
The earliest surviving written work on architecture is by the Roman architect Vitruvius in the early 1st century BC. His treatise established three principles commonly known as firmness, commodity, and delight.
When did Renaissance humanism influence architectural design?
Renaissance Europe from about 1400 onwards saw a revival of Classical learning accompanied by the development of Renaissance humanism. This movement placed greater emphasis on the role of the individual in society compared to the Medieval period.
Who designed the dome for the Florence Cathedral?
Filippo Brunelleschi added the dome to the Florence Cathedral in Italy during the early 15th century. He transformed not only the building but also the city and the role status of the architect himself through innovative engineering solutions combined with artistic vision.
Which school redefined architectural bounds in 1919?
The Bauhaus school founded in Weimar Germany in 1919 redefined architectural bounds prior set throughout history. It viewed creation of a building as the ultimate synthesis of art craft and technology.
What defines postmodern architecture according to Robert Venturi?
Robert Venturi famously defined postmodern architecture as a decorated shed which is ordinary building functionally designed inside and embellished on outside. He upheld this concept against modernist and brutalist ducks described as buildings with unnecessarily expressive tectonic forms.