Classical architecture

• 1. Origins And Antiquity

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  The gatehouse of Lorsch Abbey in present-day Germany stands as a physical bridge between the ancient Roman world and the medieval West. Built during the Carolingian Renaissance of the late 8th and 9th centuries, this structure features alternating attached columns and arches that paraphrase elements found in the Colosseum in Rome. After the collapse of the western part of the Roman Empire, architectural traditions ceased to be practiced in large parts of Western Europe. The Byzantine Empire preserved these methods, though they gradually evolved into a distinct style known as Byzantine architecture. First conscious attempts to revive the language of classical antiquity emerged only during this specific historical window. While later styles like Gothic or Romanesque incorporated classical details, they generally lacked a systematic effort to emulate the principles of antiquity. These styles did not adhere to the idea of a systematic order of proportions for columns. Such omission meant they were not considered classical architecture in the strict sense.

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• 2. Renaissance Revival Efforts

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  Filippo Brunelleschi constructed the Ospedale degli Innocenti in Florence between 1419 and 1445 with a treatment of columns that had no direct antecedent in ancient Roman architecture. Major efforts to revive the language of architecture began during the Italian Renaissance alongside the demise of the Gothic style. Architects such as Leon Battista Alberti, Sebastiano Serlio, and Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola studied the ancient Roman treatise De architectura by Vitruvius. They also examined actual remains of ancient Roman buildings located within Italy. The church façade of Santa Maria Nova in Vicenza was designed by Andrea Palladio between 1578 and 1590. This structure represents an emphatically classical interpretation of earlier ideas. The study of ancient architecture developed into the architectural theory of classical architecture over time. Most styles originating in post-Renaissance Europe can be described as classical architecture according to Sir John Summerson. Baroque or Rococo architecture displayed an architectural language much in their own right despite being classical at root.

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• 3. Neoclassical Rationalism

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  Claude Perrault, Marc-Antoine Laugier, and Carlo Lodoli emerged among the first theorists of Neoclassicism during the 18th century. Architectural theorists consciously and earnestly attempted to emulate antiquity again as a reaction to late Baroque and Rococo forms. Recent developments in Classical archaeology supported this desire for an architecture based on clear rules and rationality. Étienne-Louis Boullée, Claude Nicolas Ledoux, Friedrich Gilly, and John Soane became more radical and influential figures in this movement. The Glyptothek in Munich was designed by Leo von Klenze and built from 1816 to 1830 as a prime example of Neoclassical architecture. Neoclassical architecture held a particularly strong position on the architectural scene until around 1850. The competing neo-Gothic style rose to popularity during the early 1800s. The later part of the 19th century was characterized by a variety of styles including Art Nouveau and Eclecticism. Although classical architecture continued to play an important role locally, it never regained its former dominance in its stricter form.

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• 4. Petrification Theory

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  The word petrification is often used when discussing the development of sacred structures such as temples within the Greek world. During the Archaic and early Classical periods about the 6th and early 5th centuries BC, the architectural forms of the earliest temples had solidified. The Doric emerged as the predominant element during this era. The most widely accepted theory suggests that the earliest temple structures were originally made of wood. Great forms or elements of architectural style were codified and rather permanent by the time the Archaic period became emergent and established. Dressed and polished stone replaced the wood in these early temples at different times and places in the Greek world. The forms and shapes of the old wooden styles were retained in a skeuomorphic fashion just as if the wooden structures had turned to stone. This careful preservation of the traditional wooden appearance in the stone fabric was scrupulously observed. It suggests that the process may have been dictated by religion rather than aesthetics even though exact reasons are now lost in antiquity.

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• 5. Modernist Decline

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  Croydon Airport in England opened in 1920 and was built in a Neoclassical style before the final shift occurred. Classical architecture arguably almost ceased to be practiced with the advent of Modernism during the early 20th century. Nordic Classicism dominated the architectural scene for periods of time during the 1920s but could not sustain the stricter form. Classical styles of architecture dominated Western architecture from the Renaissance until World War II. That is to say classical antiquity at least in theory was considered the prime source of inspiration for architectural endeavors in the West for much of modern history. Liberal, personal or theoretically diverse interpretations of the antique heritage meant classicism covered a broad range of styles. Neo-Palladian architecture drew its inspiration from the works of Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio who himself drew inspiration from ancient Roman architecture. Even so, a simple delineation of the scope of classical architecture remains difficult to make today.