Fantastic World of Architecture

  The Renaissance period was an interesting subject to learn about, I knew of the Renaissance period from an art point of view, but I did not really think of it in an architectural sense. The Renaissance was a quite different time compared to the medieval and gothic period. It started in what we now call Italy, though originally it was many different States each having their own ideas and beliefs. Renaissance architecture truly started in Tuscany in the 13 th     century continuing through to the 15 th century. This is where a new interest in Latin, grammar, philosophy started with less focus on religion. Gothic architecture which had made such an impact on Europe had not made its way to ‘Italy’. So, what is the Renaissance period? Well, it is such a vast part of architectural history spanning over three centuries during which time you can see how Greek and Roman architectural styles were used to influence and create a whole new style. So, the renaissance is known as...

What does Architecture of the Enlightenment mean? It was a period known as the Age of Reason during which science, social and culture where at the for front of design. Architecture had to change to go along with the changing times. The architecture of this period was known as neoclassicism or rationalism. This were terms used for the changing times. Architecture started to change from reflecting primarily religious values to the sciences and what people needed. The architects that we have been introduced to in this lecture help me understand what architecture of the enlightenment really means and showed me the change from Gothic to this period and how thinking was more important in design and religion started taking a back seat. When I investigated Enlightenment buildings, Sir John Soane’s Museum in London came to mind. He was an English architect who helped design the Bank of England. One of his most famous pieces is the Sir John Soane’s Museum London. This building is incredibl...

  Weobley Herefordshire   While Gothic architecture was getting more grand, medieval structures, built at the same time for domestic use, used local found materials. The ideas behind medieval structures like gothic cathedrals evolved over time. Medieval dwellings were basic designs that were simple and beautiful which developed into slightly more decorative with timber and infilled panels creating a contrast in both colour and texture. https://www.lostkingdom.net/medieval-architecture-building-materials/   From this diagram you can see how a medieval structure is put together. This technique is called wattle and Daub. A lattice of woven wood strips is the wattle and the daub is the outside sticky material, mud and manure for instance. I have had the chance to see the medieval town of Strafford upon Avon when on holiday on a canal boat. We stopped in the town, so I have had the chance to see Will Shakespeare’s birthplace. As basic as their houses where in medieva...

 How do you know what Gothic architecture actually is? From this lecture I learnt that Gothic architecture is a very specific ornate style compared to many recent religious buildings. The word Gothic has changed throughout the centuries. It started off both describing art and architecture in the Middle Ages, but later on it was a term used to describe a type of literature with elements of horror but increasingly in the 20 th -century the word gothic was used to describe a type of personal presentation which includes heavy eye make-up and very dark clothing. What I didn’t realise is that there were three different stages of Gothic architecture throughout the centuries.   I always thought that Gothic architecture was Gothic architecture and that there wasn’t any change over time, however when the three different types of Gothic architecture were shown to me in this lecture I could clearly see the 3 different stages which are categorised into Early Gothic High Gothic and Late...

  Looking at Greek to the Gothic in more detail you can see that the architecture through the years is very much distinct depending on the influences of the era. When explained, there is two different types of architecture, thinking architecture and architecture without architects where the architecture is made for the needs of the people. I found this interesting and can also been seen in architecture today. When you start looking into architecture, Greek philosophy played a big part in how we see the world today. The five original philosophers were Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Heraclitus and Pythagoras they gave us the foundation that is used in architectural structures today. This influences modern thought and how it is applied to the buildings we see around us. At the start of the lecture we looked at Greek architecture and its use as governance over the commoner. When looking at architecture from Greece you can see that the bigger the building the more governance it had ove...

  What an interesting subject. Historically women in most business get overlooked; it is not just in architecture.   When I have been doing my own research into the history and the ethics of architecture its amazing how many times women are not been mentioned, it is as if there’s not been any women doing architecture in the past, that doesn’t see right. When you investigate the past its true that most things that are published are in a man’s name or women have had to put their own work under a man’s name to even be recognised. You would have thought with all the changes that has been going on in society that just because you are a woman or a different colour or you believe in something different, that people would have been educated to know that we are all human and we should all have equal rights, to be what they want to be and to be treated and counted as a person not as a category. I love that there is a course that is doing its part to change things, I have worked in a...