From Greek to the Gothic
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 over the
people. The Parthenon as a structure is one such building that represents its
power in size.
The saying from the lecture ‘give the people bread and
circuses’ I found very interesting and I can understand the parallel that we
see today with how TV shows and fluff stories are used to soften or make us
numb to what is happening around us.
It is interesting how buildings in Greek and Roman times
represent civil order and governance much as they are used today. People with
money and power tend to have bigger houses and more lavish stuff in comparison
to the working/ poorer classes.
When you look at the historical facts of emerging
government’s in the Greek times you can relate them us and how the world works
today. Many of our structures that are used for government reasons are much
grander and larger than life to make a statement that they are in charge.
House of Parliament
This is a historical
building that represents governance over the modern day people.
Architecture itself has changed over the years which shows
the understanding in different cultures and religions. Conflicts led to new
societies that created their own empires where different religions either co-existed
or were imposed on old religions.
When you look at the architecture that is found throughout
the different empires you can see the influence of the religious aspect. Buildings
became more ornate on the outside as well as the inside as the years and
decades progressed. Many buildings were influenced by the religious beliefs of
the people in power.
Some of the buildings that we were introduced to in this
lecture were fascinating. When looking into them further you could really see that
religion was the central focal point of many of the buildings. Biblical scenes were
depicted in pretty much all religious structures, where either your eye is
drawn to the ceiling up to the heavens or to one end of the sacred space. You
can also see where we get our stained glass windows from looking at the
biblical scenes of historical buildings.
These examples show that most
religious structures throughout the centuries are based on a cross or a religious symbol. Banister Fletcher did a very
interesting book that broke down the differences between different historical
structures so that you could clearly see how they are designed.
A History of Architecture By Banister Fletcher
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