6 IN WHAT STYLE SHOULD WE BUILD? THE QUESTION OF STYLES IN ARCHITECTURE PLURALISM & REVIVALISM Biblio references Bergdoll: 142-145; 156-165; 165-167 History of Contemporary Architecture Prof. Michela Rosso AA 2016/2017 6 index/biblio Nationalism and stylistic debates in architecture (BERGDOLL: 142-145) “The character of whole nations, cultures, and epochs speaks through the totality of their architecture, which is the outward shell of their being” Jacob Burckhardt, Reflections on History, 1871 End of the 18th century the rise of nations the construction of national identities… the cult of the fatherland, the love for the homeland After the French Revolution (1789-1799) with the suppression of the absolute monarchy and of the feudal system, the nationalization of the church’s properties, the emancipation of the individual, the abolition of the privileges of the aristocracy, the establishment of equality… the nation, as a new emerging ideal, fills the void left by other allegiances (church, the crown, the aristocratic privilege) METROPOLITAN IMPROVEMENTS under GEORGE IV in London The construction of new public squares and streets as backdrops for public ceremonies in a populist key Regent Street (1811-1825) Regent Street in 1837, seen from Piccadilly Circus NATIONALISM and the new public monuments Trafalgar Battle, in a painting by J. M. TURNER, 1805 NELSON’s COLUMN Trafalgar Square, London 1840-1843 Nationalism and stylistic debates in architecture The national orders An emendation of the classical order Philibert de l’Orme: the French Order, 1576 PLURALISM the simultaneous use of different architectural styles REVIVALISM a single historical style is considered appropriate for modern architecture MEDIAEVAL REVIVAL 6 index/biblio ENGLAND TWO NEO-GOTHIC BUILDINGS 1. THE CASTELLATED HOUSE AT STRAWBERRY HILL, LONDON 2. THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT, LONDON THE WRITINGS IN FAVOUR OF GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE (BERGDOLL: 142-145) (BERGDOLL: 156-165) South Eastern view House at STRAWBERRY HILL Horace Walpole North-Western view HORACE WALPOLE House at Strawberry Hill Built since 1749 onwards The House became a tourist attraction In 1748 Walpole had printed a guidebook and issued tickets Looks like a building grown over time GROUND FLOOR PLAN The ENTRANCE FIRST FLOOR PLAN Tribuna degli Uffizi, Florence Primo piano THE GALLERY Richard Payne Kinght Downtown Castle 18th century Fonthill Abbey, a mock-Gothic building Designed by James Wyatt for William Th. Beckford 1795-1807, collapsed in the early 1820s Above: the fire at the Westminster Palace, 1832 in a painting by William M. Turner Right: A.W.N. Pugin Gothic revival in Britain Two further facts had favoured the diffusion of the GOTHIC REVIVAL IN BRITAIN A. in order to re-establish the authority of the Anglican Church over the population, a population that had been growing of 7 millions in few decades, an Act of Parliament was approved in 1818 for the construction of 600 new parish churches, of which only 224 were finally built, all in the Gothic style . B. George IV had expanded and decorated WINDSOR CASTLE in the Gothic taste. The project was a highly publicized enterprise supervised by Jeffry Wyatville… Pugin himself was employed in it for the design of its furniture PALACE OF WESTMINSTER THAMES ELEVATION Charles Barry 1835 Houses of Parliament PALACE OF WESTMINSTER GOTHIC as a choice of continuity Westminster Hall , from 1097 onwards London 1836 AUGUSTUS W. N. PUGIN Contrasts or a Parallel between the Noble edifices of the Middle Ages and Corresponding Buildings of the Present Day; showing the Present Decay of Taste CONTRASTED TOWNS 1440 VERSUS 1840 CONTRASTED RESIDENCES FOR THE POOR 1440 VERSUS 1840 THE PLATE IS A SATIRICAL REPRESENTATION OF LONDON MAJOR CLASSICIST BUILDINGS OF THE TIME BUILDINGS & architectural details CONTAINED IN THIS ILLUSTRATION 1 Elevation of the National Gallery by William Wilkins, 1832-1836 2 Buildings in REGENT STREET by John NASH, 1832-1836 3 The Carlton Club by Robert Smirke, 1833-1836 4 VAULTS of the house at n. 13 of Lincoln’s Inn Fields by John Soane CLASSICIST (CONTEMPORARY) VERSUS GOTHIC (MEDIAEVAL) “the professor’s home” (John Soane)compared with a medieval building builtin the French town of Rouen The Present Revival of Christian Architecture Frontispiece of An Apology for the Revival of Christian Architecture in England by A.W.N. PUGIN, 1843 Gothic Furniture in the Style of the 15th Century, London 1835 Two great rules for design are these 1 there should be no features about a building which are not necessary by convenience, construction or propriety 2 all ornament should consist of enrichment of the essential construction of the building 6 index/biblio THE MEDIAEVAL REVIVAL FRANCE THE EMERGENCE OF THE NOTION OF HERITAGE AFTER THE FRENCH REVOLUTION THE FIRST MUSEUM OF NATIONAL MONUMENTS VIOLLET LE DUC AND THE GOTHIC CATHEDRAL (BERGDOLL: 165-167) Where and when do we see the first appearance of the expression ‘national monument’? In France. With the FRENCH REVOLUTION 1 all the properties of MONARCHY, ARISTOCRACY, the EMIGRATED people and the CHURCH are NATIONALISED All of a sudden, the State becomes the owner of an imense patrimony of buildings that used to belong to the Monarchy and the Church. PROTECTION begins 2 On 14th JULY 1789 the state PRISON of BASTILLE, symbol of monarchic despotism is demolished. ICONCLASM: IDEOLOGICAL DEMOLITION OF ALL THE SYMBOLS OF ABSOLUTISM COMMEMORATION begins The Gothic revival in FRANCE is connected to the French rationalist tradition (PERRAULT/CORDEMOY/LAUGIER/SOUFFLOT) THE CHURCH OF SAINTE GÉNEVIÈVE AN HYBRID BUILDING A SYNTHESIS OF CLASSICAL TRABEATION AND MEDIAEVAL ARCUATION CLASSIC & GOTHIC The scientific and systematic study of Gothic Project for a modern Concert Hall by E. E. VIOLLET LE DUC Not a copy but a paraphrase, a reformulation of GOTHIC architecture William M. Turner, The Great Western Railway …1844 The railway track, the first iron standardised element, the antecedent of an iron column The use of exposed iron as a structural as well as decorative element THE MEDIAEVAL REVIVAL ITALY SOME EXAMPLES OF NEO-GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE CASTLE AND PARCO DEL ROCCOLO (BUSCA, CN) After 1831 For the Marquis Roberto Tapparelli d’Azeglio COMPLESSO DI POLLENZO (CN) Ernesto Melano, Pelagio Palagi, Xavier Kurten for the king Carlo Alberto di Savoia 1832-1847 CHIESA DI SAN VITTORE AT POLLENZO (CN) Ernesto Melano LA MARGARIA Parc of Racconigi, by Pelagio Palagi 1836-1843 .