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 AY 2018/19 6 index/biblio Nations, nationalism and the debates on STYLE 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 aftermath of the French Revolution (1789-1799) the rise of nations the construction of national identities… The FR marked a watershed in the history of the Western World It played a critical role in shaping modern nations by showing the world the power inherent in the will of the people. Some of the EFFECTS of the FR the Abolition of feudalism the Declaration of the Rights of Man the Writing the first Constitution The De-christianization of France through the suppression of religious orders & the nationalization of all Church’s properties… « A faut esperer q’eu se jeu la finira bientot » « Let’s hope that this game will come soon to an end » Late 18th-century satirical cartoons showing the Third Estate (the BOURGEOISIE and the Peasants) carrying the First Estate (NOBILITY) and Second Estate (CLERGY) EXPLANATION: it is a criticism of the hierarchical organization of French society. The Three Estates were of medieval origin and broke down French society into those who pray (the clergy), those who fight (the nobility), and those who work (everybody else). Eugène Delacroix, La Liberté guidant le peuple (Liberty leading the people), 1830 The public Execution of the king Louis XVI By means of a guillotine in Place de La Revolution, formerly Place Louis XV re-named Place de la Concorde in 1795 the historical context 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 rise of the 3rd Estate (the bourgeoisie); the abolition of the privileges of the nobility and the clergy… the NATION emerges as a new ideal filling the void left by other allegiances (church, the crown, the aristocratic privileges….) METROPOLITAN IMPROVEMENTS under GEORGE IV in London The rise of a new patriotism and 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 Left: Trafalgar Battle, in a painting by J. M. TURNER, 1805. (From 1796 to 1815 Britain was in a nearly permanent state of war with France) Right: NELSON’s COLUMN Trafalgar Square, London 1840-1843 Horatio Nelson, took part as a general in the napoleonic wars, he is a British hero. Nationalism and stylistic debates in architecture The national orders An emendation of the classical order It is not a novelty: it has already happened well before ! Philibert de l’Orme: the French Order, 1576 EXPLANATION: The Lion and the Unicorn are symbols of the United Kingdom. The lion stands for England and the unicorn for Scotland. The combination dates back to the 1603 accession of James I of England who was already James VI of Scotland. PLURALISM the simultaneous use of different architectural styles 19TH-CENTURY STYILISTIC PLURALISM John Foulston’s best known project in Ker Street, Devonport (1820) is an eclectic group of buildings consisting of a Greek Doric town hall and commemorative column; a terrace of houses in Roman Corinthian; a-Neo-Gothic church and an “Egyptian” library HISTORICAL STYLE/CHARACTER/BUILDING TYPE . The palette of historical styles A wide range of available historical sources and building idioms EGYPTIAN for tombs (or libraries) Gothic for CHURCHES Italian RENAISSANCE for banks and stock exchanges GREEK for government buildings… each one activating specific cultural- historical associations the Egyptian pharaons with death and eternity…. Middle Ages with Christianity…. the Florentine family of the Medici with the rise of banking and modern commerce…. Greek architecture with the ideals of liberty, and democracy REVIVALISM a single historical style is considered appropriate for modern architecture THE 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 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 ARCHITECTURE&HISTORY&STYLE: choosing history, re-inventing tradition In 1836, a public competition is launched to design a new Palace in either of these 2 styles: GOTHIC or ELIZABETHAN The competition receives 97 entries The entry submitted by Charles Barry, who proposes a Gothic-styled palace in harmony with the two surviving GOTHIC buildings (St Stephen’s CHAPEL and WESTMINSTER HALL) is selected. Houses of Parliament PALACE OF WESTMINSTER Right: Westminster Hall, symbol of the THE ORIGINS of the PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEM Built since 1097 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 built in 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 immense 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. 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 CLASSICAL & GOTHIC a new literary sensibility towards the MIDDLE AGES is reinforced by the FRENCH translation of WALPOLE’s CASTLE of OTRANTO and of the novels written by the SCOTTISH writer Walter SCOTT The diffusion of the GOTHIC TALE At the end of the 18th century the interest in the rational qualities of Gothic architecture declines, while a new sensibility towards its visual effects emerges this is a sensibility that will lead to the fashion and taste for the PICTURESQUE GARDEN, imported from ENGLAND, whose main examples are to be found at MONCEAU and VERSAILLES HAMEAU 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 VIOLLET & GOTHIC