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Art Nouveau Architecture: Characteristics and Philosophy

The world of architecture is full of magic and surprises with various forms, styles, and designs but art nouveau is something outstanding from all of the architectural and even art forms, how come, someone, thinks architecture in a flower shape, that the beauty of art and architecture to make the impossible and the imaginary to be alive.

Though art nouveau is considered more of art rather than complete architecture, it is used for decoration, and interior and exterior design purposes, nobody would have thought that the unusual architectural style could dominate the ancient European architectural style in the late 18’s and early 19’s, art nouveau played a very important role in architecture by making it more enjoyable rather than just astonished by it.

Architecture Philosophy

This architectural style is more of an experimental architecture style to make the architecture like a floral style (the design like flowers), the entire art nouveau is based on natural forms and brings it to the world of architecture, the increasing of new technology in the early 20th century made it possible to achieve the full potential of this architecture.

The elaborate style and curved lines were unusual for the world of architecture itself until art nouveau made it possible, rather than just being an exterior architecture art nouveau is a complete set of art from furniture to jewelry and interior designs, the new age and young people loved the art nouveau for its ornamental design form.

Art nouveau(new art) is more concentrated on style than philosophy, the core purpose is to make people special about the concept and just enjoy it rather than studying the philosophical theories behind it, it made this form of architecture stand out from all other architecture styles and dominated every other architecture in its period.

art nouveau architecture

The colloidal of art and design and then to make it in a form become what we all this architecture today, concentrated more on the ornaments, colors, and design, to apply art in everyday usage and in architecture too, the usage of glass and iron in a different geometry made it to look outstanding and likable.

Antoni Gaudi, Otta Wagner, Joseph Maria Olbrich, and Paul Hanker are a few of the greatest art nouveau architects in history.

art nouveau architecture
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Works to look at

CastaBatllo, Barcelona

It is more of an art rather than architecture with its amazing design concept and usage of iron mixed with glass in a very creative way you could imagine CastaBatllo is a heavenly treat for the eyes and it represents the true art nouveau architecture, the work of Antoni Gaudi is still a mystery for many of the architects.

Albert Street, Riga

It is another great place of art nouveau architecture for its royal look and the decorated sones made it look more stylish and artistic than architecture, the ornamental architecture in Albert Street made it one of the most recognizable places for art and architecture all over the world.

The secession building, Vienna

It is one of the most creative and yet simple architecture I’ve ever seen, the usage of golden flower ornament colors with bright white made it look more like jewelry rather than architecture, the exhibition hall is more of a boxed paradise with bricks colored white.

Every piece of art is a form of philosophy, idea, and purpose but art nouveau is just art and design, to make people smile and to transfer joy into them.

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Victorian Architecture: facts and Philosophy

If we go through the history of Great Britain there are some architectural styles that made a great impact on the history of Britain and the world itself, like the Georgian architecture which came after kings of Britain George I, II  and II, the Victorian style came after the very famous Queen Victoria.

England had great taste and always held their royalty in anything that resembled Britain, Victorian architecture is royal in itself, the architecture is a cocktail of many forms and styles around the Western countries and influenced various architectural philosophies from Romanesque to Georgian.

From the period of mid 18th century to the 19th and above the Victorians did great artwork and also reshaped the buildings of England into something wonderful, the Victorian style refers to the architecture that was constructed during the 18th to 19th century, it had most of the Georgian architectural features like symmetry and box-shaped structure.

Victorian architecture is more of a restoration of its previous architectural styles and had a response to remodeling it, the usage of advanced technology and steel made the Victorian style stand against all other architectures at the time, it created stunning visuals and even today anybody will get awestruck while seeing the Victorian-style buildings.

Architecture Philosophy

The usage of iron in architecture was something new in the Victorian era and it made a clear impact on people but most of the Victorian architecture is either public, educational, or official buildings, Victorian style seems more royal than any other architecture at the time even Georgian seemed very simple while comparing to the mighty Victorian architecture.

The iron made Victorian stronger and wider with more elements of Georgian it created something new with fewer bricks and stunning visuals, the geometry played a very important role, though Victorian influenced various architectural styles it had its own characteristics like columns, bay windows, turrets, dormers and cornices which made it unique in style and design.

victorian architecture

Like Georgian, a Victorian architectural style emerged from England but as people started to move around the world the architecture too moved along with architects of England to the world like the United States, Australia, and Italy, for the mighty and stunning visuals of Victorian-style the world soon adapted to Victorian while constructing important buildings like educational and official buildings.

Some core purpose of the Victorian era was to reestablish the former architecture, most of the churches were reconstructed and restored during the Victorian era which created a great impact on Victorian architecture in churches and palaces.

Works to look at

victorian architecture

Victorian played a very important role in the history of architecture and most of the amazing works are made on the red carpet of England London itself if you ever go to London you get amazed by a lot of things around London and the Palace of Westminster “ the house of the lord” will surely amaze you, it is one of the most beautiful works done in the Victorian style, Augustus Pugin takes all the credit for being the architect and also an admirer of both gothic and Victorian architectural style.

Royal Albert Hall, the Victorian School of Art and Science, the Gilbert Scott Building (University of Glasgow), and Balmoral Castle are other wonderful works of Victorian architecture.

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Georgian Architecture: facts and philosophy

Every piece of architecture ever created follow an ideology that resembles its purpose to be served, some form of architecture served a religious purpose, some for political, and some were made out of pure art and nothing more but every piece of architecture also stood as an identity of time and period, Georgian architecture is one such architecture which resembles the time and being the only true identity of art.

Georgian architectural style is a bit different when compared to all the other architectures of the world, it is not composed or formed as a single architecture, what we and the architects of the world call Georgian is the time and the architecture which were built during the period of 17 to the mid 18th century.

Rome and Greece are the two major pillars in the formation of the Georgian style, the architectural style was used more in Europe as usual, and in American countries too, the simplest style of Georgian architecture made it adapt too quickly, and in the end of the 18th century, almost the entire western countries were adapted to the Georgian architectural style.

Architecture Philosophy

Britain and America acted as the two major places where the Georgian architectural style was more popular than anywhere in the world, the tall and large windows which let the natural light inside, and the high ceiling and wider open space inside are the two major characteristics of the Georgian style.

The architecture became famous for its symmetry, balance, and proportion, the geometry played a wide role in constructing Georgian architecture which made it look more classical and stylish at the same time, the pattern rectangular in shape with larger use of bricks made it simple looking and budget architecture too.

The core decoration of the Georgian style is the usage of bricks and stones in the right place in the right order, even the raw bricks acted as a design concept of the Georgian architecture, American woods are also used in place of bricks which is merely for their environmental purpose, not just houses churches, public buildings, and colonial houses are major construction of the Georgian architectural style.

Like the name resembles the Georgian is kind of royal, classical, and yet simple in form, entrance, roofs, and doors were given more importance than any other part of the architecture and it worked well with people of classical styles.

georgian architecture

Bricks, stones, and stucco were the core materials used in the construction of the Georgian style but woods were also used in some parts of the world, Georgian architecture is complete more with bricks than woods or stones.

The name and style of Georgian architecture changed according to the time, in the early 19th century it was called colonial revival architecture in America, by the 20th century it was called as neo-Georgian architecture, and then Georgian revival architecture in Great Britain.

Works to look at

Strawberry Hill and Marble Hill in Twickenham, no 13 Lincoln’s Inn Fields in London, Royal Exchange in Dublin, and Circus Bath are some of the fine buildings constructed in the Georgian architectural style.

georgian architecture
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Contemporary Architecture: facts and philosophy

When do you see something that just blows your mind and keeps you amazed at what that thing is, have you ever faced a situation like that? If not then you’re going to now.

In the world of architecture, there are many types, forms, and styles which can be defined in a particular way, but what if some architectural style is undefined, contemporary architecture is the undefinable architecture philosophy from its most stylish and crazy designs and the way of constructing.

Simply it is the 21st century’s architecture style, from using high-tech construction materials to advanced design styles it is a blast in the world of architecture, architecture can be defined as the new style of architecture or architecture that reflects the futurism in it.

Contemporary architecture
Burj Khalifa, Dubai

 Unlike traditional architectural styles and designs, contemporary architecture has its own physical form and design, the usage of contemporary materials like tube design and computer-aided 3D design made it look more stylish and attractive.

More like a James Cameron movie it doesn’t follow traditional principles of architecture, it has its own rules and principle structures, the usage of reinforced concrete made it possible to build any structure and form, the core principle of contemporary architecture is to serve the purpose of the architecture within its economical boundary.

Architecture Philosophy

Though it is a new form of architecture, it influenced some designs from modern architecture like the lines and neatness in the design, the extensive use of curved lines made it look more stylish and advanced, the materials being used in contemporary architecture are apart from the core architectural materials like bricks, glass, and steels.

Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao is constructed using titanium along with limestone and glass, natural light, and innovative design made to shine while compared with other architectural styles, the highly imaginative design is the core feature of contemporary architecture and it made it look the peak of the trend.

Contemporary architecture
Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao

With more similar to futuristic and modern architecture but with highlighted design concepts contemporary architecture globally used to attract and to create an impact in its design, the recycled materials being used made it quickly adaptable energy-saving, and efficient.

It all comes to space in contemporary architecture, how the architecture handles the space inside the building is what matters most, usually, this architecture has wider space inside the building to make it look quite peaceful and yet attractive at the same time.

The architectural form focuses more on the functionality of the architecture rather than style, bright and open interiors are also being used as the core features of contemporary architecture style.

Being the 21st-century architecture style it had its own space to occupy and its own design concepts to attract more people to it, though it is widely spread across the world United States and the Central European region hold more contemporary architecture than anywhere in the world.

Burj Khalifa, the Louis Vuitton Foundation, one world trade center, and the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao are some of the most astonishing works made of contemporary architectural style, The world always needs something better than today and a little more attractive than tomorrow, contemporary architecture is just does its work.

Contemporary architecture
World Trade Centre. New York City, United States
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Different types of Architecture

Different types of Architecture

Architecture is the form of design, plan, and construction, in general terms it is called the material of buildings and another physical form, like the saying Rome can’t be built in a day, it all started from there, even though architecture evolved from the first human of the world as their own shelter in documents the earliest form of architecture is found in Rome.

Like art, architecture is also in many forms and styles, like places, philosophy, and materials it also has many forms from ancient architecture style to futuristic architecture style it has a very long journey.

Architecture has many types according to country and time, let’s explore some of the core architecture types and their philosophy.

Organic Architecture                                                                                                         

Different types of architecture
Falling Water by Frank Lloyd Wright

Organic architecture is a mature architecture type that connects humans with nature, the core philosophy and purpose of organic architecture is to keep humans in a harmonious state and nature which is around them, the first-ever organic architecture was established by the legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright and most of his work are the earliest form of organic architecture.

He loved the sense of nature within the architecture so that people live in peace and always have a touch of nature with them today most of the world’s leading architects are adapted to the organic architecture style because of the purpose it serves.

Neoclassical Architecture

Neoclassical architecture is of very old architectural style and it is also more effective than many architectural types even today, it became famous for its highly fancy decorations, neoclassical is rooted in ancient Greece and Rome, and it became popular for its texture and simplicity along, with neutral color as its base architecture style and giant domes at the entrance made it to adapt and to display the royal of the building.

Decorated sculptures are considered a major part of the neoclassical architecture style, even today western countries and some parts of American countries adapted to neoclassical architecture.

Different types of architecture
Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C.

Vernacular Architecture

This is like the DIY architecture style, rarely architects are involved in the vernacular architecture style, using all the available material around the building to construct it called vernacular architecture, every part of the world has its own way of vernacular architectural style, it is like language.

Different types of architecture

Modern Architecture

In the early ’20s, architecture adapted to the time and began to use modern materials like steel and glass for the architecture and also to survive the modern civilization, usage of steel and glass along with concrete cement made it look modern, stylish, and formal, by today most of the official architectures are adapted to the modern architecture all over the world.

Different types of architecture

Futuristic Architecture

Futuristic architecture is one of the fancy and mind-blooming architectural styles, when you get astonished by architecture it is called futuristic architecture, everybody needs something new which is never existed before, and futuristic architecture is just like that, something that has never been before.

Different types of architecture
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High and low rise building comparisons

If you look a little deeper into the world, this world is full of magic and wonders with various versions and various shapes, architecture is one such shape of magic in the world.

Imagine you love to wake up in the morning and plan to go Beech and see the sunrise and you’re living on the 13th floor, unfortunately, the list isn’t working so you have to walk the entire 13 floors and you feel exhausted when you reach the first floor, practically you give up the plan of going to beach and see the sunrise, it is in the case of high rise building, on the other hand, you’re living in the same 13th floor and see the amazing view of all the lights in the city from the balcony, see in a low rise building it is not possible.

High rise building and low rise building

Majorly there are only two types of architecture that dominate all others: Low rise building and High rise building, a building that defines the advancement of urbanization and a simple way of living with lesser technology.

High-rise buildings, with taller and lighter a structure built with steel, and glass as the major material, majorly used for office buildings, hotels, and houses in the latest world, on the other side low rise building with shorter and thicker structures built with bricks majorly and woods along, build majorly for houses and government buildings.

As buildings define the way people live, high-rise buildings define the modern lifestyle whether low-rise define the ordinary lifestyle, we feel more secure and feel the touch of nature in the low-rise buildings with lesser no lifts at all and always having the connection with the ground making it a more flexible way of living and independent.

Low-rise buildings allow us to live with people like a community and also make us more engaged with the lifestyle of ordinary people and society unlike getting caged inside the 13th floor in our apartment building, it gives us more security and helps us be connected with the world.

High-rise buildings which are the modern definition of the high tech cities and also define the lavish way of lifestyle with tall buildings, high rise building or architecture gave us a new solution to living in a lesser place, it made something possible which isn’t before,  with better ventilation and lesser noise from the society, high rise buildings indeed give us peace from the world of machines and traffic lights, in a city with millions of population we can only find the calm in the bedroom which located about 13floor above from the ground, even though the cost is higher than the low rise buildings, the amount of privacy and peace we get in the high rise building is more and it satisfies the soul.

Again the world is full of magic and wonders, architecture is one such thing it defines the way we live, of all the magic behind the buildings you come across in the morning, do think of the hard work people have gone through to make the magic possible…