THEORY OF ARCHITECTURE AND PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING

ARCHITECTURAL STYLES/MOVEMENTS & PERIOD ARCHITECTS

FAMOUS ARCHITECTURAL STYLES & MOVEMENTS

 Styles
o refer to specific aesthetic and design characteristics that are prevalent during a
certain period of time
o styles are often associated with specific architectural features and construction
techniques
 Movements
o Are broader and encompass a set of philosophical or conceptual ideas that drive
architectural design and theory
o Are characterized by a collective group of architects who share common beliefs
and principles regarding the purpose and direction of architecture

The most influential styles and movements in architecture history:

 Classic
 Romanesque
 Gothic
 Baroque
 Neoclassical
 Beaux-Art
 Art Nouveau
 Art Deco
 Modern Movement
 Post-Modernism
 Deconstructivism

CLASSIC: GREEK ARCHITECTURE

 Known for post & lintel aka colonnaded & trabeated architecture
 Best known for its large religious temples built in stone
 Designed from principles of order, symmetry, geometry, and perspective
 Principles of architectural orders: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian
 Finest example: Parthenon (447 BC)

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THEORY OF ARCHITECTURE AND PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING
ARCHITECTURAL STYLES/MOVEMENTS & PERIOD ARCHITECTS

ROMANESQUE

 55-1200 century
 Descended from Roman Architecture and inspired by Ancient Rome
 Known for great abbey churches and castles
 Characterized by:
o heavy and resistant walls
o minimal openings in semicircular arches
 Dark interiors due to its walls with pilastered columns and buttresses and small openings
 Examples:
o Santiago de Compostela Cathedral (1075-1211)
 One of its most important works
 Built during the crusades
 Greatest product of its style
o Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Concepcion (Manila Cathedral)

[NOTE: Early Christian churches have rectangular ground plan divided longitudinally into three
or five aisles by columns which support the roof. The roof above the middle aisle (the nave) is
raised above the adjacent aisles so that its supporting walls have openings for air and light. A
half dome projects beyond the rectangular plan.

Naves were set apart from the laity and reserved only for the choir and clergy. It was essential
for the nave to have a large and uninterrupted space, which normal column and lintel
construction cannot support. Thus, after being perfected by the Romans, arches became a
universal design feature of churches.]

GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE

 1150-1450 century
 Original name is Opus Francigenum or “French Work”
 First style to not follow Classic Style
 Characterized by:
o Large stained-glass windows

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THEORY OF ARCHITECTURE AND PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING
ARCHITECTURAL STYLES/MOVEMENTS & PERIOD ARCHITECTS
o Pointed arches
o Vaulted ceilings
o Flying buttresses (instead of pilastered walls)
o Gargoyles
o Other ornate decorations
o Verticality
o Thinner walls
o Dark interiors
o Towers
 Examples:
o San Sebastian Church, Manila
o Reims Cathedral (Notre Dame Reims), France
o Milan Cathedral (Milan Duomo)
 3,400 statues, 135 gargoyles, 700 figures

BAROQUE ARCHITECTURE

 1600-1830 century
 Viewed structural elements as platforms for decorations
 Characterized by:
o Vaulted cupolas held up by swiveling colonnades (rows of pillars)
o Walls and doorways made of both rough stones and smooth stucco
 Other notable features:
o Mannerism
o Frescoes
o Ornate roofing and entryways
o Trompe-l’oeil – optical illusion; forced perspective
o Flamboyant curves
o Thick walls
o Dramatic interior
 Symbolizes power of the Church
 Examples:

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THEORY OF ARCHITECTURE AND PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING
ARCHITECTURAL STYLES/MOVEMENTS & PERIOD ARCHITECTS
o Church of Our Lady of the Assumption (Nuestra Señora de la Asunción) aka Sta.
Maria Church, Ilocos Sur
o St. Agustine Church aka Paoay Church, Ilocos Norte

*** INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION ***

NEOCLASSICAL ARCHITECTURE

 Andrea Palladio as the predecessor

 Revival of Classical Architecture. Architects were also losing interest in extravagant
Rococo Style and Baroque Architecture of the 17th century
 Influenced by Vitruvian principles and works of Andrea Palladio
 Ideal form are temples, which represented the purest form of classical architecture
 Examples:
o Monticello, Virginia – Thomas Jefferson (US President)
o San Ignacio Church, Intramuros – Felix Roxas y Arroyo (First Filipino Architect,
NOT REGISTERED)

Palladian Architecture:

 Extremely popular in 18th century

 Characterized as symmetrical and balance
 Influenced by Ancient Roman architecture and classical antiquity
 Example:
o Villa Capra (La Rotonda), Vicenza, Italy

BEAUX-ARTS (FINE ARTS) ARCHITECTURE

 1895-1925
 Lavish and heavily ornamented Classical style
 Characterized by:
o Order
o Symmetry
o Formal design
o Grandiosity

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THEORY OF ARCHITECTURE AND PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING
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o Elaborate ornamentation
 A reflection of wealth
 Popularized during the 1893 Columbian exposition in Chicago
 Advocated by Daniel Burnham, The City Beautiful Movement
 Examples:
o Palais Garnier (Opera Garnier) 1861-1875 – Charles Garnier
o Palais des Etudes – from Ecole des Beaux-Arts – the very school where the
discipline of Classicism was instilled in generation of architects

ART NOUVEAU (NEW ART) ARCHITECTURE

 1890-1910 (until WW1)

 Finest architectural style independent of the tradition of antiquity after Gothic Style
 Major characteristics:
o Swirling “whiplash curves”
o Organic forms most often represented in ironwork such as flowers, vines, and
leaves
 “Feminine” architecture style

Victor Horta

 Central Stair Hall in Hotel Tassel, Brussels (1893)

 “I’m telling you, the materials are the same, you know as well as I do…”
 Belgium’s most accomplished and innovative architects
 One of the first following independence to achieve international renown, as one of the
founders of Art Nouveau in 1890s

Eliel Saarinen

 Helsinki Central Station, Finland (1919)

 Father of Eero Saarinen
 “Beauty grows from necessity not from the repetition of formulas.”
 “Architectural-form equals social-form.”

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THEORY OF ARCHITECTURE AND PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING
ARCHITECTURAL STYLES/MOVEMENTS & PERIOD ARCHITECTS

 His pioneering brand of unadorned, vernacular Art Nouveau occurred at a time when
Finnish nationalism was on the rise and there was a matching thirst for a romanticized
version of the country.
 His most important commission, Helsinki Central Railway Station, became known
around the world as an example of Scandinavia’s quiet, “rational” nationalism.

Antoni Gaudi (1852-1926)

 “The straight line belongs to men, the curved on to God”

 There are no straight lines or sharp corners in nature. Therefore, buildings must have no
straight line or sharp corners.”
 Nicknamed, “God’s Architect”
 Catalan architect, works associated with Modernisme
 Can be regarded as the most representative and outstanding of the Modernista
architects
 Buildings are characterized by innovative design and use of organic forms
 Architectural style was ahead of its time
 Some works:
o Casa Josep Batilo (1904-1906)
 Façade is decorated with colorful mosaic made of broken ceramic tiles
 The roof is arched and was likened to the back of a dragon or dinosaur
 Considered as one of his masterpieces
o Casa Mila Barcelona (1906-1910)
 Nicknamed “La Pedrera,” which translates to “open quarry”
o Sagrada Familia (1882-present)
 After 144 years as a work in progress, it is projected to be finished in
2026
 One of the longest construction projects in the world

ART DECO ARCHITECTURE

 1920s Europe and 1930s US

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THEORY OF ARCHITECTURE AND PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING
ARCHITECTURAL STYLES/MOVEMENTS & PERIOD ARCHITECTS

 Direct response aesthetically and philosophically to Art Nouveau style and to the broader
cultural phenomenon of modernism
 Characterized by:
o Simple, clean shapes
o Often with a “streamlined” look
o Geometric or stylized ornament from representational forms
 Streamline Moderne became the American continuation of the European Art Deco
movement
 Example:
o Metropolitan Theater Manila (1931) – Juan Arellano
o Chrysler Building (1930), 77 Floors – William Van Alen
o Empire State Building (1931) 102 Floors – William Lamb

[NOTE: Modernism, Post-modernism, and Deconstructivism Architecture in Modern Architects.]

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