Architecture and its Different Styles


 
 
Concept Explanation
 

Architecture and its Different Styles

Architecture and its Different Styles : Considered a response to Baroque and Rococo, Neo-classicism emerged in the mid 18th Century and aimed to bring back a nobility and grandeur to architecture. Inspiration was taken from the classic styles of Ancient Greek and Roman buildings and design. Simplicity and symmetry were the core values.

In the beginning of the 18th century, Indians continued to follow the existing Hindu and Mughal style of architecture. Palaces, place of worship and house were built in this style. The colonization of India by the Europeans had an impact on architecture too, as it did on other facets of Indian art. Of all the Europeans, the British had the greatest impact Indian architecture. They, like the Mughals, used architecture as a statement of power. The British introduced elements of various styles of architecture into India,

From the era of Renaissance architecture to the final phase of Barquoe architecture in the middle of the eighteenth century, most European architects looked to classical designs - especially the buildings of Ancient Rome - as a source of inspiration for their own work. For examples, see: Neoclassic architecture (1640-1850). But around 1750 a number of significant changes led to the development of new architectural ideas. Advances in historical and archeological knowledge led architects to experiment with new styles and to widen the range of design in various ways.

  • The classical Greek style, which included the use of grand columns.
  • Gothic (medieval) architecture, which involved the use of sharply pointed arches, soaring spires or towns, and stained glass windows. It was largely in such frivolous building schemes as this that experimentation took place and seeds were sown for a more serious revival of certain historical styles. The 'Gothic' building at Kew Gardens provides one of the early examples of the conscious revival of medieval styles in the eighteenth century. Until the second half of this century, Gothic architecture - although it had not totally died out, since it emerged in the work of Christopher
  • Wren (1632-1723), Nicholas Hawksmoor (1661-1736) and John vanbrugh (1664-1726) - was considered as rather barbarous. But the 'Gothick taste' became fashionable once more after 1750. In 1753 the first major example of the application of Gothic decoration to a more formal building was begun - Strawberry Hill in Twickenham, the home of Horace Walpole the writer, which was famous for its stage-set elegance.
  • The British style came to be called the Indo-Saracenic style of architecture, which was a blend of the Hindu, Islamic and western style of architecture. Colonial architecture in India included institutional, civic and utilitarian buildings such as post offices, railway stations, rest house and government building. These buildings were erected in large numbers across the subcontinent. The British also built factories, forts, churches, schools and dak bungalows. Most of these were built in a practical style using brick and were painted over with lime. Greater attention was paid to the building of churches and public buildings like those at universities, courts and municipal halls.

     
     
     


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