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40,000 BCE
Prehistoric Architecture
During this era, humans started defining and structuring spaces to understand better their surroundings.
Structures include: Circular stone structures known as cromlechs, Geometric forms and designs, Rectangular rooms, Funerary and religion buildings, Art with engravings and paintings
Most of the structures were made of timber with a post-and-lintel system.
Houses consisted of stone seats, stone bed enclosures, a stone hearth, and storage areas. -
5000 BCE
Mesopotamian Architecture
The Sumerians of Mesopotamia were creating sophisticated works of architecture in the fourth millennium BC, almost wholly constructed of brick, and used arches, domes, and vaults. The buildings are noted for their arched doorways and flat roofs. -
3000 BCE
Egyptian Architecture
DESCRIPTION
Monumental massive structures
Geometrical facades
Huge thick stone closely spaced columns
Wall ornamentation
Painted in brilliant colors.
The abundance of sun-baked mud bricks for domestic buildings.
Stone for monuments, temples, and tombs. A simple form of construction: post and lintel (no arches). -
900 BCE
Greek Architecture
Greek architecture is known for its tall columns, intricate detail, symmetry, harmony, and balance. The Greeks built all sorts of buildings. The main examples of Greek architecture that survive today are the large temples that they built to their gods. -
27 BCE
Roman Architecture
They are well known for their fine engineering, and built roads, cities, and outstanding buildings, as well for their temples, basilicas, amphitheaters, triumphal arches, monuments, and public baths.
Description:
The arch and the vault
Domes and Concrete
Great public structures
The Colosseum
Aqueducts
Triumphal arches
Marble
They used Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian columns.
The use of concrete, combined with arches allowed for vaults and domes to be built, creating big spaces. -
527
Byzantine Architecture
The Byzantine Empire characterized especially by massive domes with square bases and rounded arches and spires and much use of glass mosaics. Other widely used materials were bricks and stone, not just marble-like in Classical antiquity. Mural paintings or mosaics made of shiny little stones were also elements of interior architecture. -
600
Islamic Architecture
Islamic architecture comprises the architectural styles of buildings associated with Islam. It encompasses both secular and religious styles from the early history of Islam to the present day. The principal Islamic architectural types for large or public buildings are the mosque, the tomb, the palace, and the fort. -
1000
Romanesque Architecture
It is known for its:
Semi-circular arches
Galleries
Harmonious proportions
Big vaults
Substitution of piers for columns
Profuse ornaments
Decorative arcades
Main structures: the cathedral, the monastery, and the castle.
Each building had an asymmetrical plan and the stone was cut with precision. Romanesque churches evolved the extensive use of a semicircular arch for windows, doors, and arcades. Vaults supported the roof of the nave and were usually divided into compartments. -
1100
Gothic Architecture
Gothic architecture adopted Romanesque elements to produce a new style of building that featured exaggerated arches, increased vaulting, and enlarged windows.
Gothic style adapted the tall, thin pointed arches found in Islamic architecture.
Decorations included embellished colonnades and colonettes, sculptural moldings, statues of saints and historical figures, pinnacles and spires, and gargoyles, grotesque figures that double as water spouts. -
1300
Renaissance Architecture
The Renaissance was created because the middle ages were such a dark, depressing time. The changes in architecture were due to humanism, new trends/styles of buildings, and art. Renaissance style places emphasis on symmetry, proportion, geometry, and the regularity of parts. The primary features of Renaissance aesthetics were based on several foundational architectural concepts: facades, columns and pilasters, arches, vaults, domes, windows, and walls. -
Baroque Architecture
The Baroque was more serious, placing an emphasis on religion, and was often characterized by Christian themes.
Baroque iconography was direct, obvious, and dramatic, intending to appeal above all to the senses and the emotions. In architecture, the emphasis was placed on bold spaces, domes, and large masses. Architects unabashedly applied bright colors and illusory, vividly painted ceilings. -
Rococo Architecture
Rococo or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art, and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colors, sculpted molding, and trompe l'oeil frescoes to create surprise and the illusion of motion and drama. It is often described as the final expression of the Baroque movement. -
Neoclassicism Architecture
It is a reaction of the Baroco and Rococo architectural styles. It has references to classical Greek and Roman architecture.
A series of columns (Doric or Ionic) are used.
Roofs are flat and horizontal and often containing a central dome.
Decorations are minimum
Interiors contain the same principles of massive scale, symmetry, simplicity, and tall columns
There are often gardens around buildings that followed geometric patterns
Domed roofs
Generally low buildings
Multiple windows -
Art Nouveau Architecture
Art Nouveau, an ornamental style of art that flourished throughout Europe and the United States. Art Nouveau is characterized by its use of a long, sinuous, organic line and was employed most often in architecture, interior design, jewelry and glass design, posters, and illustration. The goal of Art Nouveau artists was modern art for the modern age. -
Art Deco Architecture
The intention of this style was to create a sleek and anti-traditional elegance that symbolized wealth and sophistication.
Architects use relative simplicity, planarity, symmetry, and unvaried repetition of elements.
Chevrons, zigzags, and other geometrical motifs are common forms of ornament on Art Deco style buildings.
Description:
Stepped or set back front facade
Strips of windows with decorative spandrels
Reeding and fluting around doors and windows
Smooth walls
Linear appearance -
Modernist Architecture
Modern architecture, or modernist architecture, was an architectural style based upon new and innovative technologies of construction, particularly the use of glass, steel, and reinforced concrete; the idea that form should follow function; an embrace of minimalism; and a rejection of ornament. -
Post Modernist Architecture
Postmodern architecture tends to be highly decorative and somewhat whimsical. They use sculptural ornaments, anthropomorphism, playfully extravagant forms, and materials that perform Trompe l’oil.
Architects reintroduce ornaments colors, decoration, and human-scale to buildings. In most cases, the use of buildings is decorative and not structural. Also, it often combines non-orthogonal angles with unusual surfaces.
