Architectural Period Styles Timeline

Prehistoric

Ancient Egypt

Classical

Early Christian and Medieval

Romanesque

Gothic

Renaissance

Baroque Architecture - Baroque architecture is the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late
16th-century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new
rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and the absolutist
state. It was characterized by new explorations of form, light and shadow, and dramatic intensity.

Baroque architecture is characterized by sculptural, undulating surfaces, ovals instead of circles, and
exaggerated classically based forms.

Distinctive features of Baroque architecture can include:

 In churches, broader naves and sometimes given oval forms

 Fragmentary or deliberately incomplete architectural elements

 dramatic use of light; either strong light-and-shade contrasts (chiaroscuro effects) as at the
church of Weltenburg Abbey, or uniform lighting by means of several windows (e.g. church
of Weingarten Abbey)

Chiaroscuro ; (Italian for light-dark) in art is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark,
usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists
and art historians for the use of contrasts of light to achieve a sense of volume in modelling
three-dimensional objects and figures. Similar effects in cinema and photography also are called
chiaroscuro.

 opulent use of colour and ornaments (putti or figures made of wood (often gilded), plaster or
stucco, marble or faux finishing)

 large-scale ceiling frescoes1

 an external façade often characterized by a dramatic central projection

 the interior is a shell for painting, sculpture and stucco (especially in the late Baroque)

 illusory effects like trompe l'oeil (an art technique involving extremely realistic imagery in order
to create the optical illusion that the depicted objects appear in three dimensions.) and the
blending of painting and architecture
 pear-shaped domes in the Bavarian, Czech, Polish and Ukrainian Baroque

 Marian and Holy Trinity columns erected in Catholic countries, often in thanksgiving for ending a
plague
Rococo Arch. - Rococo architecture, as mentioned above, was a lighter, more graceful, yet also more
elaborate version of Baroque architecture, which was ornate and austere. Whilst the styles were similar,
there are some notable differences between both Rococo and Baroque architecture, one of them being
symmetry, since Rococo emphasized the asymmetry of forms, whilst Baroque was the opposite. The
styles, despite both being richly decorated, also had different themes; the Baroque, for instance, was
more serious, placing an emphasis on religion, and was often characterized by Christian themes (as a
matter of fact, the Baroque began in Rome as a response to the Protestant Reformation); Rococo
architecture was an 18th-century, more secular, adaptation of the Baroque which was characterized by
more light-hearted and jocular themes. Other elements belonging to the architectural style of Rococo
include numerous curves and decorations, as well as the usage of pale colours.
The Rococo Basilica at Ottobeuren (Bavaria): architectural spaces flow together and swarm with life.
American Colonial - includes several building design styles associated with the colonial period of
the United States, including First Period English (late-medieval), French Colonial, Spanish Colonial, Dutch
Colonial and Georgian.[1] These styles are associated with the houses, churches and government
buildings of the period from about 1600 through the 19th century.

Several relatively distinct regional styles of colonial architecture are recognized in the United States.
Building styles in the 13 colonies were influenced by techniques and styles from England, as well as
traditions brought by settlers from other parts of Europe. In New England, 17th-century colonial houses
were built primarily from wood, following styles found in the southeastern counties of England. Dutch
Colonial structures, built primarily in the Hudson River Valley, Long Island, and northern New Jersey,
reflected construction styles from Holland and Flanders and used stone and brick more extensively than
buildings in New England. In Maryland, Virginia, and the Carolinas, a style called "Southern Colonial" is
recognized, characterized by the hall and parlor and central-passage house types, which often had
large chimneys projecting from the gable-ends of the house. Along the lower Delaware
River, Swedish colonial settlers introduced the log cabin to America. A style sometimes called
Pennsylvania colonial appeared later (after 1681) and incorporates Georgian architectural influences. A
Pennsylvania Dutch style is recognized in parts of southeastern Pennsylvania that were settled by
German immigrants in the 18th century.
Identifying features (1700 – c.1780):

 Panel front door centred, topped with rectangular windows (in door or as a transom) and
capped with an elaborate crown/entablature supported by decorative pilasters

 Cornice embellished with decorative moldings, usually dentil work

 Multi-pane windows and fenestrations arranged symmetrically (whether vertical or horizontal)

Other features of Georgian style houses can include – roof to ground-level:

 Roofs are Side-gabled, Gambrel, or Hipped

 Chimneys on both sides of the home

 A portico.

 Small 6-paned sash windows and/or dormer windows in the upper floors, primarily used for
servant's quarters.

 Larger windows with 9 or 12 panes on the main floors

Neoclassical - is an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the
mid-18th century. In its purest form, it is a style principally derived from the architecture of classical
antiquity, the Vitruvian principles, and the work of the Italian architect Andrea Palladio.

In form, Neoclassical architecture emphasizes the wall rather than chiaroscuro and maintains separate
identities to each of its parts. The style is manifested both in its details as a reaction against
the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulae as an outgrowth of some
classicising features of Late Baroque. Neoclassical architecture is still designed today, but may be
labelled New Classical Architecture for contemporary buildings.

In Central and Eastern Europe, the style is usually referred to as Classicism (German: Klassizismus), while
the newer revival styles of the 19th century until today are called Neoclassical.

After a lull during the period of modern architectural dominance (roughly post-World War II until the
mid-1980s), neoclassicism has seen somewhat of a resurgence. This rebirth can be traced to the
movement of New Urbanism and postmodern architecture's embrace of classical elements as ironic,
especially in light of the dominance of Modernism. While some continued to work with classicism as
ironic, some architects such as Thomas Gordon Smith, began to consider classicism seriously. While
some schools had interest in classical architecture, such as the University of Virginia, no school was
purely dedicated to classical architecture. In the early 1990s a program in classical architecture was
started by Smith and Duncan Stroik at the University of Notre Dame that continues
successfully. Programs at the University of Miami, Andrews University, Judson University and The
Prince's Foundation for Building Community have trained a number of new classical architects since this
resurgence. Today one can find numerous buildings embracing neoclassical style, since a generation of
architects trained in this discipline shapes urban planning.

As of the first decade of the 21st century, contemporary neoclassical architecture is usually classed
under the umbrella term of New Classical Architecture. Sometimes it is also referred to as Neo-
Historicism/Revivalism, Traditionalism or simply neoclassical architecture like the historical style. For
sincere traditional-style architecture that sticks to regional architecture, materials and craftsmanship,
the term Traditional Architecture (orvernacular) is mostly used. The Driehaus Architecture Prize is
awarded to major contributors in the field of 21st century traditional or classical architecture, and
comes with a prize money twice as high as that of the modernist Pritzker Prize.

Cathedral of Vilnius
St. Isaac’s Cathedral in St. Petersburg
Victorian architecture - is a series of architectural revival styles in the mid-to-late 19th
century. Victorian refers to the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901), called the Victorian era, during
which period the styles known as Victorian were used in construction. However, many elements of what
is typically termed "Victorian" architecture did not become popular until later in Victoria's reign. The
styles often included interpretations and eclectic revivals of historic styles mixed with the introduction
of middle east and Asian influences. The name represents the British and French custom of naming
architectural styles for a reigning monarch. Within this naming and classification scheme, it
follows Georgian architecture and later Regency architecture, and was succeeded by Edwardian
architecture.

Arts and Crafts movement - was an international movement in the decorative and fine arts that
began in Britain and flourished in Europe and North America between 1880 and 1910,[1] emerging in
Japan in the 1920s. It stood for traditional craftsmanship using simple forms, and often used medieval,
romantic, or folk styles of decoration. It advocated economic and social reform and was essentially anti-
industrial. It had a strong influence on the arts in Europe until it was displaced by Modernism in the
1930s, and its influence continued among craft makers, designers, and town planners long afterwards.

The term was first used by T. J. Cobden-Sanderson at a meeting of the Arts and Crafts Exhibition
Society in 1887,[7] although the principles and style on which it was based had been developing in
England for at least twenty years. It was inspired by the ideas of architect Augustus Pugin (1812–1852),
writer John Ruskin (1819–1900), and artist William Morris (1834–1896).

The movement developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles, and spread across the British
Empire and to the rest of Europe and North America.[8] It was largely a reaction against the perceived
impoverished state of the decorative arts at the time and the conditions in which they were produced.

“The movement … represents in some sense a revolt against the hard mechanical conventional life and
its insensibility to beauty (quite another thing to ornament). It is a protest against that so-called
industrial progress which produces shoddy wares, the cheapness of which is paid for by the lives of their
producers and the degradation of their users. It is a protest against the turning of men into machines,
against artificial distinctions in art, and against making the immediate market value, or possibility of
profit, the chief test of artistic merit. It also advances the claim of all and each to the common
possession of beauty in things common and familiar, and would awaken the sense of this beauty,
deadened and depressed as it now too often is, either on the one hand by luxurious superfluities, or on
the other by the absence of the commonest necessities and the gnawing anxiety for the means of
livelihood; not to speak of the everyday ugliness to which we have accustomed our eyes, confused by
the flood of false taste, or darkened by the hurried life of modern towns in which huge aggregations of
humanity exist, equally removed from both art and nature and their kindly and refining influences.”
House at Alvarado Terraces, Los Angeles
Arts and Crafts Tudor Home in the Buena Park Historic District, Uptown, Chicago

Art Nouveau - has many names: in Austria – Secessionsstil afterWiener

Secession, Spanish Modernismo, Catalan Modernisme, Czech Secese, Danish Skønvirke or Jugendstil, in
Germany –Jugendstil, Art nouveau or Reformstil, Hungarian Szecesszió, Italian L'Art Nouveau, Stile
floreale or Stile
Liberty, NorwegianJugendstil, Polish Secesja, Slovak Secesia, Russian Модерн [Modern], Ар-нуво [Ar-
nuvo] or Югендстиль [JUgendstil'],Swedish Jugend.

It is an international philosophy[1] and style of art, architecture and applied art – especially
the decorative arts – that was most popular during 1890–1910.[2] English uses the French name Art
Nouveau ("new art"), but the style has many different names in other languages. A reaction to academic
art of the 19th century, it was inspired by natural forms and structures, not only in flowers and plants,
but also in curved lines. Architects tried to harmonize with the natural environment.
Art Nouveau is considered a "total" art style, embracing architecture, graphic art, interior design, and
most of the decorative arts including jewellery, furniture, textiles, household silver and other utensils
and lighting, as well as the fine arts. According to the philosophy of the style, art should be a way of life.
For many well-off Europeans, it was possible to live in an art nouveau-inspired house with art nouveau
furniture, silverware, fabrics, ceramics including tableware, jewellery, cigarette cases, etc. Artists desired
to combine the fine arts and applied arts, even for utilitarian objects.

Although Art Nouveau was replaced by 20th-century Modernist styles, it is now considered as an
important transition between the eclectic historic revival styles of the 19th century and Modernism.

Example of Art Nouveau Architecture:

Casa Mila, also known as La Pedrera,
Barcelona (1906–1910), designed by
Antoni Gaudi (1852-1926).
Beaux Arts - expresses the academic neoclassical architectural style taught at the École des Beaux-
Arts in Paris. The style "Beaux Arts" is above all the cumulative product of two-and-a-half centuries of
instruction under the authority, first, of the Académie royale d'architecture (1671–1793), then, following
the French Revolution of the late 18th century, of the Architecture section of the Académie des Beaux-
Arts (1795– ).

Beaux-Arts architecture depended on sculptural decoration along conservative modern lines, employing
French and Italian Baroque and Rococo formulas combined with an impressionistic finish and realism, a
natural action typical of Beaux-Arts integration of sculpture with architecture.

Slightly overscaled details, bold sculptural supporting consoles, rich deep cornices, swags and sculptural
enrichments in the most bravura finish the client could afford gave employment to several generations
of architectural modellers and carvers of Italian and Central European backgrounds. A sense of
appropriate idiom at the craftsman level supported the design teams of the first truly modern
architectural offices.

Though the Beaux-Arts style embodies an approach to a regenerated spirit within the grand traditions
rather than a set of motifs, principal characteristics of Beaux-Arts architecture included:

Alternating male and female mascarons decorate keystones on the San Francisco City Hall

 Rusticated and raised first story

 Hierarchy of spaces, from "noble spaces"—grand entrances and staircases— to utilitarian ones

 Arched windows[2]

 Arched and pedimented doors

 Classical details:[2] references to a synthesis of historicist styles and a tendency to eclecticism;

fluently in a number of "manners"

 Symmetry

 Statuary, sculpture (bas-relief panels, figural sculptures, sculptural groups), murals, mosaics, and
other artwork, all coordinated in theme to assert the identity of the building
 Classical architectural details: balustrades, pilasters, garlands, cartouches, acroteria, with a
prominent display of richly detailed clasps (agrafesA cramp iron for holding stones together in
building), brackets and supporting consoles

 Subtle polychromy
The Buenos Aires House of Culture
Congreso de la Nación Argentina
Teatro Colón, San Nicolás, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires.
The Estrugamou Building, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Neo-Gothic or Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, Neo-Gothic or Jigsaw

Gothic, and when used for school, college, and university buildings as Collegiate Gothic) - is
an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. Its popularity grew rapidly in the
early 19th century, when increasingly serious and learned admirers of neo-Gothic styles sought to revive
medieval Gothic architecture, in contrast to the neoclassical styles prevalent at the time. Gothic Revival
draws features from the original Gothic style, including decorative patterns, finials, scalloping, lancet
windows, and hood mouldings.
Gothic façade of the Parlement de Rouen in France

Ghent (Gent), Belgium.

  Art Deco - is an influential visual arts design style that first appeared in France just
before World War I and began flourishing internationally in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s before
its popularity waned after World War II. It took its name, short for Arts Décoratifs, from
the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes (International
Exposition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts) held in Paris in 1925. It is an eclectic style
that combines traditional craft motifs with Machine Age imagery and materials. The style is
often characterized by rich colours, bold geometric shapes and lavish ornamentation.

Deco emerged from the interwar period when rapid industrialization was transforming culture. One of
its major attributes is an embrace of technology. This distinguishes Deco from
the organic motifs favoured by its predecessor Art Nouveau.

Historian Bevis Hillier defined Art Deco as "an assertively modern style [that] ran to symmetry rather
than asymmetry, and to the rectilinear rather than the curvilinear; it responded to the demands of the
machine and of new material [and] the requirements of mass production".

During its heyday, Art Deco represented luxury, glamour, exuberance and faith in social and
technological progress.

Deco emphasizes geometric forms: spheres, polygons, rectangles, trapezoids, zigzags, chevrons,
and sunburst motifs. Elements are often arranged in symmetrical patterns. Modern materials, such
as aluminum, stainless steel, Bakelite, chrome, and plastics, are frequently used. Stained glass, inlays,
and lacquer are also common. Colors tend to be vivid and high contrast.
Art Deco spire of the Chrysler Building in New York City; designed by William Van Alen; built 1928–30
Deco Buildings, Mexico City, Google Search, Building Design, Artdeco Elements, Art Deco Architecture,
Art Deco Style
The Niagara Mohawk Building (now home to National Grid) was designed by Bley and Lyman and
completed in 1932. It is a nationally-recognized example of the Art Deco style popular in the
Architectural Isms of the Mid-19th century:

 Bauhaus - was an art school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was
famous for the approach to design that it publicised and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933.
At that time, the German term "bauhaus"—literally "construction house"—was understood as
meaning "School of Building". The school was founded by Walter Gropius in Weimar in 1919 as
a merger of the Grand Ducal School of Arts and Crafts and the Weimar Academy of Fine Art.

The Bauhaus was first founded by Walter Gropius in Weimar. In spite of its name and the fact that its
founder was an architect, the Bauhaus, during the first years of existence, did not have an architecture
department. Nonetheless, it was founded with the idea of creating a "total" work of art
(Gesamtkunstwerk) in which all arts, including architecture, would eventually be brought together. The
Bauhaus style later became one of the most influential currents in modern design, Modernist
architecture and art, design and architectural education. The Bauhaus had a profound influence upon
subsequent developments in art, architecture, graphic design, interior design, industrial design,
and typography.

Characteristics of the 'Bauhaus Style' :

 minimalist

 geometrical

 hand crafted (but looks like it is mass produced)

 anti-ornament

There was an exhibition on of Wassily Kandinski's work in one of the side galleries. I struck
by one particular sentence about the Bauhaus in the introduction to the exhibition:

"The school’s curriculum was based on the principle that the crafts were equal to the
traditional arts and was organized according to a medieval-style guild system of training
under the tutelage of masters"
Villa des frères Martel in Paris by French architect and designer Robert Mallet-Stevens
Family house, modern architecture in the Bauhaus style, Riedenberg, Frankfurt

Concrete building with glass fronts in the Bauhaus style of Vanguarda Architects
Bauhaus architecture style downtown Tel aviv Israel

 Brutalism - is a movement in architecture that flourished from the 1950s to the mid-1970s,
descending from the modernist architectural movement of the early 20th century. The term
originates from the French word for "raw" in the term used by Le Corbusier to describe his
choice of material béton brut (raw concrete). British architectural critic Reyner Banham adapted
the term into "brutalism" (originally "New Brutalism") to identify the emerging style.

Brutalism became popular with governmental and institutional clients, with numerous examples in
Britain, France, Germany, Japan, the United States, Canada, Brazil, the Philippines, Israel and Australia.
Examples are typically massive in character (even when not large), fortress-like, with a predominance of
exposed concrete construction, or in the case of the "brick brutalists," ruggedly combine
detailed brickwork and concrete. There is often an emphasis on graphically expressing in the external
elevations and in the whole-site architectural plan the main functions and people-flows of the buildings.
Brutalism became popular for educational buildings (especially university buildings), but was relatively
rare for corporate projects. Brutalism became favoured for many government projects, high-rise
housing, and shopping centres.
In its ruggedness and lack of concern to look comfortable or easy, Brutalism can be seen as a reaction by
a younger generation to the lightness, optimism, and frivolity of some 1930s and 1940s architecture. In
one critical appraisal by Banham, Brutalism was posited not as a style but as the expression of an
atmosphere among architects of moral seriousness. "Brutalism" as an architectural critical term was not
always consistently used by critics; architects themselves usually avoided using it altogether. More
recently, "brutalism" has become used in popular discourse to refer to buildings of the late twentieth
century that are large or unpopular – as a synonym for "brutal."

AT Long Lines Building at 33 Thomas Street, NYC

Robarts Library in Toronto
Habitat 67
Singapore Power Building
  CIAM or International Modernism - The Congrès internationaux d'architecture
moderne (CIAM), or International Congresses of Modern Architecture, was an organization
founded in 1928 and disbanded in 1959, responsible for a series of events and congresses
arranged across Europe by the most prominent architects of the time, with the objective of
spreading the principles of the Modern Movement focusing in all the main domains of
architecture (such as landscape, urbanism, industrial design, and many others).

CIAM was one of many 20th century manifestos meant to advance the cause of "architecture as a social
art".

The organization was hugely influential. It was not only engaged in formalizing the architectural
principles of the Modern Movement, but also saw architecture as an economic and political tool that
could be used to improve the world through the design of buildings and through urban planning.

The fourth CIAM meeting in 1933 was to have been held in Moscow. The rejection of Le Corbusier's
competition entry for the Palace of the Soviets, a watershed moment and an indication that the Soviets
had abandoned CIAM's principles, changed those plans. Instead it was held onboard ship, the SS Patris II,
which sailed from Marseille to Athens.
Here the group discussed concentrated on principles of "The Functional City", which broadened CIAM's
scope from architecture into urban planning. Based on an analysis of thirty-three cities, CIAM proposed
that the social problems faced by cities could be resolved by strict functional segregation, and the
distribution of the population into tall apartment blocks at widely spaced intervals. These proceedings
went unpublished from 1933 until 1943, when Le Corbusier, acting alone, published them in heavily
edited form as the "Athens Charter."
  Constructivism - was a form of modern architecture that flourished in the Soviet Union in
the 1920s and early 1930s. It combined advanced technology and engineering with an
avowedly Communist social purpose. Although it was divided into several competing factions,
the movement produced many pioneering projects and finished buildings, before falling out of
favour around 1932. It has left marked effects on later developments in architecture.

Constructivist architecture emerged from the wider constructivist art movement, which grew out
of Russian Futurism. Constructivist art had attempted to apply a three-dimensional cubist vision to
wholly abstract non-objective 'constructions' with a kinetic element. After the Russian Revolution of
1917 it turned its attentions to the new social demands and industrial tasks required of the new regime.

Hammer and Sickle Building

Zuev workers' club in Moscow (1928-1931)

Rusakov Workers' Club

  Deconstructivism - is a development of postmodern architecture that began in the late
1950s. It is influenced by the theory of "Deconstruction". It is characterized by fragmentation, an
interest in manipulating a structure's surface, skin, non-rectilinear shapes which appear to
distort and dislocate elements of architecture, such as structure and envelope. The finished
visual appearance of buildings that exhibit deconstructivist "styles" is characterized by
unpredictability and controlled chaos.

Deconstructivism attempts to move away from the supposedly constricting 'rules' of modernism such as
"form follows function," "purity of form," and "truth to materials."
Seattle Central Library by Rem Koolhaas and OMA
Hotel Porta Fira (left) in Barcelona, Spain, by Toyo Ito
City of Capitals in Moscow IBC, Russia
The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao by Frank Gehry, in Bilbao, Spain
Walt Disney Concert Hall by Frank Gehry, Los Angeles, California
  Functionalism - In architecture, Functionalism is the principle that architects should design
a building based on the purpose of that building. This statement is less self-evident than it first
appears, and is a matter of confusion and controversy within the profession, particularly in
regard to modern architecture. Functionalism had the strongest influence
in Germany, Czechoslovakia, the USSR and the Netherlands.

The place of functionalism in building can be traced back to the Vitruvian triad, where 'utilitas' (variously
translated as 'commodity', 'convenience', or 'utility') stands alongside 'venustas' (beauty) and 'firmitas'
(firmness) as one of three classic goals of architecture. Functionalist views were typical of some gothic
revival architects. In particular, Augustus Welby Pugin wrote that "there should be no features about a
building which are not necessary for convenience, construction, or propriety" and "all ornament should
consist of enrichment of the essential construction of the building".

The debate about functionalism and aesthetics is often framed as a mutually exclusive choice, when in
fact there are architects, like Will Bruder,James Polshek and Ken Yeang, who attempt to satisfy all three
Vitruvian goals.
Villa Tugendhat, Czech Republic

villa in Södra Ängby, Sweden

Villa Müller by Adolf Loos in Prague-Střešovice, Czech Republic.

Villa Savoye in Poissy, France

  Eclecticism - is a nineteenth and twentieth-century architectural style in which a single piece
of work incorporates a mixture of elements from previous historical styles to create something
that is new and original. In architecture and interior design, these elements may include
structural features, furniture, decorative motives, distinct historical ornament, traditional
cultural motifs or styles from other countries, with the mixture usually chosen based on its
suitability to the project and overall aesthetic value.

Eclecticism came into practice during the late 19th century, as architects sought after a style that would
allow them to retain previous historic precedent, but create unseen designs. From a complete catalogue
of past styles, the ability to mix and combine styles allowed for more expressive freedom and provided
an endless source of inspiration. Whilst other design professionals (referred to as 'revivalists') aimed to
meticulously imitate past styles, Eclecticism differed, as the main driving force was creation,
not nostalgia[1] and there was a desire for the designs to be original.

Church of Sagrada Familia by Antonio Gaudi

The church of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona designed by Antonio Gaudi is a notable example of
eclecticism. Elements of the gothic style were merged with oriental motifs and forms found in the
natural world, resulting in a structure that was distinctive and original. Although it was designed during
the peak of the eclectic period (1883–1926), it remains under construction today.
intersection of Rákóczi Avenue and the Grand Boulevard in Budapest

 Expressionism - was an architectural movement that developed in Europe during the first
decades of the 20th century in parallel with the expressionist visual and performing arts that
especially developed and dominated in Germany.

Brick Expressionism is a special variant, that dominates in western and northern Germany and
the Amsterdam School in the Netherlands .

The term "Expressionist architecture" initially described the activity of the German, Dutch, Austrian,
Czech and Danish avant garde from 1910 until 1930. Subsequent redefinitions extended the term
backwards to 1905 and also widened it to encompass the rest of Europe. Today the meaning has
broadened even further to refer to architecture of any date or location that exhibits some of the
qualities of the original movement such as; distortion, fragmentation or the communication of violent or
overstressed emotion.

The style was characterized by an early-modernist adoption of novel materials, formal innovation, and
very unusual massing, sometimes inspired by natural biomorphic forms, sometimes by the new
technical possibilities offered by the mass production of brick, steel and especially glass. Many
expressionist architects fought in World War I and their experiences, combined with the political turmoil
and social upheaval that followed the German Revolution of 1919, resulted in a utopian outlook and a
romantic socialist agenda

Characteristics

1. Distortion of form for an emotional effect.

2. Subordination of realism to symbolic or stylistic expression of inner experience.

3. An underlying effort at achieving the new, original, and visionary.

4. Profusion of works on paper, and models, with discovery and representations of concepts more
important than pragmatic finished products.

5. Often hybrid solutions, irreducible to a single concept.

6. Themes of natural romantic phenomena, such as caves, mountains, lightning, crystal and rock
formations. As such it is more mineral and elemental than florid and organic which
characterized its close contemporary art nouveau.

7. Uses creative potential of artisan craftsmanship.

8. Tendency more towards the gothic than the classical. Expressionist architecture also tends more
towards the romanesque and the rococo than the classical.

9. Though a movement in Europe, expressionism is as eastern as western. It draws as much

from Moorish, Islamic, Egyptian, and Indian art and architecture as from Roman or Greek.

10. Conception of architecture as a work of art.

The Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia is one of the most iconic buildings in the world and one of
the most recognizable examples of Expressionist architecture

Einstein Tower in Potsdam near Berlin, 1919-22 (Erich Mendelsohn)

Bahá'í House of Worship, India

Auditorio de Tenerife, Canary Islands

  Futurism - is an early-20th century form of architecture born in Italy, characterized by strong
chromaticism, long dynamic lines, suggesting speed, motion, urgency and lyricism: it was a part
of Futurism, an artistic movement founded by the poet Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, who
produced its first manifesto, the Manifesto of Futurism in 1909. The movement attracted not
only poets, musicians, and artists (such as Umberto Boccioni, Giacomo Balla, Fortunato Depero,
and Enrico Prampolini) but also a number of architects. A cult of the machine age and even a
glorification of war and violence were among the themes of the Futurists (several prominent
futurists were killed after volunteering to fight in World War I). The latter group included the
architect Antonio Sant'Elia, who, though building little, translated the futurist vision into an
urban form.

Soviet architecture
Berlin's Zeiss Planetarium
  Metabolism - was a post-war Japanese architectural movement that fused ideas about
architectural megastructures with those of organic biological growth. It had its first international
exposure during CIAM's 1959 meeting and its ideas were tentatively tested by students
from Kenzo Tange's MIT studio.

During the preparation for the 1960 Tōkyō World Design Conference a group of young architects and
designers, including Kiyonori Kikutake, Kisho Kurokawa and Fumihiko Maki prepared the publication of
the Metabolism manifesto. They were influenced by a wide variety of sources including Marxist theories
and biological processes. Their manifesto was a series of four essays entitled: Ocean City, Space City,
Towards Group Form, and Material and Man, and it also included designs for vast cities that floated on
the oceans and plug-in capsule towers that could incorporate organic growth. Although the World
Design Conference gave the Metabolists exposure on the international stage their ideas remained
largely theoretical.

Some smaller, individual buildings that employed the principles of Metabolism were built and these
included Tange's Yamanashi Press and Broadcaster Centre and Kurokawa's Nakagin Capsule Tower. The
greatest concentration of their work was to be found at the 1970 World Exposition in Osaka where
Tange was responsible for master planning the whole site whilst Kikutake and Kurokawa designed
pavilions. After the 1973 oil crisis, the Metabolists turned their attention away from Japan and toward
Africa and the Middle East.
Marina City – illustrates the idea of capsules plugged onto a central tower.
Kurokawa’s Toshiba IHI Pavilion, Osaka Expo 1970
Nakagin Capsule Tower
 Monumentalism - A style characterized by massive, monumental buildings
Iceberg

Museu by Oscar Niemeyer

  Neo-plasticism - In fine art, the term "neo-plasticism" refers to the austere, geometrical
style of concrete art developed by the Dutch painter Piet Mondrian (1872-1944) just after the
First World War. The word is a meaningless translation of the complex Dutch phrase nieuwe
beelding, first used by the writer Matthieu Schoenmaekers in his book Het Nieuwe
Wereldbeeld (The New Image of the World), and re-used by Mondrian in his theoretical essay De
Nieuwe Beelding in de Schilderkunst, before he adopted the French translation Neo-Plasticisme
from which the English term is taken. A better translation is simply "New Art" - mainly because
it described Mondrian's vision of an ideal, pure form of art and design, which he felt the post-
war circumstances demanded. It was to be a pure type of abstract art that adhered to strict
rules of composition.

Characteristics of Neo-Plasticism

Mondrian's new art was based upon fundamental principles, as follows:

• Only geometric shapes may be used; ignore natural form and colour.
• Main compositional elements to be straight lines or rectangular areas.
• Surfaces should be rectangular planes or prisms.
• No curves, no diagonals, no circles.
• Choose only primary colours (red, blue, yellow), plus black, grey and white.
• No symmetry: instead, strive for strong asymmetricality.
• Balance is attained by relationships between geometrical motifs.
• In addition, bold colours should balance bold direct lines.

In short, the rules of Neo-Plasticism were designed to produce pure, uncompromising, heavily
structured abstraction, in accordance with Mondrian's view that vertical and horizontal patterns were
inherently harmonious.
  Organism - is a philosophy of architecture which promotes harmony between human
habitation and the natural world. This is achieved through design approaches so sympathetic
and well integrated with a site that buildings, furnishings, and surroundings become part of a
unified, interrelated composition.

The term organic architecture was coined by Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–1959), though never well
articulated by his cryptic style of writing:

"So here I stand before you preaching organic architecture: declaring organic architecture to be the
modern ideal and the teaching so much needed if we are to see the whole of life, and to now serve the
whole of life, holding no traditions essential to the great TRADITION. Nor cherishing any preconceived
form fixing upon us either past, present or future, but instead exalting the simple laws of common sense
or of super-sense if you prefer determining form by way of the nature of materials ..."

Organic architecture is also translated into the all inclusive nature of Frank Lloyd Wright's design
process. Materials, motifs, and basic ordering principles continue to repeat themselves throughout the
building as a whole. The idea of organic architecture refers not only to the buildings' literal
relationship to the natural surroundings, but how the buildings' design is carefully thought about as if
it were a unified organism. Geometries throughout Wright's buildings build a central mood and theme.
Essentially organic architecture is also the literal design of every element of a building: From the
windows, to the floors, to the individual chairs intended to fill the space. Everything relates to one
another, reflecting the symbiotic ordering systems of nature.
Falling Water by Frank Lloyd Wright
Radicalism -Term often used in the 1960s and 1970s to suggest some extreme of shape, structure, or
(more usually) the Leftist political position of its creators. The notion was propounded largely by the
Italian architectural journal Casabella. In reality Radical architecture was often drawn or collage
presentation of projects by certain groups (e.g. Archizoom) questioning what constitutes architecture,
usually involving assaults on architecture conceived as a formal language.
French Social Housing by Spanish Architect Manuel Nunez Yanowsky
Royal Ontario Museum

Structuralism - is a movement in architecture and urban planning evolved around the middle of the
20th century. It was a reaction to CIAM-Functionalism which had led to a lifeless expression of urban
planning that ignored the identity of the inhabitants and urban forms.

Structuralism in a general sense is a mode of thought of the 20th century, which came about in different
places, at different times and in different fields. It can also be found in linguistics, anthropology,
philosophy and art. At the beginning of the general article Structuralism the following explanations are
noted:

"Structuralism is a theoretical paradigm emphasizing that elements of culture must be understood in

terms of their relationship to a larger, overarching system or structure."

Alternately, as summarized by philosopher Simon Blackburn, "Structuralism is the belief that

phenomena of human life are not intelligible except through their interrelations. These relations
constitute a structure, and behind local variations in the surface phenomena there are constant laws of
abstract culture."

Compared to other directions of structuralism in architecture, the following clarifications are noted: "In
the new architectural movement there is often a tendency to call everything Structuralist that resembles
a woven texture and has a grid. This would be a superficial way of looking at things. By nature
Structuralism is concerned with the configuration of conditioned and polyvalent units of form (spatial,
communicational, constructional or other units) at all urban scales. Only when the users have taken
possession of the structures through contact, interpretation or filling-in the details, do the structures
achieve their full status. Any architecture that has a tendency to formalism is thus excluded. Flexible
form, which has been much discussed, is also rejected as a neutral enclosing system, since it does not
offer the appropriate solution for any spatial programme. In the architecture of Herman Hertzberger
Structuralist form can be found from the smallest detail up to the most complicated structure, whether
it is in terms of spatial, facade or environmental design."

The next quotation is a definition of structuralism in different fields. It also discusses the autonomy of
the primary structure: "Many Structuralists would describe a structure roughly in the following terms: it
is a complete set of relationships, in which the elements can change, but in such a way that these
remain dependent on the whole and retain their meaning. The whole is independent of its relationship
to the elements. The relationships between the elements are more important than the elements
themselves. The elements are interchangeable, but not the relationships."

Orphanage in Amsterdam “Dutch Structuralism”

Kasbah Housing estate in Hengelo
Urban District Oude in Rotterdam
Centraal Beheer Office Building Apeldoom

Utilitarianism – refers to low-cost housing; this was set at a time when search for economic
solutions for low value sites were considered. In England, this refers to pre-fabricated units.
  Post Modernism - began as an international style the first examples of which are generally
cited as being from the 1950s, but did not become a movement until the late 1970s and
continues to influence present-day architecture. Postmodernity in architecture is said to be
heralded by the return of "wit, ornament and reference" to architecture in response to the
formalism of the International Style of modernism. As with many cultural movements, some of
Postmodernism's most pronounced and visible ideas can be seen in architecture.
The functional and formalized shapes and spaces of the modernist style are replaced by diverse
aesthetics: styles collide, form is adopted for its own sake, and new ways of viewing familiar
styles and space abound. Perhaps most obviously, architects rediscovered past architectural
ornament and forms which had been abstracted by the Modernist architects.

Postmodern architecture has also been described as neo-eclectic, where reference and ornament have
returned to the facade, replacing the aggressively unornamented modern styles. This eclecticism is often
combined with the use of non-orthogonal angles and unusual surfaces, most famously in the State
Gallery of Stuttgart by James Stirling and the Piazza d'Italia by Charles Moore. TheScottish Parliament
Building in Edinburgh has also been cited as being of postmodern vogue.

A new interest in vernacular forms adopted to Modern needs; much more straight interpretations of the
theatrical element in modern movement; a distinctly confused revival of F. L. Wright’s organic views and a

return to low-rise, high density development of the inter-war period. Examples are regional architecture,

eclecticism, organism, revivalism, contextually – a blending with the next or existing structures.
Sony Building in New York City illustrating a Postmodern spin with the inclusion of a classical broken
pediment on the top which diverged from the boxy functional office towers common in Modern
Architecture.
Sainsbury Wing of the National Gallery in London by Robert Venturi
Kengo Kuma M2 Building, Setagaya, Tokyo