Synopsis
How Politics of a Country Influenced Architectural Style
Architecture has been used as a mode to
reflect social and political consciousness.
Dictators, Monarchies and Democracies used
architecture as a medium to depict their
ideological values, power, cultural. Architecture
has great communication powers as compared
other ways to communicate with common
people. The building form or building features
have more psychological effect on a human
because of visual interpretation. A building has
most direct and continuous impact on a human.
Due to the direct psychological impact on
humans or common people, architecture has
always been a favourite way of depicting values
of any political figure or political parties. That is
why most political influence on architecture is
by dictators because they wanted to dominate
the common people with power and this can be
done very effectively by using architecture.
Nazi Germany dictator Adolf Hitler once said
“How I wish I had been an architect” to his
master builder Albert Speer. This shows the
importance of architecture to the dictators. The
formal elements like flat roofs, horizontal
extensions, uniformity and lack of decorations,
all these elements of buildings created
impression of simplicity, uniformity, solidity,
eternity. This was the way the nazi party wanted
to appear in front of German citizens.
Same can be observed in other countries
like USSR and Italy. The dictator of Italy
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Siddhant Jawahar Upase
Roll No, - 73 Div. – B
Benito Mussolini encouraged the modernist
style in one way to build fascist Italy but also
influenced architects to style and bring
historical pride and sense of nationalism to the
people of Italy. This can also be observed in
USSR during the regime of Joseph Stalin. The
tension between USSR and USA, constant
Conflict of being a super power resulted in
influence of politics on architecture of USSR, It
was intended to represent power of Stalin and
country. Construction of imposing structures
and attaching soviet ornamentation on the
building in seen during the Stalin Era. Which
also emerged as a new architectural style
‘Stalinist Architecture’. Communist
governments in USSR/Russia, China
encouraged architecture that promoted socialist
values, such as efficiency, functionality, and
collective identity.
The use of architecture as mode to reflect
power is being used since the Egyptian
civilization. The superhuman scale of the
monuments and tombs of Giza are to express an
idea of greater life than normal people.
Pharaohs used architecture to segregate the
living standard between pharaohs and Humans.
Another example can be observed is Mughal
architecture. Mughals chose Kashmir as the
administrative centre for their personal
happiness. Large scale gardens were
constructed. Monuments at Agra and Kashmir
have expressions like symbolism and power of
geometry to convey an idea to human mind.
Akbar encouraged Hindu characters in the
Mughal buildings for giving strength,
permanence, monumentality to the building
which was absent in Persian architecture.
The British architecture also evolved under
different monarchs. In 1078 William
constructed white tower as a symbol of
dominance. Under Tudor monarchy, England
found peace and prosperity. That is why Tudor
arch was designed in King’s college chapel. In
18th century under the monarchy of King
George I, A new era of architecture has started.
Chiswick house which can be considered as
Lord Burlington’s attempt to challenge the
popularity of baroque style.
The capability of architecture to depict
Human values like Freedom in the buildings
resulted in the influence of democratic powers
on the architectural style. The third president of
the United States of America Thomas Jefferson
also influenced architectural style in the USA.
Thomas Jefferson also played important role in
the design of public buildings like university of
Virginia and Virginia state capitol. Jefferson
believed that architecture should reflect the
democratic values in the buildings of the United
States. and favoured classical forms because
they represented a link to the democratic ideals
of ancient Greece and Rome.
architectural profession in the United States by
promoting the education and training of
architects.
After Analysing all these examples, we can
conclude that the architecture is being used as a
tool by all types of governments since a long
time to influence or to send a message to the
common public. The Shape of a building,
structural elements, façade elements,
ornamentations, materials affect a normal
citizen psychologically, Those were what the
intension of the governments or the leaders were
to use architecture as a tool for their ideological
values, and architecture can fulfil them.
References:
1. Landscape of Man (book)
2. Political architecture and relation between
architecture and power- Fahimeh Yari
3. Architecture and Ideology - Vladimir Mako
4. Architecture Demonstrates Power - Molly Glenn
5. Hitler as Architect –Time
6. Architecture as propaganda in twentieth-century
totalitarian regimes - Håkan Hökerberg
7. Political science as architecture -
Johannes Lindvall

Jefferson's influence on American

architecture can still be seen today. His urge for
classical forms helped to establish Neoclassical
architecture as the dominant style in the United
States of America in the 18th and 19th
centuries. He also helped to establish the

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