American Architecture Timeline

(C.1600-1720) (C.1700-1770) (C.1776-1920) (C.1800-1900) (C.1850-90S)

Colonial Georgian Neoclassical Gothic Frontier
Architecture Architecture Architecture Revival Architecture
(C.1855-1880)
Second Empire
Architecture

(1970S-PRESENT) (C.1925-60) (C.1920-40) (C.1870-1920)

Post-Modern Modernist Art Deco Skyscrapers
Architecture Architecture Skyscrapers • 1871 - Great Fire
in Chicago
 (C.1600-1720)
I. Colonial Architecture
• u s e d by t h e f i r s t s e t t l e r s i n N o r t h A m e r i c a
• diverse as the settlers themselves, who included Spanish, English, Scots -Irish,
D u t c h , G e r m a n , F re n c h a n d S w e d i s h
• s t y l e a n d b u i l d i n g p ra c t i c e s o f t h e i r m o t h e r c o u n t r y,
• a d a p t i n g i t t o t h e c o n d i t i o n s o f t h e i r n ew h o m e l a n d

• SPANISH COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE:

⚬ largely based on Spanish Baroque architecture,
⚬ earliest style to appear in America, and extended across
Florida, New Mexico, Texas, Arizona and California
⚬ mid-16th century onwards.
• NEW ENGLAND COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE:
⚬ characterized by oak frames and clapboard siding,
⚬ based on English models
• DUTCH COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE:
⚬ employed more stone and brick
⚬ based on prototypes in Flanders and Holland.
I. Colonial Architecture (cont.)
4. SWEDISH COLONIAL:
⚬ seen along the lower Delaware River,
⚬ from which the American ‘log cabin’ design was derived
⚬ characterized by round logs with protruding ends.
5. PENNSYLVANIA COLONIAL:
⚬ founded on English prototypes,
⚬ morphed into a sophisticated Georgian-type style.
6. FRENCH COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE:
⚬ emerged in the northern Maritime Provinces in Canada, Quebec
and the St. Lawrence Valley
⚬ also introduced the so-called Quebec style to their settlements
around the Great Lakes and the Mississippi region.
7. SOUTHERN COLONIAL:
⚬ typically brick-built structures with large projecting chimneys
⚬ sprang in Virginia and the Carolinas
 (C.1700-1770)
II. Georgian Architecture
• D u r i n g t h e 1 8 t h c e n t u r y, u p u n t i l t h e A m e r i c a n
R ev o l u t i o n

in America • used in the English colonies in America

• l a b e l l e d G e o rg i a n , a f t e r t h e t h re e E n g l i s h M o n a rc h s
G e o rg e I , I I , a n d I I I .
3 DISTINCT STYLES:

• THE BAROQUE IDIOM OF SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN (1632-1723)

AND HIS FOLLOWERS
• Palladian style of Renaissance architecture
⚬ invented by the designer Andrea Palladio (1508-80), which
introduced the balanced and symmetrical features for which
Georgian designs are famous.
⚬ The White House ( by the Irish-American architect James Hoban)
￭ most famous Georgian-Palladian structure
• Neoclassical style
• a reversion to Greek and Roman Architectural principles - which The White
came into fashion in the second half of the 18th century. House
 III. Neoclassical (C.1776-1920)

Architecture in America
2 BASIC VARIANTS:

• FEDERAL STYLE
⚬ a loose classicist style which flourished up to 1815
⚬ characterized by the addition of new antique features - including Greek
and Byzantine elements - to the symmetrical Georgian style
⚬ bright interiors, large windows, and a decorative but restrained
appearance
⚬ difference from Georgian architecture
￭ preference for fewer pilasters/columns,
￭ plainer surfaces with less detail
￭ usually set within panels, tablets and friezes
 III. Neoclassical Architecture
in America (cont.)
2. GREEK REVIVAL MOVEMENT
⚬ an expression of the American Renaissance movement (c.1880-1918):
⚬ its final phase was Beaux-Arts architecture (1885-1920),
⚬ public projects include the Lincoln Memorial (1922), the National Gallery in
Washington DC (1937), and the American Museum of Natural History's
Roosevelt Memorial (1936) (statue of Roosevelt recently removed)

Lincoln National A M N H - R o o s ev e l t
 IV. Gothic Revival (C.1800-1900)
• c o n s e r v a t i v e re s p o n s e t o N e o c l a s s i c i s m
• t h e f i r s t re c o rd e d G o t h i c s t y l e b u i l d i n g i n A m e r i c a
- a mansion called Sedgeley Mansion- was built in
1 7 9 8 by t h e a rc h i t e c t B e n j a m i n L a t r o b e , o n l y t h e
P o r t e r H o u s e o f t h e e s t a t e re m a i n s t o d a y
• C a r p e n t e r ’ s G o t h i c - re f e r t o d o m e s t i c s t r u c t u re s
of this period
• a n o t h e r ex a m p l e i s S t . P a t r i c k ’s C a t h e d ra l i n N YC
by t h e a rc h i t e c t J a m e s R e n w i c k

S t . P a t r i c k ’s C a t h e d ra l S e d g e l ey - p o r t e r S e d g e l ey
V. Frontier Architecture (C.1850-90S)
• v e r n a c u l a r a rc h i t e c t u re a p p e a re d m o s t l y i n t h e We s t
• Homestead Act of 1862
• non-vernacular styles which also flourished:
⚬ Q u e e n A n n e S t y l e - re f e r s t o t h e R e n a i s s a n c e s t y l e a rc h i t e c t u re p o p u l a r
d u r i n g t h e re i g n o f E n g l a n d 's Q u e e n A n n e ( 1 7 0 2 - 1 7 1 4 )
￭ a l m o s t a l w a y s h a v e a s t e e p ro o f w i t h c ro s s g a b l e s o r l a rg e d o r m e r s
￭ a s y m m e t r i c a l f ro n t f a ç a d e
￭ ex p a n s i v e p o rc h w i t h d e c o ra t i v e w o o d t r i m
￭ ro u n d o r p o l y g o n a l f ro n t c o r n e r t ow e r w i t h a c o n i c a l ro o f
⚬ Carpenter's Gothic, Stick-Eastlake, Shingle Style architecture
 (C.1855-1880)
VI. Second Empire
Architecture
• c o i n c i d e d w i t h t h e e m p i re o f F re n c h E m p e ro r N a p o l e o n I I I
• m o s t o bv i o u s c h a ra c t e r i s t i c o f S e c o n d E m p i re d e s i g n i s t h e
mansard roof - named after Francois Mansart
• a l s o c h a ra c t e r i z e d by d o r m e r w i n d ow s , s q u a re t ow e r s a n d
p a i re d c o l u m n s t o e n h a n c e h e i g h t
• o f t e n h a d a s i m p l e b ox f o r m , s q u a re o r re c t a n g u l a r , a n d a re
typically highly symmetrical
VII. Skyscrapers: (1870-1920)

The Chicago School of Architecture

• 1 8 7 1 - C h i c a g o ( m o s t l y b u i l t i n w o o d ) w a s d e s t roy e d by a
g re a t f i re
• T h e r e b u i l d i n g o f t h e c i t y i n s t o n e a n d s t e e l m a r ke d a
rev o l u t i o n a r y t u r n i n g p o i n t i n t h e h i s t o r y o f a rc h i t e c t u re :
in particular, the history of skyscraper construction
• C h i c a g o b e c a m e t h e b i r t h p l a c e o f t h e s k y s c ra p e r a n d t h e
s t e e l f ra m ew o r k
• C h i c a g o S c h o o l o f A r c h i t e c t u r e re f e r s t o t h e i n n ov a t i o n s
w o r ke d o u t by t h e a rc h i t e c t s a n d e n g i n e e r s i n v o l v e d i n t h e
c i t y 's re c o n s t r u c t i o n
⚬ William Le Baron Jenney
⚬ Daniel Hudson Burnham
⚬ Dankmar Adler
⚬ Louis Sullivan - "Father of Skyscrapers"
￭ Design Philosophy- “Form follows Function”
• “ s k y s c r a p e r ” b a c k t h e n , re f e r re d t o b u i l d i n g s t h a t w e re T h e Wa i n w r i g h t B u i l d i n g
1 0 - 2 0 s t o rey s i n h e i g h t . L a t e r d ev e l o p m e n t s a n d by A d l e r a n d S u l l i v a n
technology
VIII. Art Deco Skyscrapers (C.1920-40)
• p e r i o d b e t w e e n t h e e n d o f Wo r l d Wa r I a n d t h e c o l l a p s e o f t h e N ew Yo r k
S t o c k E xc h a n g e i n 1 9 2 9
• S h o r t f o r t h e F re n c h A r t s D é c o r a t i f s w h i c h t ra n s l a t e s t o “ d e c o r a t i v e a r t s ”
• b e g a n s p e c i f i c a l l y a s a s k y s c ra p e r s t y l e
• p rev i o u s l y re f e r re d t o a s “ v e r t i c a l s t y l e ” by N Y a rc h i t e c t s
• a v a n t - g a rd e m ov e m e n t k n ow n f o r :
⚬ g l e a m i n g l a c q u e re d o r v e n e e re d s u r f a c e s
⚬ geometric forms and patterns
⚬ z i g z a g s a n d s t y l i z e d f l o ra l p a t t e r n s
⚬ i n f l u e n c e s f ro m E g y p t t o a n t i q u i t y
⚬ s l e e k , s t re a m l i n e d a n d n o t m i n i m a l i s t
• ex p l o re d n ew b u i l d i n g m a t e r i a l s :
⚬ s t u c c o , c h ro m e , s t e e l , d e c o ra t i v e g l a s s ,
t e r ra - c o t t a , a n d a l u m i n u m .
a n d e s p e c i a l l y v e r t i c a l w i n d ow s
• t e c h n o l o g i c a l i n n ov a t i o n s
• ex a m p l e s :
⚬ Chrystler Building (New York)
￭ by a rc h i t e c t W i l l i a m v a n A l e n
￭ completed in 1930
⚬ The Empire State Building (New York)
￭ D e s i g n e d by S h r e v e , L a m b & H a r m o n T h e E m p i re S t a t e
￭ built between 1930 and 1931 Chrystler Building
IX. Modernist Architecture (C.1925-60)
• a t t e m p t t o c re a t e n ew d e s i g n s f o r t h e "m o d e r n m a n "
• re j e c t e d a l l t ra d i t i o n a l s t y l e s a n d o r n a m e n t a n d e m b ra c e d m i n i m a l i s m
• c h a ra c t e r i z e d by e m p h a s i s o n v o l u m e , a s y m m e t r i c a l c o m p o s i t i o n s , a n d m i n i m a l t o
no ornamentation
• a n ew t y p e o f f u n c t i o n a l d e s i g n w h i c h u s e d m o d e r n m a t e r i a l s a n d c o n s t r u c t i o n t e c h n i q u e s
• I n f l u e n c i a l m o d e r n i s t A rc h i t e c t s :
⚬ L u d w i g M i e s v a n d e r R o h e ( 1 8 8 6 - 1 9 6 9 ) - o n e o f t h e p i o n e e r s o f m o d e r n a rc h i t e c t u re
￭ his design philosophy: “Less is More”
⚬ Walter Gropius (1883-1969) founder of the Bauhaus Design School
⚬ L o u i s K a h n ( 1 9 0 1 - 7 4 ) - k n ow n f o r c o m b i n i n g M o d e r n i s m w i t h t h e w e i g h t a n d d i g n i t y o f
ancient monuments
• Other important modernists include:
⚬ F r a n k L l o y d W r i g h t ( a l s o k n ow n f o r O rg a n i c A rc h i t e c t u re ) , d e s i g n e d G u g g e n h e i m
Museum
⚬ Richard Neutra (1892-1970),
⚬ Eero Saarinen (1910-61), designed the TWA Terminal at the JFK Int’l. Airport
⚬ Louis Skidmore (1897-1962), Nathaniel Owings (1903-84), & John Merrill (1896-1975)
￭ k n ow n a s S O M A r c h i t e c t s
⚬ Philip Johnson - designed the “Glass House”
⚬ I.M.Pei
⚬ Robert Venturi
⚬ Le Corbusier
￭ his dictum: “a house is a machine for living”
⚬ Oscar Niemeyer
IX. Modernist Architecture (cont.)
• International Style - a particular (purist) style of
modernism
⚬ re c e i v e d i t s n a m e f ro m t h e " I n t e r n a t i o n a l E x h i b i t i o n
o f M o d e r n A rc h i t e c t u re" ( 1 9 3 2 )
⚬ a rc h i t e c t u ra l h i s t o r i a n H e n r y - R u s s e l l H i t c h c o c k a n d
a rc h i t e c t P h i l i p J o h n s o n - c u ra t o r s o f t h e ex h i b i t
⚬ a p p e a re d i n E u ro p e d u r i n g t h e 1 9 2 0 s
⚬ total simplicity
⚬ Followed 3 design rules:
( 1 ) t h e ex p re s s i o n o f v o l u m e ra t h e r t h a n m a s s ;
( 2 ) t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f b a l a n c e ra t h e r t h a n
p re - c o n c e i v e d s y m m e t r y ;
(3) the elimination of applied ornament

• Corporate Modernism - post war period

⚬ The Seagram Building (built between 1954-58)
￭ f i r s t s t e e l a n d g l a s s s k y s c ra p e r d e s i g n e d by
M i e s V a n d e R o h e i n c o l l a b o ra t i o n w i t h
Philip Johnson
￭ simple minimalism + use of steel and glass
￭ one of the most influential buildings of the
postwar period
￭ b e c a m e a h i g h l y i m i t a t e d p ro t o t y p e f o r c o r p o ra t e
s t r u c t u re s S e a g ra m
IX. Modernist Architecture (cont.)
• D e c o r a t i v e F o r m a l i s m - a m ov e a w a y f ro m ' f u n c t i o n a l i s m ' t ow a rd s ' f o r m a l i s m '
⚬ e m e rg e d e a r l y 1 9 5 0 s
⚬ i n t e re s t i n t h e d e c o ra t i v e q u a l i t i e s o f d i f f e re n t b u i l d i n g m a t e r i a l s a n d ex p o s e d
s t r u c t u ra l s y s t e m s
⚬ u s i n g t h e f o r m a l a t t r i b u t e s o f b u i l d i n g s f o r d e c o ra t i v e , ev e n ex p re s s i v e , p u r p o s e s
⚬ ex a m p l e s :
￭ G u g g e n h e i m M u s e u m ( 1 9 4 3 - 5 9 ) by F r a n k L L o y d W r i g h t
￭ T W A T e r m i n a l a t J o h n F . K e n n e d y I n t e r n a t i o n a l A i r p o r t ( 1 9 5 6 - 6 2 ) by E e r o
S a a r i n e n ( n ow c o n v e r t e d i n t o T WA H o t e l )

Guggenheim T WA Te r m i n a l ( n ow T WA H o t e l )
IX. Modernist Architecture (cont.)
• B r u t a l i s m - d e r i v e d f ro m t h e F re n c h " b e t o n b r u t " , m e a n i n g ra w c o n c re t e
⚬ a s t y l e w i t h a n e m p h a s i s o n m a t e r i a l s , t ex t u re s a n d c o n s t r u c t i o n , p ro d u c i n g h i g h l y
ex p re s s i v e f o r m s
⚬ F e a t u re s o f b r u t a l i s t a rc h i t e c t u re s t y l e :
￭ R o u g h s u r f a c e s ( u s e o f v a r i e d o r c o n t ra s t i n g t ex t u re s a n d m a t e r i a l s )
￭ Massive forms (mass, weight, and scale)
￭ U n u s u a l s h a p e s ( d i f f e re n t i a t i n g p a r t s f o r d ra m a t i c e f f e c t )
￭ E x p re s s i o n o f s t r u c t u re ( m e m o ra b l e a n d p ow e r f u l i m a g e )
⚬ Examples:
￭ Y a l e A r t a n d A r c h i t e c t u r e B u i l d i n g ( 1 9 5 8 - 6 3 ) , d e s i g n e d by P a u l R u d o l p h ( 1 9 1 8 - 9 7 )
￭ H a b i t a t ' 6 7 , M o n t re a l ( 1 9 6 6 - 6 7 ) by M o s h e S a f d i e

Ya l e A r t a n d A rc h i t e c t u re B u i l d i n g Habitat '67
XI. Post-modern (1970s-present)

Museum of
Architecture C o n t e m p o ra r y A r t
San Diego (1996)
• a re a c t i o n t o M o d e r n i s m a n d t h e M o d e r n by Ve n t u r i
M ov e m e n t
• a n a t t e m p t t o " r e - h u m a n i z e " a rc h i t e c t u re
• c o l o u r f u l s t y l e o f a rc h i t e c t u re a n d t h e
d e c o ra t i v e a r t s t h a t
a p p e a re d f ro m t h e l a t e 1 9 7 0 s a n d c o n t i n u e s
in some form today
• A m e r i c a n a rc h i t e c t R o b e r t V e n t u r i ’s b o o k ,
“Complexity and Contradiction in
A r c h i t e c t u r e ” , p u b l i s h e d i n 1 9 6 6 , w a s a key
i n f l u e n c e o n t h e d ev e l o p m e n t o f
Postmodernism

• F e a t u re s o f p o s t m o d e r n i s t a rc h i t e c t u re
⚬ Bright Colours (bright pastels to neon)
⚬ P l a y f u l n e s s ( ey e - c a t c h i n g a n d
whimsical) H u m a n a Tow e r ,
⚬ Use of classical motifs with a modern (1986)
twist by M i c h a e l G ra v e s
XI.Post-modern Architecture (cont.)
• Deconstructivism - a particular style of
p o s t m o d e r n i s t a rc h i t e c t u re
⚬ d ev e l o p e d i n E u ro p e a n d t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s
during
1 9 8 0 's a n d 1 9 9 0 's
⚬ c h a ra c t e r i s t i c s a re :
￭ p re c a r i o u s n e s s
￭ disharmony
￭ i r re g u l a r i t y
⚬ leading advocates:
￭ F r a n k O . G e h r y - re a l p i o n e e r o f C a l i f o r n i a A e ro s p a c e
deconstructivism Museum
￭ Daniel Libeskind
￭ Rem Koolhaas
￭ Peter Eisenman
￭ Zaha Hadid
￭ Bernard Tschumi
￭ Co-op Himmelblau group
⚬ ex a m p l e s :
￭ C a l i f o r n i a A e ro s p a c e M u s e u m , L o s A n g e l e s
( 1 9 8 2 - 8 4 ) by F r a n k G e h r y
￭ t h e Wa l t D i s n ey C o n c e r t H a l l , L o s A n g e l e s
( 1 9 8 8 - 2 0 0 3 ) by F r a n k G e h r y Wa l t D i s n ey C o n c e r t H a l l
References
http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/architecture/american.htm#postmodernism

https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/worlds-most-beautiful-art-deco-buildings
https://www.architecture.com/explore-architecture/brutalism

https://www.archdaily.com/123171/yale-art-architecture-building-gwathmey-siegel-associates-architects

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/may/13/habitat-67-montreal-expo-moshe-safdie-history-cities-
50-buildings-day-35
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Louis-Sullivan