Context of studying History

Architecture is generally conceived-designed-and realized-

built-in response to an existing set of conditions. These
conditions may be purely functional in Nature, or they may
also reflect in varying degree of social, political and
economical climate. In any case, it is assumed that the existing
set of conditions-the problem-is less than satisfactory and that
a new set of conditions-a solution-would be desirable. The act
of creating architecture, then, is a problem-solving or design
process. - Franscis D.K. Ching

Pyramids of Giza, Egypt Milan Cathedral, Rome CCTV Bldg., Beijing

Chennai
Cities are an immense
laboratory of trial and error,
failure and success, in city
building and city design. This
is the laboratory in which city
planning should have been
learning and forming and
testing theories.
- Jane Jacobs
(The Death and Life of Great Industrial
American Cities ) Corridor

IT Corridor
City of Chennai which was planned to grow along the 2 mentioned
axis, has created linear development totally aligned towards the
South. This aspect will be a part of History some decades from now
when the impact of this idea will be discussed for any future ideas to
History of Architecture
and Culture V
UNIT I – Beginning of Modernity
Which of this is this is Style??????

Style is something that shifts over time and repeats itself in

various expressions but on the same functional core…
 Beauty Utility
1 Romanesque
2 Gothic
3 Renaissance
4 Baroque
1 Cathedral of Lisbon. 2 Reims Cathedral, 3 Basilica of Santa Maria 4 Cathedral of Santiago
France Novella, France de Compostela, Spain
What is Modern?
Modern
• Meaning: Of what is momentary; of the Transient with its
opposite notion no longer being a clearly defined past but
rather an indeterminate eternity.
• Time is regarded as being linear, irreversible, and progressive
opposed to the Classical ideas of Cyclic nature of time

Result
Replacement of CYCLIC model of history and life with the
PROGRESSIVE model addressing every age as unique and
unrepeatable and as an advance on proceeding periods.
Pre-historic Perspective of Time
Perception
of Future
Human
Civilization

Time

Time till the time of Middle ages was considered to be a Cyclic

where history repeats itself over and over again. Owing to this
reason no importance was given, for it is repetitive in nature and
bound to happen in the near future.
Modern Time

2560 BC 600 BC 432 BC 100 BC – 800 AD

80 AD 360 AD 1653 AD

Modernism on the contrary to Classical era, is based on a notion that

Time is Linear and not cyclic. This stressed on the importance of
documenting the past to learn and preserve it for the future.
Origin of modernity

1. Extraordinary technical changes

2. Birth of new consciousness that started to question its own
IDENTITY.

Architectural Questions:

1. Why do we build the way we build?

2. Why should we build it the same way?
3. What is this way BASED on? Whose ideas?
Vitruvian Architecture
• Architectural construction during the classical time had been
based on a the works of Marcus Vitruvius Pollio a person
from the Roman era.
• His book The Ten books on Architecture the only existing
complete documentation of construction during the Classical
Antiquity (Roman era) was considered as the bible for all
construction through out History till the beginning of Modern
era.
• Modernism has it roots in rejecting the perspectives of
Vitruvian architecture
• Historic structures was preserved and documented for the first
time to create a ideas that could be defined afresh based on
current perspectives and not based on Vituvius perspectives.
Vitruvian Architecture
1. Marcus Vitruvius Pollio (80 BC –
15 BC): Roman architect, Engineer
and Writer.
2. The Ten books on Architecture (De
architectura)
3. Extensive documentation of
Roman building methods as well
as the planning and design of
structures.
4. The famous story of Archimedes
and his bath-time discovery is from
this book: “Eureka!”
De Architectura
1. Primary source of
construction from Classical
Antiquity
2. Guideline for construction
followed for centuries
3. Attributes of design
a) Utility
b) Solidity, and
c) Beauty
Palladio Classicism
• Andrea Palladio (1508 – 1580);
Italian Renaissance architect
• Palladio drew inspiration from
surviving Roman buildings,
Roman authors (especially the
architect Vitruvius) and Italian
Renaissance architects.

Villa Foscari, 1550 – 60

Villa La Rotonda
Villa Barbaro
Birth of Modernism
1. Questioned the Universal validity of Vitruvian proportions?
Result:
Physical excavation of prehistoric to ancient buildings and
structures to document and understand them afresh
2. Increased man’s ability to control nature
3. Split between Architecture and Engineering as two different
fields
4. Discussion began on a question whether the MODERNS could
not rival or even surpass the ANCIENTS to achieve the
highest ideal of Art.
Result: Replacement of CYCLIC model of history and life
with the PROGRESSIVE model addressing every age as
unique and unrepeatable and as an advance on proceeding
periods.