Honors Architecture
During winter quarter of my sophomore year, I took the Honors Architecture class, Arch 351: Romanesque, Gothic, and Renaissance Architecture. It was an architecture history class, and it studied some of my favorite architectural styles.
I have always been interested in older architectural styles, and lament that they aren't used more often today. Everyone agrees that Suzzallo Library is stunningly beautiful, but no one ever considers building new campus buildings in the same style. If I ever design any buildings, I intend to draw from a multitude of styles, particularly those studied in this class.
In the Honors section we did extra readings, wrote papers on the readings, and discussed the readings in class. Below I have included an excerpt from my 7th paper, and the entirety of my 6th paper. I have included both of these because they compliment each other well, and communicate my feelings about architecture during this time.
At the very bottom of this page I have included a few photos of buildings we studied in this class. All photos are credited to the professor of the class unless otherwise noted.
I have always been interested in older architectural styles, and lament that they aren't used more often today. Everyone agrees that Suzzallo Library is stunningly beautiful, but no one ever considers building new campus buildings in the same style. If I ever design any buildings, I intend to draw from a multitude of styles, particularly those studied in this class.
In the Honors section we did extra readings, wrote papers on the readings, and discussed the readings in class. Below I have included an excerpt from my 7th paper, and the entirety of my 6th paper. I have included both of these because they compliment each other well, and communicate my feelings about architecture during this time.
At the very bottom of this page I have included a few photos of buildings we studied in this class. All photos are credited to the professor of the class unless otherwise noted.
Interestingly, this was the same quarter that I took the Mechanical Engineering CAD class where we learned how to design 3D computer models. I used this opportunity to design a castle as my final project, and I took many ideas from this architecture class.
Excerpt From Paper 7
In Ordonnance for the Five Kinds of Columns After Methods of the Ancients, Claude Perrault discusses the various orders of columns.
Perrault brings up an interesting point that seems to contrast with Alberti and some other Renaissance architects we have been studying. To them, the perfect building was all about the correct proportions and geometry, and while Perrault agrees with this in general, he adds that the beauty of a building “lies less in the exactitude of unvarying proportion and the relative size of constituent parts than in the grace of its form”. He adds; “a face can be both ugly and beautiful without any change in proportions”. He uses the Pantheon as an example, and mentions how architects claim that it’s beauty lies in the proportion of “it’s width to it’s height and a hundred other things that are imperceptible unless they are measured and that, even if they are perceptible, fail to assure us that any deviation from these proportions would have displeased us”.
Perrault brings up an interesting point that seems to contrast with Alberti and some other Renaissance architects we have been studying. To them, the perfect building was all about the correct proportions and geometry, and while Perrault agrees with this in general, he adds that the beauty of a building “lies less in the exactitude of unvarying proportion and the relative size of constituent parts than in the grace of its form”. He adds; “a face can be both ugly and beautiful without any change in proportions”. He uses the Pantheon as an example, and mentions how architects claim that it’s beauty lies in the proportion of “it’s width to it’s height and a hundred other things that are imperceptible unless they are measured and that, even if they are perceptible, fail to assure us that any deviation from these proportions would have displeased us”.
Arch 351: Honors Section, Written Response 6
A common theme in the readings this week was the focus on the importance renaissance architects placed in traditional and classical math, as well as symmetry. In addition, the architects strive to have their buildings blend with the environment and continue to compare their structured designs to shapes seen in nature.
I have a hard time following the argument of renaissance architects who see their designs as similar to nature. While it is true that spheres and ellipses are common in nature, there are virtually no squares, and a complete lack of parallel or perpendicular lines, all features common in renaissance buildings. Other than the structure of the bodies of animals, almost nothing is symmetrical in nature either.
In “Humanism, Technical Knowledge, and Rhetoric” by Manfredo Tafuri, we learn that the architect Sabbadino in the mid 1500’s holds a particularly progressive view on the environment. His views are fueled by both his study of the tides and lagoons around Venice, and his faith as well. He believes that man should restore nature to its original state, for both the good of man and in honor of the creator.
Sabbadino takes a more literal role in forming his architecture to fit the environment; in designing new canals and lagoon systems throughout Venice, he manages to promote a more healthy flow of water through the city.
In “The Mathematics of the Ideal Villa”, Colin Rowe compares two buildings built by the renaissance architect Palladio and the modern architect Le Corbusier, and highlights the differences and similarities. He observes how both of the architects follow classical rules of symmetry, proportion, and mathematics, and the similar manner in which they strive to imitate nature.
I have a hard time following the argument of renaissance architects who see their designs as similar to nature. While it is true that spheres and ellipses are common in nature, there are virtually no squares, and a complete lack of parallel or perpendicular lines, all features common in renaissance buildings. Other than the structure of the bodies of animals, almost nothing is symmetrical in nature either.
In “Humanism, Technical Knowledge, and Rhetoric” by Manfredo Tafuri, we learn that the architect Sabbadino in the mid 1500’s holds a particularly progressive view on the environment. His views are fueled by both his study of the tides and lagoons around Venice, and his faith as well. He believes that man should restore nature to its original state, for both the good of man and in honor of the creator.
Sabbadino takes a more literal role in forming his architecture to fit the environment; in designing new canals and lagoon systems throughout Venice, he manages to promote a more healthy flow of water through the city.
In “The Mathematics of the Ideal Villa”, Colin Rowe compares two buildings built by the renaissance architect Palladio and the modern architect Le Corbusier, and highlights the differences and similarities. He observes how both of the architects follow classical rules of symmetry, proportion, and mathematics, and the similar manner in which they strive to imitate nature.
In my opinion, the comparison of these two architects highlights what I view as the misguided obsession with mathematics and symmetry in renaissance architecture. Don’t get me wrong here, I love renaissance architecture; but I believe that the focus on the mathematical structure of renaissance buildings by both architects of the time and historians of today is a path filled with logical holes. My tastes in architecture include classical, gothic, and renaissance; mostly older architecture. I do appreciate some modern architecture such as Fallingwater by Frank Loyd Wright, and Paccar Hall on UW campus, but in general modern architecture is not aesthetically pleasing to me.
These two buildings look nothing alike in style, but Rowe is able to come up with a great deal of similarities in structure and mathematics in their design. Clearly, there is something more to renaissance and classical architecture than mathematics and symmetry, or there would not be such a stark contrast in the styles of Palladio and Le Corbusier. While I appreciate the structure of renaissance architecture, I believe that the real beauty of it is in the execution of the details, ornament, material use, and the choice and organization of silhouette.
By my train of thought, it is amazing that many of the works of this time fit so well into the surrounding environment. Although I disagree with the classical dogma of natural shapes and symmetry that these architects cite as their reasons for designing in this way, clearly they knew what they were up to when it came to execution.
These two buildings look nothing alike in style, but Rowe is able to come up with a great deal of similarities in structure and mathematics in their design. Clearly, there is something more to renaissance and classical architecture than mathematics and symmetry, or there would not be such a stark contrast in the styles of Palladio and Le Corbusier. While I appreciate the structure of renaissance architecture, I believe that the real beauty of it is in the execution of the details, ornament, material use, and the choice and organization of silhouette.
By my train of thought, it is amazing that many of the works of this time fit so well into the surrounding environment. Although I disagree with the classical dogma of natural shapes and symmetry that these architects cite as their reasons for designing in this way, clearly they knew what they were up to when it came to execution.