This unit was all about rules being made and later broken. This is happening because during this time, design language was ALL over the place, and no one knew who to listen to. The main struggle happening was between Gothic and Classical design forms, and whether or not these forms should follow time periods preceding them.
Starting out, there was a new emphasis on expressing faith through glass and stone. Many structures, both the interior and exterior, were designed in such a way to keep the eye moving and always engaged, the eye needed to dance. The stone and glass reflected a specific religion, and that religion WAS the structure. Focusing more on the structure as a whole rather than on little details, there was an evolution in church styles that utilized the square and circle in many ways:
The evolution of churches began when there were more empires rising. Many of these empires were centered around and near the equator because the climate was suitable and the trade was phenomenal. These empires followed money, meaning they were inter-connected through trade. As more empires rose, religion followed, and soon enough, Christianity was making it to the top. The churches that reflected Christianity were made out of stone (it had an "echoey" effect), and arches and lighting were emphasized. This brings in the surface and substance part of design that allowed the eye to dance around and catch the light and stone. "Light, God's daughter, is a principal beauty in a building" (Thomas Fuller).
Continuing forward with the spread of Christianity, massive Cathedrals were beginning to be built. The key ideas that went along with each precious cathedral included the golden section, the connection of man to Heaven, "stretching" the orders, and emphasizing flying buttresses. Once a person entered through the door of the cathedral, a transformation within them began. All cathedrals embraced these ideas because they spoke the same language, but used a different dialect.
This dialectal difference not only existed amongst cathedrals, but it traveled through eastern and western Europe. Due to this, there were a couple of "rule books" that were created for each side, east and west. The western design "rule book" focused more on writing and drawing ideas. In the west, the city focused on the churches, allowing it to dominate the skyline, to be known no matter where a person stood. Order and harmony was emphasized because it was believed that everything should and could belong together. Many structures followed the same form and structure, but still had their own personality. The concentration of material was on the FRONT of the structure, because of course, no one is going to see the back of the structure at any point... And to link all of this back together, all measurements were based on the human body; each window, peak, and wall was based on the body length of the average Joe, and something beautiful came of it.
Switching sides, the eastern "rule book" had the same basic ideas as the west, but the details differed a little bit. The east had a strong continuity of what they believed design was for two thousand years. It wasn't until western influences creeped in that change needed to begin. The main idea that surround the east was that new buildings would stand forever; if something broke of shattered, it would be replaced instead of completely torn down. Stacks and groves were being utilized more instead of arches. Rules were based on a modular system and not so much on proportion anymore. An example of this includes the tatami mat, a tool used often in architecture. Just as the west believed things could be harmonized, the east embraced Yin-Yang, where two energies come together to create a dynamic relationship that represented the community as a whole, not just one individual. With that, emphasis was now more spiritual than religious, turning energy inward. Beautiful engravings were being used on the exterior and interior of buildings that would flatten nature while layering it up at the same time, creating an un-true perspective.
The creation of all these rules clearly had to lead to something else... Now it's time for some ballsy people to come in a BREAK THE RULES.
Palazzo de Te
One example of a structure that broke these rules included the Palazzo de Te. This palace broke the rules because the key not is bigger and the columns make it look as though the stone is falling. It was also forced to spread horizontally, which allowed the evolution of language from roman roots into the renaissance. From here, places are beginning to look more staged and less natural.
Other examples of rule breaking structures are the Chateau de Chambord, which looked as though two halves from different design perspectives were "stitched" together, representing clashing ideas. The other structure is the Chateau Fountainbleu which introduced a very curvy line into the staircase on the front of the house.
Chateau de Chambord
Chateau Fountainbleu
There was an issue on what it meant to form a classical space. On the renaissance spectrum, the following ideas were focused on: individualism, being able to stand separately, and having a calm and serene space. The baroque focused on being theatrical, standing as a player in the scene, engaging with all senses, having unity among arts, utilizing round, livid forms and distortion, and having theatrical and dramatic lighting. By this time, tools were getting better, allowing more renovations to begin.
At this point, architecture has A.D.D and is on some crazy ass drug. Art is spilling onto the landscape and all decoration items are being shoved into one space. The structures are influencing the garden just as much as the garden is influencing the structures. The exterior theatrical design is made to look impossible with columns looking like they are moving. In the churches, axes show where to enter and how to move around. Different designers are being used to design different spaces. Design and architecture has gone off the edge!
Although design and architecture is going a little crazy, there is a common factor of the structure visually dominating the landscape. Designers are following classical rules of design but are mainly relying on science. The engineering of any structure was sized out by what could carry the exterior load. With this, designers were know deciding what a structure would look like as a whole rather than focusing in on individual parts that made up the whole.
The revolution encompassing all these new ideas was a revolution that was a high period of culture with split designers. Things were beginning to shift; there was a sequential understanding of history, a scientific approach through engineering, a rational and logical system for thinking, and practices were being changed through this industrial revolution. This led to a whole new conversation around theory which involved writing and thinking versus making, a quest for knowledge, and a lead towards the enlightenment period. There was a hidden set of rules, codes, and conventions that were made for specific social groups that were made universal.
As mentioned, rules and codes were being made universal which meant they were being brought over to America now. The trade and discovery routes were what linked the new and old world. All American buildings were influenced by English (European) and Scandinavian designs, with a sprinkle of French influence; because of this, log cabins were very popular and dominated the majority of the landscape. On the exterior, things were kept symmetrical and on the front facade of the house. Moving on with time, brick was being used instead of wood. Porticos were getting longer and the detail was modeled after Greece and Rome.
Through the many time periods, rules were made to be broken later so that new structures could stand out in their own way. However, it turned out to be an endless cycle of making, breaking, making, breaking, and so on. Nothing cleanly fits inside of the made or broken rules. A scale look at this would look like this:
individual : room : building : community : region : nation.
