Architectural style

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Example of Islamic architecture from the 7th- to 9th-century period: the Great Mosque of Kairouan, founded in 670 by the Arab general Uqba ibn Nafi, dates in its present state from the 9th century;[1] it is the architectural ancestor of all the mosques in the western Islamic world and represents one of the best preserved and most significant examples of early great mosques.[2] The Great Mosque of Kairouan (also called the Mosque of Uqba) is located in the UNESCO World Heritage city of Kairouan in Tunisia.
The Roman Colosseum, an amphitheater built in the 1st century AD, capable of seating 50,000 spectators. One of the most impressive pieces of ancient Roman architecture.

An architectural style is a specific method of construction, characterized by the features that make it notable. A style may include such elements as form, method of construction, materials, and regional character. Most architecture can be classified as a chronology of styles which changes over time. These may reflect changing fashions, changing beliefs and religions, or the emergence of new ideas and new technology which make new styles possible.

Styles therefore emerge from the history of a society and are documented in the subject of architectural history. At any time several styles may be fashionable, and when a style changes it usually does so gradually, as architects learn and adapt to new ideas. The new style is sometimes only a rebellion against an existing style, such as post-modernism (means "after modernism") which has in recent years found its own language and split into a number of styles with other names.

Styles often spread to other places, so that the style at its source continues to develop in new ways while other countries follow with their own twist. For instance, the Renaissance began in Italy around 1425 and spread to all of western Europe over the next 200 years, with the French, Belgian, German, English and Spanish Renaissance being recognisably the same style, but with unique characteristics. A style may also spread through Colonialism, either by foreign colonies learning from their home country, or by settlers moving to a new land. One example is the Spanish missions in California, brought by Spanish priests in the late 18th century and built in a unique style.

After a style has gone out of fashion, there are often revivals and re-interpretations. For instance, classicism has been revived many times and found fashion as neoclassicism (means "new classicism"). Each time it is revived, it is different. The Spanish mission style was revived 100 later as the Mission Revival, and that soon evolved into the Spanish Colonial Revival.

Vernacular architecture works slightly differently and is listed separately. It is the native method of construction used by local people, usually using labour-intensive methods and local materials, and usually for small structures such as rural cottages. It varies from region to region even within a country, and takes little account of national styles or technology. As western society has developed, vernacular styles have mostly become outmoded by new technology and national building standards.

Contents

Chronology of styles[edit]

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Prehistoric[edit]

Early civilizations developed, often independently, in scattered locations around the globe. The architecture was often a mixture of styles in timber cut from local forests, and stone hewn from local rocks. Most of the timber has gone, although the earthworks remain. Impressive, massive stone structures have survived.

Ancient Americas[edit]


Mediterranean and Middle-East Civilizations[edit]

Ancient Near East and Mesopotamia[edit]

Iranian and Persian[edit]

Islamic[edit]

  • Islamic 691+
  • Moorish c. 8th century - 1492 (Northern Africa, Spain, Portugal)
  • Ottoman c. 1300-1918 (Turkey)

South Asia[edit]

Ancient India[edit]

Historic temple styles[edit]

Dravidian and Vesara temple styles[edit]

Other historic eras[edit]

Islamic influences[edit]

  • Indo-Saracenic Revival aka Hindu Style, Indo-Gothic, Mughal-Gothic, Neo-Mughal, Hindu-Gothic late 19th century (British India aka The Raj)

Also[edit]

Classical Antiquity[edit]

The architecture of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, derived from the ancient Mediterranean civilisations such as at Knossos on Crete. They developed highly refined systems for proportions and style, using mathematics and geometry.


The Dark Ages[edit]

The European "Dark Ages" are generally taken to run from the end of the Roman Empire around 400 AD to around 1000 AD. Relatively little is known of this period, but Christianity (spread by the Romans) was already making a significant impact on European culture, and the Romans left a technological and social legacy.

Western Europe[edit]

Eastern Europe[edit]

Medieval Europe[edit]

The dominance of the Church over everyday life was expressed in grand spiritual designs which emphasized piety and sobriety. The Romanesque style was simple and austere. The Gothic style heightened the effect with heavenly spires, pointed arches and religious carvings.[3]

Romanesque[edit]

Associated styles[edit]

Gothic[edit]

1140-1520

The Renaissance and its successors[edit]

1425-1660+. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread through Europe, rebelling against the all-powerful Church, by placing Man at the centre of his world instead of God.[4] The Gothic spires and pointed arches were replaced by classical domes and rounded arches, with comfortable spaces and entertaining details, in a celebration of humanity. The Baroque style was a florid development of this 200 years later, largely by the Catholic Church to restate its religious values.

United Kingdom[edit]

Spain[edit]

Colonial[edit]

Baroque[edit]

1600-1800, up to 1900

Neoclassicism[edit]

1720-1837 and on. A time often depicted as a rural idyll by the great painters, but in fact was a hive of early industrial activity, with small kilns and workshops springing up wherever materials could be mined or manufactured. After the Renaissance, neoclassical forms were developed and refined into new styles for public buildings and the gentry.

Neoclassical[edit]


Revivalism and Orientalism[edit]

19th and early 20th centuries. The Victorian Era was a time of giant leaps forward in technology and society, such as iron bridges, aqueducts, sewer systems, roads, canals, trains and factories. As engineers, inventors and businessmen they reshaped much of the British Empire, including the UK, India, Australia, South Africa and Canada, and influenced Europe and the United States. Architecturally, they were revivalists who modified old styles to suit new purposes.

Revivals started before the Victorian Era[edit]

Victorian revivals[edit]

Orientalism[edit]

Revivals in North America[edit]

Other late 19th century[edit]

Rural styles[edit]


Reactions to the Industrial Revolution[edit]

1880-1940. As a reaction to the dirty towns, urbanisation and mechanisation, movements appeared calling for a return to wholesome living, craftsmanship and a connection with nature. Some of this was manifested in a taste for exotic cultures and spirituality.

Arts and Crafts in Europe[edit]

Arts and Crafts in the US[edit]

Modernism[edit]

1880+. The Industrial Revolution had brought steel, plate glass, and mass-produced components. These enabled a brave new world of bold structural frames, with clean lines and plain or shiny surfaces. In the early stages, a popular motto was "decoration is a crime". In Eastern Europe the Communists rejected the West's decadent ways, and modernism developed in a markedly more bureaucratic, sombre and monumental fashion.

Modernism under communism[edit]

New Tradition[edit]

Post-War[edit]

1945-

Other 20th century[edit]

Post-Modernism and the 21st century[edit]

Fortified styles[edit]

Vernacular styles[edit]

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Generic methods[edit]

Hut dwelling designs and semi-permanent human shelters
Traditional immobile
MBAGoup6Hut.png
Traditional mobile
Open-air
Modern
Named huts (List)
Related articles

European[edit]

European farmhouse types, many of which are housebarns
German
Winsenmuseum groode Hus.jpg
Dutch
English
Scottish
Swiss
French
Spanish
Italian
Swedish

North American[edit]

Native American[edit]

South American[edit]

African[edit]

  • Central and South African countries - Rondavel

Asian[edit]

Australasian[edit]

Alphabetical listing[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Great Mosque of Kairouan (Qantara Mediterranean Heritage)
  2. ^ John Stothoff Badeau and John Richard Hayes, The Genius of Arab civilization: source of Renaissance. Taylor & Francis. 1983. p. 104
  3. ^ Robert Stuart (1854), Cyclopedia of architecture: historical, descriptive, typographical, decorative, theoretical and mechanical, alphabetically arranged, familiarly explained, and adapted to the comprehension of workmen, A. S. Barnes & Co, p. 75
  4. ^ Gerald Leinwand, The pageant of world history, Prentice-Hall, 1990, page 330
  • White, Norval; Elliott Willensky (2000). AIA Guide to New York (4th ed.). New York: Random House. ISBN 0-8129-3107-6. 
  • Lewis, Philippa; Gillian Darley (1986). Dictionary of Ornament, NY: Pantheon
  • Baker, John Milnes, AIA (1994) American House Styles, NY: Norton

Further reading[edit]

  • Hamlin Alfred Dwight Foster, History of Architectural Styles, BiblioBazaar, 2009
  • Carson Dunlop, Architectural Styles, Dearborn Real Estate, 2003
  • Herbert Pothorn, A guide to architectural styles, Phaidon, 1983

External links[edit]
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Architectural_style&oldid=558234861"