Architecture: Mies Connection Between Life And Architecture

The 12th Century saw the move away from the Romanesque architecture which had typified the preceding centuries to the era of the great Gothic cathedrals which were to become the architectural symbol of the middle ages. The transformation was not simply one of size or scope but a manifestation of the cultural shifts which were occurring as the medieval age commenced.

When people think about the medieval period, they tend to think about the knights in shining armor, crusades, castles, and kings; however, there was more to the medieval period than just this. There are also the buildings that housed these great nobles and the men who influenced their design. The designs for these buildings did no simply materialize out of thin air. These ideas evolved from concepts derived from various cultures. The interaction between the feudal system and the architecture of the medieval times influenced the evolution of the later designs.

This essay will focus on how those works are informed by both regional and international course. In this context, Sydney Ancher and his strong Miesian simplicity as well as Peter Muller’s affinity with Frank Lloyd Wright’s organic architecture principle.

Religion has always been a part of our identity. Today, the population wander around the world seeing these wonderful churches and religious buildings all around us. The architectural style of the Middle Ages was very prominent: high stone vaults, internal elevations of multiple stories, rounded arches, and thick walls. This was characterized as Romanesque architecture. Suger revolutionized everything. He reworked these ideas and introduced, to the world, what is now known as the Gothic architectural style.

“Stories about architecture are stories about people,” said David Macaulay, author of Cathedral (4). The intention of cathedrals was to draw people, and in turn inspire those who came to pray, learn, and worship (Macaulay, Cathedral 4). Cathedrals remain inspirational in their enormous scale and overpowering beauty, and that these places of worship are still standing after many centuries show a level of determination and integrity in those that built the edifices (Macaulay, Cathedral 4). Architect Vitruvius wrote, “All the buildings have two components: The building itself and an idea that its architecture tried to express” (McNamara 6). People build churches because they believed in something (McNamara 6). In David Macaulay’s book, Built to Last, he says the mindset behind building cathedrals was that of honor and dedication. Macaulay’s research noted that, “The new cathedral would be built to the glory of God, and it mattered little that it might take more than one hundred years to construct it” (Macaulay, Built to Last 98). However, there is more to cathedrals than just building something grand and beautiful to honor God. Churches and cathedrals were built to be packed with meaning (Taylor 1), and were used to illustrate key points of Christian teaching through the use of imagery (Taylor 5). Cathedrals were a place to immerse individuals in worship. Religious parents encourage their children to pray, take them to church and to religious events (Newberg and

The medieval cathedral was physically integrated into the town. Houses crowded up to its very walls and "lean-to's" were built right against them. In the city, the tower cathedral, was the medieval forerunner of the skyscraper, but unlike its modern counterpart, it subsumed a number of functions. At one moment or another, therefore the medieval church could serve civic, communal, and commercial purposes (Branner, Robert, ed., Chartres Cathedral, W.W. Norton, New York, 1969, p. 69). However it was first and foremost a religious building. Although in modern times it served primary as a place of worship.

This concept of space being defined pertains to the ideas of modernism in reference to the importance of space, and exactly how to efficiently utilize it. Similar to that seen in the courtyard in front of Wiess Law, the large open space helps create a more communal and interactive area for the visitors to be more aware. Such as Mies embraces the idea of creating areas for individuals to become more contemplative about their surroundings, William Watkin had similar ideas when designing the original building and its landscape. This concept coincides with the building itself and its architectural

In this essay I intend to compare and contrast the Basilica of St. Sernin and Basilica of St Denis in France with references to how they differ structurally (as Romanesque and Gothic buildings respectively) followed by critical analysis of the advancements in architectural construction methods. The progression in architectural capability from Romanesque to Gothic led to a change in how religious architecture was approached spatially, with far greater emphasis on the use of light and a desire for greater height. To assess this transition one must contextualise the periods the respective basilicas were built in and the physical limitations as well as architectural preferences of the time. One must further assess why previously unfeasible technologies that now elevated the height of buildings and placed a greater emphasis for infiltration of light were required for religious reasons. This need for greater height and light exemplifies the relationship that people wanted between themselves and God in order to achieve a more fulfilled experience of their religion. This essay will attempt to consider and evaluate the dramatic change in the architectural style of Churches and Cathedrals and the transition from Romanesque to Gothic indicating the lasting impact these processes have left on history.

Many Europeans first built the cathedrals around the year 1000 during the Middle Ages for the Catholics and took several years to complete. Their main purpose was to bring the Catholics as close to God as possible and honor the secular and religious authorities who had financed the building. Cathedrals feature extremely lavish designs, pointed arches and high spire designed to lift the worshipers’ eyes toward heaven. Building cathedrals were a lengthy process and craftsman and builders died before finally finishing the cathedral. When asked to describe what a cathedral looks like, the husband struggled greatly.

Architecture should be nurturing, responsive and alive, dynamically shifting spatial balances, organically expressive forms, subtly luminous colors and biologically healthy. To achieve such life-enhancing architecture, it has to address all the body senses simultaneously and fuse our image of self with experience of the world. By strengthening our sense of self and reality, architecture serves its all-important function of accommodation and

The history of the Iberian Peninsula has lead to influence from many different cultures throughout history. These influences are especially visible in architecture. Looking specifically at medieval Spain and the buildings that were constructed in this time frame, one can see the influence different cultures had throughout the region. Some of the best examples for this come in the form of Gothic Cathedrals. Greatly inspired by the French structures that started the movement, many Spanish cathedrals exhibit not elements of French influence, but also Islamic influence as well. While most study of Spanish cathedrals has focused on southern Spain and narrowed in on identifying the Islamic influence within their design, northern Spain also provides some wonderful examples of the influence from both French and Islamic culture, particularly in Leon and Burgos respectively. In my comparison of these two cathedrals, I hope to grasp a better understanding of how different cultures interact and influence architecture to form the Spanish Gothic style.

This book was written by Juhani Pallasmaa with regard to ‘Polemics’, on issues that were part of the architecture discourse of the time, i.e. 1995. It is also an extending of ideas expressed in an essay entitled “Architecture of the seven senses” published in 1994.

Architecture is often mistaken as purely an art form, when in actually it is where art and engineering or art and practicality meet. For example, painting is an art, when preformed well it yields a beautiful picture that evokes a deep human reaction and brings pleasure to its viewer, however this painting provides no function, it cannot shield us from the rain or protect us from the wind or snow, it is purely form. An insulated aluminum shed provides shelter and protection from Mother Nature; however, it is a purely functional building, it was drawn by an engineer, not conceived by an artist to have form. The culmination of form and function is Architecture, the Greeks and Romans fathered this idea and Palladio’s study of roman architecture taught him his valuable truth.

Fire is viewed as destruction by many, but it helped to produce growth in Gothic architecture. Many of Christianity’s beliefs are reflected in different aspects of art. The stained glass and verticality of Gothic churches is a key change from Romanesque style churches. The Gothic church found creative ways to illustrate images of important events in history through tapestry. Even the general shape and design of the Romanesque churches versus Gothic churches show Christians values. The sculptures outside of churches have evolved over time to correspond with Christian’s beliefs of Homo faber. The change in design of Romanesque churches to the new architecture of Gothic style churches shows how Christian’s incorporated their religion into churches. Christianity’s beliefs and values are directly reflected through the changes of architecture and style from Romanesque to Gothic churches along with visual and literary art.

All over the world, people still come to admire the beauty of European cathedrals. Many of the cathedrals are fragile due to age, neglect, pollution, and insufficient funds available to restore these historical and magnificent buildings. Nevertheless, visitors to these architectural masterpieces are fascinated by the design and structure of these churches. The cathedral builders using their own ingenuity, expertise, and limited resources were able to defy the laws of gravity and time. (Icher 30)