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[dis]content .19
Re: FW: Evolutionary theory and architecture
2003.08.28 10:37
Alex wrote: If I line up a series of photographs each showing a building from a different period of Western architectural history ([G]reek, Roman, Gothic, Rena[i]ssance, Baroque, Romantic, Modern & the diversity of things Postmodern) the first thing I would notice was that they were all different in character and that there were no sudden stylistic 'jumps'.
Steve asks: Why just Western architecture? Excluding non-Western architecture isn't a good way to promote what appears to be (presented as a potential) universal theory.
Why just (European) Pagan, Christian (actually more Roman Catholic than anything), and then agnostic architectures? What about Hindu, Buddhist, Taoist, Incan, Mayan, Jewish, Protestant, etc. architectures?
There is a big gap between Roman and Gothic, about 800 years of European/Western architecture not listed. Is this period of 'Western' architecture actually a bit too Eastern/Byzantine for consideration here?
Why did the end of Pagan architecture within the Roman Empire coincide with the beginning of Christian architecture of the Roman Empire? The answer lies precisely with the actions of Helena and Constantine. Helena was the architectural master planner, and Constantine was the one that covered Christianity with a heavy legal(izing) blanket. Together, from 312 to 326, they manifest a paradigm shift in ('Roman') architecture and culture that is still hardly equaled. Then, by himself from late 326 to 337, Constantine essentially began the Byzantine Empire, which was a purposeful split from the 'West'.
One aspect of Constantinian architecture that has yet to be investigated is the influence of the architecture of early 4th century Treves (Constantine's imperial capital before Constantinople, today's Trier, Germany) on the subsequent Early Christian architecture of Rome proper, and later on Romanesque architecture, (which indeed flourished in the geographical area of which Treves was/is center). During the 4th century, there was an incredible link/exchange between Treves and 'the East', that is, the part of the Roman Empire that is today Turkey and the Middle East in general.
Paul wrote: Architects don't view the process of architecture as one of communication--of receiving and transmitting influences. They view architecture as form and understand the process as formal organization.
Steve writes: I, as an architect, indeed view a process of architecture as one of communication--of receiving and transmitting influences, hence Quondam - A Virtual Museum of Architecture where (its) architecture is the delivery of content.
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