When we look at the architecture throughout history, we see that several well-defined trends and traditions have made their way into the art and architecture of today’s date. There are traces of those distinct eras scattered around the UK, Europe, and also at other parts of the planet.

With present expertise and information, that spans a really broad range of architectural eras and trends, this can be related to make sure that any restoration and repair work that is performed, preserves the integrity of the structure. With the evolution of architecture in mind, we now have ways to get to the foremost prolific and influential architectural trends and styles that the planet has seen during history.

“As an architect, you design for the present with an awareness of the past for a future which is essentially unknown.”

-Norman Foster

(architect, author)

SENSIBLE EVOLUTIONS

There have been several design developments in different contexts. Ranging from time to the use of technology and the need for a certain period r situation, we witness evolution in each phase. What we have today and shall have in the future is all about the experiences and studies of the past and present that help us develop the design.

ON THE CONCEPT OF TIME

ARCHAIC

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Ruins of a Doric Temple in Selinus, Sicily ©www.britannica.com

According to Vitruvius, the ‘invention’ of the fireplace catalyzed the forming of communities and also the emergence of language. The story of architecture begins here, with the fireside, focus of social life, source of sunshine and heat, of protection against a hostile environment. Archeological evidence for the employment of fireplaces pre-dates the evidence for constructed dwellings by many thousands of years. The architecture was born within the Lower and Middle Paleolithic, roughly between 1 million and 100,000 years ago.

NOMADIC

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Kyrgyz ©www.nomads.org

The bifurcation that drove to the nomadic innovate architecture occurred within the age that is roughly 100,000 years ago. Architecture in this era is represented by the elementary nomad’s hut that is commonly circular in plan. The hearth sits within the center of the hut, thus creating an umbilical connection to the archaic phase. The ritual significance of the middle becomes apparent within the customs of up to date Asian nomads. During certain ceremonies, a birch is erected on the place of the hearth, hence projecting out through the smoke-hole of the yurt. It is the axis Mundi, the navel of the globe, connecting the spiritual worlds above and beyond. The Gilyak of eastern Siberia regards the fireside because of the gateway of communication with the imaginary place.

DOMESTIC

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A Street in Warwick ©www.internetshakespeare.uvic.ca

The start of the domestic phase is portrayed by the oblong building plan that coincides with the rise of agriculture, which followed the peak of the last geological period some 12,000 years ago. The earliest known moment of transition from round to rectangular is believed to this point. The domestic type also remains ubiquitous in the present day. The barn or farmhouse with the pitched rooftop is the terrestrial building type in rural districts around the world. The domestic model also dominates the suburbs. Although dwellings are now equipped with air-conditioners, the television has usurped the axial position of the hearth, and sustenance is procured from the local supermarket, the inhabitants are still invested through a rustic illusion of connection to the land and also the rhythm of the seasons.

MONUMENTAL

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Mirogoj Cemetery, Zagreb ©www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

The monumental type endured in classical and neoclassical styles and advances to be greatly influential in architecture in the present time. Even buildings that are ordinarily considered ‘modern’ supported materialization (the use of glass, steel, and concrete) and lack of ornamentation are of course expressions of the monumental type. They also define the mental consciousness structure that is evidenced by the symmetry of plan and facade.

INTEGRAL

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The Integral House, Toronto ©www.raic.org

The integral type of architecture disperses the perspective and abolishes symmetry. It is connective, sharp, and strives for transparency in both space and time. The integral archetype embraces both modern and postmodern architecture. However, superficially dissimilar, the contemporary design approach shows a bestowed desire for transcendence. The integral type is perpetually approaching, like an exceeding reality. For the nonce, fungal mycelium can function as a model for a decentralized and organismic architecture that embodies the goals of the integral character.

ON THE CONCEPT OF LIFE

LIFE

How did architecture develop? What was the first reason for its development?

All folks have read history books at school where we learned about the period, where the man had his gradual evolution to become an intelligent creature. In earlier times, the man lived in jungles with wild beasts. He knew that he had to guard himself against the tough changing weather and the wild animals, for he wanted to survive and live safely. Initially, the man started trying to find naturally existing dwellings, for the case, rock-cut caves, dolmen, etc. Early man didn’t have a permanent shelter. He kept wandering from place to put for food. Wherever the rock-cut caves were not an option, he started using reeds for building huts and saplings for creating tents sheathed on the bark.

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Festos, Crete, Greece ©www.redbull.com

Gradually, the traditional caveman started advancing by trying different building materials for the development of homes. And today, all people are tuned in to the amazing constructions happening around the world like mansions, palaces, skyscrapers, various varieties of buildings. 

LOVE

The Taj Mahal is one of the seven wonders of the globe. We are all acquainted with the history of the development of this splendid monument. Emperor Shahjahan of Delhi built this splendid memorial as a token of affection for his beloved wife Mumtaz.

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Taj Mahal, India ©www.withinthewalls.home.blog

Fitting to the ‘development of architecture’, this was driven by love.

HOPE

What does one think? How could hope have helped within the development of architecture? Hope falls under the classification of spiritualism. So, after we pray, we always hope that things will bounce back.

Praying is the top term that drove development here. Various religious buildings like temples, mosques, and churches are instituted everywhere around the globe. The development of shrines everywhere over the earth has been seen.

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Great Pyramid of Giza and Sphinx, Egypt ©www.pinterest.com

The great pyramids of Egypt were constructed to preserve the dead bodies of royal people within the kind of mummies with the sole hope that they’re going to secure immortality someday and can return to life.

DEATH

The results of death and its influence on architecture are towards the development of tombs and various monumental buildings within the remembrance of great people.

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National War Memorial, India ©www.wikipedia.com

For example, Raj Ghat in Delhi was built in the memory of Mahatma Gandhi and the Indian National War Memorial is built in memory of the martyrs.

ON THE CONCEPT OF TECHNOLOGY

Many years ago, a student seeking a career in architecture and style would spend hours constructing 3-D models, or highly-detailed drawings of concept buildings or interior design. Times have since changed and both students and professionals have experienced the advantages of technological advances in computer-based design software. Highly detailed 3-D digital renderings take the headache out of tangible models and speed up the completion process for any creative project. Design software also has the additional advantage of catching mistakes before they happen within the physical world, which could potentially save thousands or many thousands of dollars in materials, wasted labor, and time.

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2-D Hand Drafted Drawings ©www.pinterest.com

In the initial stages of architectural composition, original notions were produced in 2-D. Designers had to physically draw an image of their vision to express their ideas clearly among other engaged individuals. Also, much time was spent erasing and refining the images and blueprints. But now, with the advances in technology, a lot more is accomplished than within the past.

BUILDING INFORMATION MODELING

BIM has now spread like wildfire throughout the contemporary architectural field, and it’s anticipated to continue for several years to return.

DESIGN SOFTWARE

Design software aids in improving communication between stakeholders, the whole design team, business owners, or the other interested party. If you happen to form miscalculations within the design process, computers make it easier to repair the error or start over completely without having a multitude to scrub up like traditional concept models.

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3-D Software Designed Model ©www.sketchup.com

Saving money, time, and manpower is the goal of everyone involved in the creation of a possible new structure. Computers have taken the strain out of the model building so that those striving to speak the architecture can do so with ease.

ON THE CONCEPT OF GEOMETRICAL EVOLUTION

When we take a look at the historical development of geometry as a form-generator tool, it is often seen that the determination of architectural form in step with geometrical principles could be a subtle tool within the hands of an architect. And this one cannot equate with formal rigidity.

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Form Evolutions ©www.pp.bme.hu

In the past, geometry and architecture had much in common, and also the practical problems encountered by early builders led them to geometrical discoveries. Today, however, there’s not only one quiet geometry but numerous. The appearance of mathematics brought the chance of other new geometries from which architects choose the foremost convenient one. These modern geometric concepts have given architects new ideas of architectural form and spatial organization concerning new mathematical methodologies in design. The concept of contemporary geometry has potential value in describing and helping us to know several geometrical relationships within buildings. While traditional geometry offers a hard and fast system to explain everything in nature, in modern geometry, there’s a gradual transformation of space from pure, static to composite and dynamic.

SOBER ENDING

“For architecture to experience its ongoing evolution as a language, there has to be a lot of adjusted copies between how architects draw, think, engage bylaws, and constraints.”

-Jimenez Lai 

(architect, designer, writer, cartoonist)

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Prehistoric Stonehenge (left) and Marina Bay Sands Resort in Singapore (right) ©www.thoughtco.com

Architecture is arguably the diverse values and norms of living for every society that utilizes the compositions for their everyday life. It is the material form of these values that represents the growth and evolution of the globe and the civilizations that are embraced within it.

Author

Shanika Nishi is currently majoring in architecture. With avid interest in reading and research, she has been regularly penning down her ideas into poems. She has a vision of contributing vivaciously to the profession &further while honing her knowledge. She also believes that ‘We must do what little we can.’