The Enduring Relevance of Architectural History

Studying buildings from the past is a fundamental aspect of an architect’s education and professional development. While the field of architecture is inherently forward-thinking, with a focus on innovation and modern design, understanding the history of architecture is crucial for several reasons. The history of architecture traces the changes in architecture through various traditions, regions, overarching stylistic trends, and dates.

Inspiration and Learning

Historical buildings serve as valuable sources of inspiration and learning for architects. By examining the designs, materials, and construction techniques used in ancient and medieval structures, architects can gain insights into the evolution of architectural styles and technologies over time. Ar. Nida Hasan from Apeejay Institute of Technology - School of Architecture & Planning (AIT-SAP) shares, “Understanding heritage buildings is crucial for architecture students as it provides a profound insight into historical contexts, cultural significance, and traditional building techniques. By studying heritage structures, students grasp timeless design principles, sustainable construction methods, and the importance of preserving architectural legacy.

Cultural and Societal Context

Studying historical buildings allows architects to understand the cultural and societal contexts in which they were built. Architecture is not just about designing functional spaces; it is also about creating environments that reflect the values, beliefs, and aspirations of the people who inhabit them. Architecture can provide glimpses into human history. It can give insight into our ancestors' customs, rituals, technologies, religions, and daily life. Architecture can provide a deeper understanding of the evolution and development of the human species. It allows us to have a holistic perspective on our place in the context of humanity. From prehistoric structures to contemporary architecture, we can see what was important to humans at the time and what were they trying to say through their buildings.

Timeless Principles

Historical buildings remain relevant in the present for architects because they often embody timeless principles of design and construction. Many historical structures have stood the test of time, enduring for centuries despite changes in technology, climate, and society.

Cultural Heritage

Historical buildings have significance beyond the field of architecture. They are tangible links to the past, serving as repositories of cultural heritage and collective memory. For historians, preservationists, and heritage enthusiasts, historical buildings hold immense value as artifacts of the past.

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The Evolution of Shelter

Humans and their ancestors have been creating various types of shelters for at least hundreds of thousands of years, and shelter-building may have been present early in hominin evolution. All great apes will construct "nests" for sleeping, albeit at different frequencies and degrees of complexity. It has been argued that nest-building practices were even more important to the evolution of human creativity and construction skill than tool use, as hominins became required to build nests not just in uniquely adapted circumstances but as forms of signalling. Retaining arboreal features like highly prehensile hands for the expert construction of nests and shelters would have also benefitted early hominins in unpredictable environments and changing climates. Many hominins, especially the earliest ones such as Ardipithecus and Australopithecus retained such features and may have chosen to build nests in trees where available.

In 2000, archaeologists at the Meiji University in Tokyo claimed to have found 2 pentagonal alignments of post holes on a hillside near the village of Chichibu, interpreting it as two huts dated around 500,000 years old and built by Homo erectus. Currently, the earliest confirmed purpose-built structures are in France at the site of Terra Amata, along with the earliest evidence of artificial fire, c. 400,000 years ago. Due to the perishable nature of shelters of this time, it is difficult to find evidence for dwellings beyond hearths and the stones that may make up a dwelling's foundation. Near Wadi Halfa, Sudan, the Arkin 8 site contains 100,000 year old circles of sandstone that were likely the anchor stones for tents. In eastern Jordan, post hole markings in the soil give evidence to houses made of poles and thatched brush around 20,000 years ago. In areas where bone - especially mammoth bone - is a viable material, evidence of structures preserve much more easily, such as the mammoth-bone dwellings among the Mal'ta-Buret' culture 24-15,000 years ago and at Mezhirich 15,000 years ago.

Neolithic Advancements

Architectural advances are an important part of the Neolithic period (10,000-2000 BC), during which some of the major innovations of human history occurred. The domestication of plants and animals, for example, led to both new economics and a new relationship between people and the world, an increase in community size and permanence, a massive development of material culture and new social and ritual solutions to enable people to live together in these communities. Although many dwellings belonging to all prehistoric periods and also some clay models of dwellings have been uncovered enabling the creation of faithful reconstructions, they seldom included elements that may relate them to art.

In South and Southwest Asia, Neolithic cultures appear soon after 10,000 BC, initially in the Levant (Pre-Pottery Neolithic A and Pre-Pottery Neolithic B) and from there spread eastwards and westwards. There are early Neolithic cultures in Southeast Anatolia, Syria and Iraq by 8000 BC, and food-producing societies first appear in southeast Europe by 7000 BC, and Central Europe by c. Göbekli Tepe in Turkey, ca. Nevali Cori in Turkey, ca.

Mesopotamian Architecture

Assyrian palaces had a large public court with a suite of apartments on the east side and a series of large banqueting halls on the south side. Mesopotamia is most noted for its construction of mud-brick buildings and the construction of ziggurats, occupying a prominent place in each city and consisting of an artificial mound, often rising in huge steps, surmounted by a temple. The mound was no doubt to elevate the temple to a commanding position in what was otherwise a flat river valley. The word ziggurat is an anglicized form of the Akkadian word ziqqurratum, the name given to the solid stepped towers of mud brick. It derives from the verb zaqaru, ("to be high"). The buildings are described as being like mountains linking Earth and heaven. The Ziggurat of Ur, excavated by Leonard Woolley, is 64 by 46 meters at base and originally some 12 meters in height with three stories.

Ancient Egyptian Architecture

Modern imaginings of ancient Egypt are heavily influenced by the surviving traces of monumental architecture. Many formal styles and motifs were established at the dawn of the pharaonic state, around 3100 BC. The most iconic Ancient Egyptian buildings are the pyramids, built during the Old and Middle Kingdoms (c.2600-1800 BC) as tombs for the pharaoh. The Ancient Egyptians believed in the afterlife. They also believed that in order for their soul (known as ka) to live eternally in their afterlife, their bodies would have to remain intact for eternity. So, they had to create a way to protect the deceased from damage and grave robbers. This way, the mastaba was born. These were adobe structures with flat roofs, which had underground rooms for the coffin, about 30 m down.

Imhotep, an ancient Egyptian priest and architect, had to design a tomb for the Pharaoh Djoser. For this, he placed five mastabas, one above the next, this way creating the first Egyptian pyramid, the Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara (c.2667-2648 BC), which is a step pyramid. The first smooth-sided one was built by Pharaoh Sneferu, who ruled between c.2613 and 2589 BC. The most imposing one is the Great Pyramid of Giza, made for Sneferu's son: Khufu (c.2589-2566 BC), being the last surviving wonder of the ancient world and the largest pyramid in Egypt. The stone blocks used for pyramids were held together by mortar, and the entire structure was covered with highly polished white limestone, with their tops topped in gold. What we see today is actually the core structure of the pyramid. Inside, narrow passages led to the royal burial chambers.

Due to the lack of resources and a shift in power towards priesthood, ancient Egyptians stepped away from pyramids, and temples became the focal point of cult construction. Just like the pyramids, Ancient Egyptian temples were also spectacular and monumental. They evolved from small shrines made of perishable materials to large complexes, and by the New Kingdom (circa 1550-1070 BC) they have become massive stone structures consisting of halls and courtyards. The temple represented a sort of 'cosmos' in stone, a copy of the original mound of creation on which the god could rejuvenate himself and the world. The entrance consisted of a twin gateway (pylon), symbolizing the hills of the horizon. Inside there were columned halls symbolizing a primeval papyrus thicket. It was followed by a series of hallways of decreasing size, until the sanctuary was reached, where a god's cult statue was placed. Back in ancient times, temples were painted in bright colours, mainly red, blue, yellow, green, orange, and white. An architectural element specific to ancient Egyptian architecture is the cavetto cornice (a concave moulding), introduced by the end of the Old Kingdom. It was widely used to accentuate the top of almost every formal pharaonic building.

Indus Valley Civilization

The first Urban Civilization in the Indian subcontinent is traceable originally to the Indus Valley civilisation mainly in Mohenjodaro and Harappa, now in modern-day Pakistan as well western states of the Republic of India. The earliest settlements are seen during the Neolithic period in Merhgarh, Balochistan. The civilization's cities were noted for their urban planning with baked brick buildings, elaborate drainage and water systems, and handicraft (carnelian products, seal carving).

Ancient Greek Architecture

Since the advent of the Classical Age in Athens, in the 5th century BC, the Classical way of building has been deeply woven into Western understanding of architecture and, indeed, of civilization itself. From circa 850 BC to circa 300 AD, ancient Greek culture flourished on the Greek mainland, on the Peloponnese, and on the Aegean islands. However, Ancient Greek architecture is best known for its temples, many of which are found throughout the region, and the Parthenon is a prime example of this. Later, they will serve as inspiration for Neoclassical architects during the late 18th and the 19th century. The most well-known temples are the Parthenon and the Erechtheion, both on the Acropolis of Athens. Another type of important Ancient Greek buildings were the theatres.

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Ancient Greek temples usually consist of a base with continuous stairs of a few steps at each edges (known as crepidoma), a cella (or naos) with a cult statue in it, columns, an entablature, and two pediments, one on the front side and another in the back. By the 4th century BC, Greek architects and stonemasons had developed a system of rules for all buildings known as the orders: the Doric, the Ionic, and the Corinthian. They are most easily recognised by their columns (especially by the capitals). The Doric column is stout and basic, the Ionic one is slimmer and has four scrolls (called volutes) at the corners of the capital, and the Corinthian column is just like the Ionic one, but the capital is completely different, being decorated with acanthus leaves and four scrolls. Besides columns, the frieze was different based on order.

Besides the columns, the temples were highly decorated with sculptures, in the pediments, on the friezes, metopes and triglyphs. Ornaments used by Ancient Greek architects and artists include palmettes, vegetal or wave-like scrolls, lion mascarons (mostly on lateral cornices), dentils, acanthus leaves, bucrania, festoons, egg-and-dart, rais-de-cœur, beads, meanders, and acroteria at the corners of the pediments. Pretty often, ancient Greek ornaments are used continuously, as bands.

Looking at the archaeological remains of ancient and medieval buildings it is easy to perceive them as limestone and concrete in a grey taupe tone and make the assumption that ancient buildings were monochromatic. However, architecture was polychromed in much of the Ancient and Medieval world. One of the most iconic Ancient buildings, the Parthenon (c. 447-432 BC) in Athens, had details painted with vibrant reds, blues and greens. Besides ancient temples, Medieval cathedrals were never completely white. Most had colored highlights on capitals and columns. This practice of coloring buildings and artworks was abandoned during the early Renaissance. This is because Leonardo da Vinci and other Renaissance artists, including Michelangelo, promoted a color palette inspired by the ancient Greco-Roman ruins, which because of neglect and constant decay during the Middle Ages, became white despite being initially colorful. The pigments used in the ancient world were delicate and especially susceptible to weathering.

Celtic Architecture

Celtic architecture, in its broadest sense, refers to the styles and structures associated with the Celtic peoples who once inhabited a large part of Europe, including parts of modern-day France, Germany, the British Isles, and beyond. This architecture is difficult to define strictly because the Celts did not have a unified, standardized architectural style across the different regions they inhabited.

One of the most famous Celtic sites is the Heuneburg, located on the Swabian Jura in Germany. Heuneburg was a large Celtic settlement and a key center of power in the late Hallstatt and early La Tène periods. The Mont Lassois is another important Celtic archaeological site located in the Burgundy region of eastern France, near the town of Montbard, in the Côte-d'Or department. The site is notable for being one of the largest and most significant Celtic oppida (fortified settlements) of the La Tène period (approximately 450 BCE to 1 BCE). The Glauberg Celtic hillfort or oppidum in Hesse, Germany, is consisting of a fortified settlement and several burial mounds, "a princely seat of the late Hallstatt and early La Tène periods." Archaeological discoveries in the 1990s place the site among the most important early Celtic centres in Europe.

Nabataean Architecture

The Nabataeans, an ancient Arab people, had an architectural style that is notable for its rock-cut temples and tombs, most famously the ones found in Petra, Jordan. Another partially preserved site is found at Hegra (Mada’in Salih), Saudi Arabia.

Ancient Roman Architecture

The architecture of ancient Rome has been one of the most influential in the world. Its legacy is evident throughout the medieval and early modern periods, and Roman buildings continue to be reused in the modern era in both New Classical and Postmodern architecture. It was particularly influenced by Greek and Etruscan styles. Wherever the Roman army conquered, they established towns and cities, spreading their empire and advancing their architectural and engineering achievements. While the most important works are to be found in Italy, Roman builders also found creative outlets in the western and eastern provinces, of which the best examples preserved are in modern-day North Africa, Turkey, Syria and Jordan. Extravagant projects appeared, like the Arch of Septimius Severus in Leptis Magna (present-day Libya, built in 216 AD), with broken pediments on all sides, or the Arch of Caracalla in Thebeste (present-day Algeria, built in c.214 AD), with paired columns on all sides, projecting entablatures and medallions with divine busts. Due to the fact that the empire was formed from multiple nations and cultures, some buildings were the product of combining the Roman style with the local tradition.

Among the many Roman architectural achievements were domes (which were created for temples), baths, villas, palaces and tombs. The best known example is that of the Pantheon in Rome, being the largest surviving Roman dome and having a large oculus at its centre. Another important innovation is the rounded stone arch, used in arcades, aqueducts and other structures. Besides the Greek orders (Doric, Ionic and Corinthian), the Romans invented two more. Between 30 and 15 BC, the architect and engineer Marcus Vitruvius Pollio published a major treatise, De architectura, which influenced architects around the world for centuries. Just like the Greeks, the Romans built amphitheatres too. The largest amphitheatre ever built, the Colosseum in Rome, could hold around 50,000 spectators.

Mesoamerican and South American Architecture

From over 3,000 years before the Europeans 'discovered' America, complex societies had already been established across North, Central and South America. The most complex ones were in Mesoamerica, notably the Mayans, the Olmecs and the Aztecs, but also Incas in South America. Much of the Mesoamerican architecture developed through cultural exchange - for example the Aztecs learnt much from earlier Mayan architecture. Many cultures built entire cities, with monolithic temples and pyramids decoratively carved with animals,… Machu Pichu.

Buildings as Reflections of Civilization

Buildings Reveal the Values of civilizations. Architecture will often tell a story about the time it was constructed. When a society decides to build a building, they monumentalize a set of principles into the physical world. In many prehistoric, ancient, and mid-evil structures, the values, ideas, and information shown in their buildings lay at the core of their value systems. Historically, the building process has been long, complicated, labor-intensive and financially expensive. Because of this, it forces the society doing the construction to curate their beliefs and values down to the essential elements, as they will be monumentalized in the physical world for years to come.

A great example of this phenomenon can be found in religious structures such as cathedrals, mosques, temples, and basilicas. Many of these buildings display their values quite literally on the facades of buildings. Through ornamentation, sculpture, stained glass, and engravings the builders tell the stories of their religion and beliefs. For example, on the Nativity Facade of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain, the Architect Antoni Gaudi engraved numerous stories of the Bible directly onto the face of the building. The permanent nature of religious architecture represented stability, and power and reinforced the authority of their religion. Patrons walking into a massive cathedral, with ornate stone carving, expansive stained glass windows and not only feel spiritually elevated from the atmosphere of the building, they would also feel confidence in their faith. In many cases, architecture was used as a tool to control, manipulate, and intimidate groups of people. It was also used to help maintain the concentration of power in specific hands.

Religious buildings were not the only works of architecture that were used to convey values of a society. The Barcelona Pavilion, designed by Mies van der Rohe in 1920, was intended to portray a new identity for Germany after the war. The building intended to illustrate a departure from the historical political and cultural regimes of the past. Through the use of streamlined reductive forms, absent of any ornamentation of any political, religious, or authoritative reference, Mies told the world through his architecture that they were dealing with a new Germany.

In our contemporary culture, many people want to facilitate peace, tranquility, and contemplation in their projects. I imagine this has to do with the fast-paced, highly connected nature of the information age. As quietness and space for peace seem to be dwindling, many are searching for places to retreat that exhibit qualities that suggest or reinforce a value structure geared to help bring these qualities back into their lives. This observation has come from working with hundreds of clients on their homes.

Buildings as Displays of Technology and Innovation

Studying past buildings allows us to see what technology and materials were available then. Sites such as Göbeklitepe, Stonehenge, the Egyptian pyramids, Greece, and ancient Rome give hints at the technological capabilities of a society. Many of the techniques and tools these civilizations used are still up for debate and continue to baffle historians, engineers, architects and archeologists today. Some believe the technologies used to construct these monuments are beyond our comprehension and outside of our contemporary capabilities.

The historical site of Machu Pichu illustrates the Inca’s knowledge of civil engineering. To help the site drain, the Inca excavated and re-compacted vast amounts of gravel under the site to allow for rainwater to percolate into the earth and minimize surface runoff and flooding. They understood hydrodynamics and drainage on a level comparable to contemporary engineering methods.

Cathedrals display innovative feats in stone masonry construction. Flying buttresses used in French Gothic architecture were developed to reduce the massive masonry walls of cathedrals. Through this innovation, the architects could design large openings in the walls of the cathedrals, resulting in phenomenal interior spaces flooded with natural light which enhanced the experience of religious rituals and ceremonies.

Dome construction throughout history has been an area of substantial technological innovation and experimentation. Brunelleschi’s dome in Florence was one of the first domes of its kind to be built without scaffolding or centering. Brunelleschi developed several different innovations in his design, including compression straps, double-layer dome construction, and herringbone brick patterns embedded in the shell that allowed him to create the largest dome for its time.

The Home Insurance Building, designed by William Le Baron Jenny in 1884, is an excellent example of a building that cemented its place in architectural history because of its technological innovation. The building was the first to implement the structural steel frame. At the time, using structural steel in buildings was rare, especially for buildings of that height. The building as become an icon of a city and an attraction point for tourists, contributing positively to a city's economy. It tells the story of the Industrial Revolution and the conception of steel-framed buildings. Today, steel is a common material used in an array of projects from massive sports complexes to single-family homes.

In the 20th Century, global events such as the two World Wars catalyzed developments in material technology. Significant advancements in the production of metals, plastics, and glass products were developed to aid the war efforts. After the wars, the manufacturers were eager to take their products to the public market. When Architects became aware of these new materials, they began experimenting with how to use them in their buildings. A great example is the Case Study Homes built in Southern California in the mid 1900’s.

Today, architecture has become overwhelmed with and in many cases all about the technology and innovations we have in our contemporary society. Architects and building patrons are pushing the boundaries by requesting manufacturers to develop larger panes of glass, indestructible finish materials, smart home automation systems, and low-maintenance materials.

Buildings as Reflections of Shifts in Arts, Culture, Politics, and Economy

The Renaissance marked a significant shift in Europe’s culture, market, and economy. New ideas, technologies, science, and art were beginning to emerge in Europe following the Dark Ages. At the time, Florence was growing into a major city in Europe. Its wool and banking industries were flourishing, and some of the most luxurious cloth in Europe came from this area. The financial success catalyzed a re-awakening of arts and architecture. Wealthy merchants and guilds began investing in buildings, monasteries, palaces, and churches. A building boom of this sort had yet to be experienced since the Roman Empire. The structures that resulted from this economic prosperity tell a broader story about the cultural conditions at the time.

One of architecture's largest cultural and artistic shifts in the modern era was Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye. The building's aesthetic design rejected the traditional Beaux Arts methods ubiquitous at the time. Corbusier designed a villa elevated off the ground, absent of ornament, and free of past references. He consciously and deliberately broke tradition and showed a new way to design buildings.

In the mid-1900s, skyscrapers began to develop in New York and Chicago. Many buildings were constructed as office towers to house large corporations’ staff and operations. Not only did the architecture perform functionally to give the corporation a workplace, it also served as a giant marketing strategy. Many corporations were racing to the top to build their highest tower to represent their market prestige and dominance. Towers like the Sears Tower, Segram Building, and the Chrysler Building are quintessential examples of American Corporate architecture.

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