In order to one ones future you must know where you came from…

Architects from all styles and form of architecture have studied the history of culture and structure before they could design for the future, just like we are doing right now. Three strong minded architects and scholars from our past brought ideas of form, materials, restoration and preservation, and culture into projects, design and theories, They weren’t clear from criticism nor debate, however, in their own time they have built the foundations of our perception and creation of modern architecture. Connected through their thoughts ideas and contradictions, John Ruskin, Gottfried Semper and Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc developed architecture looking to history and their present…

Taking a rational approach to architecture and structure was both Gottfried Semper and Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc. Semper looked to find the rational unity between all previous forms of architecture in order to create the ideal form; he looked to distinct elements (such as a column, arch or beam) to create a unified look and explain the structure…

 The columns are one unified piece continuing up to the top of the structure. Horizontal members present a visual cue for where there is a break in the structure and the location of the top where the roof sits.

where as Viollet-le-Duc looked at the structure and forms as a response to the material in a rational manner. For example the arches formed in the fortified city of Carcassonne were to be made out of stone there for the stone was to make the structure of a gothic arch so that is the form they made. Another such example is that of a bird’s nest… if a bird was to build a nest, it would use small sticks because they are readily available/the material of choice (able to fly with it… not get stuck on the ground trying to pick up a giant log) the way that the sticks could then form into one unit that was structurally sound would be like that of a nest using a weaving pattern… form follows material. 

Note the pointed Gothic arch in the background along with the steep pointed roofs on the fortified city which was Viollet-le-Duc ideal form for this structure (the roof form was found north of the site)

John Ruskin despising Classical architecture, thought it was lacking emotion, and represented standardization of materials and structures, preferred to take a more emotional side of architecture and form. He believed that one should take the morality of religion into all forms of architecture, using the ideas and morality of a protestant and secular form of Gothic design. To him, it was a mix of strength, power, authority, and aspirations along with other qualities seen in the church.  For example when designing the House of Parliament in London, the architects wanted to be able to express those qualities that were represented in the Gothic architectural style, so they took the forms seen and translated them onto a non-secular building. 

Big Ben and the London House of Parliament - follows the form and ideals of the Gothic Cathedral with a different function.

When on the topic of restoration and preservation the main two opposing ideals were between Ruskin and Vilollet-le-Duc. Ruskin who leaned towards the Arts and Crafts movement (which focused on the use of artisans to create unique ornamentation) believed that any attempt at restoration would be destructive to the accumulation of history, which is encoded in its decay, however steps of preservation should be taken on historic structures. Vilollet-le-Duc disagreed with this thinking (most of his work was in the restoration of deconstructed sites) on the reconstruction of historic sites such as the Chateaux de Pierrefonds, in which he used modern materials to take it to his idealistic form while still being able to tell the difference between the restored and original (in this example he replaced bricks with concrete to create a similar but unique style in which you are still able to tell the original from the restored) Similarly was the reconstruction of the fortified city of Carcassonne in which he created the ideal form using the high pointed roof structure from the north, which received much criticism during his lifetime, because it was not built to its original plans but he fit it into the time frame that the reconstruction occurred during.

 Their major works that can be seen in today’s structures vary between writings and the involvement with the structure.

            Semper was the father of tectonics’ through the relationship between materials and the structure of a building. He also divided a structure into four distant parts as described in The Four Elements of Architecture, which was the book on finding the order to architectural styles and forms, which ended up leading to the formation of curtain walls. His most prevalent addition to our society that is affecting students to this very day is the incorporation of practical and theoretical work into architecture education.

            Violeet-le-Duc showed how new materials can be incorporated with the existing and expanded the horizons of architects to the addition of new materials. Such as metal forms incorporated with stone or brick structures.

            Ruskins ideas from his book The Seven Lamps of Architecture, dealing with sacrifice, truth, power, beauty, life, memory and obedience, ask architects form more than just a form sitting on the ground, but a culture and reason placed behind the form. His influence can be seen in relatively recent architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright’s structures. Bringing back a relation of structure to nature, created by individuals, taking the form away from mechanism and industrialization movement.