To create diverse experiences, we have recreated a number of very different environments – archive, museum, factory, laboratory, mock-up, simulation. It brings together ancient, past, current, and future versions of the elements in rooms that are each dedicated to a single element. Expensive red porphyry roundels, for example, might stud the facade of your home, and even though it was probably small, your courtyard might use tiles of precious stones.Elements of Architecture looks under a microscope at the fundamentals of our buildings, used by any architect, anywhere, anytime: the floor, the wall, the ceiling, the roof, the door, the window, the façade, the balcony, the corridor, the fireplace, the toilet, the stair, the escalator, the elevator, the ramp. And, although you had to be careful of using too much of a heavy material like stone or marble, it might be used as an accent and a further display of your wealth. Ornate carvings showed off an (expensive!) artisan’s skill. To have some architectural cohesion (and to keep people from parading their wealth around too much!), laws restricted ornamental statuary and other over-the-top touches.īut, of course, families got around this. Showing how rich you were was especially important in Venice - since it was a merchant city, money and power were closely intertwined.Īt the same time, a noble family’s hands were somewhat tied. You can’t get much more intricate - or Venetian - than this balcony with its watchful lions!īecause of how many people would see your canal-facing facade, you’d make sure that your facade showed not just style, but wealth. (Don’t miss our video on what it’s really like on the water in Venice, below!). When the main train station was built in the 19th century, the city filled in many canals and created piazzas to help out all of the new visitors who didn’t have their own boats!). ![]() (And keep in mind that many of the streets that you walk on in modern-day Venice didn’t exist for most of Venetian history. One odd characteristic of Venice’s palaces is that they don’t face the streets… the palaces face canals! Of course, since Venice’s canals were its streets, this makes sense. ![]() ![]() The result? Lots of windows! Why Venetian palaces don’t face the streets Meanwhile, the nearby island of Murano had an extensive glass-making industry, meaning that the material was much cheaper than elsewhere. Thanks to Venice’s setting on the lagoon, though, it was very safe from enemies. That also explains the painted, wooden-beamed ceilings that you often see in the palaces.įinally, other Italian cities shied away from using too much glass in their palaces, given its expense and how vulnerable it was to those who might wish the wealthy residents harm. The problem with having to keep buildings light also led to using a lot of wood. While buildings elsewhere might use stone for their foundations and vaults, for example, Venetians would use the lighter wood. Plus, bricks don’t retain moisture, always a help in a water-logged city. That brick would then usually be faced with stucco, protecting them even more from the weather. One solution was to build in brick. Much lighter than stone, bricks also had the benefit of being smaller and placed side-by-side-so if the earth moved beneath the structure, the building could (to some extent!) shift with it. The painted, wooden ceiling of the chapel in the Ca’ d’Oro Just check out this photo of the Ca’ d’Oro, one of Venice’s loveliest palaces, built in the early 15th century: A lot of Venetian architecture, therefore, was taken from Byzantine and Moorish styles. Plus, unlike other Italian cities, Venice had close ties to the East thanks to its vast trade networks. Even so, they’d continue to blend Renaissance innovations with that same Gothic style. After the Renaissance hit, with its focus on rationalism and balance, architects started to incorporate some of its hallmarks (like rounded, rather than pointed, arches). Unsurprisingly, therefore, Venetian architecture became largely Gothic architecture, with its asymmetricality and emphasis on light. And at that time, Gothic-style architecture was the trend. By the 12th century, it was already a powerful and monied republic. ![]() Unlike those cities, Venice was at its most prosperous during the Middle Ages. Built at the end of the 15th century, Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo mixes both Gothic and Renaissance styles
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |