Downbylaw’s thread got me to thinking—what are some of the Dopers’ fave architectural styles?
I grew up outside Phila., where there are a lot of plain, beautiful old Federal buildings of the early 1800s. I also have a fondness for the most outlandish Italianate and Queen Anne styles of the mid- to late-19th century. The more gewgaws, cupolas and widows’ walks, the better!
Here’s a site that pretty much shows some of my favorite styles, though I like my Second Empire a bit more Addams Family-esque than what’s shown here. Can anyone recommend a good overall architectural history site, by the way?
Goes hand in hand with my taste for Big Scary Statuary (WWI memorials, the Constantine Head), Big Scary Paintings (Gustav Moreau, Arnold Boecklin), and Big Scary Music (Wagner, Mahler).
One major kick I had in the past few years was coming across the Cathedral of St. Paul in Minnesota, and wandering around the Big Scary Transept and enjoying the Big Scary Religious Art (an important subgenre of Big Scary Art in general).
The link doesn’t do the building justice. (Can anyone find some good close-ups?) Trust me, it’s terrifying!
i want to buy an old italianate row house downtown and renovate it. no historical preservation for me, though, i’d rather keep what i like and trash the rest.
i love architectural history, so it’s hard to name a single style i like more than the others. but everything had it’s time and place, and even though i like to see an authentic hostoric building, i’d be dissapointed seeing a queen anne knockoff being built today.
as for architects, i really like frank lloyd wright’s stuff. nowadays it looks pretty tame, but in its time (turn of the century) it was pretty radical. his attention to detail was insane. this guy even wanted to design the clothes people wore in his buildings. look at the frank thomas or robey house for example. i think frank appeals to the egomaniacal part of every architects’ personality.
le corbusier is another favorite. while frank stuck with mostly small-scale residential projects, corb took on the monsters. his use of concrete and form was amazing. the marseille block was one of his most celebrated projects, he also basically designed the u.n. in new york (it was a commitee, but corbusier took charge). but my favorite is his little chapel in ronchamp.
right now, i like the new modernists, like williams and tsien. i like clean lines and simplicity. also peter zumthor, but i don’t know how you’d classify him. he’s sort of a minimalist, maybe. his thermal bath at vals, switzerland is utterly beautiful.
Don’t know if this qualifies, but www.greatbuildings.com has a pile of, well, great buildings.
I’m a Modernist. Mid-Century classics – Eames, Mies, Neutra, et al. – make my knees weak. For something more approachable than the strident Bauhaus aesthetic, however, Hugh Newell Jacobsen is cool.
“I’m fond of Big Scary Architecture. Goes hand in hand with my taste for Big Scary Statuary.”
Re big scary statuary, ever gotten off PATH at Exchange Place and looked at the little plaza there, between the buildings and the riverfront? Statue of what looks at first like the typical WWI soldier, but in this instance with a bayoneted rifle sticking OUT OF HIS BACK! WTF The whole damned rifle, not just the bayonet, mind. :eek:
I have to agree with Earthling’s suggestion of a building site.
My favorites are LeCorbusier and Mies.
Then there’s Aalto. and Reitveld. and Scarpa. especially Scarpa (what beautiful details in his work) Baragan. Neutra. Schindler.
I also have a great passion for the work of the Futurists and constructivists. and Destjl.
I think that the period from 1915- 1935(especially 1929) was amazing and sublime for architecture (and art).
More recent architects that impress me:
Louis Khan
Tadao Ando.
(his museum is going up across from the Kimball.
OH THE RAPTURE!)
Frank Ghery (mainly for his growth in style).
Georgio Grassi
Rem Koolhaus
Lebius woods
Daniel Libeskind
The whole damned rifle, not just the bayonet, mind. :eek: