Lecture 8:

NEO-CLASSICAL
ARCHITECTURE

BTAR 1022
History of Western Architecture
OBJECTIVES:

§ Exploring the revival of

post architecture
periods culminating in
Neo-Classical Style

§ Examining examples of
Neo-Classical buildings
HOW DO THEY
LOOK LIKE?
AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
NEOCLASSICAL ARCHITECTURE 1780-1840

Defini&on: Neoclassical, or “new” classical, architecture

describes buildings that are inspired by the classical
architecture of ancient Greece and Rome. A Neoclassical
building is likely to have some or all of these features:

• Symmetrical shape
• Tall columns that rise the full height of the building
• Triangular pediment
• Domed roof
This renewed focus on ancient architecture is logical in view of the
fact that the enlightenment continued the intellectual approaches of
the Renaissance and Humanism.

WHY DID BAROQUE DIE OFF?

• Wanted more permanence and authority in their buildings

than Baroque could provide.
• The shift in the balance of power, the architecture preferred
by countries like France and Protestant Germany now came
to its own.
• There were no strong architectural concept to buildings
and there were limitations through to ‘decoration’.
 WHAT BROUGHT UPON THE
REVIVAL OF CLASSICAL ORDERS?

In order to start a new system; government is implying messages:

• Strict − Symmetry and order, Balance and clean lines.

• Power & Strength − Giving the message of seriousness
and importance
• Stability & Fair − Building must be solid and stable.
 PALLADIAN TEMPLATE
Palladio’s La Rotunda

Class and Power were shown through Palladian houses or villas.

They were based on the Palladian template design.
 CHISWICK HOUSE 1725

No curve lines. The whole building is very clean. It used simple

un-fluted Corinthian columns in the interior.
ST MARTIN–IN–THE–FIELDS 1721–26
By Scot. James Gibbs’

He combined a classical
porDco with a spire, is
never outrageously Baroque.
SENATE HOUSE, CAMBRIDGE
UNIVERSITY 1722-30
By Scot. James Gibbs’

Dignified symmetry.
Gibb’s style is in harmony with Palladian elegance.
SENATE HOUSE, CAMBRIDGE
UNIVERSITY 1722-30
By Scot. James Gibbs’
HOLKHAM HALL, NORFOLK 1734
By Thomas Coke

The surface of the house is in yellow brick, made locally at Coke’s

request, fashioned aLer anDque Roman brick. The house was planned
with a central rectangular block, which presented a Palladian porDco
(entrance) to the peer park.
 Entrance hall sDll almost
Baroque in its space.

HOLKHAM HALL, NORFOLK 1734

By Thomas Coke
ROYAL CRESCENT 1767-75

Houses form a crescent arc along the roadway.

ROYAL CRESCENT 1767-75
 Gardens of
Versailles

Landscape movement of the 18th Century, landscape of

‘controlled’ nature started.
They controlled- clipped hedges defining parterres, long avenues of
trees leading to geometrically organized sheets of water.
 STOURHEAD GARDEN 1741–65
by Henry Hoare II

In complete contrast, in England, the interacDon between house and garden

went one step further in what came to be known as the picturesque
movement when the garden was embellished with delighVul architectural
features such as bridges, temples and groWoes.
 STOURHEAD GARDEN 1741–65
by Henry Hoare II

Shows bridges where curves reflected in the water. Trees are planted as
planned. It is trying to achieve a very romantic setting.
STOURHEAD GARDEN 1741–65
by Henry Hoare II
NEO-CLASSICAL TREND IN FRANCE

Plan of a Renaissance church:

A dome resDng on a drum
rises above a circle at the
centre of a Greek cross.

Sainte–Genevieve, Paris 1757

In 1791, the building was re-dedicated as a tomb
and memorial for important French ci&zens and
renamed “Le Panthéon”.

Sainte–Genevieve, Paris 1757

Sainte–Genevieve, Paris 1757
Columns were once again used mainly for structural purpose rather than
decoraDve purpose.

BRITISH MUSEUM, LONDON

It was originally planned to completely surround the building with columns
as the building itself is an elongated cube, like the Greek peripteral temple,
this would have given extensive uniformity to the external elevaDons and
denied the building a clearly defined façade.
BRITISH MUSEUM, LONDON
FROM PIONEERS TO ESTABLISHMENT:
THE AMERICAS AND BEYOND

In centuries, Europe had been pre-occupied by what

was going on within its own brilliant. Archaeological
excavations, travel, explorations and missionary work
were all serving to open up territories.

Europeans established colonies, in order to

spread their influences.

The architectural style adopted in the colonies was at

first a primitive version of parent country at the time
of the colonization.
MONTICELLO, CHARLOTTESVILLE,
VIRGINIA 1770 by Thomas Jefferson

The use of exposed brick, the building exudes a sense of self-confidence as

opposed to reDcence and modesty.
MONTICELLO, CHARLOTTESVILLE,
VIRGINIA 1770 by Thomas Jefferson

Jefferson used Palladio’s villa La Rotonda when designing the house.

PALLADIAN TEMPLATE Palladio’s La Rotunda
1953-1963
UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA, CHARLOTTESVILLE
by Thomas Jefferson, 1817–26

The structure is also based on the Pantheon.

UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA, CHARLOTTESVILLE
by Thomas Jefferson, 1817–26
OLD NORTH CHURCH, BOSTON 1723
The structure, parDcularly in the common combinaDon of classical
temples porDcoes, with a more Gothic spire.
CHRISTCHURCH, BOSTON 1723
UNITED STATES CAPITOL, WASHINGTON 1793

The feature that gives

its world famous
silhoueWe, the triple-
Dara dome. It is made
of cast iron.
UNITED STATES CAPITOL, WASHINGTON 1793

Simple, big, and grandeur

THE WHITE HOUSE, WASHINGTON
Most recognizable building in the world.
U.S. SUPREME COURT, WASHINGTON

Resembles the Parthenon.

Very serious looking conveying the message of fairness & incorrupDble.
U.S. SUPREME COURT, WASHINGTON
 Neoclassical house styles
Georgian (c.1720 - 1820)

Georgian architecture looks classical in the majority of the

exteriors, influenced by roman architecture.

Exterior Façade normally used single colour and using contrast

colour (wHite) to emphasize the details (skirting, window and
door). Plasterwork reached a height of delicacy and elegance.

interior were more elaborate with a wide colour palette. The

colours most used were light blue, lavender, pink and pea green -
never primary colours.

The walls were paneled from floor to ceiling and divided

horizontally into three parts to represent the classical proportions
of the column. Also, using external doors with 6 panels and a
fanlight
 Neoclassical house styles
Victorian (c.1830 - 1901)

Victorian architecture was made up of several styles, the main ones

being Italianate or Renaissance and Queen Anne or Medieval.

In reaction to the classical style of the previous century, the

Victorian age saw a return to traditional British styles in building,
Tudor and mock-Gothic being the most popular. Enormous houses
were built looking more like great cathedrals rather than houses.

The early Victorian period is characterised by overly elaborate

details and decoration; during the late Victorian the style was
simpler. The Industrial Revolution made possible the use of new
materials such as cast iron and glass.

The major character of victorian homes is the steep pitch of the

roof, bay sash windows, slimmer and tall with stairs lead to
entrance. Using warm Terracotta tiles, ornamental stonework and
striped.
 Neoclassical house styles
Edwardian (c.1901 - 1910)

The Edwardian era was a period of revivalism, taking ideas from

the medieval and Georgian periods. Rejecting the mass production
by Victorian Gothic style. Houses with Neo-Georgian influence:
large bays and sash windows, columns and pilasters

Houses had wider frontages so more space for a hall / living room.

The Façade design more simpler, lighter colour and less complex
detailing. Walls only decorated in uniform colours with contrasting
woodwork on stucco.

Structure is sometimes half timbering, small feature windows to

create a picturesque effect. Other elements - Jacobean details such
as gargoyles, heraldic devices, mullioned windows, studded doors
and Dutch gables.
 Victorian vs Edwardian style

1. Patterned bricks
Victorian houses often used what is known as Flemish Brick bond,

2. Terraces
Victorian houses often built in terraces as more and more people moved to urban areas from
the countryside. The kitchen is usually found at the back, with gardens to the front and rear.

3. Barge boards
Distinctive decorative wooden panels on the gable ends (triangular end section of a pitched
roof) in Victorian’s House.

4. Decorated roof line and slates

On the ridge (where two sides of a sloping or pitched roof meet) and gable ends they often
have finials, a small carved ornament on the point.

5. Bay and sash windows

Victorian windows had larger six and later four-paned vertical sliding sash windows with a
single glazing bar down the middle. Three-sided bay windows, which are projecting windows
with a flat front and slant sides, were fashionable. The ground floor bay window often had its
own roof, or it continued into a first-floor bay, again topped with a roof.
 Victorian vs Edwardian style

6. Floor tiles
Victorian houses often have geometric terracotta floor tiles in the porch areas and through
the ground floor. They were mainly of very natural colours such as red and brown, with dark
blue, black and off-white also featuring.

7. Stained glass
Partly because of the Gothic revival, stained glass was popular in the Victorian period.
Augustus Pugin’s revival of ‘mosaic’ stained glass, rather than painting directly onto the glass,
created a distinct Victorian style. Happened in doors and at the tops of windows.

8. Fireplace in every room

To keep the house warm the household would have a fireplace, often with a grate, in every
room. Surrounds could be stone, marble or wood.

9. Porches
the Victorians were fond of porches in front of the main door into their houses.
QUESTIONS?
The end