What Is Style?
By Jackie Craven, About.com Guide
Definition: What do we mean when we say "house style" or
"architectural style"? Why do we call some houses "Cape Cod" and others
"Bungalow"? Is "Victorian" a style? Do some buildings have "no style"?
If you've ever tried to define the style of your own home, you know that "style" is a vague and confusing term. Architects, home builders, and real estate professionals often don't agree on what they mean when they describe a style.
In general, however, style is the vocabulary we use when we classify buildings according to their appearance, structure, materials, and historic period. Buildings are said to belong to the same classification (or style) when they share many of the same characteristics. Here's a quick checklist:
If you've ever tried to define the style of your own home, you know that "style" is a vague and confusing term. Architects, home builders, and real estate professionals often don't agree on what they mean when they describe a style.
In general, however, style is the vocabulary we use when we classify buildings according to their appearance, structure, materials, and historic period. Buildings are said to belong to the same classification (or style) when they share many of the same characteristics. Here's a quick checklist:
- roof shape and pitch
- building size and number of stories
- window size, shape, and placement
- door shape and placement
- decorative details such as brackets and cornice trim
- construction materials such as brick, stucco, or wood
- footprint and floor plan
- historic period
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Modern columns in this 2008 courthouse are influenced by Classical architecture of ancient Greece (larger view)
Moshe Safdie designed U.S. Federal Courthouse, Springfield, Massachusetts © Jackie Craven
How did the world's great buildings evolve? Let's trace the history of
architecture, beginning with the first known structures made by humans
up to the soaring skyscrapers of the modern era.
This quick review Western architecture illustrates how each new movement
builds on the one before. Although our timeline lists dates, historic
periods do not start and stop at precise points on a calendar. Periods
and styles flow together, sometimes merging contradictory ideas,
sometimes inventing new approaches, and often re-awakening and
re-inventing older movements. Dates are always approximate: Architecture
is a fluid art.
Architecture in Prehistoric Times
Before recorded history, humans constructed earthen mounds, stone circles, megaliths, and structures that often puzzle modern-day archaeologists. Prehistoric architecture includes monumental structures such as Stonehenge, cliff dwellings in the Americas, and thatch and mud structures lost to time.
Ancient Egypt
3,050 BC to 900 BC In ancient Egypt, powerful rulers constructed monumental pyramids, temples, and shrines. Far from primitive, enormous structures such as the Pyramids of Giza were feats of engineering capable of reaching great heights.
Classical
850 BC to 476 AD From the rise of ancient Greece until the fall of the Roman empire, great buildings were constructed according to precise rules. The Classical Orders, which defined column styles and entablature designs, continue to influence building design in modern times.
Byzantine
330 to 500 AD. After Constantine moved the capital of the Roman empire to Byzantium (now called Istanbul), Roman architecture evolved into a graceful, classically-inspired style that used brick instead of stone, domed roofs, elaborate mosaics, and classical forms.
Romanesque
500 to 1200 AD As Rome spread across Europe, heavier, stocky Romanesque architecture with rounded arches emerged. Churches and castles of the early Medieval period were constructed with thick walls and heavy piers
Gothic Architecture
1100 to 1450 AD Pointed arches, ribbed vaulting, flying buttresses, and other innovations led to taller, more graceful architecture. Gothic ideas gave rise to magnificient cathedrals like Chartres and Notre Dame.
Renaissance Architecture
1400 to 1600 AD A return to classical ideas ushered an "age of "awakening" in Italy, France, and England. Andrea Palladio and other builders looked the classical orders of ancient Greece and Rome. Long after the Renaissance era ended, architects in the Western world found inspiration in the beautifully proportioned architecture of the period.
Baroque Architecture
1600 to 1830 AD In Italy, the Baroque style is reflected in opulent and dramatic churches with irregular shapes and extravagant ornamentation. In France, the highly ornamented Baroque style combines with Classical restraint. Russian aristocrats were impressed by Versailles in France, and incorporated Baroque ideas in the building of St. Petersburg. Elements of the elaborate Baroque style are found throughout Europe.
Rococo Architecture
1650 to 1790 AD During the last phase of the Baroque period, builders constructed graceful white buildings with sweeping curves. These Rococo buildings are elegantly decorated with scrolls, vines, shell-shapes, and delicate geometric patterns.
Neoclassicism in Architecture
1730 to 1925 AD A keen interest in ideas of Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio inspired a return of classical shapes in Europe, Great Britain and the United States. These buildings were proportioned according to the classical orders with details borrowed from ancient Greece and Rome.
Art Nouveau Architecture
1890 to 1914 AD Known as the New Style, Art Nouveau was first expressed in fabrics and graphic design. The style spread to architecture and furniture in the 1890s. Art Nouveau buildings often have asymmetrical shapes, arches and decorative surfaces with curved, plant-like designs.
Beaux Arts Architecture
1895 to 1925 AD Also known as Beaux Arts Classicism, Academic Classicism, or Classical Revival, Beaux Arts architecture is characterized by order, symmetry, formal design, grandiosity, and elaborate ornamentation.
Neo-Gothic Architecture
1905 to 1930 AD In the early twentieth century, Gothic ideas were applied to modern buildings. Gargoyles, arched windows, and other medieval details ornamented soaring skyscrapers.
Art Deco Architecture
1925 to 1937 AD Zigzag patterns and vertical lines create dramatic effect on jazz-age, Art Deco buildings. Interestingly, many Art Deco motifs were inspired by the architecture of ancient Egypt.
Modernist Styles in Architecture
1900 to Present. The 20th and 21st centuries have seen dramatic changes and astonishing diversity. Modern-day trends include Art Moderne and the Bauhaus school coined by Walter Gropius, Deconstructivism, Formalism, Modernism, and Structuralism.
Postmodernism in Architecture
1972 to Present. A reaction against the Modernist approaches gave rise to new buildings that re-invented historical details and familiar motifs. Look closely at these architectural movements and you are likely to find ideas that date back to classical and ancient times.
Architecture in Prehistoric Times
Before recorded history, humans constructed earthen mounds, stone circles, megaliths, and structures that often puzzle modern-day archaeologists. Prehistoric architecture includes monumental structures such as Stonehenge, cliff dwellings in the Americas, and thatch and mud structures lost to time.
Ancient Egypt
3,050 BC to 900 BC In ancient Egypt, powerful rulers constructed monumental pyramids, temples, and shrines. Far from primitive, enormous structures such as the Pyramids of Giza were feats of engineering capable of reaching great heights.
Classical
850 BC to 476 AD From the rise of ancient Greece until the fall of the Roman empire, great buildings were constructed according to precise rules. The Classical Orders, which defined column styles and entablature designs, continue to influence building design in modern times.
Byzantine
330 to 500 AD. After Constantine moved the capital of the Roman empire to Byzantium (now called Istanbul), Roman architecture evolved into a graceful, classically-inspired style that used brick instead of stone, domed roofs, elaborate mosaics, and classical forms.
Romanesque
500 to 1200 AD As Rome spread across Europe, heavier, stocky Romanesque architecture with rounded arches emerged. Churches and castles of the early Medieval period were constructed with thick walls and heavy piers
Gothic Architecture
1100 to 1450 AD Pointed arches, ribbed vaulting, flying buttresses, and other innovations led to taller, more graceful architecture. Gothic ideas gave rise to magnificient cathedrals like Chartres and Notre Dame.
Renaissance Architecture
1400 to 1600 AD A return to classical ideas ushered an "age of "awakening" in Italy, France, and England. Andrea Palladio and other builders looked the classical orders of ancient Greece and Rome. Long after the Renaissance era ended, architects in the Western world found inspiration in the beautifully proportioned architecture of the period.
Baroque Architecture
1600 to 1830 AD In Italy, the Baroque style is reflected in opulent and dramatic churches with irregular shapes and extravagant ornamentation. In France, the highly ornamented Baroque style combines with Classical restraint. Russian aristocrats were impressed by Versailles in France, and incorporated Baroque ideas in the building of St. Petersburg. Elements of the elaborate Baroque style are found throughout Europe.
Rococo Architecture
1650 to 1790 AD During the last phase of the Baroque period, builders constructed graceful white buildings with sweeping curves. These Rococo buildings are elegantly decorated with scrolls, vines, shell-shapes, and delicate geometric patterns.
Neoclassicism in Architecture
1730 to 1925 AD A keen interest in ideas of Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio inspired a return of classical shapes in Europe, Great Britain and the United States. These buildings were proportioned according to the classical orders with details borrowed from ancient Greece and Rome.
Art Nouveau Architecture
1890 to 1914 AD Known as the New Style, Art Nouveau was first expressed in fabrics and graphic design. The style spread to architecture and furniture in the 1890s. Art Nouveau buildings often have asymmetrical shapes, arches and decorative surfaces with curved, plant-like designs.
Beaux Arts Architecture
1895 to 1925 AD Also known as Beaux Arts Classicism, Academic Classicism, or Classical Revival, Beaux Arts architecture is characterized by order, symmetry, formal design, grandiosity, and elaborate ornamentation.
Neo-Gothic Architecture
1905 to 1930 AD In the early twentieth century, Gothic ideas were applied to modern buildings. Gargoyles, arched windows, and other medieval details ornamented soaring skyscrapers.
Art Deco Architecture
1925 to 1937 AD Zigzag patterns and vertical lines create dramatic effect on jazz-age, Art Deco buildings. Interestingly, many Art Deco motifs were inspired by the architecture of ancient Egypt.
Modernist Styles in Architecture
1900 to Present. The 20th and 21st centuries have seen dramatic changes and astonishing diversity. Modern-day trends include Art Moderne and the Bauhaus school coined by Walter Gropius, Deconstructivism, Formalism, Modernism, and Structuralism.
Postmodernism in Architecture
1972 to Present. A reaction against the Modernist approaches gave rise to new buildings that re-invented historical details and familiar motifs. Look closely at these architectural movements and you are likely to find ideas that date back to classical and ancient times.
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