ARCHITECTURAL HISTRY

NEO-
CLASSICAL
 DIFFERENT HISTORIC PERIODS AND STYLES

11,600 BC to 3,500 BC — Prehistoric Times

3,050 BC to 900 BC — Ancient Egypt
850 BC to 476 AD — Classical
527 to 565 AD — Byzantine
800 to 1200 AD — Romanesque
1100 to 1450 AD — Gothic
1400 to 1600 AD — Renaissance
1600 to 1830 AD — Baroque
1650 to 1790 AD — Rococo

1730 to 1925 AD — Neoclassicism

1890 to 1914 AD — Art Nouveau

1895 to 1925 AD — Beaux Arts
1905 to 1930 AD — Neo-Gothic
1925 to 1937 AD — Art Deco
1900 to Present — Modernist Styles
PREHISTORIC STONEHENGE
1972 to Present — Postmodernism Moshe Safdie's 2011 Marina Bay Sands
21st Century — Neo-Modernism and Parametricism Resort in Singapore
If you wanted to see a great example of a Roman-style or Greek-style
temple, where would you go????

ROMAN TEMPLE GREEK TEMPLE

If you wanted to see Classical Roman and Greek triumphal

monuments, state buildings, or private homes, where would you
go?
 GREECE OR ROME?
But these actually aren't the only options.

All these buildings are made same as

Greek and Roman style, but none of these
are in Greece or Rome.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, an

architectural movement arose dedicated
to the revival of Classical architectural
forms. We call this the Neoclassical style.

Neoclassical style produced both as a reaction against the Rococo style of

anti-tectonic naturalistic ornament, and an outgrowth of some classicizing
features of Late Baroque.
 FACTORS LED TO REVIVAL OF ROMAN AND GREEK
ARCHITECTURE IN NEO-CLASSICAL MOVEMENT
The Roman Classical Revival style was
promoted and popularized by Thomas
Jefferson, who found the impressively
monumental architecture of ancient Rome.

UNIVERCITY
OF
VERGINIA THOMAS JEFFERSON
3rd U.S. President
MONTICELLO

Thomas Jefferson designed his own home

Monticello, the campus of the university of
CAPITOL Virginia, and the capitol of Virginia in this style,
OF using ancient roman temples as his guide.
VIRGINIA
IDENTIFIABLE FEATURES

1.Full height entry porch (portico) with pediment

and columns

2.Lunette window in portico pediment

3.Elliptical fanlight over paneled front door

4.Symmetrically aligned windows and door (5 bay

front facade most common)

5.Side gabled or low pitched hipped roof

6.Large windows and doors

 William Hamilton's excavations at Pompeii and other sites and winning design for the public
competition for Downing College, Cambridge that announced the Greek style was to be the dominant
idiom in architecture. Wilkins and Robert Smirke went on to build some of the most important
buildings of the era.

THEATRE ROYAL, COVENT GARDEN (1808–09)

THE GENERAL POST OFFICE (1824–1829)

WILKINS UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON (1826–1830) THE BRITISH MUSEUM (1823–1848)

IDENTIFIABLE FEATURES

1.Front gabled roof

2.Front porch with columns

3.Front facade corner pilasters

4.Broad cornice

5.Attic or frieze level windows

 NEOCLASSICAL BUILDING CHARACTERISTICS

• 1 - 2 1/2 stories in height – generally low buildings

• Symmetrical: balance and symmetry are the most predominant characteristic of
neoclassicism
• Porticos (porches) featuring Doric or Ionic columns
• Building’s facade is flat and long, often having a screen of free-standing columns.
• May feature domes or towers
• Dentil molding and frieze band beneath the cornice are common
• Decorative pediments on doorways and windows
• Multiple windows; upper and lower levels
•Wide variety of different window configurations including basic, arched, Palladian
and Norman Wheel
• Ornamental detail includes broken or unbroken pediments and side lights
(windows) surrounding the entry
On a columned building, the section between the top of the columns and the roof
is called the entablature. The three parts, cornice, frieze, and architrave, were
designed to complement different types of columns.
 COLUMN & CAPITAL BASICS Capital

A Capital is the crowning member (top) of a column,

on which rests the column and base. Capital styles are
based on the Orders of Architecture.

Columns are vertical architectural support. They Column

typically include: the round or square shaft, the top Shaft
(capital) and the bottom (base).

The base is the lowest element of a column structure

on which the column shaft rests.

The plinth is the square or round slab that the Column

column base rests upon. In architecture, columns are Base
utilized as loadbearing elements supporting porches,
arches or a cornice. Plinth
 Architectural Pediment

An architectural element developed in ancient Greece, pediments were historically

embellishments over doors and windows that were both structural (supported by
columns) and decorative (with sculpture reliefs). Beginning with Roman
architecture, pediments became primarily decorative.
Neoclassical buildings can be divided into three main types:

Temple:
Palladian: Andrea Palladio was an Italian architect who admired ancient
Roman architecture. His influence is still seen today and he is the best known
neo-classical architect in the western world. A well known Palladian detail is a
large window consisting of a central arched section flanked by two narrow
rectangular sections.

Block: features a vast rectangular (or square) plan,with a flat roof and an
exterior rich in classical detail. The exterior is divided into multiple levels, each
of which features a repeated classical pattern, often a series of arches and/or
columns. The overall impression of such a building is an enormous, classically-
decorated rectangular block.
 TYPES OF NEOCLASSICAL BUILDINGS

Design based on an ancient temple. Many temple style buildings feature a peristyle (a continuous line
of columns around a building).Temple style buildings were uncommon during the Renaissance.
Temple style architecture exploded during the Neoclassical age, thanks to wider familiarity with
classical ruins.

TEMPLE
STYLE
ARCHITECTURE

Panthéon (Paris, by
Jacques-Germain
Soufflot)
Palladian architecture is a European style of architecture derived from and inspired by the designs of
the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). Palladian architecture is derived from the villas
of Andrea Palladio, the greatest architect of the Late Renaissance.

PALLADIAN
ARCHITECTURE

VILLA LA ROTONDA

Villa La Rotonda is a Renaissance villa just

outside Vicenza in northern Italy, and designed
by Andrea Palladio. The proper name is Villa Almerico
Capra Valmarana, but it is also known as La PLANS AND SECTIONAL ELEVATION
Rotonda, Villa Rotonda
FAÇADE ELEMENTS

 Palladian window-
In Greek Revival style,
Palladian windows evolve
into rectangular tripartite
Forms

 Palladian door-
A door topped with a
rounded arch and flanked
by vertical rectangular
areas of fixed glass on each
side that are narrower than
and usually not as high as
the door
The most famous of all Palladian buildings are two American civic buildings, the White House and
United States Capitol. Both were constructed over long periods under various architects.

WHITE HOUSE

White house was designed by irish-born architect James Hoban in the neoclassical style. construction
took place between 1792 and 1800 using aquia creek sandstone painted white.
 BLOCK ARCHITECTURE
FEATURES

A vast rectangular (or square) plan

A flat (or low-lying) roof

An exterior full of classical detail

The exterior is divided into multiple levels

Repeated classical pattern

Series of arches and/or columns

LIBRARY OF SAINTE-GENEVIÈVE. Enormous, classically-decorated rectangular block

Name prominent in the field of "classical block" buildings was Henri Labrouste, whose masterpiece
is the Library of Sainte-Geneviève.
 FAMOUS ARCHITECS OF NEO CLASSICAL PERIOD

ANDREA PALLADIO, 1508-1580

 Italian Renaissance architect.

 Palladio's work is indebted the Roman architect Vitruvius

(The Ten Books on Architecture) and Leon Battista
Alberti ( De Re Aedificatoria).

 He published the first scholarly guide book to classical

Rome in 1554. He built churches, town and country
houses, public buildings and bridges in Venice and on the
Venetian mainland.

 Often described as the most influential and most copied

architect in the Western world.

 Inspiration from classical architecture proportioned,

pedimented buildings that became models for stately
homes and government buildings in Europe and America.
 ROBERT ADAM
The most famous Palladian architect of the
Neoclassical period is Britain's Robert Adam, who
designed many fine country houses. These mansions
illustrate that while Palladian architecture shares
certain basic features.

Adam's design for Osterley Park includes a

classical gateway, corner towers, and a
courtyard, none of which are found in any
villa by Palladio.
OSTERLEY PARK
AERIAL VIEW

Osterley Park
includes a
classical
gateway,
corner towers,
and a
courtyard
 ADAM STYLE (ADAMESQUE)

Based on the work of Robert Adam (1728-1792) and his brothers

Basically Neoclassical; it also adapted Gothic, Egyptian and Etruscan motifs.

His decorative motifs -- medallions, urns, vine scrolls, sphinxes, and tripods -- were
taken from Roman art and, as in Roman stucco work, are arranged sparsely within
broad, neutral spaces and slender margins.

Robert Adam's interior/exterior decorative approach also included the following:

Flat grotesque panels

Pilasters
Elaborate color schemes
Delicate painted ornament, including
Swags
Ribbons
Interiors

by
Robert Adam
CLAUDE NICOLAS LEDOUX

Claude-Nicolas Ledoux (21 March 1736 – 18

November 1806) was one of the earliest exponents
of French Neoclassical architecture. He used his
knowledge of architectural theory to design not
only domestic architecture but also town
planning; as a consequence of his visionary plan
for the Ideal City of Chaux, he became known as a
utopian.

Project for the ideal city of Chaux: House of supervisors of

the source of the Loue. Published in 1804
 DETAILS OF SOME
NEOCLASSICAL BUILDINGS
UNITED STATE CAPITOL
• United States Capitol, is the meeting place of the United States Congress and one Second Floor
of the most familiar landmarks in Washington, D.C. It is situated on Capitol Hill at the
•The second floor holds the Chambers
eastern end of Pennsylvania Avenue.
of the House of Representatives (in
• The original building was completed in 1800 and was subsequently expanded, the south wing) and the Senate (in
particularly with the addition of the massive dome. the north wing) as well as the offices
• A fine example of 19th-century neoclassical architecture, the U.S. Capitol combines of the congressional leadership.
function with aesthetics.
•This floor also contains three major
• Pierre Charles L'Enfant was expected to design the Capitol and to supervise its
public areas. In the center under the
construction.
dome is the Rotunda, a circular
• United State Capitol covers well over 1.5 million square feet, has over 600 rooms,
ceremonial space that also serves as
and miles of corridors. It is crowned by a magnificent white dome that overlooks the a gallery of paintings and sculpture
city of Washington and has become a widely recognized icon of the American people depicting significant people and
and government. events in the nation's history. Second Floor Plan
• Today, the U.S. Capitol Building covers a ground area of 175,170 square feet, or
•The Rotunda is 96 feet in diameter and rises 180 feet 3 inches to the canopy.
about 4 acres, and has a floor area of approximately 16-1/2 acres. Its length, from
north to south, is 751 feet 4 inches; its greatest width, including approaches, is 350 • The semicircular chamber south of the Rotunda served as the Hall of the House until 1857; now
feet. Its height above the base line on the east front to the top of the Statue of designated National Statuary Hall, it houses part of the Capitol's collection of statues
'. donated by the
Freedom is 288 feet. The building contains approximately 600 rooms and has 658 states in commemoration of notable citizens.
windows (108 in the dome alone) and approximately 850 doorways and made up of
•The Old Senate Chamber northeast of the Rotunda, which was used by the Senate until 1859, has
white marble.
A colossal statue that supports been returned to its mid-19th-century appearance.
Freedom
Third Floor
New dome which stand three
times the height of the original •The third floor allows access to the
dome galleries from which visitors to the
Capitol Building may watch the
Use of pediment main feature proceedings of the House and the
of the Roman Pantheon Senate when Congress is in session.
•The rest of this floor is occupied by
Use of column main feature of offices, committee rooms and press
the Roman Pantheon galleries. Third Floor Plan
UNITED STATE CAPITOL
•The fourth floor and the basement/terrace level of the U.S. Capitol are occupied by offices,
First Floor •The first, or ground, floor is machinery rooms, workshops and other support areas.
occupied chiefly by committee
rooms and the spaces
allocated to various
congressional officers.

•The areas accessible to

visitors on this level include
the Hall of Columns, the
Brumidi Corridors, the
restored Old Supreme Court
Chamber, and the Crypt
beneath the Rotunda, where
historical exhibits are Replacement of the old Interior of the dome Small senate rotunda Interior view of crypt on first
presented. Bulfinch dome with a of United State on second floor of floor of United State
First Floor Plan 30 m dia dome Capitol building Capitol.
United State Capitol.
HOLKHAM HALL
• Holkham Hall, Norfolk, England, is an eighteenth century country house constructed in the
Exterior
Palladian style for Thomas Coke 1st Earl of Leicester by the architect William Kent. • From looking at the elevation and exterior of principal front (facade), the Holkham Hall
• It’s one of the England’s finest building made using the Palladian revival style of architecture, design by Kent can be. described as that of a huge Roman palace.
and its design is closer to the Palladian style than any other house built using the same style • Holkham Hall by its plan is a Palladian house, and yet even by the Palladian standard the
of architecture in that period by any architect. exterior appearance of the building is plain and lacks entirely of ornamentation.
• The on-site, supervisor of Holkham “Matthew Brettingham the Elder”, stated that Coke
required and ordered ample space and comfort. As a result, only one window was placed in
Use of Pediment each room which allowed only necessary light in the rooms.
• The other reason was that Coke thought the extra window will make the room cold or
draughty apart from making the exterior more pleasing.

Plain Facade

Bedchamber Wing

'.

Use of Roman
Column

Holkham Hall
Design
• The plan and design followed the guidelines and ideas for the house as suggested and stated Use of Pediment and Columns of Roman Style Lack of Ornamentation (Simple Façade)
by the aristocrat architect Lord Burlington and William Kent.
Interior
• The impressive splendour of the interior is obtained without the excessive use of ornaments.
The interior of the house reflects the William Kent’s career-long fondness towards “the
simplicity of a plain surface”.
• All around the hall are the statues that are plaster copies of classical deities. The staircase
Library wing from the hall leads to the piano nobile and the state-rooms.
• The Green State Bedroom is the principal bedroom of the Holkham Hall and s decorated
using paintings and tapestries.

Plan of Holkham Hall Marble Hall

• The plans for Holkham Hall consisted of a grand central block of two floors.
•The plan for the piano nobile level contains a series of uniformly built state rooms that were
situated around the two courtyards.
• These courtyards are not visible from the outside; these courtyards were designed for
lightning rather than the recreation or architectural value, but eventually it became an
important part of the design.
• The central block is surrounded by four smaller, rectangular wings, or blocks.
•These wings are connected at each corner and were linked to the main house structure by
short two-storey wings of only one bay, this was a new norm as normally in Palladian
architecture they are linked using long colonnades. Green State Bedroom William Kent's Saloon
British Museum
Exterior
• The British Museum was established in 1753, largely based on the collections of the physician • The monumental South entrance, with its stairs, colonnade and pediment, was intended to
and scientist Sir Hans Sloane.
reflect the wondrous objects housed inside.
• The British Museum is dedicated to human history, art and culture, and is located in the .
• The design of the columns has been borrowed from ancient Greek temples, and the
Bloomsbury area of London. pediment at the top of the building is a common feature of classical Greek architecture.
• An historic building with Greek revival, neo-classical and modern architectural features. • The east and west residences (to the left and right of the entrance) have a more modest
exterior.

Use of Greek
Style Pediment

Use of Greek
Style Columns

Plain Exterior / No
Ornamentation '.

British Museum Use of Greek Architecture Columns and Plain Exterior (No Ornamentation)
Pediment
Design
•The British Museum is Interior
an exemplar cultural
space, comprising the • The patterns and colours on the ceiling of the Weston Hall were borrowed from classical
White Wing, King Greek buildings, which would have been brightly decorated.
Edward VII’s galleries, • The electric lamps in the entrance hall are replicas of the original lighting lamps in the
the Parthenon Museum. The Museum was the first public building to be electrically lit.
galleries, the New • The Queen Elizabeth II Great Court is a covered square at the centre of the British Museum
Wing, and the Great designed by the engineers Buro Happold and the architects Foster and Partners.
Court. • The Great Court roof is of glass and steel construction, built by an Austrian steelwork
• The Museum has a company with 1,656 uniquely shaped panes of glass.
total of 94 gallery • At the centre of the Great Court is the Reading Room vacated by the British Library. The
spaces and public Reading Room is open to any member of the public who wishes to read there.
services, including a
restaurant and an
education centre,
which is located below
the courtyard.
• It included galleries
for classical sculpture
Ground Floor Plan Upper Floor Plan and Assyrian
antiquities

• The construction of the Great Court involved extensive re-facing of the existing buildings and
the construction of 20 concrete-filled steel columns to support the roof.
Great Court Interior View Weston Hall Interior View Ceiling of Weston
Hall