Modern Gothic Architecture, What is Modern Gothic Architecture
Modern Gothic Architecture speaks to what is Modern Gothic Architecture and to define Modern Gothic Architecture.
This architecture began to decline at the end of the nineteenth century but received a new lease on life in the early twentieth century. It was then accepted as the appropriate style for universities, colleges, schools and other institutions of learning. Less often it was used for apartment buildings, highrise office buildings and commercial rows.
These large and sometimes complex buildings usually followed the Beaux Arts system of axial, ordered planning and are noted for the clarity and precision of the overall design. In appearance they have little in common with the High Victorian Gothic buildings. Instead the salient features of the style are long low symmetrical masses, crenellated towers and distinctly Gothic fenestration which may include oriel or bay windows.
The emphasis is upon a calm disciplined monument style. Many of these buildings are supported by a hidden steel framing system, which gives them a subtly different appearance from the older, load-bearing walls of the High Victorian Gothic. Gone also is the style of nineteenth century Gothic revival to be replaced by the monochrome of limestone or brick.
Modern Gothic may be traced back to England in the 1880s, to a small group of architects who objected to the eclectic muscularity of High Victorian Gothic. They looked back to the Perpendicular style of the late Middle Ages for inspiration. The flexible English Perpendicular Gothic was very popular partly because it could be easily abstracted and harmonized with modern building materials.
By the start of the twentieth century the style had been adopted for important university buildings in the United States including buildings at Princeton and Yale. From there the style migrated to Canada in the first ten years of the twentieth century up until the 1930s.
As defined by “Wikipedia” architecture is defined as:
"Architecture" can mean:
A general term to describe buildings and other physical structures.
The art and science of design and erecting buildings and other physical structures.
The style and method of design and construction of buildings and other physical structures.
The practice of the architect, where architecture means the offering or rendering of professional services in connection with the design and construction of buildings, or built environments.
The design activity of the architect, from the macro-level (urban design, landscape architecture) (to the micro-level (construction details and furniture).
The term "architecture" has been adopted to describe the activity of designing any kind of system, and is commonly used in describing information technology.
In relation to buildings, architecture has to do with the planning, designing and constructing form, space and ambience that reflect functional, technical, social, environmental, and aesthetic considerations. It requires the creative manipulation and coordination of material, technology, light and shadow. Architecture also encompasses the pragmatic aspects of realizing buildings and structures, including scheduling, cost estimating and construction administration. As documentation produced by architects, typically drawings, plans and technical specifications, architecture defines the structure and/or behaviour of a building or any other kind of system that is to be or has been constructed.
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