Architecture is the ancient art of designing and constructing a variety of buildings and structures. At the same time, architecture is a complex scientific discipline that solves the problem of creating the spatial environment for comfortable living. Built objects should not only correspond to their intended purpose and be of use to people. Buildings and structures are also subject to many technical and aesthetic requirements. They must be strong, durable and have a beautiful appearance.

Features and main areas of architecture

Architecture, along with literature, is one of the static expressive arts. Nowadays unique architectural masterpieces of the past perform, first of all, an aesthetic function.

The best examples of architecture, together with paintings and sculptures, form the basis of the world’s artistic heritage of mankind. Government agencies and wealthy patrons annually allocate huge funds for the maintenance and restoration of ancient architectural sites.

One of the most important tasks in the construction of a beautiful building or facility is to ensure the overall unity and harmony of the architectural composition. To do this, it is necessary to observe the optimal proportions and scale, the principles of symmetry and asymmetry, as well as skillfully use the advantages of contrast and other nuances.

Depending on the object of activity there are the following areas of architecture:

• Volumetric Design. Engaged in the construction of individual buildings and structures.
• Urban Planning. Solves the problem of complex urban development in the form of integrated architectural ensembles.
• Landscape Architecture. It is applied for design and creation of spatial environment of the territory around buildings and constructions.
• Interior Architecture. Deals with interior design of buildings.

These days, architects are still at the stage of their university studies, and they specialize in specific areas of work. Some of them devote themselves to designing buildings, others to urban planning, and still others to landscape or interior design.

But in European history there are unique personalities who not only designed to the smallest detail, and then implemented the grandiose architectural projects. The greatest Renaissance geniuses Michelangelo, Raffaello Santi and Leonardo da Vinci also achieved worldwide recognition in painting and sculpture.

History and basic architectural styles

The history of architecture covers a huge period of time spanning more than 8,000 years. The ruins of the oldest Neolithic architectural structures, discovered by archaeologists, date back to the 60th century BC.

For many thousands of years, ancient civilizations have appeared, developed and disappeared in different parts of the world. Each of them made an important contribution to the development of the art of building and construction.

Unique trends in architecture were formed under the influence of climatic, religious and cultural factors of different regions. According to these characteristics we can distinguish between ancient ethnic architectural styles:

• Sumerian.
• Assyrian.
• Ancient Egyptian.
• Ancient Greek.
• Ancient Roman.
• Byzantine.
• Moorish.
• Chinese.
• Japanese.
• Indian.
• Persian.
• Old Russian.
• Maya.
• Inca.
• Aztec.

In the early tenth century in Europe there were prerequisites for the emergence of the first common architectural style – Romanesque. Its emergence was caused by widespread dissemination of Christianity in the Old World. Catholic churches in the same style began to be built en masse in different regions of Europe. After that the domination of the new architectural style appeared in the construction of castles and palaces of nobility.

For two centuries the Romanesque style firmly held its position, but at the beginning of the XII century it gave way to the Gothic. The majestic cathedrals of that era have survived to this day:

• Cologne;
• Reims;
• Amiens;
• Rouen;
• Chartres;
• Notre Dame de Paris.

The Renaissance, which replaced the Gothic period at the beginning of the 15th century, gave the world many magnificent examples of Italian architecture. History has preserved the names of the best Renaissance architects:

• Filippo Brunelleschi;
• Michelozzo di Bartolomeo;
• Leon Battista Alberti;
• Donato Bramante.

At the end of the 16th century, the architectural traditions of the Renaissance were supplemented by more refined forms in the fanciful Baroque style. One of the most famous masters of that era is Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini, the author of the project for St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican.

For almost 200 years Baroque dominated in the majority of European countries. The majestic palace ensembles of St. Petersburg and a large number of Catholic cathedrals on the territory of Italy, Austria, and Germany were built in this style.

At the beginning of the seventeenth century, the light and playful Rococo style emerged in France, which was characterized by maximum decorative effect. The characteristic stylized shells appeared in the decoration of window openings, and facades began to be abundantly decorated with figurative moldings.

Rococo for most of the 18th century competed with Baroque for primacy in the architectural field, but did not achieve the same popularity. The style was mainly used to build small palaces and basilicas for the regional rulers of Europe.

Already in the middle of XVIII century the attitude to Baroque and Rococo in all spheres of art began to change. Excessive whimsy of forms began to cause irritation to society, there was a need for more austere architectural compositions. The birth of classicism marked a return to the ancient foundations of design – simplicity, harmony and logical clarity.

In the first third of the XIX century began mass construction of public buildings: theaters, museums, libraries, hospitals. Large urban planning projects were brought to life, the development of the central part of cities was streamlined. Classicism was ideally suited for solving these large-scale problems.

Its highest point of development was the birth of the Empire – a solemn ceremonial style of architecture during the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte. Besides France, the Empire Empire style became very popular in Russian Empire.

The mid-19th century marked the birth of two new trends in architecture: historicism and eclecticism.

The adherents of historicism sought to return to the origins of ancient architectural styles and creatively supplement them with some details. As a result a variety of different sub-styles of historicism emerged:

• Neo-Romanesque;
• Neo-Gothic;
• Neo-Romanesque;
• Neo-Moorish;
• Neo-Greek;
• pseudo-Russian;
• neo-baroque.

Almost simultaneously with Historicism, Eclecticism, which is characterized by a mixture of different styles in the design of buildings, began to rapidly gain popularity. The ideas of this trend were often used in the construction of public buildings, especially shopping arcades and train stations.

At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the Art Nouveau style emerged in architecture, the bright symbol of which is the famous Eiffel Tower. Builders began to make mass use of new materials: concrete, glass, metal, reinforced concrete.

Modern was fully consistent with the demands of industrial society. Much attention in the design of buildings was given to the comfort of human habitation, and the use of revolutionary building materials allowed the construction of multi-story buildings.

In Art Nouveau architecture, the work of the brilliant Spanish master Antoni Gaudí stands out. His unique masterpieces of architecture are rightfully considered the trademark of Barcelona and annually attract millions of tourists to the capital of Catalonia.

An even more revolutionary phenomenon in architecture was modernism in the early twentieth century. This powerful trend combines several distinct styles:

• Constructivism;
• rationalism;
• Functionalism;
• brutalism;
• international style;
• organic architecture.

Common trends for all of the above trends are the abandonment of facade decoration and the use of steel structures (frames). Numerous industrial buildings and skyscrapers in American megacities are built according to this principle.

The excessive rationality and functionality of modernism led to the fact that large cities began to lose their unique appearance. The single-type multi-storey buildings bored the inhabitants and gradually caused rejection among the people. There was a need for new architectural ideas and post-modernism appeared.

Its supporters were determined to give the buildings back their artistic image and originality. They began to borrow the aesthetic principles from the ancient styles, to imitate the historical monuments and to use decor in decorating the facades. Postmodernists abandoned the ascetic and stereotypical forms, tried to take into account the peculiarities of the urban environment in the design of buildings.

At the end of the twentieth century, three new styles opened up grandiose prospects for the realization of revolutionary ideas in the architectural sphere:

• high-tech;
• bio-tech;
• Deconstructivism.

High-tech incorporated the basic principles of modernism (rationalism and functionalism) and added to them the technological nature of buildings. This style has not gained many supporters and within 20 years has almost ceased to be used in construction. But high-tech has become a super-popular direction in interior design among the richest and most successful people of our time.

Bio-tech or architectural bionics in its essence is the exact opposite of high-tech. It is based on the desire for harmonious unity of buildings and living nature. Building silhouettes have a biomorphic structure, and only eco-friendly forms of energy are used.

Deconstructivism is a modern architectural style dominated by curvilinear or sharp forms. At first glance, the buildings seem to be the embodiment of controlled chaos and have extremely unusual shapes. A striking representative of deconstructivism is the world famous British artist of Arab origin Zaha Hadid.

Architecture is an important part of human society that surrounds us everywhere. Talented architects at all times bring to life not only comfortable buildings for living, but also unique masterpieces of monumental art.