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About John Henry Architect AIA
Expertise
I am interested in the artistic and theoretical aspects of architecture and urban design/planning. I can discuss the progression of classical to modern architecture, the general stylistic and technical development, the formation of towns and cities, the background and training of architects. Ask any question relating to the profession, working with an architect, background information, etc.
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Custom Luxury Residential design is my specialty. We also have a variety of commercial projects: Hospitality, Resort/Themed Communities, Urban Design, Medical and Office buildings. We accept very few remodeling projects.
http://www.DreamHomeDesignUSA.com Residential Design
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American Institute of Architects
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Wall Street Journal, Builder Magazine, Professional Builder, Florida Home Builder, Sun Coast Architect, Southeast Home Builder, Orlando Sentinel, Florida Design, Naples Daily, Luxury Homes, Custom Builder, Orlando Magazine
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Bachelor, Environmental Design, Texas A&M University
Master, Architecture, Texas A&M University
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Regional Awards: Central Florida Parade of Homes, Street of Dreams Golden Aurora
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Business/Service Professionals, Sports Celebrities, Saudi Royalty, International developers, Medical Doctors
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You are here: Experts > Arts/Humanities > Visual Arts > Architecture > Fictional architecture - an intentional mess?
Architecture - Fictional architecture - an intentional mess?
Expert: John Henry Architect AIA - 9/2/2008
Question
QUESTION: I'm writing a novel and in it, have created a place that’s intended to be a mixture of classic architectural styles – in such a way that it seems odd. The description of the place itself is quite loose, but I wanted the main character, when he first sees the place, to note a few specific characteristics to justify his conclusion – that it’s not quite right/a mess of periods and styles.
I did a bit of rough research and found some characteristics of different periods to blend together… what I'm asking is, if there was a cathedral-like building that is about 400 years old with Romanesque groin vaults, Gothic arched doorways, Doric columns and a Renaissance-style dome, would someone who knows a bit about history and buildings look at it and think, “huh, that doesn’t fit…” ??
The structures integrity isn’t an issue, for the record :-D and the building is only seen from the inside.
If there's any other such characteristics, maybe of other cultures and countries, you think would work here too (or instead) I’d love to know too :-D
Thanks
Ruth
ANSWER: Hello Ruth,
This is an interesting project.
But...
What you describe might be very like the Duomo in Florence and other cathedrals which incorporated several styles together.
During the Renaissance the architects and builders borrowed columns from earlier structures and 'improved' gothic architecture which was considered barbaric. Romanesque and gothic can be seen side to side.
The issue is eclecticism. During the Beaux Arts period the best of the past was cleverly integrated together in many cases. Even the Romans used Greek columns, etc. During the recent Post Modern period there was a scavenging of the past into contemporary building to ameliorate a public tired of conrete and steel soulless boxes.
What architects note is the ill proportioning of these elements, especially in video gaming productions or even in the current Democratic convention stage props.
The average layperson cannot tell much about architectural elements unless your character is an expert in architectural history. Most of the Indiana Jones movies and other fantasies create a pastiche of ancient styles, so our sensibilities have been polluted so to speak.
If your charcter feels odd about a place it might just be an exotic expression of the interior architecture.
The English colonial styles often integrated elements of the regional architecture. Dutch and Spanish settlements have native Indian references. If you were in the heart of Europe or in the US and saw Japanese or Chinese elements, there would be something wrong.
I think if a true 400 year old cathedral had much more glass than walls, it would seem odd as this would be to early for that. Gothic cathedral builders tried to bring in as much light as possible through large leaded glass stained windows. Take away the leaded glass and insert 15-20 foot clear openings and you have a much more contemporary effect that would seem odd.
All of these churches were built of stone, the large ones. If you saw steel and concrete inside it would be anachronistic. A very smooth wood floor would seem out of place. Electrical fixtures would not have been invented, etc.
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION:
THANKS SO MUCH, that’s really helpful. That’s brilliant.
I had an extraordinary leaded window, but now I'll try toying with these ideas... that’s really helpful thanks.
Is there anything you would say/add if I made the place underground? Ha, structural integrity still not an issue, by the way :)
And is there anything you would suggest as a characteristic of the place that would make it seem... as though someone had looked over all of history (to that point, 400 years ago), and picked bits they liked out to use? that’s kind of the effect I’m going for... especially the 'someone separate from our history/culture' aspect.
ANSWER: Cathedrals had underground crypts (hidden areas).
In Jordan there is a group of religious building carved out of the natural mountainside, Petra. This was in an Indy film too.
The type of eclectic assembly you describe sounds like a John Soan house, his personal home in London which had Egyptian (now THAT would be completely out of character with a gothic or renaissance cathedral) artifacts mixed in to Greek, Roman and Renaissance details.
Add hieroglyphics and other Egyptian imagery into your underground rooms and you should definitely throw off anyone remotely conversant with Renaissance style.
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Ahh yes, Last Crusade :-D one of the new ancient wonders of the world, isnt it?
Thanks again, thats really really helpful :-D I'll try keep it as accurate as possible then.
Hey, darn, I forgot to add - any special features specific to the architecture of tombs or mausoleums etc.? anything about a place (any culture or period or anything haha) that might catch your eye and yell "TOMB!"??
haha :)
Answer
I have seen Napoleon's mausoleum in Paris. One huge red marble coffin shaped sarcophagus.
Renaissance crypts would normally have the dead person's figure carved on top of the lid of the sarcophagus.
A smaller mausoleum would be configured to look like a small temple structure.
Inside a building underground, for a single dedicated room, the sarcophagus would be inside the temple and set in the middle with equal spacing towards the walls, etc.
Indian (Hindu) or Mayan characteristics would also be unlikely in a Renaissance tomb. Check out imagery here: http://images.google.com/images?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GGIH_enUS284U...
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