Reflections | Unit Summary

Every change that occurs, politically or technologically, reflects upon architecture and design. As things were rapidly changing, what is good design became an important question. A revolution meant a shift in the Roman style to the Greek. New technologies, specifically machines, allowed products to be quickly mass-produced. This also contributed to a mass immigration into cities from the surrounding rural areas.

Revolution yields revolution. When there are political changes, design also changes. This can be seen after the American Revolution, when our young country began changing the style of architecture and furniture. This was due to a desire to be different from England in every way possible and make a new mark on the world. Because the classical style still reigned, there was a shift from the Roman style adopted by England to Greek style buildings and furniture- going as far as to duplicate the furniture from images and pottery. One interesting thing that began to occur was that sacred-style buildings were used for secular purposes- including the mundane. A water treatment facility took the shape of a Greek temple complex. The classical style was manifesting itself everywhere, yet new technologies meant it was time for a change.

The development of iron changed things dramatically for architecture. Suddenly, structures could be built quickly. They also could be built with larger open expanses than ever before. New buildings types apart from the classical began to show up. These included conservatories, meant as another party place for the very wealthy to show off their goods; arcades, which provided the growing middle class with entertainment; and other structures such as train sheds. The development of trains and other information technology meant information and goods traveling much faster than they ever had in the past. As this revolution occurred, new exotic products were imported, and once again a revolution changes design. Most of the products were not, however, what the people of that nation or region would have, but would be Westernized. Eventually the question would arise whether or not it was right to place surface decoration from any culture but your own onto furniture and other goods. What was, then, good design?

Some people, such as William Morris, believed that good design constituted that projects should be handmade by skilled craftsmen, and that their products should be available to everyone. However, the products could not be made quickly and this mass-produced, meaning the price was high enough that only the wealthy could afford them. Thus, the Arts and Crafts movement in its true form never made its way to the common people—the ones for whom it was intended.

As technology evolved, the classical style structures no longer were appropriate—they neither reflected the technologies, nor could they contain them. While glass and iron helped with this, there was a need for a new style altogether—something not seen in the past. The burning of Chicago allowed a chance for this to happen. As the city was rebuilt, structures that looked unlike anything before arose—definitely apart from the classical structures found in New York. Between these two cities, there arose a race for height with the skyscraper, which was definitely different from anything found in architecture before.