Jeffersonian architectural style was developed by Thomas Jefferson This style was mainly admired during the early American period. The typical features of his designs are the use of octagonal forms, red bricks, use of Chinese railings and the elevation of the main floor which is always above ground level. Jeffersonian architecture is also known as “Palladian” architecture, as it is heavily influenced by the Italian revivalist architect, Andrea Palladio. Jefferson architecture involves the typical use of the octagon and octagonal forms in his designs. Jefferson employed them as a design motif-halving them, elongating them, and employing them in whole as with the dome of Monticello, or the entire house at Poplar Forest. Jefferson architectural designs are a reflection of his personal preferences and tastes. Jefferson believed that in order to make a building look impressive or magnificent, it was important to learn how to make it so without spending a lot of money. Even after Jeffersonian designs went out of vogue for other public buildings, they continued to have an influence on many Protestant church designs on the East Coast through the mid-twentieth century. The style is still employed on some southern college campuses, particularly in Virginia, and has enjoyed a certain re-emergence among some newer twenty-first century evangelical church complexes. Jefferson appears above all as a lover of freedom, whether in politics, in religion, or in research; but the freedom he thus loved from youth was essentially the freedom of reason to reach its logical conclusions, not freedom to degenerate into formless anarchy. Jefferson’s home, “Monticello” was built with many French and European influences absorbed in it. Palladio’s influences are seen in the orders of the columns and molding as well as the dome of the exterior of the house. Jefferson re-constructed Monticello many times in his life, while making trips back and forth from Europe, each time wanting to try something different that he had been experienced to in France and other countries. Jeffersonian architecture is famous for its classical and elegant designs. So, read the above article and know more about Jeffersonian architecture.
Posts Tagged ‘Architectural Designs’
Jeffersonian Architecture
December 18th, 2009Designer Furniture by Eileen Gray
December 8th, 2009Le Corbusier was born Charles-Edouard Jeanneret-Gris in 1887 and was an architect and designer as well as being a writer, urbanist and painter. He was a pioneer in modern high design studies and many of his designs are reproduced today with minor changes. He was also very dedicated to providing better living conditions for the residents of crowded cities. As a writer he had a very developed sense of organization in formulating plans for a futuristic city.
As an urbanist he sought efficient ways to house large numbers of people. He believed that his new architectural designs would provide a new and organized solution to the over-crowding of large cities. His design would also improve the quality of life for those in the lower classes because they would have homes of their own and be up from the squalor that they had known before. In order to meet the needs of this, he built blocks of individual apartments for individual families.
When he changed his name and assumed the pseudonym Le Corbusier, which was a rewording of his grandfather’s name, he was able to reflect his belief that anyone was capable of reinventing oneself. As an architect, he always filled his finished work with other furniture that had clean designs and took up very little of his spacious rooms. When he focused his attention on furniture design, he brought with him his sleek tastes in architecture. Many of his designs are molded from tubular steel frames and heavily padded, making the furniture look very square and sleek. He is well known for his modern designs for club chairs, love seats, sofas, chaise lounges, coffee tables, ottomans, corner sectional sofas and sectional sofas with chaises attached.
Le Corbusier was a Swiss pioneer in both architecture and furniture design. His designs were made to be both functional and at the same time take as little space as possible. Because of his penchant for organizational skills he was able to help improve the over-crowding of large cities by coming up with a design for a building that put several floors of apartments together and thereby being able to house several families in their own homes and improving their quality of life. He was always writing and had an eye towards the future, especially when he came up with a plan for an organized city that featured transportation by automobile, which was a relatively new idea during his lifetime.
By: Bill Hinson
Aesthetics Glassed: Frosted Glass, Glass Mirrors and Window Glass
November 2nd, 2009“You use a glass mirror to see your face; you use works of art to see your soul.” George Bernard Shaw rightly said it in 1925. His words have been modified a little and the glass is now used as a work of art. Glass, the amorphous solid material is widely used in architectural designs. Glass mirrors usage varies from beautification to utility and a part of the structure.
Glass mirrors have witnessed a great rise with the increase of commercial spaces and malls all over the world. Glass mirrors are customised in various shapes and sizes. This is one of the reasons why glass mirrors are so much in demand. Glass mirrors are favoured material because of a lot of practical reasons. Glass mirrors can withstand extreme heat and cold and are very easy to recycle.
Frosted glass has been widely used for a long time now. Frosted glass helps in restricting visibility. Frosted glass is widely used with decorative designing and printing for beautification and ornamentation of buildings. The frosted glass or the opaque glass is used in medical units, bathrooms, cubicles as they are convenient and much preferred over wooden or plastic doors.
A lot of people nowadays use frosted glass as window glass to add style and yet contain privacy. Using frosted glass as window glass in houses with customised designing and patterning has seen a tremendous rise all over the globe. A wide range of glass mirrors are also used as window glass. Window glass should be easily replaceable in times of damage. Tall and wide window glass is also used as facades of buildings. Frosted glass is widely used in construction of houses of worship. Churches and temples are a witness of creative usage of frosted glass, as these are used as window glass and glass mirrors.
In the contemporary architecture, glass is predominantly used for ornamentation of the buildings. Mirror glass, frosted glass, and glazed glass is widely used as outer structure and beautification.
By: Lauren Hill