Due to the German Karnival season, I had five schoolless days from this past Thursday through Monday. We took advantage of this opportunity, as did many Germans before us, and invaded France. In a matter of 96 hours, I saw years worth of Architecture History I, II, and III course material. Due to the fact that I love architecture history, and love to hear myself talk, I proceeded to play tour guide throughout Paris. It has been suggested that I record my historical babble and host a weekly podcast. This would employ technology, which I love, and would allow you to hear my fountain of wisdom as often as your heart desired. Benefits all around. Until this happens (never), I shall post a few pictures with a quick caption/summery of what it is, and why I like it (i.e. why you should like it too).
Si vous plait:
Sainte Chapelle:
A small royal chapel of the Rayonnant style of Gothic architecture. The aim of Gothic architects was to allow light to penetrate into the space. Rayonnant developed about 140 years into the Gothic period, and exemplified the idea of “holy light.” Unlike the three storied elevation of High Gothic, Rayonnant chapels have windows for the entirety of the vertical plane separated only by necessary buttressing. (See below)
The Eiffel Tower:
Designed as a temporary structure for the worlds fair in 1889 by engineer, Gustave Eiffel, and was the world’s tallest structure for 40 years. It is constructed of wrought iron, and was the first massive use of rivets in this sort of application. There are actually three colors of paint used – darkest on bottom, lightest on top – so an observer on the ground views it as being uniform.
Le Louvre:
The museum is an old palace, but we don’t care about that. The ultra modern, glass and steel pyramid that serves as the entrance to the Louvre was designed by I.M. Pei, a master of modernism based in New York, who designed some of Dallas’s finest buildings, including One Dallas Center, Dallas City Hall, and the Meyerson Symphony Center.
Notre Dame Cathedral:
The introduction of Gothic architecture, which is exemplified by the flying buttresses. Restored and preserved by Viollet-le-Duc, and one of the most famous churches of all time. The enormous rose window and tower facade at the base of the cruciform plan are standard for the Gothic style. And its just freakin’ huge.
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The Centre Pompidou:
Built in 1977 by Renzo Piano and Richard Rodgers, it houses a public library, a modern art museum, an exhibition hall, a fantastic bookstore, and a huge public lobby with free wi-fi. All of the structural and service areas are located on the outside “skin” of the building allowing the interior to be a completely open, monumental space. All of the systems have were painted a specific color (HVAC – blue, electrical – yellow, plumbing – green, movement – red) and can been seen both inside and out. (see image) It is a building as a machine. Fantastic.
Abbey Church of St. Denis:
Part of a former monastery, and simply a gorgeous piece of Gothic architecture. The church standing now is the last of several that have been built here from the 7th – 13th century. The one here today was built in the 1250’s and is considered the first church to move into the Rayonnant style (previously mentioned). Most of the kings of France are buried here.
Versailles and its amazing gardens:
Versailles started out as a hunting lodge and ‘retreat from Paris’ and became a permanent residence of the French Royal Family. The palace standing today is attributed to Jules Mansart, who was the Royal architect of Louis XIV. It includes ridiculous living areas, a throne room, and the ‘Hall of Mirrors,’ which runs about 60% of the length of this facade. The gardens (see below) are probably more impressive than the palace. See a plan of it here. To walk all the way around it would take about two hours. Woah.
Thus ends your French architecture history lesson. Hope you enjoyed it. The test is on Monday, you will need your student ID, #2 pencil, and the large gray scantron.
Tomorrow night, Gavin, Sierra, Rachel and I are taking an 11 hour overnight train ride into the Alps to go snowboarding for 2 days. We get back at 6 AM Monday morning, have class all day, and then Tuesday we leave for four days in The Netherlands. I will get back to this thing later to tell you about today’s trip to Bonn, and everything else I have done by then.
Adieu.
