1. Throughout the course we have seen many instances where buildings and urban spaces are used as tools of power in the service of the State or religion. Discuss the role of architecture as a means of expressing power. How does a building or space express power? Be certain to discuss at least four examples from the course to support your ideas.
2. The Industrial Revolution played an important role in the architecture of the late 19th and 20th Centuries. Write about the role that emerging 19th-century construction techniques and materials played in the evolution of late 19th and 20th-century architecture. Discuss at least three examples of buildings and their architects that explore modern technological advances in architecture. How did they use these modern technologies? What is noteworthy about these buildings, and why do we consider them significant?
Tremendous growth in manufacturing and transportation with the Industrial Revolution brought huge changes in society
• Industry heralded new technologies, new building materials, new building types
• Raised questions about how historical styles like the Gothic and Classical could be applied to these new building types
• New types of buildings emerging in the 19th century reflect huge cultural and socioeconomic changes
• The Arts and Crafts Movement as spearheaded by William Morris, celebrated the art of the handmade object as a rejection of the Industrial Revolution and as a means to reform society.
• Strutt’s model cotton mills, Belper, Derbyshire, England, 1820. Power was generated by the water wheel and distributed via a shaft and belting. A schoolroom was situated at the top of the building.
• Construction of the Crystal Palace: Joseph Paxton experimented with the possibility of building huge greenhouses out of glass and steel, and thus saw the strength and durability of these materials. Discuss how this relates to the industrial revolution
• Frederick Law Olmsted is often considered the father of landscape architecture. He introduced ideas from England for park design and, together with Calvert Vaux designed Central Park. He wanted a park to express the democracy of America, open to all.