Antonio Gaudi Finally he realized that this task allowed him no time for further projects, and in

1914 he decided to devote himself exclusively to the church. The builders’ hut
With his rejection of straight lines and symetrical became his new home. But when the architect died in 1926 after a tram
ground plans, Antoni Gaudí opened a new accident, this “sermon in stone” was still far from completion. Of the three
chapter in the architectural history of Barcelona. facades, only the eastern one had been begun, not to speak of the bell towers,
With their strong colors and glittering facades, it is the tallest of which was to grow to 170 meters. Even today, Gaudi’s masterpiece
his highly imaginative designs that still primarily presents itself as a building site—although this hardly detracts from its
characterize this Spanish port. overwhelming impact.

Fairytale Castles in the Heart of the City Major Works of Antoni Gaudí

The son of a coppersmith, Gaudí began his Cooperativa Obrera Mataronense (1878–1882) Mataró
architectural career on a not exactly promising El Capricho (1883–1885) Comillas
note: he left university with the lowest possible Casa Vicens (1883–1888) Barcelona
grade, a “pass.” However, private clients above Sagrada Família (1883–1926) Barcelona
all had confidence in his skill-to such an extent Güell Pavilions (1884–1887) Barcelona
that this unconventional architect was soon Palau Güell (1886–1890) Barcelona
inundated with [Link] sources of inspiration were unusual: he was Colegio de las Teresianas (1888–1889) Barcelona
passion-ate about both medieval Gothic and Moorish architecture, to which he Episcopal Palace of Astorga (1889–1915) Astorga
alluded when building the Casa Vicens. This home of a brickyard owner Casa Botines (1891–1894) León
fascinates above all by its wealth of contrasts: little turrets on the roof are Bodegas Güell (1895–1897) Sitges
reminiscent of the minarets of mosques, and patterns of colorfully glazed tiles Casa Calvet (1898–1900) Barcelona
cover the entire facade. Bellesguard (1900–1909) Barcelona
Parc Güell (1900–1914) Barcelona
The young architect soon found his most important client in the industrialist Casa Batlló (1904–1906) Barcelona
Eusebi Guell, for whom he first built a palatial residence, adorning its roof with a Artigas Gardens (1905–1906) La Pobla de Lillet
whole forest of fantastic chimneys. But Guell had greater things in mind; he Casa Milà (1906–1910) Barcelona
dreamt of a garden city, whose houses on a steep cliff were to offer a view of Church of Colònia Güell (1908–1915) Colònia Güell (Santa Coloma de Cervelló)
the Mediterranean. While Güell’s plan did not find widespread acceptance and
only two residential buildings were finally executed, Gaudi tackled his part of the
Daniel Hudson Burnham
work and transformed a 20-hectare area in the north of Barcelona into a walk-in
sculpture. Between pine and palm trees, mosaics of glass and ceramics sparkle After some failed attempts at academic and
on the steps, benches, and houses of Park Güell. political careers, Daniel Hudson Burnham started
working in an architects’ office in Chicago. His
At Home on the Building Site professional future was sealed when he met his
future businnes partner there, John Wellborn
Root. Together, they were to play a leading role in
“The straight line is the line of Man, the curve is the line of God”—this was
the creation of the modern skyscraper.
Gaudi’s fundamental belief. His masterwork, a church known as the Sagrada
Familia, was designed entirely according to this principle. When the 31-year-old
took over the construction of this church, a crypt was already being built. Gaudi The two architects complemented each other
only briefly followed the existing Gothic forms, however. Soon he had found his wonderfully: Daniel Burnham was considered the
model for the basic framework: nature itself. With their “branches,” the pillars pragmatist while Root was esteemed for his
and supports look like trees. The Sagrada Família, as a church of atonement, wealth of invention. Together the pair built a
was to be built exclusively from donated funds, which the master builder
frequently supplied in person.

1 2
significant proportion of the architecture that has become known as the Otto Wagner
“Chicago School.”

Skyscrapers in Downtown Chicago “Nothing that is not useful can be beautiful”-this

was the motto of the Viennese-born architect Otto
In the last quarter of the 19th century, the first skyscrapers began to shoot up in Wagner. His pragmatism by no means stood in
Chicago. Above all in the Loop, the rapidly growing business district of the city, the way of his imagination, however, whether it
there was a shortage of building land, and only upwards was there no restriction was a question of a fine town house or stations on
on space. In 1889-1891, Burnham and Root added the Monadnock Building to the Vienna urban railway system, his styles
the ever more imposing skyline. The building was 17 stories high, making it the ranging from Renaissance revival to avant-garde
largest office building of its time. Thick walls still formed the supporting elements Modernism.
of the building, but with the next project the architects were already exploring
new techniques. In 1890 they began the Reliance Building, whose 61 metres of When Otto Wagner took up his first commissions,
height combine steel, terracotta and, above all, glass. he was still enthusiastic about revivalism; like
many of his contemporaries, he borrowed from a
When Root died in 1891, Charles A. Atwood took over his role on this project, number of architectural traditions. His preference
and it is on his designs that the more open facade of the upper floors is based. was for the Renaissance era, as shown in the
Unlike the ground and first floor, it is decorated with ornamentation and facade of the house at 23 Schottenring, which
designed in a more transparent way. Characteristic, above all, are the so-called Wagner built in 1877 n the Ringstrasse in Vienna. But he and his clients were
“Chicago windows,” which are inset into the frame structure. They consist of a also capable of enthusiasm for Baroque forms. A mere three decades later, he
large glass pane flanked by two narrow panes that can be opened. Burnham & had shelved the return to earlier traditions. Now he spoke of Vienna as the
Company continued to celebrate their successes. Their Masonic Temple with its “birthplace of the art of our time.”
22 stories was even—though only for a short time—the tallest building in the
world. In 1893 Daniel Burnham became chief architect of the Chicago World’s Vienna Becomes Modern
Fair.
Wagner’s move from revivalism to Modernism did not take place in a vacuum.
The “Flatiron” Vienna had become the fourth largest city in Europe, and many buildings were
under construction: the new metropolis was being given a modern face. The
Burnham left his lasting mark on the cityscape not only in Chicago, but also in Ringstrasse, which was being built at this time, was edged by some 850
New York. The site on the corner of Broadway and Fifth Avenue in the heart of impressive edifices, public and private palaces. And right in the middle of
Manhattan seemed hardly suitable for building on: it was not only narrow in the Viennese Modernism, as the two decades around 1900 were known. Otto
extreme but triangular. Yet the ground plan seems to have inspired Daniel Wagner built museums, academies, parliament buildings, and public
Burnham, who used the available surface area in a positively exemplary monuments.
manner. The Fuller Building, which he built there in 1902, was one of New
York’s first high-rise buildings. By the turn of the century, his greatest project was the design of the Vienna
Stadtbahn, the urban rail network. From 1894, Wagner, a government building
The 20-stories high building is better known as the Flatiron Building, a nickname advisor and professor of architecture, showed himself to be open to new ideas.
it owes to its ground-plan form, which does indeed look like that of a pressing For his many designs for railway stations and bridges he placed iron, always
iron. Built in the form of a metal skeleton, the building towers up to 91 metres, lacquered in green, in prominent positions. Curving lines and ornamentation
with the framework concealed by the terracotta facade and not recognizable recalling foliage show his interest in Art Nouveau. In 1899, already 60 years old,
from the outside. The Flatiron Building was not able to claim the title of the he joined the Vienna Secessionists, a group of visual artists who rejected the
tallest building in the world, but even today it can easily defend its status as an revival of past times.
architectural icon.

3 4
Modern Buildings for Modern Times Theory and Practice

Thus no trace of revivalism was to be found in the Viennese Post Office Savings Semper sympathized with revolutionary ideas, and so after the uprisings of 1848
Bank, one of Wagner’s masterworks, built 1904-1906 in the center of Vienna. had been put down he fled to Paris. Over the decades that followed, one move
The exterior is clad in granite and marble panels, supported by aluminum succeeded another; failing as a German to get a foothold in France, he moved
bolts—a new material, like the reinforced concrete that was also used. The on to London. There too he had hardly any opportunity to make his mark as an
center of the building is the banking hall, above which is stretches a glass barrel architect, and so he resumed his work as a professor. Now aged 52, in the hope
vault. of supplementing his teaching work with building commissions, he took
advantage of an offer from Switzerland.
The entire interior of the Savings Bank was also designed by Wagner in the
same clear and rational way. His unprecedented designs were very influential, He had to remain patient for a little longer, but in 1860 he was finally able to go
and among the successors of this architect, urban planner, furniture designer ahead with the building of the Polytechnikum in Zurich. Further commissions,
and theorist was, not least, Adolf Loos, who ultimately maintained that all and not only from Switzerland, followed. At the same time. Semper consolidated
decorative ornamentation was “a crime.” his reputation as an architectural theorist with his influential publication Style. A
further success involved yet another move: Semper’s designs for the
Kaiserforum on the Ringstrasse in Vienna were accepted. The master builder
Gottfried Semper now settled in Vienna and began work on the great building complex of
museums and Burg-theater, which however was subjected to wide-ranging
Before he decided to study mathematics, alterations after his death.
Gottfried Semper chose a career as a professional
army officer. Even when he finally attended the
Munich academy of architecture, his enthusiasm
Karl Friedrich Schinkel
for it was still muted. Yet he was to have a
profound impact on German architecture.
One of the most prolific German architects of the
first half of the 19th century, Karl Friedrich
Born in Hamburg, Semper was initially drawn to Schinkel created more than 150 buildings in
foreign parts. In Paris he again took up the study Germany and Poland, most of which are still to be
of architecture, and this time it clearly took hold of seen today-churches and museums, palaces and
him In southern Europe he traveled to the classical monuments, bridges, schools, theaters and
temples and studied their coloration. Fascinated castles. He was also a accomplished painter,
by the interplay of the arts of architecture, painting stage set designer, and interior decorator.
and sculpture, Semper presented his findings from
Italy and Greece in book form.
Fitness For Purpose
Renaissance Revival on the Elbe
His career proceeded rapidly; as early as 1815, in
his mid-1930s, he was appointed chief building
As soon as this project was completed, the 31-year-old was appointed to a advisor and was given important commissions,
professorship in architecture, and in 1834 he began teaching at the Dresden including the construction of a guardhouse for the royal palace. After the theater
Academy. With his approach of linking theory and practice, Semper was striking in the center of Berlin, in the Gen-darmenmarkt, had burnt down, the king’s
out on new paths. At the same time, the teacher and author was given his first choice fell once again on the master builder from Brandenburg. Its replacement,
major project: his design for the Dresden Court Theater had been approved, built from 1818 to 1821, represents one of Schinkel’s masterworks. The worthy
and he began work in 1838. Having a semicircular form, and being integrated framework for the new theater was already in place: the symmetrically designed
into the existing Baroque backdrop of buildings, the theater caused a sensation. square could already boast two church buildings close by, the German and the
Semper now began to receive commissions from all over Germany: his adoption French cathedrals.
of the Renaissance style had immediately found admirers.

5 6
The Schauspielhaus in the center of the Gendarmenmarkt welcomes visitors suddenly transplanted to a time several centuries ago. The portal of this
with its classical, well-proportioned forms, more precisely with a Greek temple residence already resembles the front of a temple; mighty columns support a
frontage built according to all the rules of the textbooks. In the interior of the profiled cornice on which rests a classical pediment. At the rear, too, a similar
building, the design strictly follows the law of fitness for purpose. Schinkel made portico leads into the building.
no secret of his motto: “In architecture everything must be true, all masking or
disguising of the structure is a fault.” The theater was opened with a production Projecting side wings are set back from the prominent porch, and the house is
of Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute. The sets were designed by the great music- crowned by a central dome. For his new building, Jefferson made use of
lover Friedrich Schinkel. European architectural models, such as the Roman Pantheon, but also a
masterwork of Renaissance architecture, the Villa Rotonda, which itself was
The Old an the New based on classical buildings. This central-plan building, which had been built
well over 200 years earlier near Vicenza in Italy by Andrea Palladio, was the
With his references to the architecture of classical antiquity, Schinkel was American’s chief inspiration, above all in the matter of the design of the facade.
following a current trend. In the late 18th century, both clients and architects
saw in the temples of classical Greece the epitome of perfect beauty and thus Jefferson’s Other Architectural Works
the model for contemporary architecture. Accordingly, it was Schinkel’s
buildings in the Neo-Classical style that met with the greatest approval, above Jefferson’s comfortable countryseat was only the beginning of his career as an
all the Old Museum in the Lustgarten. A flight of stairs leads into the building, architect. As his next project, Jefferson took on the seat of government of his
which, with its rotunda as a central hall, also alludes to the Roman Pantheon. home state, Virginia. In its capital, Richmond, he built the Virginia State Capitol.
Anyone who had expected modern architecture for the young nation must have
But Schinkel was perfectly capable of enthusiasm for other eras. In building the had quite a surprise. On a hill above the city, from 1785 a classical temple
Friedrichswerder church in Berlin, for example, he was alluding to medieval began to arise, its declared model this time being a temple from Roman times,
Gothic. Schloss Kamenz in Silesia is likewise reminiscent of a medieval castle, the Maison Carree in Nimes, in the south of France.
and other designs demonstrate Schinkel’s weakness for the Romantic. Not only
with regard to his building assignments, but also in respect of his models, Politicians gathered there for the first time after seven years of building. At the
Friedrich Schinkel shows himself to have always been open to the old—and to very top of the agenda for the delegates and Governor Jefferson were topics
the new. such as the abolition of feudal privileges, the separation of church and state,
and the setting up of a public education system. The latter was energetically
taken in hand by Jefferson himself; after his term of office as third president of
Thomas Jefferson
the United States had come to an end, he built and financed the University of
In Virginia in the east of the newly founded Virginia, designing a whole “academic village.” For each of the ten faculties to
United States of America, architecture largely be taught he designed a separate pavilion, which contained teaching and
followed European styles. It was above all the residential areas.
buildings of classical Rome that inspired master
builders, and so both private and public buildings In designing the library, Jefferson seems to have once again had the Pantheon
displayed temple facades, columned entrance in mind; an impressive dome adorns the building and provides daylight. In
halls, and elegant domes. America’s March 1825 the first 123 students began their studies in Virginia. Jefferson also
third president was among these enthusiastic concerned himself with their physical well being, and several of them enjoyed
builders. Sunday dinner in the ex-president’s house. Among the students there were
some of the finest minds of the young nation, including the founder of crime
Classical Sources fiction, Edgar Allan Poe.

Thomas Jefferson, lawyer, politician, and

architect, built his country house Monticello
around 1770 in the middle of an old tobacco plantation at the gates f the little
town of Charlottesville. On this “little mountain” one could imagine oneself
7 8
Nicolas Ledoux With the outbreak of the French Revolution, Ledoux’ public and private
commissions dried up; in 1793, the former royal architect even spent a short
When a barrel maker’s workshop is in the form time in prison. During his last years, he devoted himself to his writings on
of a barrel, or a river watchman sees a river architectural theory, the first (and only) volume appearing two years before his
flowing through bis house, we are dealing with death.
“speaking architecture.” With his progressive
social and architectural ideas Claude-Nicolas
Ledoux, who appreciated classical literature and Balthasar Neumann
preferred to describe himself as an architect-
philosopher, was among its most imaginative Whether it was a question of a new church or a
representatives. This French architect first magnificent palace, during the first half of the 18th
learned his trade in Paris; his teacher, Jacques century many important German clients favored
Francois Blondel, was a champion of Neo- only one man—the Bohemian-born Balthasar
Classicism. His first job, in local government, took Neumann. His name was heard everywhere, his
Ledoux out of the capital. trademark being magnificent staircases.

From the Provinces to Paris Neumann’s beginnings were comparatively

modest. The son of two cloth-makers, he was
apprenticed to his godfather, a metal caster. But
In the provinces of Burgundy and Champagne his responsibilities covered the as a 25-year-old, having meanwhile moved to
construction of bridges, schools and transport routes, as well as farming matters Wurzburg, Neumann became deeply involved in
and farmers’ living conditions. At the same time, the young architect made the other interests. He entered the artillery, which
acquaintance of high administrative officials, from whose ranks many of his later enabled him to begin a career as an engineer,
commissions came. When in 1764 Ledoux married the daughter of a court and to receive further training in hydraulics,
musician, his connections were definitively established: exchanging his geometry, fortifications, and architecture.
administrative work for numerous commissions from the court, he could now
settle in the capital and start building for the Paris nobility. Ledoux’ approach
The Home of a Prince-Bishop
was eclectic, and he sometimes quoted from classical antiquity, at other times
from the Italian Renaissance or French Neo-Classicism. In his facade for the
Hotel d’Uzes, for example, he employed the Baroque, while for the Hotel Neumann’s talents were in demand as early as 1715, when the influential
d’Halwyll he drew upon Neo-Classicism. Schonborn family commissioned him to build a fountain for the family palace.
They were clearly satisfied with the result, for further commissions followed
Ideal Town immediately. The Schon-borns were to become the master builder’s most
important patrons. When Johann Philipp Franz von Schonborn was chosen as
Prince-Bishop of Wurzburg in 1719, his preferred architect was already in place:
In 1771 the 35-year-old Ledoux was engaged to build a salt works in the east of under Neumann’s direction, work began on the Prince-Bishop’s new residence.
the country. Between Arc and Senans, near Besancon, he created from 1774 Together with Lucas von Hildebrandt, Maximilian von Welsch and a number of
the Saline du Roi. Ledoux was not satisfied with a simple factory; he designed a other artists he created, over the next decade and a half, a superb complex,
whole ideal town for working people. Processing areas and workshops were to whose four wings surround a cour d’honneur (a courtyard for ceremonial
be grouped in a semicircle around the house of the director, and these in turn occasions). For one of the structural high points, the impressive staircase,
were surrounded by houses and public buildings such as churches and Neumann made himself personally responsible. From the entrance hall on the
communal baths. Only part of his design was realized, but this already ground floor, a wide step leads to a gallery placed around the staircase. To
demonstrates the concept behind it: living and working were to be closely ‘inked. ascend, visitors must first climb the lower flight of steps and thus reach a
Simple geometric forms such as cubes, spheres and pyramids determined the landing. Now they have to change direction and decide in favor of one of the two
design of the buildings. The salt works began operating in 1779, and more than flights of stairs leading to the gallery. With this sophisticated arrangement,
250 workers lived in Ledoux’ houses. He continued to dedicate himself to his Neumann succeeded in directing the visitor’s gaze slowly but surely upwards—
ideal city, but many of his “speaking buildings,” expressing Utopian ideals in above the white stucco decorations of the gallery walls, step by step there
Neo-Classical forms, were never executed.
9 10
opens up a view of a monumental ceiling fresco, executed by the Venetian artist Wren suggested a central-plan building, such as was known in the Italian High
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo. Renaissance, but the clients rejected the proposal as being too daring (too
Catholic) for a major Protestant church. Patience was the watchword over the
For Pilgrims and Baroque Fans years that followed, and it was not until 1675 that Wren’s design, meanwhile
greatly modified, found acceptance.
It was not only for innovative staircase designs that Neumann was engaged
over the years that followed. He also found ample opportunities to prove himself A Versatile Master Builder
in church architecture. He created a number of churches that clearly illustrate
that there were no limits to his wealth of invention. In Vierzehnheiligen, a In the meantime Wren had finally decided in favor of architecture and against
Bavarian pilgrimage church, for example, he created a ground plan composed his post of professor of astronomy. His courage was rewarded by a plethora of
of ovals of various sizes. The facade of the building, flanked by two towers, commissions; in 1677 almost 30 of his designs were being executed at the
projects in the central area, and in the interior too Neumann stressed its three- same time. For St Paul’s, Wren relied on two quite different traditions, for he
dimensionality, so that the church appears almost to move— a feast for the was able to draw on Renaissance architecture as much as on Baroque. The
eyes for both religious and architectural pilgrims. facade with two towers and a vestibule, supported by columns and crowned by
a pediment, is reminiscent of classical temple frontages as Palladio too invoked
Christopher Wren them. In the interior, the space, arranged on a cruciform ground plan, opens
upwards into a high cupola—Wren’s trademark and, for a long time, a symbol of
It was a self-taught man, of all people, who was to London.
become one of the most famous British architects.
Christopher Wren’s name is synonymous with Despite all the life-blood that the master builder dedicated to his grand project,
London’s largest church, St Paul’s Cathedral, other commissions received due attention. Wren remained attached to Oxford,
which kept its builder occupied for 35 years. At the where he had studied and later taught, as can be seen in the Sheldonian
age of 78, Wren had the great good fortune to see Theatre, St John’s College, and Christ Church Tower. In Cambridge he
the completion of the building—quite an designed, among other buildings, the library of Trinity College, and when he
achievement, in view of its built surface area of died in London at the venerable age of 91 he could also number among his
more than 8,000 square meters. buildings several palaces and hospitals he had built to royal commissions.

At an early age, Christopher Wren, who grew up in

a rural area of Wiltshire in the southwest of Gianlorenzo Bernini
England, became enthusiastic about the sciences.
As a seven-year-old, Gianlorenzo Bernini, born in
After studying at Oxford, he began a professorship
Naples, accompanied his sculptor father to Rome
in London, and taught astronomy there and later in Oxford. That he was
and lade himself useful at the latter’s workplaces.
entrusted with building or restoring almost 50 churches, Wren owed not only to
His talent did not stay hidden for long: at first
his talent, but also to a tragic accident. In September 1666, the Great Fire of
Bernini attracted ttention as a sculptor, but soon
London raged for four days and four nights.
he was in demand as an architect. And finally
there was no holding him: o other artist has had
After the devastating fire, a huge program of rebuilding was speedily such a huge influence on the cityscape of Rome
undertaken: 13,200 houses and 87 parish churches needed to be replaced. At as Bernini.
this point in time, Wren had already become known with his first designs and
buildings, and this was his opportunity to make his mark in the capital on a
As the start of the 17th century, hardly a stone
grand scale. Two years after the Great Fire, the self-taught architect was asked
was still in its place in the Eternal City: streets
to draft a plan for the reconstruction of St Paul’s Cathedral, for this church
and squares were laid out, and the Vatican was
dedicated to the Apostle Paul had also fallen victim to the fire.
architecturally integrated into the city, for it was
the popes themselves who were strenuously promoting urban modernization.
And in the course of his career over more than six decades, Bernini was able to

11 12
rely on the patronage of several popes. If he fell out of favor with the Vatican, Andrea Palladio
there were still illustrious secular patrons to be found to make use of Bernini’s
services, including King Louis XIV of France. No wonder that Bernini did not
hide his light under a bushel. When there was criticism of the nose in a newly Palladio’s career reads like a rags-to-riches story:
completed portrait of Louis, he responded curtly: “That is how I see it.” a miller’s son from Padua, married, in accordance
with his social status, to the daughter of a
carpenter, he became one of the most sought-
Resurgent Rome after architects of the wealth). More than 60 villas,
churches, and city mansions were built to his
Bernini combined his talents as a sculptor and architect in his largest and most designs. And he not only immortalized himself in
spectacular fountain. In the middle of the Piazza Navona in Rome, four marble stone, but also left behind a series of widely
river gods are enthroned on a rock, representing the parts of the earth known at influential writings.
that time: the Ganges and the Nile, the Danube and the Rio de la Plata form the
basis of the monumental Fountain of Four Rivers, from whose center a Roman The skilled stonemason Andrea di Pietro was in
obelisk towers up. In 1656, on the opposite bank of the Tiber, and within the his mid-20s when the writer and aristocrat
Vatican City, Bernini began his most important project, the redesign of St Giangiorgio Trissino recognized his talent. He
Peter’s Square. From the viewpoint of the existing square, the effect of the bestowed the name Palladio on his protege and
mighty dome of the basilica was hardly to be perceived. traveled with him to Rome – a momentous trip for the young man. Back in the
Veneto, over the next four decades Palladio followed classical principles of
Bernini first designed a trapezoid arrangement, and then toyed with the idea of a building— mainly for very wealthy clients, for Trissino opened many doors in
circular shape. Finally, he decided in favor of two adjoining areas, appropriate to high society to the young man in his lateral career move. In the 16th century,
the huge dimensions of the church: the Piazza Obliqua, 140 meters in depth, few prosperous families were without their own country villa, and their preferred
consists of an ellipse running diagonally to the church, to which is adjoined the architect was Andrea Palladio.
Piazza Retta, which widens in trapezoid shape to 90 meters towards the basilica
of St Peter. At the edges of both areas, Bernini placed wide rows of columns to His client Paolo Almerico commissioned from him a villa on a hill at the outskirts
enclose the Baroque complex effectively. of Vicenza. A circular hall surmounted by a cupola forms the center of the
building and gave it its name: the “Rotonda” is presented as a central-plan
A tireless worker, Bernini continually pursued parallel tasks to this one, including building—a daring design, for this ground plan was more usual in ecclesiastical
the building of the church of Sant’Andrea on the Quirinal Hill. The decisive buildings than in private houses. In the design of the entrance to the Rotonda,
shape of this Jesuit church is the oval, and the ground-plan oval is even set Palladio oriented himself to the temple frontages of classical antiquity, and gave
diagonally. A circular staircase leads up to the portal, which in its turn is the Rotonda no fewer than four of these. The comfort of the residents was not
shielded by a canopy. Curved walls project on to the street from the portal. forgotten by the architect: he placed the utility rooms in the basement, while the
Bernini’s urge to design did not stop at the facade: the design extends to the piano nobile was reserved for celebrations, and the family lived in the
interior too, where the oval forms are continued. The architect himself often mezzanine floor above.
visited the little church even after its completion, considering it one of his
masterpieces. All’antica

When Palladio finally succeeded in establishing himself in Venice, many of his

villas already adorned the mainland, the Veneto. In his mid-50s, he could at last
make his mark in Venice, and with the location, the building tasks also changed:
the Benedictine monks of the monastery on the island of San Giorgio
commissioned from him an impressive three-aisled church with a dome, whose
splendid facade (admittedly probably altered by a successor) faces towards the
city. On the neighboring island of the Giudecca, Palladio, then almost 70 years
old, also created an imposing house of God for the Capuchins.

13 14
“Il Redentore,” the church of the Redeemer, came into being as a memorial of Giorgio Vasari, friend and biographer of Michelangelo, noted the tatter’s
the end of a plague epidemic, and this building too is adorned by a tiered, enthusiastic reaction to the enquiry from Rome: “At last His Holiness decided,
brilliantly white temple frontage. Palladio could no longer complain of a lack of as I believe, by divine inspiraton, to send for Michelango. Michelangelo tried to
variety. His final commission too was a challenge: he was to build a theater avoid the burden, saying that architecture was not his real field, and since his
all’antica (in the antique style) for the scholars of Vicenza. Once again he requests were of no avail, the Pope in the end positively ordered him to
needed to satisfy cultured tastes, and once again he fell back on his studies of accept the commission.” Admittedly, Paul III sweetened the pill for his chosen
classical buildings and architectural treatises. With the help of ingenious candidate, appointing the Florentine as chief director of building in 1547 and
perspective, the architect of villas was now in addition creating the theater of the granting him powers that no other architect was ever to be given by a client:
Renaissance. Michelangelo alone was to decide what should be torn down and what should
be added. So much freedom summoned envious rivals who were not sparing
with their criticisms.
Michelangelo
By his mid-30s, Michelangelo was alredy used to One reproach was that Michelangelo was designing only a small church of St
illustrious clients lining up to secure his services Peter, a “San Pietrino,” instead of the greatest church in Christendom.
for their projects. So it seems only logical that at Undeterred, Michelangelo reduced the size of hi; predecessor’s model, certain
the advanced age of 71 he was personally that the effect of the central-plan building would only be increased as a
requested by the pope to take over the most result. The chief architect of St Peter’s was already 71 when he took over the
important building project of the era, the building project, and to provide against further changes to his plans by potential
completion of St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. successors he ordered work to begin simultaneously on all the important areas
of the building. It was a strategy that largely worked.
Michelangelo was already widely regarded as the
greatest sculptor and painter of his day when he Donato Bramante
turned to architecture. The friend of his youth,
Giovanni de’ Medici, now Pope Leo X, had great Bramante’s father had decided that his son
plans for the family buildings in his home city of should be a painter. Donato submitted, but met
Florence. From 1516, Michelangelo gave with a distinct lack of success, as recorded bj the
expression to these wishes. For the church of San biographer Vasari: “So he determined, in order to
Lorenzo he designed a facade without equal: twelve monumental columns, each view an important building at least once, to go to
one several tonnes in weight, were to adorn the marble frontage. Milan and look at the cathedral.”

However, only one of these survived unbroken from the quarry on the building Bramante’s visit to Milan was momentous, for the
site, and the many failures caused the building costs to soar. Michelangelo young painter decided on the spot to become an
raged, the pope cancelled the contract, and promptly signed up the architect for architect. He began by making an intensive study
another project. It was not the facade but a family vault that Michelangelo was of the classical buildings of Rome. His first
now to tackle in San Lorenzo: in 1520-1534 the New Sacristy took shape (as a commissions brought him back to Milan, but
counterpart to Brunelleschi’s Old Sacristy). The next commission followed finally, after all he settled in the capital. In the
immediately with the next Medici Pope: Clement VII had Michelangelo plan and early 16th century Rome was a great and
execute the library of the monastery of San Lorenzo. prestigious place to build, and above all it was the popes who brought many
notable architects to the city.
The Biblioteca Lauren-ziana, designed in close co-operation with the pope,
became Michelangelo’s most important architectural work: the most prestigious Symmetry
one was still to come. An Architect Against His Will Equally at home with all
genres of art, Michelangelo was now known as simply the universal genius. It It was on the Gianicolo, a hill on the right bank of the Tiber, Donato Bramante
was only to him that Pope Paul III would entrust the task of bringing the work on worked on his first architectural commission. The monastery of San Pietro in
St Peter’s, which had been dragging along for decades, to a successful Montorio was to be enriched by a memorial building to recall the martyrdom of
conclusion.
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the Apostle Peter, which was said to have taken place there. Bramante decided Leon Battista Alberti
in favor of a central-plan structure on a circular base—that the surrounding
monastery courtyard would eventually be rectangular was something the Archaeologist and painter, musician and scientist,
architect could not have guessed. and moreover fascinated by mathematics—to call
Leon Battista Alberti multi-talented would be an
Three steps, arranged in circles around the structure, lead up to the little temple, understatement. Particularlj since the Genoese
the “Tempi-etto.” Columns surround the circular building, crowned with a dome, Alberti also found time to dedicate himself to
and there is a balustrade on the upper level. Bramante’s Tempietto was architecture, and thus definitively secure his
regarded by the next generation as a perfect central-plan building, an reputation as a Renaissance “universal man.”
architectural type that was considered the epitome of ideal beauty.
Alberti approached architecture in a roundabout
St Peter’s Basilica way. At first he made an intensive study of the
buildings of classical antiquity, above all as they
were still to be admired in Rome, and at the same
The Renaissance embodiment of the mania for building was undoubtedly Pope time read with enthusiasm the writings of classical
Julius II. Soon after his election in 1503 he took in hand the rebuilding of St architects. Spurred on by their works, Alberti also
Peter’s Basilica—the old building could neither accommodate the throngs of wrote atreatise on architectural theory, De re aedificatoria. But his knowledge of
pilgrims nor satisfy the pope’s ambitious demands. Julius had big plans and classical buildings was reflected not only on paper: the palaces and churches
Bramante was part of them: he was to build a church that would do justice to the designed by him also clearly mirror this deep adr ration.
importance of Rome as the heart of Christendom.
Symmetry and Proportion
By 1506 Bramante’s plans had progressed so far that the foundation stone
could be laid. Bramante designed St Peter’s on the ground plan of a Greek
cross, with four arms of equal length—another central-plan building, again Alberti’s first large commission came from the Rucellai, a wealthy Florentine
crowned with a mighty dome. With the basilica of St Peter, Bramante had taken family of merchants; he was to design their spacious residence on the central
on the most important project in Rome, but the pope was no ordinary client: “To Via dellaVigna. Alberti drew up the plans and the Rossellino workshop carried
be honest,” Bramante once summed it up, “they give you water and words, out the execution. The facade of the palace alone showed the architect to be a
smoke and hot air. If you ask for more, you are dismissed.” fan of the classical style: he adorned the house with an order of columns similar
to those of the Colosseum in Rome. But in doing this he did not use rounded
columns, but flat wall columns know as pilasters for the vertical emphasis. At the
His fee was a comparatively small expense; the horrendous costs of the new same time, he stressed the horizontal lines by placing cornices between the
building, despite the lively and controversial trade in indulgences, could not be stories. In this way, the facade of the mansion appears clearly structured, and
covered. When Bramante died in 1514, only the choir area had made any the impression is achieved of symmetry and fine proportions.
progress, and subsequent generations of architects largely overruled his
design—today’s basilica reflects Bramante’s plans at most in its gigantic
proportions. The High Art of the Facade

It was not only Giovanni Rucellai who had confidence in Alberti’s talents. Not far
from his city mansion, the Dominican church of Santa Maria Novella was
awaiting completion. The Gothic structure was already nearly finished, and even
the foundation of the facade had already been begun when the clients
commissioned Alberti to complete it. He therefore had to incorporate his
knowledge of classical temple architecture into the existing fabric.

Thus Gothic pointed arches stand under niches and portals in the lower zone,
and above them are superimposed round arches. Sweeping volutes lead from
the broad substructure to the sharp gable, forms from the Gothic and

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Renaissance styles combine harmoniously, and everything glows in white and rather hesitant. It was a question of crown ing the cathedral, the flagship of the
green stone. It was on Alberti, who remained unmarried all his life, that the city, with a dome. The diameter of the octagonal substructure already stood at a
choice of the ruler of Rimini fell when he planned to erect a memorial to his wife. proud 45 meters There was no question – for such a task, a first class master
architect had to be engaged Several applicants believed themselves capable of
Sigis-mondo Pandolfo Malatesta commissioned a tomb for himself and his it and took part in a competition.
family, conceived, in disregard of Christian traditions, as a pagan temple. He
himself and his Isotta were to be buried there, and instead of symbols of the The judges were undecided It was only after two years that they were convinced
cross, it was decorated with the entwined letters S and I in abundance, Alberti by Brunelleschi’s proposal The new project manager was not afraid of
admittedly did not concern himself with the adornment of the interior, but once innovations he clothed the dome in two shells, of which only the inner one is
again designed the facade. In the Tempio Malatestiano too the architect did not load-bearing, so that he could reduce the overall weight of the dome.
conceal his preference for classical forms: the central part of the frontage for Brunelleschi was also inventive with regard to the organization of the work, in
example goes back to the closely related triumphal arch of the Roman Emperor order to spare the workers in the dome the tedious and timeconsuming climb up
Augustus. and down at midday, he had wine taverns and kitchens built under the church
roof. But the clients were skeptical about Brunelleschi’s inventiveness.

Filippo Brunelleschi
In 1432, when it was a question of the design of the crowning lantern of the
A skilled goldsmith who was also active as a dome, the guild preferred to hold a further competition, rather than leave this
painter and sculptor, Brunelleschi became one of task to Brunelleschi. In the end it was his design that was executed, but he did
the great architects of the early Renaissance. He not live to see the completion of the dome: he died m 1446. The historian Vasari
could not complain of a lack of commissions—in reported on the funeral of the great architect in Florence cathedral, without con
the wealthy city-state of Florence influential cealing that his native land “honored htm far more greatly after his death than it
families and guilds were building an abundance of had done during his lifetime.”
architectural works in their own honor.

Classical Antiquity and High Society

In about 1419, Brunelleschi, the son of a notary,

was pleased to receive two important
commissions at once. The guild of silk makers commissioned him to build a
house for the foundlings of Florence. In creating the Ospedale degli Innocenti,
he returned to classical elements of building, always intent on symmetry of
design and harmonious proportions, from facades to interior rooms. The second
commission that year came from the very highest of circles. A member of the
influential Medici family, Giovanni d’Averardo, ordered a chapel for his tomb
from Brunelleschi. He designed the Old Sacristy (as it was later called, to
distinguish it from Michelangelo’s New Sacristy) in the Florentine church of San
Lorenzo as a central-plan building. On a square ground plan, a hemisphere
arches over the space – the decisive forms here are the cube and square The
client was so enthusiastic about Brunelteschi’s design for the Old Sacristy that
he immediately entrusted to him the rebuilding of the entire church.

Wine Taverns in a Church

But not alt Florentines expected great things of Brunelleschi. The wool workers’
guild, for example. which was responsible for building the cathedral, seemed
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