Point: Alternatives

According to dictionary.com the word alternative means employing or following nontraditional or unconventional ideas, methods, etc.; existing outside the establishment. The alternatives unit of History class is best described by this definition because there was a lot of recognition of rules followed by breaking those rules and rebellion. The unit was about testing boundaries and stretching resources and structural systems to their absolute confines in architecture. In other cases it was about exploring all different types of ideas and thoughts and combining them together to form one. Majority of design has to start somewhere since there are places to take inspiration from.

If ever architecture expresses spirituality and worship, it would be during the medieval Gothic time period. Gothic was a form that humbled man and glorified God. Focusing on verticality, this style brought inventive new construction methods that allowed churches, as well as other structures, reach grand heights. Most floor plans resembled that of a cross with the long nave and transepts. Pointed arches supported the roof giving it remarkable strength and stability and allowing the walls to be thinner. Borrowing and expanding on the early Romanesque’s period barrel vault, Gothic architects introduced the technique of ribbed vaulting. Flying buttresses were also introduced to further stabilize these massive structures in this time period.

During the Renaissance, the idea was to give a face-lift to the classicism period while still borrowing from the Gothic. It was in this time when villas and palazzos became more popular among those who could afford them and were focused on comfort and functionality. While the Gothic period was asymmetrical and complex the Renaissance period was about symmetry, careful proportions and geometry as established in classical antiquity. Andrea Palladio, also known as “the most influential architect of the whole Renaissance,” for his most copied from the Villa Capra, professed an original idea where sanctuary, leisure and entertainment were no longer expresses publicly, but privately amongst families. As the Renaissance because more apparent so did its rules. Man is the measure of all things, separation of spaces, harmony through repetition, geometric patterning and no building is just one style are all indicators of this period and emphasize its turning point in history.

A style that was an outcome of the Renaissance would be the Baroque period. Rules that were indicative of this period could be fluidity, challenging authority, lack of boundaries, testing limits, innovative and theatrical. The best comparison to use when discussing the Renaissance period and the Baroque period would be the two David’s; Michelangelo’s and Bernini’s. The statue of David by Michelangelo is a common ancient Greek theme of the eminent heroic male nude. The figure stands with one leg experiencing its entire weight with the other leg relaxed. The proportions are said to follow the classical proportion of scale. On the other hand, Bernini’s statue of David is a three-dimensional work that challenges viewers to walk around it and experience it from all aspects. This challenges most Renaissance statues which were strictly frontal and meant to be viewed from one side only. Bernini’s statue was an example of thinking outside the box, breaking boundaries, it showed movement and liveliness.

While Gothic and the start of the Renaissance time periods stayed focused on classicism and revamp the alternatives were not truly seen until the later of the Renaissance and the start of the Baroque period. Emphasis and creativity of design were more widespread throughout these times when people were not afraid of the consequences of not following the rules. 

image can be found here.

 I chose this image because although specific directions and ideas are pointed out to us, it does not mean we're forced to follow those predestined paths. Creativity cannot be contained by rules. The main rule to remember is, there are no rules.