When I go out, one of the things I first notice is the houses within my community. They all look the same to me. Single-story houses that stand at least 10 meters apart. It’s quite sad if I’m being honest. I can see the gray haze over my community. It didn’t help when the pandemic struck.
Sometimes when my mind wanders, I think about all the buildings I see when I walk around the city. There is this magical sort of time travel I do when I look at old buildings. I feel when I look at them like I’m part of the building's history. From the tiniest speck of dust to the splatter of bird droppings, I am somewhere in between those insignificant beings.
Post office in New York City. | Photo by Charles Parker from Pexels
I like looking at the old architecture. When I walk by the post office or the train station, I can visually see the history of a place. I enjoy history. When I look at a piece of rock, I think of all the historical events it has seen. All the events that it cannot share with us.
If the walls could speak, I wonder what it would tell us? What would it know? It is with these thoughts in my heart do I remember why I love old buildings. Their hidden history is something that fascinates me.
Here are some of my favorite architecture styles throughout the years.
Classic Architecture
Classic architecture was developed in Greece. These are usually seen in temples. | Photo by Spencer Davis from Pexels
Classic architecture was all about symmetry and geometry. People back then believed that designs should be mathematically accurate. As Vitruvius wrote in his famous treatise De Architectura, or Ten Books on Architecture “For without symmetry and proportion no temple can have a regular plan.”
Vitruvius goes ahead and introduces the three classical orders that defined column styles in early classical architecture. These orders were called Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian.
These three were the classical orders as Vitruvius wrote. | Photo from BeeBreeders
I love classic architecture. It’s clean and straightforward. Even in its finest form, it’s still something that feels familiar to me. These were the columns that saw the greats. They hold secrets no one else knows and it really breaks my heart when people try to restore these without knowing the proper way of doing it.
Gothic Architecture
I love gothic architecture. It’s a type of architecture that I don’t see often. I can only count in one hand how many gothic buildings I’ve seen in my entire life that wasn’t through the internet. Where did my fascination for gothic architecture come from?
When I was watching the Hunchback of Notre Dame, I loved how dark and imposing the church was. It had pointed arches, flying buttresses, and ribbed vaulting. They had gargoyles too! Maybe I like it because of the seemingly powerful aura that it exudes.
It reminds me of angry sermons about me burning in the pits of hell if I don’t follow the commandments. I sometimes daydream about what that would be like. I wonder, are we really all going to hell when we don’t repent? There’s only one way to really find out and sadly, no one can ever share the truth about it.
Gothic buildings are so imposing. It evokes feelings of fear in me. | Photo by Ella Wei from Pexels
When Judge Frollo was singing hellfire, I imagine this imposing dark building being eaten at by the flames of hell. The gothic architecture was the perfect background for me because it was a song about sins and hell and honestly, what evokes the feelings of dread more than a sharp building.
Baroque
If I’m being honest, I had a really hard time deciding what I liked more. Did I like the lavish opulence of Baroque architecture or did I like the subtler gentle luxury of Rocco? The answer is pretty clear now. I’ve obviously chosen Baroque.
With the minimalist movement and less is more being at the forefront of today’s designs, I can’t help but marvel at the grand luxury that Baroque architecture gives.
Baroque wasn’t one to shy away from opulence. | Photo by YEŞ from Pexels
What I loved the most about Baroque architecture was the intricacy of the details. Every single thing was done with precision. Take for example this staircase. Staircases today are just minimalist and simple, but back then they would carve these handrails and do so with so much passion.
The walls were not flat. They were carved and designed to match the exterior. I cannot even begin to imagine how beautiful the outside of baroque buildings are. Gilded in gold, Baroque architecture was just the pinnacle of artistry for me.
All of these designs were very imposing and honestly pretty scary when I think about it. These are known to be antiquated designs, but I beg to disagree. If I were given a chance, I would like to have a home that was designed to my preferences.
Maybe I wouldn’t have the tall spires of a gothic building or the classical column of a greek pantheon, but I would really like to take inspiration from these designs. I think that is what really makes art so beautiful is that the history it holds may never be told, but the lasting effect it has done will forever be remembered.
The world is a magical place and art is a part of life that I feel is truly essential. It is something that is passed on and yet changes every single time. With every different person that the art gets passed on to, it evolves and yet retains the roots of the art. It may be different, but it is still the same comforting art that we all once knew once upon a time.
That in itself is magic. Sometimes, we just really need to look around us and appreciate everything that has happened in our lives. We may be living in a pandemic and some people may feel hopeless at this time, but I would like to be positive and believe that there will be a time we’ll be free from the shackles of fate.
