Eclecticism In Architecture

 Eclecticism In Architecture

Eclecticism was a popular architectural style in the nineteenth and twentieth century. It refers to any design that integrates aspects from other cultures or architectural periods, such as traditional patterns and styles, ornamental aesthetics and decorations, structural components, and so on.

Eclectic Architecture

Eclectic architecture originally emerged in continental Europe in countries such as France (Beaux-Arts architecture), England (Victorian architecture), and Germany (Gründerzeit architecture), in response to a growing need among architects for more expressive freedom in their work.

With the construction of skyscrapers and other big public venues such as churches, courthouses, city halls, public libraries, and movie theatres, eclectic architecture became available to the broader population rather than just the upper crust. While several of these facilities have since been dismantled (including the original Pennsylvania station and the first Madison Square Garden in New York City), those that remain are considered some of America's most important structures.

Spread

Onboard ocean liners, some of the most extreme examples of eclectic design might be seen (which at the time were the primary form of overseas transport). The opulent interiors were designed with a combination of historic designs in order to alleviate the discomfort of months spent away from home while also giving the impression of established grandeur. 

During the same period, such ships were employed to convey colonists to undeveloped parts of the globe. The colonization of such countries pushed the western world's Eclectic architecture even further, as newly arrived colonists built structures with Roman classicism and Gothic themes.

Eclecticism spread across Asia to a lesser extent, as Japanese and Chinese architects trained in American Beaux-Arts influenced schools returned to develop eclectic designs such as Kingo Tatsuno's Bank of Japan (1895).

The so-called Indo-Saracenic Revival architecture, which incorporated traditional Indian elements, was largely used in the United States.

Interior design

The growth of eclectic architecture necessitated the hiring of interior designers with the skill, insight, and knowledge of previous historical styles in order to build appropriate complementing interiors. As a result, the profession of interior designer has grown in popularity. [3] Elsie De Wolfe, Rose Cumming, Nancy McClelland, Elsie Cobb Wilson, Francis Elkins, Surie Maugham, and Dorothy Draper were notable interior designers during this time period (late 19th to early 20th century). Despite the fact that these early designers' clients were exclusively wealthy families and corporations, their work was frequently featured in popular magazines such as House and Garden, House Beautiful, and the Ladies Home Journal. The sumptuous interiors of these spectacular homes were published, and less excessive imitations or the incorporation of similar decorative elements became a desirable feature in residential decoration. Aesthetic tastes differed by area in America, with Spanish styles favored in California and features of American Colonial architecture favored in New England.

EXAMPLES 

La Sagrad Familia

Antoni Gaud's Basilica of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona is a prominent example of eclecticism. The Gothic style was combined with Oriental motifs and forms found in nature to create a unique and original building. [1] It is still under construction today, despite being designed during the pinnacle of the eclectic period (1883–1926).

Street Alfonso VIII. Burgos

The structure is eclectic. Burgos, Spain, Alfonso VIII Street (1922). The blending of neogothic, art nouveau, and neoclassical styles is notable.