How Culture Affects Architecture Samantha demasi

Culture impacts architecure greatly in many different ways. Architecture is an expression of culture. Architecture must acknowledge the cultural needs and values of the society it interacts with. When an architect begins to create or construct a building they must see the culture of the people around them.

For my capstone I will be evaluating three different buildings in three different countries and identify how the culture of that city impacts the architecture. The buildings I will be evaluating are Big Ben located in London, England, the Taj Mahal in Agra, India and St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow, Russia.

Big Ben

Big Ben is not actually the name for the whole tower but just the bell itself. The tower's actual name is Elizabeth Tower. Elizabeth's Tower took a total of 34 years to build. The style of architecture used to build it was Gothic Revival Style. Gothic revival style, also referred to as Neo-Gothic is an architectural movement that began in the 1740's in England and its popularity grew rapidly in the 19th century during the time Big Ben was built. Big Ben started construction in 1859. The old Palace of Westminster was destroyed in a fire in 1834. They then began to build a new palace but incorporated pieces of the old palace as well as new features.

Life was transformed for people in the 19th century because it was the start of the industrial revolution. The society during this time period was strictly layered, not only rich and poor but upper, middle and lower as well. People were expected to know their place. The English established a sense of expansionary patriotism in the early 19th century. The final step of creating a national sentiment was taken in the 18th and 19th centuries when middle classes defined Englishness as a positive mortality to which everyone could accept.

The culture of the 19th century affected the building of Big Ben because the government was very important during this time period and nationalism was as well. Many new people were coming into this country and the people of England needed a new place for the English government to meet. It would not be good if all these new people were coming into England and for them not to have a place for the government to meet. The style of architecture of Big Ben was very popular at the time as I said before but they also incorporated old parts of the palace.

Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal is located on the South bank of the Yamuna river in the Indian city of Adra. It was commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan to house the tomb of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Construction of the building was completed in 1653. Many say it is one of the the best examples of Mughal architecture which is a style developed by the Mughals in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries in medival India. The style is a combination of Islamic, Persian, Turkic and Indian architecture.

16th century India was ruled by one of India's greatest rulers known as Akbar the Great or Akbar I. He was a fair monarch who built a large number of Islamic monuments in the country. Akbar originally only ruled North India but enventually Akbar's power and influence extended over the entire country because of Mughal political, economic, and cultural dominance. Mughal India developed the strong and stable economy, leading to the commercial expansion and the greater support of the culture. The time period was all about the dominance of the Mughal empire and the emperor Akbar who was all about art and culture. The Taj Mahal is influenced by this time period because it shows a great display of what Akbar was all about and what India was like at the time.

St. Basil's Cathedral

St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow is known around the world for its uniqueness. St. Basil's Cathedral was commissioned by Ivan the Terrible in the 16th century to commemorate the military victory of capturing the Kazan. It is easily the most famous sight on Red Square. Construction for this cathedral started in 1555 and ended in 1561. The cathedral displays a mix of traditional Russian architecture and the European architectural style of the Renaissance. The original walls of the cathedral were white and not as bold in color as they are today.

During this time period the unification of the Russian lands was completed and dependence on the Folden Horde Khans was gone. A few very important things happened during this time period to influence the culture: the formation of the Russian state and the emergence of the Russian nationality. This brought Russia together as a people and during the time they were very patriotic because of these events. These events were a direct influence on Russia's intellectual life in the 16th century and on the development of its culture. Also during this period of time a new thinking and a new attitude of life began developing in Russia in the 16th century. The cathedral was impacted by these events because as I wrote before, it was built to celebrate the capture of the Kazan. This action shows just how much the culture and patriotism of the time period changed the architecture.

The architecture of St. Basil's Cathedral is shoes like a bonfire rising into the sky, a design that has no record in Russian architecture. Dimitry Shvidkovsky, in his book Russian Architecture and the West, states "it is like no other Russian building. Nothing similar can be found in the entire millennium of Byzantine tradition from the fifth to fifthteenth century... A strangeness that atone she's by its unexpectedness..." Russia during this time period went through some large cultural changes and it influenced its culture as well.

Works Cited

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Haque, Tajirul. "15 Interesting Big Ben Facts You Must Know." Top Travel Lists. Top Travel Lists, n.d. Web. 20 June 2016.

"Mughal Architecture." - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, 17 June 2016. Web. 20 June 2016.

Pugin, Augustus. "Big Ben." Architectuul. Architects, Architecture. Architectuul, n.d. Web. 20 June 2016.

"Archnet." Archnet. Archnet, n.d. Web. 20 June 2016.

"St. Basil's Cathedral - Major Sights." Moscow Hotels. Moscow Hotels, 2010- 2016. Web. 20 June 2016.

"Russian Architecture." - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, n.d. Web. 20 June 2016.

"Saint Basil's Cathedral." - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, n.d. Web. 20 June 2016

"Saint Basil's Cathedral, Moscow." Radio National. N.p., 15 Oct. 2015. Web. 20 June 2016.

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