U N I T 2 ARCHITECTURE OF 19TH CENTURY 19th-century architecture was greatly influenced by earlier architectural movements and foreign, exotic styles, which were adapted to the new technologies of the early modern age. This Unit deals with the battle of styles which engaged the energies of architects and led to what we recognize today as Modern Architecture . A. THE ECLECTIC CENTURY Two principal characteristics distinguish 19th-century architecture: the use of a variety of historical styles and the development of new materials and structural methods. These very different currents produced a wonderfully assorted kind of architecture, ranging from town and country houses, palaces, and public buildings in a series of styles, Greek, Roman, Etruscan, Gothic, Renaissance and so on. Elements of these earlier styles were put together to give an air of authority to town halls (Birmingham), railway stations (Euston, London), opera houses (Paris Opera) and institutional buildings (Houses of Parliament, London). The second characteristic emerged from the development of new materials as a result of new industrial needs. In the mid years of the century, cast-iron was used for the structures of large buildings such as warehouses and libraries. The Crystal Palace, designed by Joseph Paxton for the 1851 International Exhibition in London, provided a spectacular example of the possibilities of cast iron and glass. In 1889, Gustav Eiffel designed the famous Tower which provided a great form of publicity for the new material steel. During the second half of the 19th century in the United States, the possibilities of cast iron and steel were most effectively exploited in the construction of multi-storey buildings. Skyscraper architecture was first seen in New York, but the genre was mastered by the Chicago School of Architecture. The architect Louis Sullivan formulated the principle in which design is the direct expression of functional relations (exemplified by his phrase Form follows function ). This principle becomes basic in 20th century architecture. GLOSSARY Paris, Opera House. 126 cast-iron: a hard type of iron that does not bend easily and is shaped by pouring the hot liquid metal into a mould (= a specially shaped container) cursed: having a malediction huge: enormous to master: to do something at the highest level multi-storey: building with five or more storeys ranging: extending roller coaster: a type of railways with open cars, tight turns and very steep slopes found in amusement parks town hall: the most important institutional building in a town, containing the administration of the city warehouse: a large building where raw materials or manufactured goods are stored