2 ARCHITECTURE OF THE 19TH CENTURY THE ECLECTIC CENTURY Steel , largely used in modern buildings, is: a. a chemical element; b. an alloy of iron and carbon; c. an alloy of iron and zinc. Cast iron is a commercial alloy of iron, carbon and silicon. Before the Eiffel Tower was built, Gustave Eiffel s firm was asked to design the internal frame for another monument, which France later donated to the United States. What was it? The Eiffel Tower, Paris A kaleidoscope of styles Architecture in the 19th century was greatly influenced by earlier architectural movements and exotic, foreign styles, which were adapted to the new technologies of the early modern age. 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 wonderful assortment of architecture, including 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). New materials and new structural challenges The second characteristic emerged from the development of new materials as a result of the new industrial needs. In the Sullivan's Wainwright Building in St. Louis, Missouri cast iron: ghisa cursed: (qui) tormentato huge: enorme to master: dominare multi-storey: multi-piano roller coaster: giostra delle montagne russe story (AmE) / storey (BrE): piano (di edificio) town hall: palazzo del Municipio warehouse: magazzino 296 HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE mid years of the century, cast iron was used for the structures in large buildings such as warehouses and libraries. 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 by which the design is the direct expression of functional relations (exemplified by his phrase Form follows function ). This principle becomes basic in 20th century architecture.