The Pension building or the National Building Museum as it is known as today is a monumental building which served as a great technological advancement at its time with its use of ornamental terra cotta, and as a tribute to those who served in the Civil War. It occupies the entire city block it rests on in downtown Washington, D.C.
The red-brick building, massive in size and scale, was designed by the war general, architect and engineer, Montgomery C. Meigs in the style of the Neo-Renaissance or Renaissance Revival. Like Italian Renaissance palaces, the Pension Building was designed with a single layer of rooms around the building's perimeter, each of which faced an interior courtyard; unlike its Italian models, the Pension Building's courtyard
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It was initially designed by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger and then was modified by Michelangelo. The Palazzo Farnese in Rome, the largest and most famous of all Renaissance palaces, provided the model for the exterior massing and articulation of the Pension Building. Meigs's initial design called for a building on the same scale as the Palazzo Farnese, but eventually he doubled its size. Other major changes were in the roofing of the courtyard and the introduction of a frieze depicting the Union Army on the march. Similarities to the Italian model are the horizontal organization of the building into three nearly equal stories, duplication of the main-story fenestration pattern of alternating segmental and triangular pediments, development of a full third story rather than an attic, and imitation of the details of its entablature. On the interior the brick staircases composed of deep treads and shallow risers, which are canted down, were derived from Palazzo Farnese …show more content…
The exterior walls are of load-bearing brick masonry construction and are composed of common brick faced with pressed brick, decorative brick, and ornamental terra cotta. This was an early use of ornamental terra cotta which was a less expensive substitute for carved stone or iron. Each facade has an entrance in the center. The facades which vary on each level are characterized by pedimented windows, richly ornamented in decorative brick and terra cotta, and separated by belt courses.
Meigs’s sketches for the Pension Building’s cornice reveal that its basic form was directly based on that of the Palazzo Farnese, detailed drawings of which were accessible in a widely circulated book by Paul Latarouilly depicting Renaissance architecture in Rome. Here again, however, Meigs put his own stamp on the design. In lieu of the decorative acanthus leaves and fleurs-de-lis that lined the Farnese cornice, Meigs used cannons and bursting bombs, further tying the Pension Building to the military origins of the agency for which it was
With the Pantheon being built over 1700 years ago, it’s amazing that architects are still using features and techniques from this work of architecture in modern creations. The use of this type of classical architecture will continue to be used in works for public space due to its remarkable exterior appearance and it’s long lasting structural durability. When both Jesse hall and the Pantheon are compared it is possible to see their similarities from the types of domes that top each, their external facades, and their interior plan. While they share many similarities, the differences that Bell and Binder used in their creation make this work of architecture unique to many other public spaces.
... middle of paper ... ... Using sculpture around the Alter of Grace and images on the wall and ceiling he pictures the story of the ’the Fourteen Holy Helpers and gives the kind of imagination to the level of reality as cited by (Lanciani and Rodolfo 1892). All these Baroque architectural elements were applied to the building to get the people attention to the focal point.
Andrea Palladio was born in 1508A.D. in Italy. At a very young age he became a stone mason, however his journey into architecture began when he met Gian Giorgio Trissino who immediately saw ability in him and decided to mentor Palladio. Trissino combined a study of classical architecture with architecture of the time, all the while allowing Palladio room to develop a style of his own. In time Palladio was constructing villas through out the country side of Italy, in all he constructed 30 villas, 18 of which are still standing today. Perhaps Palladio’s most famous work was the Villa Rotondra or La Rotondra which was started around 1565 and took approximately 4 years to build and was greatly inspired by the Pantheon in Rome. It is interesting to note that la Rotondra is different from Palladio’s other villas in a number of ways, and it is evident that these differences help distinguish it from the rest. The main differences between Palladio’s Rotondra and his other work are, The Rotonda is set on a hilltop, it is located near a...
...nal Expansion Memorial. Inside the building museum exhibits can be found. It now currently is being preserved by them to remind everyone of a fine example of nineteenth-century architecture. (“Old Courthouse Architecture”)
The U.S National World War II Memorial is a national memorial to honor and remember the sixteen million people who served in the armed forces of the United States and also the people at home during World War II. It is also a monument to the spirit, sacrifice, and commitment of the American people (National). The memorial is located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on the former site of the Rainbow Pool at the eastern end of the Reflecting Pool, between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. Composed of 56 fifty-six pillars and a pair of arches surrounding a plaza and fountain (Fig.1), the memorial is symbolic of the defining event of the 20th twentieth century. The northern arch is inscribed with Atlantic; the southern one, Pacific. Each pillar is marked with the name of all the 48 forty-eight ...
Construction was resumed in 1803, with Latrobe as architect. Latrobe designed the central portion of the first building, and modified Thornton’s design so that committee rooms and offices would fit in the south wing. He also designed octastyle porticos for the west and east front of the building, and a colonnade behind the east portico that spanned the entire center section. In order to keep the view of his low dome uninterrupted, Latrobe designed the pediment of the central section to be shallow enough to not reach over the top of the entablature. Another thing that Latrobe designed were the columns in Corinthian style at the east front. Their capitals depicted corn cobs and tobacco leaves, as symbols of the country’s prosperity and the nation’s wealth,
In the Florence Cathedral, Florence, Italy, there is a cathedral church whose octagonal dome, built without the aid of scaffolding, was considered the greatest engineering feat of the early Renaissance. Dedicated to Santa Maria del Fiore, Our Lady of the Flower, it is also known as the Duomo, after the Italian word for cathedral. Created by many great Early Modern artists, this piece of architecture is a perfect example the Renaissance style. We can come to a better understanding of why this is so by exploring what the characteristics of the Renaissance “style”. To understand the properties of the Florence Cathedral that fit the Early Modern style, I will begin with a description and its history. The cathedral's architectural style, although greatly influenced by French Gothic elements remained distinctively Florentine, especially the geometric patterns of red, green, and white marble on the building's exterior. Construction of the cathedral began in 1294 on the site of a Christian church founded in the 6th or 7th century and continued until 1436. Several celebrated Italian architects were involved in the project, including Giotto, Arnolfo di Cambio, Andrea Orcagna, and, most notably, Filippo Brunelleschi, who was responsible for designing and building the dome. The cathedral's exterior is ornamented with sculpture and mosaics by Italian artists Donatello, Nanni di Banco, and Domenico Ghirlandaio, among others. The building's stained-glass windows are the work of the Italian architect and artist Lorenzo Ghiberti, and the interior is decorated with sculpture and fresco paintings by several Renaissance masters. Construction of the campanile (bell tower), situated to the right of the entrance to the Duomo, was begun by Giotto and completed according to his plans in 1359, after his death. Nearly 278 ft high, the campanile is embellished with red, green, and white marble panels of relief sculpture by Italian artists Andrea Pisano and Luca della Robbia, and niches with sculpted figures by Donatello and other masters. Facing the cathedral and campanile is a smaller, octagonal structure, the Baptistery of San Giovanni, noted for its gilt-bronze doors, elaborately worked in high relief by Andrea Pisano and Lorenzo Ghiberti. With that background information about the cathedral, one question comes to mind: what is it that makes the Renaissance style distinct? Renaissa...
Originally a Gothic town hall, the Palazzo della Ragione or Basilica (commissioned in 1549), was on the verge of crumbling and Palladio won a competition to redesign it. His answer was to encase it on three sides with a two-storey loggia that provided reinforcement and transformed the exterior with classic columned arcades on two levels. Arches were placed between pilasters, Doric on the lower level, Ionic above, supporting entablatures. In each bay, the arch rests on small columns placed away from the larger pilasters with a rectangular gap in between - now known as the ‘Palladian motif’.
In Florence, Italy a cathedral stands over the grave of its architect, Filippo Brunelleschi. The Cathedral of Florence that now serves as his monument was one of his largest architectural developments. Little is known about Filippo’s childhood because he was not very famous; however, later in life he made huge accomplishments in the field of architecture. Filippo Brunelleschi’s structures were considered glorious at the time and are still standing today.
A public place incorporated into a larger commercial complex, the fountain of the Piazza d'Italia occupies a circular area off center of the development, which consists of buildings and open-air corridors planted with trees. The fountain is set on a ground of concentric circles in brick and masonry, and is composed of a raised contour relief of the boot of Italy and a construction of several staggered, interconnected facades following the lines of the circles. Each facade incorporates one of the five Classical Orders in various materials, including marble, stainless steel, artificial lighting and water. The facades are one side of the space and the whole is surrounded by a ring of trees. Though a collaborative effort Charles Moore with the UIG, Perez & Associates, and others, Moore headed the creative development of Piazza d'Italia (3).
Many believe the two are interchangeable when speaking about morals and ethics, when the two in no way mean the same thing. Morals are subjective beliefs that belong to an individual, they are one’s own beliefs as to what is right and what is wrong. Ethics on the other hand are the rules that society creates and teaches regarding proper and improper, right and wrong, social behavior. Morals are internal, ethics are external, and they have been the unwritten rules of society as old as mankind, which govern proper social conduct based on the greater good of the popular belief. Philosophers have tussled over the nature of the concepts of morality and virtue, where they stem from as well as their true meanings.
But these contrived differences give rise to esthetic difficulties too. Because inherent differences—those that come from genuinely differing uses—are lacking among the buildings and their settings, the contrivances repre...
There is a Romanesque style in the arched windows and the brick walls. The Beaux-Arts tradition is a T-shaped floor plan. The building measures 75 feet in diameter with three wings. The Rotunda’s walls are made of Italian marble and the floors have mosaic tile. The statue in the center of the floor is called “Three Muses.”
This report will discuss the career of prominent Italian architect, Renzo Piano. Topics discussed include: design approach, influences, building typology and the materials used, as well as a biography of Renzo.
I came across many monuments in my research for this paper. I was very intrigued by monuments in New York City. Many people forget about the less talked about monuments. Such as the Flatiron Building and Gracie Mansion. Of course they are those well-known monuments as well. There is the UN building, which has been around since 1949. Penn Station is also another well-known monument. It has been around since the early 1900’s. There are many others including Grand Central Station, the George Washington Bridge, the Cathedral of St. John and Yankee Stadium just to name a few.