Greek Architecture

Architecture in ancient Greece was usually done with wood or mud-bricks, so their ground plans are the only evidence of their existence. Greeks established most of the most enduring themes, attitudes, and forms of western culture. Architecture is one of the Greek legacies that the western civilization has inherited, as Greece established many of the structural elements, decorative motifs, and building types still used in architecture today.

The two main styles of Greek architecture are doric and ionic. The doric style is much more disciplined and austere, whereas the ionic style is more relaxed and decorative. There was a strong emphasis in building temples for the Greek mythological gods and goddesses. But, there were also well known public buildings like the Parthenon.

Building materials used were limestone and some native stones. Highly expensive marble was used mainly for sculptural decoration found in grand buildings of the classical period. The roofs of their buildings were made up of timber beams covered with overlapping terracotta or occasionally marble tiles.

The structure of ancient Greek architecture consists of a basic cube or rectangle, flanked by colonnades, and a long sequence of columns. Building will have a pronao or a portico that open up to a large open court peristyle. Greeks used very little of the principles of the masonary arch, individual blocks bound together by mortar. The front end of the roof has flat triangular shaped structure, the pediment which is usually filled with scultural decoration.

Temples are the best known form of Greek architecture. The altar of the temple was usually found in the sacred fane, an enclosure, in front of the temple. The inner building of the temple, cella, served mainly as the storage room. The other common public builds of the Greek architecture are gymnasiums, the palaestra, and theatres.

In ancient Greece, architects were hardly treated as valuable master craftsmen, unlike today where the architects are closely associated with the work they produce. And moreover, architecture was not seen as an art form, as it is in modern times.

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The Emerging Architecture

Architecture is the art of designing and constructing buildings and other physical structures. Architecture is as old as human history because it is the basic need of a human being. Architecture symbolizes the history, culture, traditions, technology and climate of the nation. In primitive ages man was used to live in caves but with the passage of time trends changed. As "necessity is the mother of invention" human beings started to make houses made up of stones to protect themselves from extreme climatic conditions and also from wild animals. New innovations and new trends prevailed and human beings started to make houses with bricks made up of mud, then they started baking these bricks to make them much stronger to protect themselves from other natural disasters.

Till now, many of the artists and great philosophers have defined architecture but it has no static definition. It is the art which is directly concerned with all human beings because a man rather rich or poor, tall or short or may live in any part of the world has to face architecture in his lifetime. It can't be avoided rather we like it or not. William Morris defined architecture as the "molding and altering to the human needs of the very face of the earth itself." According to John Rustin, it is the art for all to learn because all are concerned with it. It is affected by climate, culture, technology and needs of the society. Architecture of a nation highly depicts the taste of its people. Architecture is also considered as frozen music. Sir Henry Watson says that architecture is commodity, firmness and delight.

Greek architecture is considered as most primitive architecture and long lasting too. In Greek architecture mostly Parthenon (Parthenon of Athens) and temples are included. This is also considered as one of the wonders of the world. Greeks mostly used stone carvings and the philosophy behind all their architecture is to make some place for worship. Ancient architecture mostly include stone carving, wood carving and most of the construction work is done by human hand which made it so unique. Most of the buildings are symmetrical where repetition of design and patterns can be seen. Similarly Roman, Gothic, Egyptian and Indian architecture is an elegant example of ancient architecture. It tells us all about the culture, climate and traditions of these civilizations. It seems that much hard work and struggle has been exerted to build these buildings. Materials used in these buildings are mostly natural like stone, marble, sand, wood etc. Repetition of ideas and materials could be seen in ancient architecture because of the lack of technology.

With the passage of time new inventions in the field of technology, chemistry and many other scientific fields are done. Many of the new materials have been introduced by the architects and chemists produced artificially at low cost. Today's architecture is the blend of structuralism, formalism, high technology, expressionism and neo expressionism. Fast growing industries and professionalism give birth to modern architecture which is simple less ornamental but maximum people-oriented. Modern architecture is rich in inspiration and abstract ideas behind it. With the increasing complexity in architecture it is further divided into various branches. Environmental hazards are most hot issue today that's why architects are trying to create designs which are environment friendly. Many of the architects gave stress on green building sustainable designs among them Sim Van der Ryn (1960), Ian Mc Harg (1970) UK and Brenda and Robert Vale from UK and New Zea land are most famous. Architects are now designing building which are self-sufficient in all energy demands. Dynamic Towers is the famous modern building which is good example of sustainable architecture which will be powered by water turbines and solar panels to fulfill its energy requirements.

In short, architecture whether good or bad has great impact on our lives. It is the symbol of the strength and progress of the nation but the architecture must be aesthetically pleasing and environment friendly to save our planet earth and to mold its face in a beautiful manner. Many trends have been passed away and many will come but its only purpose is to provide shelter for human beings and to create the world where they can live with peace and tranquility.

I am a student of architecture school of Pakistan. Architecture is my passion and I have written this article to make people aware of emerging architecture and its importance in our lives.

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