Palace of Westminster, (London, England); 1016; Gothic Revival



The Palace of Westminster is where the two houses of the Parliament of the United  Kingdom, House of Commons and the House of Lords meet. It is located in the city of Westminster in London, England. More specifically, it is located on the right bank of the River Thames. The palace was built in 1016 but had to be demolished in 1834 because of a fire. It was then rebuilt from 1840 to 1876.

The architectural style of the Palace of Westminster is gothic revival. The architect of the palace is named Sir Charles Barry. Barry uses a style of architecture called the Perpendicular Gothic style. It was popular during the 15th century and then it came back in the 19th century during the gothic revival period. Although Barry was not a gothic architect, he had the help from Augustus Pugin. In the 11th century, Barry designed the Westminster Hall and managed to survive the fire in 1834. However, Pugin did not like the symmetrical aspects of the building.

 The Palace of Westminster has three towers. The largest and tallest one is called Victoria Tower. It is 98.5 meters or 323 feet tall and it takes up the southwestern corner of the Palace. Victoria Tower was remodeled several times, with its height being increased each time. Because this tower was one of the important parts in Barry’s initial design, Barry made sure that this element was memorable. At the base, there is an archway that is 15 meters or 50 feet high. There are statues of people such as Saints George, Andrew and Patrick as well as Queen Elizabeth. Another tower that is located on the North end of the Palace is the Elizabeth Tower. It is more commonly known as Big Ben. Inside the Palace of Westminster, there are over 1,100 rooms, 100 staircases and 4.8 kilometers of passageways. There are also offices, dining rooms, and bars on the ground floor of the palace.


Citations
The Palace of Westminster. (n.d.). Retrieved March 14, 2018, from http://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/building/palace/
Palace of Westminster, History & Visiting Information | Historic London Guide. (n.d.). Retrieved March 14, 2018, from http://www.britainexpress.com/attractions.htm?attraction=1449

Centre, U. W. (n.d.). Palace of Westminster and Westminster Abbey including Saint Margaret's Church. Retrieved March 14, 2018, from https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/426 x

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Villa Muller, (Prague,Czech Republic); 1930; Modern architecture

Image
The Villa Muller is located in Prague,Czech Republic. The building is designed by  Adolf Loos  in 1930. The project has appointed by the civil engineer and building contractor Frantisek Müller to design a new house for his family in 1928. The project has shown Loos’s ideas of economy and functionality, and it has name as an innovative landmark of early modernist architecture. The spacing has designed in multi-level parts of individual rooms, to show the functions and symbol. The exterior design of Villa Muller, Adolf Loos has made it white cubic façade to make it shin when the sun irradiates to the house. The fence has set higher because the architect wants to show the exterior to public, but keep the interior space to private. That’s why he designed a grant, and comfortable furniture that made by marble, wood, and silk surface. This method is representing his theory discussion” Ornament and Crime” in 1908. Adolf Loos separates the private inside and public ...
Read more

Villa Wagner I, Vienna, Austria.1886-1888; Early 20th Century Pioneers

Image
Villa Wagner I, Vienna, Austria.1886-1 888; Early 20th Century Pioneers The Villas were designed and constructed by modernist architect, Otto Wagner in Hüttelbergstraße 26, district fourteen of Vienna, lower eastern Austria. This heavily wooded part of the Alps, also known as Penzing, is the home of both Villas, which happen to occupy adjacent lots. The first Villa, larger than the second, was constructed between 1886 and 1888, founding of the Secession the year after. The Villas were constructed by Otto to be residences, but now the original Villa is owned by the heirs of painter Ernst Fuchs. Villa Wagner I is known today as the Ernst Fuchs Private Museum (Unknown, "Wagner Villa I and II").   When Wagner began construction of the first Villa, he intended to make this place a center of relaxation and somewhere where his family could rest. It has some relationship to the nearby Hütteldorf forest, with the first villa at the end of it (Unknown, "Wagner V...
Read more

Secession Building

Image
This building was a masterpiece done by Gustav Klimt, one of the most widely recognized artworks of Secession style. It is even on the national side of the Austrian coin (.50). The Vienna Secession was founded in 1897 by Gustav Klimt, Joseph Maria Olbrich, and Josef Hoffman. Because Vienna was becoming a growing metropolis and it was supposed to be represented that way. They were inspired by arts and craft and organic geometries, essentially an abstract architecture. The building has a covered courtyard structure, it provided for gallery space on all sides of a large top-lit rectangular exhibition hall in the center. The materials used in this building was mainly masonry and metal. the crowning element sketched by Klimt included a perforated metal dome, suspended between four pylons and set above profiled planar masses. The slogan of the Secessionist movement is written above the entrance of the pavilion: "To every age its art, to every art its freedom”. Below the motto, the...
Read more