ARCH162

Stuart Jacome Arch 211- M11 Prof. Khorsandi Blog Post Vienna Opera House The opera house was the first major building on the Vienna Ringstrasse commissioned by the Viennese "city expansion fund".  Built in an impressive Neo-Renaissance style to demonstrate the emergence of its art, construction was started in 1861 and was completed in 1869 the plans for this structure were created by architects August Sicard von Sicardsburg and Eduard van der Nüll . T he public was far from satisfied with the design of this focal point of the new Vienna; they believed it to be too grand, even if this is difficult to envision for any modern guest of the opera house. This hostile opinion was at partially due to the fact that the level of the Ringstraße was raised by one meter, giving the building a feel as if it was sinking. Throughout World War One the building remained unharmed, but unfortunately in the second World War due to bombing and fire the auditorium and stage wer...

Stuart Jacome Arch 162. History of Architecture II Feb. 13, 2018 Building Blog Prof. Khorsandi Belvedere Castle Belvedere Castle is located in Central Park, NYC. Belvedere means “beautiful view” in Italian; the castle sits on Vista Rock and is the second highest elevation in Central Park, providing great views of other parts in the park.  Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux in 1865, the castle was completed in 1869. Belvedere Castle was meant to be a Victorian Folly. A folly is a structure whose main function is to be ornamental, a place of “playfulness a fantasy building” that serves no practical use. It’s architectural style is Romanesque and Gothic. Romanesque architecture comes from a combination of Roman and Gothic styles which can be characterized by round arches, vaults, and large columns. Gothic architecture style contains stone structures, clustered columns, pointed spires, complex sculptures, vaults, and flying buttresses. One of their main...

Arch 162-M12 Spring 2018 “The Opera House”              The Opera House located Dresden, Germany. Designed by Gottfried Semper in 1841. Later the son Manfred Semper reconstructed the opera house in 1869 after the fire. A decade later it was destroyed by a bombing in 1945.   After the reconstruction, the theater had the painting restored by local craftsman and the rest of the auditorium was replaced with state of the art stage equipment. The façade mostly decorated with Doric and Ionic columns. The Doric columns have a masculine look to them. The Ionic columns have a feminine crenulation. Both of these combined have an interesting aesthetic look which give a unique look to the Dresden Opera House. Which has a strong resemblance in the Greek Revival and Baroque styles. It also includes statues to great artist as Shakespeare and Moliere. It is regarded as one of the best acoustically sound opera houses in the world. The rea...