Churches were built very magnificiently in the old days.

What structures are most

valued in todays society? How have structures of past influenced us in todays built
environment?

Christianity existed at times before churches were built. The main reason churches
were built was for the kings to show their power and dominance and also to gain the
trust and support of the people by giving them a place for mass worship. Also, an
important thing to consider is the shape and size of the church. Churches were built in
such a way that the natural reverberation would instill a sense of serenity in everyones
soul. So naturally, churches were expensive not only for the size and material used, but
also because of the lack of structural knowledge on how to build them during those
early years and also stiff political influence. Later, artisans called guilds funded these
churches and this enabled the construction of magnificent structures that extended into
the sky.
This leads us to the next question: What structures are most valued in our society.
Structures that are mostly valued in any society are those which highlight, portray or
have been developed due to the culture that existed or in some cases still existing;
something which speaks about their lifestyle, beliefs, practices, religion and even
politics.
Why they gain importance is because they have been built accordingly to satisfy the
needs of the people in that society for their living and also because youll find that those
structures or buildings were built with locally available materials and to suit the climate
of that place. For example, the concept of Roman and Greek amphitheaters was
developed with these factors in mind. In Rome and Greece, people had a very rich folk
form a street dance. So they decided to build a structure, which would compliment
that, and amphitheaters came up. Roman cities were mostly on small hills and so they
got his natural contour for creating the sloped seating. This sloped seating provided a
view of the surrounding backdrop of the city, served as a backdrop for the dance
performance on a stage, plus their climate was very pleasant, allowing for an open
environment.
Today, we use a mix of contemporary and the traditional style. At present, every
building uses contemporary materials steel, glass, etc. But still we find certain
elements like decorative columns, pediments, statues, frescos, stained glass etc. being
used extensively in addition to our modern, square and tall skyscraper structures. This
is mainly to add value to a structure or to emphasize on something like a belief or to
make a statement.
Todays buildings everywhere use bits and pieces of architectural styles from all around
the world. Lets say, the White House. The White House uses two of the most common
architectural styles followed in commercial to residential to monumental structures all
over the world French Windows and Greek Columns. This structure is a fusion of so
many architectural styles and for a specific reason. France was a very beautiful city with
brilliant landscape. So the people decided to have views all around their buildings.
Initially they had colonnaded porches but later they felt the need to have that feeling
even from inside the building. This way the idea of large windows came up. Yet this
large window was not a new concept. It was already experimented in the various gothic
churches. So now they imitate this French window concept for creating openings to
lawns or to frame any view.
The reason behind the Greek Columns is that they stand as a symbol of power and
equitable justice. (Image: Art A Brief History, Stockstad, Cothren page 112) If you
analyze the structure, you can see it has been derived from the Basilicas of Greek and
Roman period. Basilicas were court structures in those early years that stood for justice.
Basilicas were massive structures and were mostly domed. The front entrance was a
pedimented porch with Greek order columns. The same is replicated in the White
House too. Those basilicas had plain horizontal surfaces punctured by windows. It was
not just the columns but also the entire building was symbolic of justice, which is why
the idea was used in the design of the White House.