Architectural Development

July 5, 2017 | Autor: Radu M | Categoria: History, Cultural History, Architecture, Social History
Share Embed


Descrição do Produto

“Ybl Miklos” Faculty of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Budapest

ARCHITECTURAL DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIAL CYCLE THEORY

Budapest 2014

Student Radu-Ioan Moisescu

Supervisor Prof. Dr. Rudolf Klein

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1. Introduction 1.1 Study's objective and theme's motivation

Chapter 2. Object of study's definitions and methods used 2.1 Analyzed terms 2.11 Social cycle theory 2.12 Civilization 2.13 Culture 2.14 Architecture 2.15 Spirit 2.2 Philosophy of history

Chapter 3. Listing of analyzed civilizations 3.1 Geographical and historical development 3.2 Architectural development

Chapter 4. Recurring phenomenons

Chapter 5. Conclusions

Bibliography

ARCHITECTURAL DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIAL CYCLE THEORY - abstract-

The following thesis reconsiders a recurring theme among historians’ preoccupations, both national and international, from the social cycle point of view. It aims to observe how in the course of history of civilizations architecture plays a fundamental part in what we regard today as human development, architecture thus being the manifestation of human spirit as G.W.F. Hegel states it, culminating with the role of an indicator of spiritual values and aesthetic trends, molded throughout history. The paper is organized in five chapters: The first chapter addresses the typical introductory matter for the thesis and observes how several scholars have theorized the matter of civilizations and cultural patterns with the aim of better understanding the time line of human development. The second chapter is composed of a list of terms to be defined before understanding the identity of how today's civilization emerged and the methods by which several philosophers deduce it. The third chapter covers fundamental notions referring to geographical and historical coordinates specific to the mentioned civilizations, with the purpose of schematically tracing the development of architecture through the sociocultural point of view. The fourth chapter compiles all the data, reviewing recurring themes throughout history that are ultimately visible in the way people perceive their reality and translate it into architecture. The final chapter concludes the paper's objective of understanding how and why historical development emerged and achieved its current state, leaving room for future research in social cycle theory and ultimately human progress.

Chapter 1. Introduction ―The mother art is architecture. Without an architecture of our own we have no soul of our own civilization.‖ Frank Lloyd Wright

Humanity is in a perpetual conciliation with its existence and strives on achieving immortality. Standing the test of time, architecture represents the means by which we demonstrate the struggle of materializing our social and civic values in its reflections of culture. To the question of what is the purpose of architecture, there lies a simple yet complex answer. Simply put, architecture exists to create the environment in which people live. Digging deeper we ask ourselves what makes a built environment, what types of criteria should it fulfill, does it relate to wider culture and is it influenced by the political, economical and zeitgeist. In the past century there has been an intense preoccupation on behalf of the western civilization as to where are we on the time line of human history and towards where are we heading. Writers, historians and philosophers debating and contributing to the concept of human development had a major theme that keenly arose, the social theory of cyclic history, in which the interpretation of history as we perceive it today is bound to be subjected to repeating itself, with possible social progress. The other pertinent question that lies before is whether we are ready in this process of continuous repetition of putting to good use the technology with which civilization bestows us without repeating or simply reacting to forms of the past. 1.1 Study's objective and theme's motivation

The study's main objective is the brief analysis of the civilizations that contributed to giving birth to the West today, in comparison to other historically notable ones, with the outcome of observing the role of architecture throughout human development. The analysis has a static part, a description of geographical and historical structures and their relations, as well as a dynamic one, the evolution in time in the given conditions and the crystallization of character in an age and its reverberations. The motivation for choosing this theme is both subjective and objective, wishing to offer a support for a more complex approach of the concerned context for future architecture projects from the historic point of view, the paper is addressed both to the large public and to the specialized one.

Chapter 2. Object of study's definitions and methods used

Despite the objectiveness with which a definition comes, it must not be removed from its historical context, the characteristic flavor of the generation it was brought up in. The use of the following terms will be a recollection of how it was regarded by previous scholars with the endeavor of bringing it up to date, conveying its present status of how we understand it today. That is why for example the use of today’s word for civilization may be regarded in a different light if we go back to Spengler’s ―Kultur‖ or how the act of creation and perception of reality may emerge from Hegel’s ―Spirit‖ or Mircea Eliade’s idea of ―truth‖, all valid and having overlapping aspects. 2.1 Analyzed terms

2.11 Social cycle theory

Among one of the earliest social theories in sociology and a branch of sociocultural evolution, social cycle theory admits that events and stages of society and history are generally repeating themselves in cycles1,but unlike the theory of social evolutionism where human progress is compulsory, this not necessarily implies the presence of social progress, although in the course of world history mutations have made the world advance to something better, in cycles. The term gives a better delimitation of the phenomenon of patterns in a civilization, with a basic logic which the model follows. Interpretations of history in repeating cycles was also a common belief among ancient cultures, and the branch of the 19th century's historiosophy carved the path towards the classical theories of Nikolai Danilewski, G. W. Friedrich Hegel, Oswald Spengler and later Arnold Toynbee's work on the rise and fall of civilizations. Today modern social scientist use mathematical models in an attempt to study the interaction between cyclical and trend components of historical dynamics that lead to the prediction of civilization collapses during its life-cycle. In addition to its content, cyclic history completes the definition of how major forces as religion, politics and science that motivate human actions return in a cycle, periods of prosperity compensating with moments of tension.2 1 2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_cycle_theory http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclic_history

2.12 Civilization The English word civilization has its roots in the 16th century French form ―civilisé‖ based on the Latin ―civilis‖, related to civis (citizen) and civitas (city)3. The word meets an extraordinary destiny in the English, French and German world during the 18th and 19th century which concept was to denote the act of urbanizing a settlement, so as to make a clear delimitation between different types of societies which encompassed various traditions and beliefs. Thus emerges the conviction that certain populations, living in certain parts of the world are in a struggle with bringing closer to them marginal inhabitants (centralization), subduing them to their influence, imposing a certain lifestyle. To this conviction the idea of continuous human progress arises and its backlash is the phenomenon of contending states that shifts the center of gravity as we will observe in various geographical spots. The term evolves and becomes more concrete from the form of a superior culture as marquis de Mirabeaux states it, to that of culture assigned with specific traditions, language, beliefs, institutions and technology as indicated by Wilhelm von Humboldt. Still, late up until the 19th century civilization and culture remained synonymous nouns. Arnold Toynbee's ―A Study of History‖ makes the clear distinction noticing that civilizations represent big assemblies with common features characterized by a common dynamic and will throughout human history's time line. Recently Neagu Djuvara, Romanian historian and philosopher, agrees on synthesizing three core aspects that constitute a civilization: 1. A civilization must have covered a relatively large plot of land for its age, embracing multiple ethnic groups or forms of state. 2. A civilization must have realized the idea of unity in terms of technology, arts, beliefs. 3. A civilization must have evolved for an average lifespan of 2000 years and has passed through an algorithmic phase of social-political evolution. Today civilization represents any complex society characterized by urban development with social stratification that is perceived as a separation from the natural environment and is intimately associated with social-politic-economic characteristics. Following MacIver we make a clear distinction between the terms ―culture‖ and ―civilization‖, which in day-to-day talk have become interchangeable. The following points must be noted: 

Civilization is bigger than culture because it is a complex aggregate of the society that dwells within a certain area, along with its forms of government, norms, and even culture.

3

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilization



Civilization is always advancing, but not culture.



Civilization is easily passed without much effort to the next generation, but not culture.



Civilization may be borrowed without making any change, but not culture.



Civilization may be similar in variable cultural areas. Variability of cultures may not be accompanied by variability of civilization at different places. For instance, there is a great difference between American and Indian cultures but there are many similarities in their equipment.



Civilization and culture are interdependent.



The object of civilization acquire after some time a cultural aspect.

We may conclude that civilization denotes the utilitarian things used as an apparatus, the mere instruments, the means by which a specific culture may reach its goals to controlling the conditions of his life.

2.13 Culture

In the words of British anthropologist E.B. Tylor, culture may represent that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society4.The term's first usage can be traced back to Cicero's oratorios with the metaphor of human development, followed by Immanuel Kant's concept of ―bildung‖and Toynbee's definition of culture as an ensemble of techniques, beliefs and spiritual creations of a specific ethnic group, that may as well apply to a larger culture (Hochkultur) such as the French, German or English culture. The structure of a culture consists of material and non-material substances, all cultures having similar basic organization, although cultures developed by societies vary from one another. Components of a culture are the following: 1. Cultural traits: Small units which when put together constitute a whole – shaking hands, taking one's hat off, shaving one's face etc. 2. Culture complex: A culture pattern is formed when traits and complexes become related to each other in functional roles. Each culture complex has a role to play in society. It has got definite 4

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture

place within it. The culture pattern of a society consists of a number of culture complexes. These are: 1. Speech and Language 2. Material traits ▪ Food habits, shelter, transport, dress, tools, weapons, occupations 3. Art 4. Mythology and Scientific knowledge 5. Religious Practices 6. Family and Social Systems 7. Property 8. Government 9. War

The evolution of culture is built solely by man. Because man simultaneously inhabits past, present, and future, he possesses the capacity to vocalize, to respond, to represent, articulate and to learn from the stimulus-response relationship. These peculiar elements in the makeup of man provided a background against which culture arose. The rudiments of culture developed by one generation serve as foundation stone to the next generation which makes its own addition. Man is born in the stream of culture and must continually swim in it if he is to live as a member of society. We may define culture as an acquired behavior of the group, a distinctive trait of a nation, a group of a period in history with infinite variability. The functions of culture serve both the individual and the group, providing solutions for given situations, traditional interpretations to certain situations, keeping social relationships intact and creating new needs.In short, we may note some of the important characteristics which a culture embodies as being the following: 

Culture is a social phenomenon, dealing with human needs.



Culture can exist in itself whereas civilization cannot be called a civilization if it does not possess a certain culture.



Culture has no value in itself but it is a measurement by which we can value other articles of civilization.



Culture relates to the inner qualities of society like religion, customs, conventions, while civilization relates to the outer form of society such as technology



Culture is an end (values and goals) in itself while civilization is a means (tools and techniques) to an end.



Culture is more stable than civilization—cultural change takes place in years or in centuries but civilization changes very rapidly.

We may now observe how the difference between the two expressions leaves room for contextual reading, nevertheless, in this close relationship architecture plays a key role in understanding how society changes throughout history both in culture and civilization.

2.14 Architecture Defined as the art and science of designing and erecting buildings5, architecture works in the material form of buildings is often perceived as a cultural symbol and work of art, civilizations often being identified in the surviving architectural achievements. Architecture requires the creative manipulation and coordination of materials and technology and of light and shadow.The practice also encompasses the pragmatic aspects of realizing buildings and structures, including scheduling, cost estimation and construction administration6. In his works Mircea Eliade notes that the importance of sacred experience as being paramount. For the archaic man, reality is a function of imitating a celestial archetype. Man extracts certain parts from reality and constructs his own, going from sacred to profane. Architecture thus goes from natural to constructed and gains the role of an indicator on the time-line of human development whilst playing a major role in the manifestation of human spirit. As Hegel states it, the process of civilizations is the attainment of rational freedom and with this in mind we may enter the field of how spirit plays a key role in attaining this development.

2.15 Spirit

A definition of spirit may be considered the force or principle believed to animate living beings7.The notion of spirit and soul often overlap, both in the sense of contrasting with the body and understood as 5 6 7

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/architecture http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architecture http://www.thefreedictionary.com/spirit

the consciousness or personality. In Hegel's acceptation, spirit is the realization of an ideal being by which, paradoxically, trying to reach, it alienates itself from it. Spirit begins as a gem of infinite possibility, advancing from imperfect to perfection, attaining full realization of itself. In this metaphysical context spirit equates to essence, with the objective of finding a (new) purpose. The highest point, as stated by the author, in development of a peoples is gaining a conception of life and morality to a level of science. With this comes the conception of life, time and ultimately death, spirit replacing reality with its own conception of the universe and creating a new form to its inherent principles. The spirit of a culture is both an intrinsic and extrinsic element, the inward needs emerging from lusts that are powered by external factors, such as the natural environment (the Homeric sky) or social movements.

2.2 Philosophy of History

Considered as one of the most accessible works of Friedrich Hegel, the mains goal of the course sets on observing the realization of human spirit, which is embodied in freedom, that he considers henceforth the State, mind objectified. The claim of the world's spirit rises above all special claims and each member of the state contributes to this principle of development. This marks the Stages of History as the author states them. Thus, the widest view of history reveals three most important stages of development: 

Oriental imperial - the stage of oneness, of suppression of freedom.



Greek social democracy - the stage of expansion, in which freedom was lost in unstable demagogy.



Christian constitutional monarchy - which represents the reintegration of freedom in constitutional government.

The phases of the classification of historic data have to do with the pursue for freedom as stated earlier and are regarded as different stages in the search for this ideal. These phases represent a continuous process and are split into distinct 4 distinct parts resembling human life : 1. History's childhood: characterized by a paternal government, non-crystallized, governed by a form of despotism as described in his chapter of the Oriental world.

2.

Boyhood of history: where more turbulent events happen. This is represented by the adolescence of the Greek world, where the concept of morality is at its peak.

3. Manhood of history: represented by the history of the Roman state. Here the individual perishes as a notion, he may realize his own private objectives, but in so doing it is for the general aim of the State, universality subduing the individuals. 4. Old age of History: Here spirit is in perfect maturity and strength, its outcomes being religion and state are situated on the same level, spiritual becoming reunited with the secular and freedom finding its ideal.

The analysis of the whole development afterward is divided in the aforementioned 4 parts, showing how the essence of spirit which is freedom finds its course. Here architecture comes as a support in the argument, which will be regarded in light of the reviewed civilizations.

Chapter 3. Listing of analyzed civilizations Before listing the main civilizations subjected the review it is worth mentioning a series of common traits that all have had in common in its phases of evolution: 

The first civilizations appear along river valley, as prime economical agricultural centers for the lifestyle.



All these civilizations require the existence of an urban lifestyle.



The unifying groups is constituted usually by a minority located in the vicinity of the ―to be civilized‖ area, afterwords gradually becoming a center for the empire.

In the development of a civilization Neagu Djuvara observes the following main phases: 

The first phase (larval stage), in which a latent energy pushes tribes, groups of people or cultures to move towards a direction. This period is usually followed by violent clashes against other cultures which they overwhelm and may integrate in their own. By this time there is no crystallized concept of a civilization and no promises for one to ever appear. There is solely the united spirit of a group.



The second phase (organization stage), where in a given space a common style arises subsequently to internal battles, the whole ensemble being animated by a great lust for

expansion, this giving birth to what he coins as ―the heroic phase‖. 

The third phase (the blossoming stage), a style emerges in urban centers and starts to organize public life, this can be seen in clear architectural programs that acknowledges the needs of the civilization. At this point in time, expansionism is at its peak.



The fourth phase (the contending states) is marked by a period of inner struggles, where the main lands of struggle for hegemony.



The fifth phase (imperial stage), a winner emerges and peace is restored for a while, followed by a period of prosperity, stability and uniformity in arts. This period closes the cycle and is followed by a thickening of the repeated principles that have led to the rise of a civilization, ultimately followed by a downfall.

In an attempt to give a brief overview of the development of architecture throughout the historical patterns of civilizations we shall only mention the most major common ones which can be found in both the works of Hegel, Toynbee and Djuvara, showing how they developed through the mentioned phases and how architecture also took shape in this process. The following civilizations are: 

Babylonian civilization



Byzantine civilization



Indian civilization



Western civilization



Chinese civilization



Hellenistic civilization



Babylonian civilization

The birthplace of this civilization is in Lower Mesopotamia. During its greatest moments, under the reign of the Achaemenids, it covers the whole Middle East, Asia Minor and the steppes of western Asia. Sumerian cities already constituted in small rivaling states appear at the end of the 3rd Millennium B.C. Babylonian civilization ends abruptly with the conquering of the Persian Empire by Alexander the Great.



Indian civilization

Born in the northern Indian subcontinent, it succeeds the Indus civilization, being thus considered a second generation, a symbiosis of Indo-European settlers and with the existent local population. The beginning of the Aryan invasion dates back to 1600 B.C. Under Muslim fate it will face a slow regress only to be reunited in the last 200 years under British authority. 

Chinese civilization

Covers China along with neighboring territories as the Mongols, Korea, Japan and parts of Indochina. The first writing appear in the 9th century B.C. during the Zhou dynasty, at that moment in time having all the characteristics of a medieval society a we may consider it today. The division of the empire in 220 A.D represents an important moment in its phase and similar to the Egyptian empire it will be reborn many times. 

Hellenistic civilization

Blossoms in Greece and on the ruins of the Cretan civilization, spreading to its peak under the Roman Empire which will gravitate around the Mediterranean sea from Brittany to Mesopotamia. It begins with the Achaean infiltration in Greece and end with the definite installation of Germanic barbarians in Western Europe between the IVth and Vth century. On its ruins two others will emerge, in the east the Byzantine and on the other side the Western world. 

Byzantine civilization

Born similar as the Hellenic and Babylonian civilization through the contact of new barbarian settlers with the existing population it lacks the period of a larval stage. With the establishment of the Eastern Roman Empire at Constantinople oriental arts, religion and institutions will flourish under a roman emblem. The considerable intake of Slavic barbarians shift it to orthodox Christianity, later to succumb under the pressure of the Ottoman empire. The process of westernization begins during the 18th century in Russia and slowly extends to the other states.



Western civilization

Emerging as mentioned between the clashes between Germanic population and Hellenistic civilization, we are witnessing its development on a global scale.

3.1 Geographical and historical development 

Babylonian civilization

Standing at the crossroads of the middle east, The Babylonian civilization remains unmatched in terms of number of cultures, diversity and riches, probably to be equaled by the western one in the near future. Tracing back to the Vth millennium prosperous settlements are inhabited in Mesopotamia by Sumerians, Indo-Europeans, Semites and Asians. The birth time of the heroic phase takes place in 3400 B.C. and is described in the Epic of Gilgamesh with vague knowledge of real social-political structures. From 2600 B.C. onwards in Lower Mesopotamia are found citadels that exhibit striking similarities with those of Italy's middle ages or ancient Greece. Governed by kings, priests and sovereigns it has a pyramidal structure, closely resembling to ancient Greece. Toward the end of the XXIVth century B.C. a unification of the Mesopotamian culture takes place with the taking over of the kingdoms of Ur and Uruk by Lugal Zaggisi of Umma, only to be abruptly interrupted by the Sumerian kingdom of Akkad, which introduces Persian monarchy. Lasting more than one century, the Akkadian empire will be continuously open to invading peoples and migrations which will throw its development back to a ―dark age‖ up until the XXth century B.C where the emergence of yet another great civilization may be mentioned, the Egyptians. The following three centuries, considered as the period of contending states, will be signaling the arrival of Indo-European and Indo-Aryan population. The exodus of barbarian peoples following in the next millennium will continue the clash between different kingdoms such as the Assyrians, Hattians and Aleppos only to conclude in a violent struggle between three remaining major powers, the Assyrian, Egyptian and Elam kingdom. The heroic phase of Sumer inspires and brings up the Epic of Gilgamesh where courage is the paramount of that time. In the VIIth century the kingdom of Babylon achieves sovereignty, only to be topped by the peripheral Persian empire, which will unite the middle east and influence the three neighboring cultures of Egypt, India and Greece.

It is worth mentioning that differing from the western civilization in which barbarian invasions result in the emergence of a new culture, the numerous tribes that have set foot in the middle east are steadily assimilated and will not change the spirit of that civilization. In Arts, the Sumerian is not fully unfamiliar to the later Assyrian one, as it would be the case of the statuary art forms between roman and Gothic within the Western civilization. Findings show a continuity in the conventions and process of representation and colors. In terms of architecture the appearance of enamel as a technique and the porch will be latter carried by the Hellenistic culture to a more improved form. Land of thousands of gods, religious unity manifests itself at its fullest under the Islamic spirit. Although it oughtn’t be considered a determinant element, just as language, religion overlaps with the development of a civilization, surpassing it and being encompassed in what Hegel may call it human spirit. The ―accessories‖ of civilization such as astrology and pseudo-sciences play an important role in the development of Mesopotamian temples, giving it it's name of a ―magic culture‖ as Spengler defines it. To the distinct Sumerian, Babylonian, Hittite and Syrian cultures Phoenician and Hebrew may be constituent parts (as Toynbee states) of the Babylonian civilization that will immediately influence the Hellenic and later the Western culture. 

Indian civilization

Indian civilization proves hard to unravel in light of the contrast between a mystic past and its violent clash with the western civilization in the last two hundred years, manifesting thus a desire to refuse the passage of time with a chronological development, as required by the western lifestyle. Towards the end of the second millennium India exhibits all the traits of a larval stage for a civilization. In the absence of complex Dravidian literature, research and conclusion are solely based on archeology. After the Aryan invasion there is a steady conquest of the Indus Valley and the Ganges river. Following the migration of Aryans in the Indus valley towards the end of the IInd century BC, old local order suffers reformation, bringing with the Iranian related pantheon and a Indo-European related language that will dilute with the existing culture as stated in Rig-Veda and later works. Tripartite social hierarchy does not differ to initial Indo-European cultures of the Celts and Latins, with the sole difference that as European hierarchy develops taking different leaner forms,while the Indian one stagnates or worsens.

Up until the end of the VIIth century BC the larval stage exhibits a type of Medieval society according to the Epic of Bharata which reports the conflicts between Aryan clans. Spiritual evolution drifts away from the settled Aryan majority population so as to take an autonomous form in the Ist millennium. The doctrine of Buddha appears as a reaction against traditional formalism of the Brahmas. India will firstly be reunited by the Mauryan dynasty in the IIIrd century B.C. and a second and third time in the IVth and VIIth century by the Gupta and Harsa dynasty. Following the long reign of Asoka (262-226 B.C.) the Mauryan Empire crumbles under the invasion of several peoples from the north north-west such as Greeks from Bactria, Parthians and Scythians. At the beginning of the IVth century, the Gupta empire resembles the peak of cultural civilization artistically and political-wise. Literature evolves and language develops a sense of place with different dialects like Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati. The concept of Rajput emerges as a clear indicator of Middle Ages in which again characteristics such as honor and individual courage are the highlights of heroic deeds in poems. Epic poems also emerge in peripheral centers of the civilization as Bengal, Assam and Casmir. Feudalization of India continues until the arrival of Muslims in the VIIth century. Refusing Indian identity, Muslims will occupy the whole meridian region until the XVth century. The slow permeation of Aryan culture gave India its sense of continuity during the migration of peoples and contending states and under that mantle literature, philosophy and religion will also flourish. Covering a diversity of cultures, from its geographic region Indian civilization released works of literature such as Rig-Veda, Mahabharata and the Upanishads, schools of philosophy such as Yogasaras and Buddha, all with a strong spiritual sense, if not the highest any culture has witnessed. Following the epic poems, during the Vth century in the period of lyric writer Kalidasa, architecture, music and painting flourishes, soon to be followed by a baroque stage with which western culture today relates when hearing of Indian civilization. In architecture Persian influences may still be perceived and even with the passing of time one can still understand the preoccupation for the close contact of man and nature, the profound floral decoration, a sense of the monumental. Sacred sculptures of Buddha are qualitatively similar in their representation as the ones in the peak of the Hellenistic age. In the late period of its development repetition of form arises with an exuberance for flamboyance that will lead to monotonicity. This is just a clear indicator of Indian civilization blooming towards its Imperial age. In the following rivalry between French and English colonization, with the endeavor of applying a western model, Indian culture still finds itself deeply rooted in its beliefs and careful in engaging fully open in integrating itself to the western lifestyle.



Chinese civilization

With fewer archeological artifacts to analyze than in the case of Indian civilization, Chinese chronicles are abundant of tales of heroic deeds and descriptions regarding its golden age of royalty. China's center first appears in the writings in Luoyang under the rule of the Shang and later Zhou dynasty around the XVIth century B.C. The Zhou empire is stated to be in a cultural decline in light of the barbaric invasions which will move the center from their original birthplace of Shanxi to Henan during the VIIIth century, thus leaving a considerable part of the empire free for grabs in an era of contending states. The common characteristics of this intermediary period is rendered by the weakening of central power, territorial grind and overall regress in economic, artistic and spiritual development. Determining cultural landmarks are the teachings of Confucius and Lao Zi during the Vth century and Taoist doctrines of the IVth century told by Lie Zi and Zhuang Zi, which develop at the same time with the Hellenic teaching of ancient scholars Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. In social terms the passing of power is similar to the one within the roman empire, shifting from a feudal epoch to one of monarchic absolutism, along with the spiritual mutations that follow. The empire of Qin Shi Huangdi can be considered the prototype of a unitary state or universal empire with all its inherent characteristics of inner peace and lack of squabbles, big utilitarian works, a peak in geographical extension, the existence of a ―lingua franca‖ and lastly monumental architecture. Differing from other civilizations in geography, China only suffered casualties at the north-western borders, casualties which were quickly overwhelmed by the Chinese element. Upon reabsorbing the barbaric influence, China reconstitutes its unity under the Sui dynasty and later expands under the Tang dynasty only to be exposed to yet another wave of threats, this time from within marking another intermediary period. This was marked by social and economic crisis due to the development of landowning system which resulted in civil riots in 753 and 763, the emergence of hereditary feudalism and loss of external lands. The second reunification will be made by the Song dynasty in the Xth century and after three centuries the mongol hordes will contribute to a rebuilding of the empire and a rediscovering of traditions and style. Restoration will fully bloom under the famous Ming dynasty between 1368-1644 followed by the Qing dynasty until 1911.China's openness to the west came shortly after the revolution of Song Zhongshan in October 1911. Differing from Toynbee's belief of the existence of two distinct cultures before and after the acceptance

of Buddhism, China's steady development should be considered as having a more profound mark on the masses by the Taoist religion while keeping in mind that the coexistence of three different religions (Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism) throughout two millenniums is a rare event in the development of a civilization. In terms of architecture articulation and bilateral symmetry are the means by which a composition achieves balance. Enclosed spaces with courtyards or Sky wells have similarities with the traditional Greek atrium. Gabled sweeping roofs were reserved for temples and palaces. Apart from Indian influence, Japan is worth mentioning as having a more ―violent‖ contact in the development of Chinese culture with the highlight of the Meiji eve. At the beginning of the VIIth century along with the momentum of Buddhism, Japan manages to skip the phase of an intermediary period that China stumbles upon, separating completely in the IXth century, gaining individuality and having a more open relationship with the western culture during the conquistadors, closing within itself only to reopen its borders later in the XIXth century to make up for a lack of cultural exchange for over more than a century. The process of acquiring western techniques made Japan share two coexisting distinct worlds for two generations, only to fully immerse in assimilating the western civilization after the second World War. 

Hellenistic civilization

The rise of Greek civilization overlaps with the last phase of Cretan civilization. First migrations date back to the end of the IInd millennium B.C. and conclude with the conquest of Achaeans in Peloponnese and the Aegean Sea. At that time the Mycenaean period exhibits social and political structures similar to those of a Western Medieval Age – the existence of castes and aristocrats and a whole ensemble of life as described by Homeric poems. Greece art at that time is closely related to the Middle East, art being the best indicator in this matter if we judge by the polychromatic sculptures and architecture. Following the end of the larval stage, with the settling of Dorians, Ionians and Eolians in the islands of the Aegean Sea, maritime commerce flourishes, colonization spreading as far as Sicily. Social and political structures change, oligarchic governments replace monarchic ones, epic poems are followed by the lyric poems of Hesiod. In the Vth century B.C. Greeks have completely split relationships with the Orient and are witnessing their cultural peak in architecture, arts, medicine and war. Fractionation

comes from within in a period of contending states as a backlash of the high level every civilization reaches. Clash of clans and dynasties become a war for hegemony and a desire for a united civilization. Alexander the Great's incursions in the Egyptian and Babylonian civilization greatly modify the downfall of the aforementioned ones, with reverberations as far as the Indian and Chinese civilizations, only to gain hegemony for a short period of time and leave behind an empire which will dissolute in the sordid disputes of his generals shortly after his passing. The vast lands that covered this empire seem premature for an era of contending states in which it developed hastily with sole military development. At the outskirts of the Hellenic nucleus another civilization will emerge with its center in Rome. At the beginning of the IIIrd century B.C. Rome and Carthage confront outside of the Hellenic borders only to have a common ground in Sicily. Following the diplomatic treaties between Carthage and Macedonia, Rome intensifies its diplomatic relations with Greece as a protector and peacekeeper stabilizing its position in the Mediterranean. After the conquer of Carthage, Macedonia and Corinth we may speak about the existence of a universal empire starting between 168 B.C. with the episode of Popilius Laenas and 61 B.C. with the triumph of Pompeius. Enjoying a period of exceptional length, if we take into account its fragile border systems after half a millennium in 476 A.D.,with the dethronement of Romulus Augustulus by Odoacer, the death of Theodosius in 395 and the barbarian invasion of the goths, the empire splits in two distinct parts, Western and Eastern Roman Empire. The west tumbles under the weight of German invasions as the east takes the form of Byzantine civilization. The Greco-Roman world was still experiencing the manifestations of an inner spirit from its Middle Eastern origin. From the conquests of Alexander the Great who takes up the Persian suit and manners to the moment Constantine moved the capital to Byzantium bringing the Roman empire closer to Asia, oriental influence manifests itself in political institutions, views regarding the monarchy and lifestyle of Hellenistic courts. Rome is also outnumbered by the influx of foreign merchants, slaves, soldiers, religious priest and high men. Towards the end of the IInd century A.D. Rome reaches its geographical peak, hosting a vast number of colonies with various religions and cults out of which Christianity becomes the official religion in the IVth century. In arts, oriental influence is not so strong. Architecture based on Etruscan technique starts widely using the dome as a construction method for public purposes along with the use of hydraulics for the construction of arches, all based on the use of roman concrete as a major discovery that allowed fast building and longeval use. At this stage, architectural programs are at a peak, describing their role in an empire with inclination towards expansion under one sign. Amphitheaters, lighthouses, basilicas,

circuses, forums, thermal baths, temples, theaters, villas, aqueducts, bridges, triumphal arches and columns testify the complexity and preoccupation towards of military and civil engineering. 

Byzantine civilization

Gobineau and Danielvski reject the idea of the Byzantine world being a separate civilization and Spengler only includes it in the Arab civilizations. Relating more to the way Toynbee grouped civilizations, even he may err if Byzantines are a separate chapter only due to the Ottoman empire's unitary state. In regards to its strong bonds with the Arab culture, Byzantine civilization develops a divergent thinking in terms of religion, art and architecture, thus drifting away from the Muslim world. Today ottoman history 's contribution to a former christian state may prove hard to read the subtle difference of Byzantium as a separate civilization. The Ottoman empire should be considered, in its political aspect, a final stage of a mature multinational society and not intertwine with that civilization itself. The larval stage takes place in 395 A.D. with the separation of the empire between Arcadius and Honorius. Just as the frontiers of western civilization coincide with those of early Catholicism so those of the Byzantine with Christian Orthodoxism also do, under the rule of the patriarch of Constantinople. The borders between Rome and Constantinople were permeable at the break of Hellenistic civilization. Rome’s influence stretched as far as Croatia, Poland, Bohemia and Hungary whilst Constantinople covered most of the Slavic territories and certain parts of the Mediterranean. Once the borders were outlined, the clear rupture was made during the schism of 1054, where the battle was taking place between the Byzantine and the Carolingian Empire. Between the two emergent groups of the Roman empire the process of acculturation developed noticeably different. Firstly western civilization led by France and Italy at that time developed institutions and art forms during the Xth century, by which time the Byzantine one had already detached itself for more than four centuries from the Roman empire, already possessing institutions. Germanic migrations also follow centuries later than the Slavic contact with Byzantium. The period of contending states develops during the Xth century between the Byzantines and the Bulgars, whilst in the west its peak reaches the XVIth century. Even in its earliest stages, the Byzantine civilization lacks a proper barbarian invasion, resulting in a less fertilized civilization in terms of variety. This can be clearly seen in architecture where the detail and the attention spent on the effect that the interior has, may be

regarded as detrimental to its external form. Drifting away from Greco-Roman sculptures as an art form, byzantine iconography emerges at the beginning of the Xth century A.D. as a paramount means of expression, with inclination towards a frontal view of the characters, the existence of a certain hierarchy, reverted perspective and an ―absence‖ of space. Affiliation to the Hebrew culture is also present in religious music, christian music resulting as a reformed ritual which continued under the Gregorian style. Having its center moved from Rome into the Greek environment, Latin influence slowly shapes throughout generations. From Constantine's dynasty to Theodosius and to Iustinianus where it already becomes a foreign language of the empire. Overcoming its larval stage, we may speak of a Byzantine Medieval period. During the Vth century, being under the same pressure that the west was devastated by, the barbarian invasions of Attila and Theodoric, the east starts to fragment. Under the rule of Iustinianus a revival of the empire begins, but not under roman reminiscence, more likely it gives birth to a new phase of civilization. Between the IXth and XIth century it exhibits its peak, extending as far as Armenia, Georgia, and Syria, exercising sovereignty over the Bulgars and converting the Russians under the reign of Vladimir of Kiev in 989. Its whereabouts between two continents confer its status of a highly important trade route thus increasing the economy and offering stability within the borders for a period for time. Later under pressure from three sides, western struggle for sovereignty, Arab settlements in the Anatolian plains and inner conflicts, it starts to shatter. With the fall of the Byzantine nucleus in the XVth century, orthodox culture returns to a medieval eve which will be picked up by the fresh and dynamic western civilization. Italy with Venice and Padua represent the protective shield for high Byzantine noblemen at that time, where during the Renaissance cultural exchange with Italy is present. Along with the mongol invasion on the limes of the roman border new kingdoms develop. Russia will pick up and even outmatch the Byzantines in artistic fields with works of art of the XVth century by Andrei Rubliov and emblematic onion domes seen in religious architecture programs, that have a form of Asian influence during the XVIth century, similar to Mughal architecture and Finish influences. Under the rule of Peter the Great, Russia will be reborn with a new capital and an imposed monumental neoclassical style of french influence. Later Russia will fully start the process of westernization with pioneers such as Aleksei Mihailovici during the XVIIth century, whilst manifesting an orthodox resistance. Following the alliance of 1756 with Austria and France against Prussia, Russia becomes a contending state in the battle for hegemony, thus closing the chapter of the Byzantine civilization.



Western civilization

Western regions that were at the limes of both Byzantine and Roman empire in Europe, gradually formed distinct groups of peoples throughout centuries and emerged as constituent members of what we now know today as the western civilization.First direct and continuous contact with the Germanic tribes date back to the IVth century A.D. when the majority of the roman empire's army will be made up of barbarian mercenaries which will later accede to higher social ranks within the roman world. At the end of the Vth century Franks, Visigoths, Burundians, Heruli and Vandals will be dividing the resources of the former western roman empire. From the decline of the Western Roman empire dating back to the Vth century up until the XIth century we are witnessing a dark age. Roman art and law is revised through Carolingian canon, economy and commerce are reduced to as far as citadels and strongholds within various lands, scientific developments along with philosophy are at their lowest. Architecture contains itself with a shy repetition of Romanesque forms. The end of the larval stage is documented by the Oaths of Strasbourg in 842. Beginning with the XIth century, Saxon invasions have finally ended, Christian kingdoms of Spain begin The Reconquista and Western barons begin the Crusades in the hearth of the Muslim world. Here art and especially architecture serve as a beacon for the emergence of western civilization. Just as Byzantine civilization flourishes close to the Greco-Roman world, so does western civilization flourish on the Rhine valley where contact was optimal with the Roman Empire and subsequently spread in Germany, Spain and England. In architecture, zoomorphic motifs as well as the ogival arch and the use of mosaics remain an Oriental influence, only to be adapted and make way for a new style which will be the highlight of the west, Gothic style. Gothic architecture breaks its bonds with Mediterranean remembrance, firstly by the skeletal structure it embodies and ground floor plan changes that announce an ―accelerated‖ and chronological view towards the elevated and well lit altar. The use of stained glass and rose of a church amplify as structural developments enhance the bearing capacity of buttresses and rib vaults, Gothic architecture stating itself as a construction that prizes the use of light and ascension. The tumultuous development that France evidences will drain its energy and shift the cultural center of gravity towards Italy. Having exhausted the funds of the crusades and witnessing a demographical fall due to the hundred years' war along with plagues and natural calamities, northern Italy becomes the center of civilization. At the eve of the XIVth century, Tuscany is the pioneer of a new style of painting represented by Giotto, Cimbaue and Simone Martini of Siena, which will pave the way towards a

rediscovering of the Greco-Roman arts and influence the development of Renaissance. The notion of perspective will shape the way painting, sculpture and architecture will change. Subscribing to Toynbee and Spengler's opinion on the heavy influence of antiquity which is reborn in the Renaissance, its sufficient to state that architecture emerges from antiquity and will last under the neoclassical style as an international indicator of inclination towards western civilization and a pawl for more flamboyant manifestations. The center of civilization once more shifts in the XVIth century to Spain, climaxing with the discovery of new lands were the Anglo-Saxon culture will continue its development. Painting appears to take the place of sculpture and tragedy as a literary gender has unmatched success under the writings of Shakespeare and Racine. The discovery of polyphony exhibits success in western music and reaches its peak in the XVIIIth century in German countries. During the XVIIth and XVIIIth centuries France becomes once again a nucleus of civilization and culture, displaying one of the most diversified countries for its time and becoming a diplomatic official language, aside from Latin. At the eve of the XIXth century the Britains manifest a strong process of acculturation and develop the institutions to becoming a colonial power, surpassing France. Germany also estranges France of its political and cultural valence. This is based on the fact that power gradually shifts from Latin catholic countries to Anglo-Saxon protestant ones. Thus in the struggle between Rome and Byzantium, a third party arises, that of protestantism. Roman Catholicism wins in the western Latin speaking countries, while protestantism spreads in Great Britain, Holland , Northern Germany and Scandinavia, separating the religious from the rational, the state from the church, with an inclination towards fighting for your rights, announcing the ―Faustian man‖ as Spengler states it.Max Weber also bases the birth of capitalism and scientific spirit on protestantism in an industrial era in which modern society is developing, drifting away from the Renaissance ideal of Christianity. In brief, opening at the beginning of the XVth century, a duel between what was supposed to be France and Spain in an era of contending states had been adding more and more participants.Nonetheless Paris remained one of the most relevant cultural center during the XIXth century and onwards only to be matched by New York later on, when at the eve of the XXth century a cultural explosion developed, too dense to be sketched in the limits of the present paper.The discovery of steel and concrete steel will shape the way architecture is conceived with emblematic constructions by Louis Sullivan, Otto Wagner, Adolf Loos, Le Corbusier, Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe, F.L. Wright, The Bauhaus school and so on in a fast paced era of industrialization.

3.2 Architectural development

If architecture follows the spirit of time throughout history, grouping these civilizations in the four mentioned categories of the historical age as Hegel states them will provide us with the basis needed to understand its development. Part I – The Eastern World

The oriental world had been using morality as a law enhancement. By the Chinese use of theocratic despotism freedom was hindered from its development, resulting in the absence of spirit and art. The glory of the Oriental conception is the one individual as the substantial being to which all belongs, so that no other individual has a separate existence, or mirrors himself in his subjective freedom. All the riches of imagination and nature are appropriated to that dominant existence in which subjective freedom is essentially merged. The use of the five sacred materials play a key role in understating the close relationship with nature under the use of moral laws. Differing from the Chinese, the existence of Indian social hierarchy resemble somehow the theocratic aristocracy of the Greek states. History passes at this point and only outwardly, that is, without connection with the previous phase to Central Asia. To carry on the comparison with the individual man, this would be the boyhood of history, no longer manifesting the repose and trustfulness of the child, but boisterous and turbulent. The existence of castes shapes the political existence and gives a glimpse of the possibility of diversity. The spirit set in a dream state still unites both the limited and unlimited making a clear delimitation hard to define. Part II – Greece, Rome and Christianity

The Greek world marks the place of the beginning of spirit from the natural environment. By observing nature they form surmises for their existence. Thus the natural is the beginning of the divine, natural observation being the starting point and the process of thinking and adapting to it in a subjective way, leading to the consolidation of morality and human will in a plastic form. By this subjective work of art, subduing natural elements, man becomes a universe of itself and makes nature both gravitate

around him and destroy him. The Doric, Ionic and Corinthian have the natural as a departure point and by the use of human spirit it takes the individual forms of Divinities that manage to restore order by specializing in natural elements. In this sense the myth of overthrowing the titans should be read as the beginning of subduing natural elements to human desire, Divinities resembling abstractions that become individuality, as Friedrich Schiller states ― While the Gods remained more human, the men were more divine.‖ Still, Greek preoccupation for beauty by reference to natural elements denies a lack of subjectivity. The introduction of subjectivity along with the Sophists ―Man is the measure of all things‖ marks the decline of the Greek freedom, as Thucydides states it. If Greek democratic constitution highlighted the freedom of the individual, several points from the Greek republic had to be abolished. The Consultation of Oracles and sacrifices evaporated with the rise of democracy, as well as slavery. Greek freedom is also lost in the battle of 168 B.C. by King Perseus against the rising Roman Empire. The fall of the Greek spirit thus culminates with the idea that the kingdom is consequently true harmony, a world of the most charming but perishable, or quickly passing, bloom. The individual will of the subject adopted without reflection the conduct and habit prescribed by justice and the laws and the individual is, therefore, in unconscious unity with the idea - the social weal, but not free from nature. The third phase is the realm of abstract universality, in which the social aim absorbs all individual aims, it is the Roman state, the severe labors of the manhood of history. For true manhood acts neither in accordance with the caprice of a despot nor in obedience to a graceful caprice of its own. It works for a general aim, one in which the individual disappears and realizes his own private object only in that general aim. The state begins to have an abstract existence and to develop itself for a definite object, in accomplishing which its members have indeed a share, but not a complete and concrete one, calling their whole being into play. Free individuals are sacrificed to the severe demands of the national ends, to which they must surrender themselves in this service of abstract generalization. The Roman state is not a repetition of such a state of individuals as was the Athenian polis. The geniality and joy of soul that existed there have given place to harsh and rigorous toil. The interest of history is detached from individuals. General elements of Roman spirit are embodied in the myth of Romulus and Remus where there is no sense of belonging to a family. The basis of Rome's formation lacks good family relations, the wife being a property of the husband, while he himself must split his activities between being a servant of the empire and a dominant figure for the family.

In contrast with the free spirit of the Greeks, Romans unite under the principle of abstract universality, securing the freedom of spirit by freedom of law. Romans define and complete the separation of right where consciousness gives itself to subjectivity. Roman civilization extracts and incorporates at first pantheons from other places under the reason of seasonal activities, need of social cohesion and later expansion. Ritualism remains an independent activity for purely external aims, this also indicating a lack of concept of unity within the city as the Greek democracy would have had it. But when, subsequently, in the historical development, individuality gains the ascendant, and the breaking up of the community into its component atoms can be restrained only by external compulsion, then the subjective might of individual despotism comes forward to play its part. The individual is led to seek consolation for the loss of his freedom in exercising and developing his private rights. In the next place, the pain inflicted by despotism begins to be felt, and spirit, driven back into its utmost depths, leaves the godless world, seeks for a harmony in itself and begins an inner life, a complete concrete subjectivity, which at the same time possesses a substantial that is not grounded in mere external existence. Within the soul, therefore, arises the spiritual solution of the struggle, in the fact that the individual personality, instead of following its own capricious choice, is purified and elevated into universality, a subjectivity that of its own free will adopts principles tending to the good of all, reaches, in fact, a divine personality. To the worldly empire this spiritual one wears a predominant aspect of opposition, as the empire of subjectivity that has attained the knowledge of itself its essential nature, the empire of spirit in its full sense. In architectural programs this division can be clearly observed on how Romans were mere spectators in events as public games, again differing from the manifestation of Greek spirit of defeating nature by sports. Under Roman rule, the idea of unity paves the road to Christianity. The Christian community found itself in the Roman world, but as it was secluded from this state and did not hold the emperor for its absolute sovereign, it was the object of persecution. Then it manifested its inward liberty in the steadfastness with which sufferings were borne. As regards its relation to the spirit, the fathers of the Church built up the dogma, but a chief element was furnished by the previous development of philosophy. Here the church takes its most explicit form, that of a concrete constituent representative of the spirit. The idea of man having a closer relationship to spirit after death find its proximal existence in the church. And to attain spirituality man must first be absolute self-conspicuous. The first abstract principles are won by the instrumentality of the Christian religion for the secular state. First, under Christianity slavery is impossible; for man as man, in the abstract essence of his

nature, is contemplated in God; each unit of mankind is an object of the grace of God and of the divine purpose. Utterly excluding all specialty, therefore, man, in and for himself , in his simple quality of man, has infinite value and by that very fact this infinite value abolishes all particularity attaching to birth or country. The other, the second principle, regards the subjectivity of man in its bearing on chance. Humanity has this sphere of free spirituality in and for itself, and everything else must proceed from it. The place appropriated to the abode and presence of the Divine Spirit, the sphere in question, is spiritual subjectivity, and is constituted the place in which all contingency is amenable. It follows, thence, that what we observe among the Greeks as a form of customary morality cannot maintain its position in the Christian world. For that morality is spontaneous, unreflected wont, while the Christian principle is independent subjectivity. This transition also overlaps with the period of migrations during the dark ages and leaves little room for architectural development apart from a repetition of the Romanesque style. It is after the migrations that we may speak about a spirit that gives birth to a new architecture that breaks the patterns of the past. Part III – The Germanic World

The Greeks and Romans had reached maturity within and they directed their energies outwards. The Germans, on the contrary, began with self-diffusion, deluging the world, and breaking down in their course the hollow political fabrics of the civilized nations. Only then did their development begin, kindled by a foreign culture, a foreign religion, civil order, and legislation. The process of culture they underwent consisted in taking up foreign elements into their own national life. The German world took up the Roman culture and religion in their completed form. The Christian religion which it adopted had received from councils and fathers of the Church, who possessed the whole culture, and in particular the philosophy of the Greek and Roman world, a perfected dogmatic system. The Church, too, had a completely developed hierarchy. To the native tongue of the Germans the Church likewise opposed one perfectly developed, the Latin. In art and philosophy a similar alien influence predominated. The same principle holds good in regard to the form of the secular sovereignty. Gothic and other chiefs gave themselves the name of Roman patricians. Thus, superficially, the German world appears to be a continuation of the Roman. But there dwelt in it an entirely new spirit, the free spirit which reposes on itself. Roman Christianity continued under Frankish Kingdom, but it's during the Middle Ages where the foundation of schools is promoted, military architecture and civic programs as manor houses, town

halls and almshouses. The rupture of church with the secular resulted in a lack of layman to directly applying the divine being, saints, and thus church takes the place of conscience, a role of the mediator between man and deity. Castles, churches and monasteries are built as centers of protection with main elements like the tower bell for meetings, municipal government for taxing, walls for defense and guilds. Following the events of the crusades, church reaches concrete authority and with the end of monastic orders and orders of knighthood science begins the development of thought. In this transition from Feudalism to Monarchy the notion of the state and a king reassesses its position and human spirit may now stand on its own basis, with self consciousness and no revolt to the divine, art thus transcending church. This third epoch may be compared to the Roman world. The authority of national aim is acknowledged, and privileges melt away before the common object of the state. Part IV – Modern Times

Spirit at last perceives that nature, the world, as an embodiment of reason. An interest in the contemplation and comprehension of the present world became universal. Thus experimental science became the science of the world; for experimental science involves, on the one hand, the observation of phenomena and on the other hand, also the discovery of the law, the essential being, the hidden force. Intellectual consciousness was first extricated by Descartes from that sophistry of thought which unsettles everything. As it was the purely German nations among whom the principle of spirit first manifested itself, so it was by the Romanic nations that the abstract idea was first comprehended. Experimental science, therefore, very soon made its way among them, in common with the Protestant English. The human eye became clear, perception quick, thought active and interpretative. The discovery of the laws of nature enabled men to contend against the monstrous superstition of the time. The concept of free spirit flourishes along with the free will and here Catholic spirit falls behind the spirit of the age, as the reformation trend emphasizes that man in his nature is destined to be free, destroying the dichotomy of religion and life. The rational is in no contradiction with religion. Spirit is now freedom and is represented in the secular form, that of architecture, as an embodiment of the truth. Here industry emerges as a recognized value and help the development of society making the last 200 years an extremely seething period with a story of its own in the pursuit of the idea of freedom.

Chapter 4. Recurring phenomenons

In light of the discussed chapters, historical patterns may be observed as main events that have happened in every civilization and formed an algorithm on which we may also understand architectural development. 

With a lifespan of around 2000 years, the first civilizations that emerge are on river banks in close relationship to the essential resource of water.



Civilizations that emerge out of the compilation of a former one with new settlers usually lead to a regress in term of Architecture, as the lack of ornamentation in the dark ages.



Any civilization has the vocation of unity under a different name.



In terms of internal dynamics of civilization changes, at first, of foreign culture is done by the noble classes and then gradually to the masses and the ―incubation‖ period last for more than one generation.



Material features like clothes and instruments change slower than cultural aspects as language, religion, traditions and are urged by architectural achievements.



A ―lingua franca‖ of architecture develops in a civilization’s peak, followed by a repetition of forms.



Geography may prove independent of the success of a civilization.



In every civilization the ascension of the peripherals are followed by a retirement of the ones forming the center, resulting in a shift of the centers of gravity and the redrawing of the map.



With each generation, civilizations spread out covering more and more terrain.



The phases through which a civilization pass are irreversible.



The collaboration of cultures under one ideal enhances spreading, however their unification reduces their chances of individual progress.



A civilization is infinitely improvable.

Chapter 5. Conclusions

Over the past centuries designing proved to be manipulating how we should live within a civilization. Today, the west being in search of a new model is orienting itself to neighboring cultures. The approach that more than one answer is possible in terms of architecture responds more to how shaping the environment can improve our needs in different situations rather than just forcing to align to only one solution. Listening becomes the paradigm of architecture in an age of international collaboration. One of the biggest feats is maybe understanding and achieving a cultural identity within the given civilization. Intertwining aspects like infrastructure with the urban landscape, rather than just building signature emblems, may prove to meet real social needs. Repeating the same form within an era is the harbinger of a bygone era. If world history is the development of human freedom, the question we may ask ourselves is not where are we on the time-line of civilization, but rather where our spirit will lead us and how will that be manifested in architecture.

Bibliography Hegel, G. W. F.. Reason in History, a General Introduction to the Philosophy of History. New York,: Liberal Arts Press, 1953. Hegel, G. W. F.. Phenomenology of Spirit. Trans. A.V. Miller. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1977. Toynbee, A. J.. A Study of History, 12 vols. Oxford University Press, 1956. Gombrich , Ernst H.. A Little History of the World. Yale University Press, 2008. Djuvara, Neagu. Civilizations and Historical Patterns. Humanitas Publishing House, 1999. Curinshi, Gh. Vorona. History of world Architecture. Ed.Tehnica Bucuresti Publishing House, 1976. Eliade, Mircea. The History of Religious Ideas. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1985. Eliade, Mircea. 'Symbolism of the Centre' in Images and Symbols. Princeton, 1991. Spengler, Oswald. The decline of the West. Oxford University Press, 1991.

Lihat lebih banyak...

Comentários

Copyright © 2017 DADOSPDF Inc.