Week 8 - 19thC and Early 20thC Residential Architecture and Heritage Preservation

Question 1

Define/explain: The Picturesque Taste aka Romanticized

Answer 1

• an artistic concept/style from the late 18thC-19thC
• combines landscape and architecture together
• less focus on having a huge home, more on flow
• preoccupation with pictoral values

Question 2

Define/explain: Eclecticism

Answer 2

• the influence of global cultures from countries in the British empire
• these become mixed into architecture
• a diversity of influences instead of strict styles

Question 3

2 major themes in architecture of the 19th C:

Answer 3

1. The Picturesque Taste

2. Eclecticism

Question 4

Name the 7 major styles of Canadian Victorian Architecture

Answer 4

• Regency
• Classical Revival AKA Greek Revival
• Gothic Revival
• Italianate
• Second Empire
• Queen Anne Revival
• Richardson Romanesque

Question 5

Explain the characteristics of the Regency style of Canadian Victorian Architecture:

Answer 5

• most strongly reflects picturesque tastes (house as equal to or less important than the landscape)
• wrap around veranda
• sits low on the landscape, long not tall, ex. bungalows
• lots of windows
• formality, symmetry, proportion

Question 6

Explain the characteristics of the Classical Revival style of Canadian Victorian Architecture:

Answer 6

• applied Greek and Roman plans and proportions to grand residences and civic buildings
• usually symmetrical
• typically roof has a medium pitch (steepness of roof)
• usually a gable roof; no roof line at the front or back (vs. hip roof; can see roof line on all sides)

Question 7

List and descrinbe the classical orders in historical order and by maker:

Answer 7

Greek:
1. Doric
-rounded column at the top
-plain, unadorned
-fluted/indented shaft
-structural, not merely decorative
2. Ionic
-volutes: swirls, represented rolled scrolls
3. Corinthian
-acanthus leaves
-often tiny volutes
Roman:
4. Composite
-mix of Corinthian and Ionic
-most intricate/elegant of all
5. Tuscan
-unfluted shaft
-the simplest, undecorated

Question 8

Explain the characteristics of the Gothic Revival style of Canadian Victorian Architecture:

Answer 8

• pinnacles; high peaks
• Gothic arches;
• pendants in windows and doors
• vergeboarding; lace looking cut outs in windows and door ways
• highly pitched roofs
• Quatre foil; 4 leaves, window hole with four sides
• most pervasive style until the 1950s

Question 9

Explain the characteristics of the Italianate style of Canadian Victorian Architecture:

Answer 9

• typically square in plan with shallow hip roof
• eaves often wide with double brackets; decorative supporting brackets
• often a belvedere; something at the top or front that offers a beautiful view, centered
• usually brick
• windows are often rounded, aka segmented arches or shallow Roman arches

Question 10

Explain the characteristics of the Second Empire style of Canadian Victorian Architecture:

Answer 10

• mansard roof; long roofline, either concave or convex or straight, takes up one story of the house
• usually three stories
• dormers; oval, gabled windows
• roof tiled with patterned, colourful slate
• cresting; beautiful ironwork upon the roof

Question 11

Explain the characteristics of the Queen Anne Revival style of Canadian Victorian Architecture:

Answer 11

• Massing is complex and irregular, different rooflines
• Roofs are fairly steep
• Often with a tower and a veranda
• Façade may have more than one material and pattern
• simpler versions of the style may include Gambrel roof; looks like a barn roof

Question 12

Explain the characteristics of the Richardson Romanesque style of Canadian Victorian Architecture:

Answer 12

• a style based on the architecture of medieval France
• heavy massing and masonry
• made to look like a fortress
• rusticated brick; heavy, rough cut stone
• rounded, load bearing arches, with keystones

Question 13

Explain the characteristics of the Contempo style, and how it differs from Victorian styles:

Answer 13

• deliberate attempt to do something unlike traditional architecture styles
• focuses on modern convenience and styling
• no need for servants equals smaller homes that working class could afford

Question 14

Define: The Venice Charter

Answer 14

-the common name for the International Charter for the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites, which was drafted in Venice in 1964

Question 15

Questions to guide evaluation of heritage resources:

Answer 15

-identify it’s use, physical characteristics, surroundings
What is it?
How is it tied to the past?
How does it compare with others of its type?
How is it unique and special in its surroundings?
What knowledge may be created by its conservation?
To whom is it important? For what purpose?
In how large an area is its importance felt?
Is it threatened?
-diligent applied research
-look into the past and future

Question 16

How to preserve heritage sites?

Answer 16

• preservation and conservation
• restoration, where necessary
• restoration must stop where conjecture begins
• adaptive reuse or rehabilitation
• replacement of missing parts must integrate harmoniously with the whole, but must be distinguishable from the original so that restoration does not falsify the artistic or historic evidence