The most famous architects

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Behind every building is an architect. This is rarely remembered even when visiting buildings famous for their beauty or originality. Meanwhile, well-known architects influence the development of culture no less than writers and artists. They absorb the ideas that are in the air and give them a material form. Buildings that reflect the essence of the era, its mood and dominant philosophy become masterpieces. The people who give them to the world will be discussed below.

Inspirer of Geniuses

The most famous architects of the past immortalized their names, creating magnificent buildings, famous for their beauty and many centuries later. One of them is Giotto di Bondone. The Italian painter and architect was born in 1267. He became an innovator in the visual arts, laid the foundation for the Italian school of painting. Frescoes and icons by Giotto were admired by Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.

Sometimes he is credited with the authorship of the Arena Chapel in Padua, but not all researchers agree with this. There is no doubt that Giotto created the frescoes that adorn the cathedral. The main architectural creation of the master is the bell tower of Santa Maria del Fiore, the Cathedral of Florence. Giotto did not live to see the completion of construction - in 1337, when he died, onlythe first tier of the structure.

Great thinker

Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) often tops the list of "Famous Architects of the World". The famous Italian was a sculptor, thinker, painter and poet. Among his architectural creations are the Medici Chapel, the Laurentian Library, the facade of the Church of St. Lorenzo. According to his project, the Roman Palace of the Senators and the Palace of the Conservatives were erected. In the design of these buildings, Michelangelo used a colossal order, which later became fashionable with his light hand. The architect also worked on the plan of the famous St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Today, Michelangelo is rightly called one of the greatest masters in the history of mankind.

Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini

Famous Italian architects don't end there. Michelangelo's successor is Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680). He was not only an architect, but also a sculptor and painter. Bernini was distinguished by his ability to combine all three types of art, creating a single visual space. Together with Francesco Borromini and Pietro da Cortona, he laid the foundations of Baroque architecture.

One of the main creations of Bernini - the project of St. Peter's Square. The colonnade in front of the famous cathedral is also the brainchild of an architect. He worked on secular and religious buildings. When creating the latter, Bernini often used hidden light sources to enhance the impression made by the service. He is also the author of many Roman fountains, without which it is difficult todayimagine the Eternal City.

Palladian from the Adamic dynasty

Let's now move to Scotland of the 18th century. Here, in 1728, Robert Adam, one of the most significant representatives of British classicism, was born. He belonged to the Palladian dynasty, followers of early classicism in architecture. Mandatory features of the style were strict symmetry and the use of the canons that developed in the period of Antiquity.

The creations of Adam have a special recognizable handwriting. They are characterized by lightness and elegance, the frequent appearance of neo-Gothic elements. The architect laid the foundation for the so-called Adam's style. He knew how to combine the main elements of classicism with such ease, as if he had lived among ancient creations for a long time and knew how his creators think.

To this day, only a few of Adam's architectural masterpieces have survived in their original form. Among them is the private house Kedleston Hall near the city of Derby. In recent years, the architect worked mainly in Edinburgh. According to his project, a university building was erected in this city.

Famous architects of Russia

And in our country around the same time Vasily Bazhenov worked. An architectural theorist, teacher and artist, he preferred classicism and laid the foundations of Russian pseudo-Gothic. Bazhenov created several impressive structures in Moscow and St. Petersburg. One of the most famous buildings in the modern capital - the Pashkov House - was built according to his design. Bazhenov's creations have hardly survived to this day.

And the firstDomenico Trezzini became the architect of St. Petersburg. He breathed a fresh air into Russian architecture, bringing European traditions with him. Trezzini is the author of a large number of buildings that create the appearance of St. Petersburg familiar to us. These include the Summer Palace of Peter the Great, the Peter and Paul Cathedral, the building of the Twelve Colleges, which today houses the university.

Famous Russian architects Nikolai Alexandrovich Lvov, Alexander Glebovich Uspensky, Mikhail Grigoryevich Zemtsov and others worked in St. Petersburg in different years. The last of those named was a student of Trezzini. Zemtsov became the first Russian architect of the City on the Neva. Among his creations in the early baroque style are the Church of Simeon and Anna, the Golden Mountain Cascade in the Lower Park of Peterhof, the design of the Anichkov Palace and the Transfiguration Cathedral completely rebuilt after a fire.

Soviet architects

Many prominent architects worked in the USSR. The rationalists led by Nikolai Ladovsky, who sought to achieve objectivity in shaping and composition, were replaced by constructivists who considered functionality more important than aestheticization. The prominent representatives of the latter were the Vesin brothers. Mikhail Vasilyevich Posokhin, who was the chief architect of the capital from the 60s to the early 80s, left a significant mark on the appearance of Moscow. Thanks to him, the Palace of Congresses, the CMEA building, the Olimpiysky sports complex, and so on appeared in the city.

Initiators of style

Houses of famous architectsmodernity differ from the creations of the past by eclecticism. If the style of the back meters of the Renaissance or the New Age is quite simple to determine, then today's buildings often combine elements of different directions. However, eclecticism was not born from scratch: it absorbed the features of styles, most of which developed in the last century.

One of the most popular trends in architecture today is high-tech. Norman Foster (b. 1935) and his "Bureau of Four" are most often cited as pioneers of the style. He designed the airport in Hong Kong, the Millennium Bridge and the Mary Ax skyscraper in London. During the construction of the latter, the so-called mesh shell was used, developed by the Russian architect Vladimir Grigoryevich Shukhov (1853-1939), whom Foster, by his own admission, considers his idol. Shukhov created the first oil pipelines and oil refineries in our country. The steel mesh shells he used for the construction of buildings after some time became one of the favorite elements of high-tech representatives. Foster's office has designed buildings in Russia: the reconstruction of New Holland Island, the Moscow City International Business Center under construction.

In harmony with nature

In contrast to high-tech, glorifying the greatness of technological progress, the bio-tech style suggests creating buildings that do not argue with nature, but continue it. Many famous architects of our time pay tribute to this idea. Antonio Gaudí (1852-1926) is considered the founder of the style. Most of the creationsfamous Spanish architect is located in Barcelona. His works - the Palace of Güell, the House of Mila, the House of Batllo - cannot be confused with anything. They seem to be alive and moving. The source of inspiration for the master was nature. Hence the special fluidity of buildings, the absence of straight lines, unusual shapes and images. Sagrada Familia, which looks like a sand castle, is still being built according to his project.

The desire for unity with nature is a feature that characterizes the projects of famous architects who are considered followers of Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959). He is considered one of the most influential figures in foreign architecture. Wright created the concept of "organic architecture". The central concepts of the theory were integrity and unity with nature. The buildings created by Wright are an extension of the natural environment, characterized by open plans, the use of natural materials, design features borrowed from ancient Japanese temples.

Modernism and functionalism

No less significant figure is Le Corbusier (1887-1965). The creations and works of the French architect gave the world the architecture of modernism and functionalism. The buildings erected by Le Corbusier are not difficult to recognize. They are distinguished by three-dimensional blocks raised above the ground, flat roof-terraces, visible facades, the so-called free forms. All these features quickly became an integral part of modern architecture.

Of course, not all famous architects are listed above. The story could go on for a very long time.and the list is constantly updated. Well-known architects of the time in which we live often reveal to us the creations of masters of past years, undeservedly forgotten.