"Architecture is the greatest of the arts" affirms Richard Meier, one of the foremost contemporary American architects of our time. This Pritzker Prize winning architect (think Nobel Prize) has been described as Neo-Corbusian with Frank Lloyd Wright influences. In this interview from bigthink.com, which inspired this trip through architectural history, Meier speaks about architecture and its intrinsic beauty.
Starting with the Roman Pantheon and ending with Meier's Getty Center we showcase a short list of the Art we call Architecture:
The Roman Pantheon
This building dedicated to "all the gods" represents a shining example of classical architecture. With their egyptian and Greek contemporaries, they set the foundation for what came later during the Renaissance (the Italian one.) Have you taken a look at the Jefferson Memorial recently?
Saint Peter's Basilica
Early modern architecture reaches a crescendo during the "High Renaissance" with the basilica design; St. Peter's Basilica is proclaimation by some as "the greatest creation" of that period. The artestry of geometry and perspective, the intangibility of light contrast the tangibility of materials, and the way the human voice reverberated in vast spaces all harmoniously blended in one magnificent work of art.
Both Lloyd Wright and Gehry can be called artists. Their canvas may be glass, stone and metal but their works of arts have forever changed the way people view architecture. My favorite of the two (Gehry) continues to redefine architecture with such works as The Tower, The Guggenheim, Seattle's Music Project, & the Disney Concert Hall.
The Getty
I chose to end this list with one of my favorite spaces in Los Angeles and the inspiration for this entry, Meier's tabernacle of Art atop the hills of Brentwood (technically the Santa Monica Mountains.) The Getty Center not only houses art, it is art. Built on a 24" grid (making everything architecturally divisible by 24) it resides on a 24 acre campus, and is entirely clad in travertine and aluminium.
sources:
http://bigthink.com/richardmeier
http://www.getty.edu/visit/see_do/architecture.html
hhtp://wikipedia.org
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