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| Mayan Monumental Architecture Worshipping Light. |
Architecture is probably the most ancient of skill and technology besides fire, one would say even before the fire...! When the first nomads wandered the red sea desert and made their way across the Ural watershed mountain range, they searched for shelter from the extreme cold, that would define the resilience of humankind in the next epoch.
What was the first thought? Where did we as humans become so entranced by the way his cave looked? Did it have enough big crevice to accommodate his wandering band? Was it near a river or lake where he could satiate his thirst and live on silver armored fishes? Was it near fruit-bearing trees for the fire is yet to be invented and the moon is probably the mightiest god than the sun as it lights the endless darkness that creeps up slowly as the sun takes the rest?
All these questions made this caveman find answers, the answer was to have a cave long enough, near water, near the trees bearing fruits... The first thought of architecture had taken root some 5,00,000 years ago, that's the time when Homo Erectus first crossed African land via land bridge to come to Europe where eventually with their intellectual superiority and sheer physical they would dominate the planet earth and all its flora and fauna would be at the mercy of this Homo Erectus. But it's still early, we are half a million years before modern architecture, and here comes the feared sabertooth, and we see how agile is our Homo Erectus when he about turns and runs for the nearest shelter...his time is yet to come, but today he needs to hide.
So enough with the history lesson, we all know what happened later. Let's just think of the earliest inspiration for the architecture that would define our kind. Man, though most powerful due to his disposable thumbs and little more than 2 pounds of the brain, was, is, and will be a fearful creature...what nature gave him in brains it took all away in defense. Humans are, if not for their brains, are the easiest of prey that wild animals can prey on, yet we are alive for we have used what nature has given us.
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| A prehistoric cave, wide and long, surely there is safety in numbers |
What we don't understand, We fear. The Very first inspiration for architecture then comes out of this fear...! the most primal of instincts it made us think and build colossal monuments, just to hide our timidness. Early Settlements and Architecture were thought to be visualized around safety.
When the first rays on the horizon are pushing the darkness away, our ancestors are now just 20,000 years before us, and they see, that it isn't the moon, that keeps them safe but the sun, and the life it brings with its light. The crops photosynthesize and nourish their weak body, the wild animals retreat to the darkest recesses of the forest for resting and our ancestors are free to wander the earth.
What we do not fear, we worship. So when the idea that it is the sun who protects them made a home in the minds of early architects they started thinking of concentrating solar power and worshipping it. A great many ancient monuments actually reflect the exact time of sunrise and sunset and have been designed in such a way that with every hour of sunlight, you will find in those ancient monuments the praisings to the sun.
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| Pyramids of Egypt, Ra, the sun god still bless their peaks, Every Day. |
We are so different from every other species dwelling on this mother earth that, no species has ever designed a dwelling leave about creating monuments, to worship the sun or any forces of nature.
What we do not fear or worship, we exploit. Dear readers, we have traveled very far and we are near the birth of Christ and the great Roman Empire and its military engine would trample half the Europe with their might. Rome was surely not built in a day, but it was surely built on the exploitation of countless, cultures, races, creeds, and breeds. The Romans were like fire ants they trampled and conquered everything in their way, eventually they would rule Egyptians who worshipped the sun. The Roman Architecture, though white of Italian marble, we in 21st century so adore is tainted red with the blood of millions. But hey it is not a history lesson, Romans did actually build superior structures, new architectural innovations were envisaged in the Roman period, and still today, the government buildings around the world are adorned with pillars and columns reflecting the influence of Greco-Roman architecture.
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| White house with Greco-Roman architecture |
But things would not be that easy would it? when sun is worshipped so devotedly, the moon is bound to get angry, and we come with this to the middle ages, where the rise of Islam and worship of the moon influenced the architecture of the era. Gone are the days of sun. The moon with its spherical and round rotundness, curves the human architecture and thought alike, we thereupon come to a style of architecture where domes and minarets make headway and are in a way tribute to the moon, Islamic architecture not only used the straight columns of Romans but their explicit knowledge of mathematic brought precision to the field. In no time or era was architecture so blessed as it was in the golden ages of Islam and Islamic expansion, as Bukhara and Baghdad markets bustled with trade caravans they added to the sea of Islamic architecture fresh knowledge of the orient, and hence when you are a student of architecture, you shall not complete your education unless you study a dome.
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| Dome of Hagia Sophia, Currently in the Turkish City of Istanbul |
A curious case arises when it comes to humans, they cannot stand each other. Well, you will say, what's new, two male tigers don't share territory. Well, tigers don't really, fight each other for the reason of one having larger territory or wealth, their only fight is for the propagation of breed, and if it comes with larger territory then it is an extra advantage. We still see happiness and compliant tigers at zoos, they are not happy and compliant with the food we provide, but the easy availability of mates.
But this isn't a zoology blog, and humans by their nature fight to satisfy emotional needs, these are unique to our species alone, for no species ever in the world takes revenge, bar a few examples(We know one such, but that is for another blog.)
But before we come to an Era of bloodshed for sheer emotional gratification, We must dream and dreams are sometimes scary and can haunt us, the stories and cultures influence our subconscious to such an extent that while a Britain will always dream of vampires and get haunted by it, a American would get haunted by a zombie and as an Indian would get haunted by the politician and the government they live under.
Well we all dream different so are our ghosts too very different, but something happened after the middle ages, the rise of crusades and the eventual decline of Islamist expansion, brought a peaceful period of impressionism and renaissance, A milestone in true sense in the journey of mankind that we are yet to come to such an age where almost entire civilizations dreamed and visioned and lived the same thing. But since dreams are children of the night we come to our Last part of blog title night.
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| Gargoyles on Notre-Dame Cathedral Paris. |
Surely dreams are scary, they are so scary and demons so bold that they perch on the house of God, fearing none yet inspiring fear in everyone. Gothic Architecture is the next dawn in the architecture field, inspired by the era of its birth, the style of architecture brought to us arches, spires, rib vaults (Which will later inspire the skeleton structure of RCC buildings of beams and columns). It was and is a true spirit of human Endeavour to reach the zenith. But who are we, if we are not true to ourselves, as the Sheikh Chilli cutting the branch he was sitting on, our Gothic architects installed gargoyles on the top. Now how are we to reach new heights if demons from our dreams are midway waiting with wide eyes and gaping mouths ready to haunt us again?
But Since we are too close to the epilogue, let us quickly summarize our last two hundred years of architecture, With the invention of the steam engine, rapid urbanization brought us skyscrapers we still dwell in, it modified the way our lives. As our aspirations and ambitions soared, so too soared skyscrapers, But we too have our Davids for the goliath of time, a number of architects brought forth and dreamed new horizons. Noteworthy amongst them are Álvaro Joaquim de Melo Siza Vieira The man who plays with light and reminds us of the ancient way of night and day and play of shadows.
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| An architectural wonder by the queen of curves Zaha Hadid |
Epilogue:- Modern Architecture, is rustic, it lacks innovations, not only it is heavily reliant on ancient architecture, we are yet to make an architectural breakthrough, Reinvention is not an invention, it is just a grand word for copycats. Like how Bollywood gets inspiration from Hollywood.
We are currently going through dark times of human architecture, and the greatest examples are right in front of us.
Palm Jumeirah
When it comes to sustainable architecture, it should start rather with industries to make them more sustainable, and eco-friendly, What we see today is the total opposite, Architects today are competing to build eco-friendly homes.
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