![]() Understanding architectural history allows an insight not only into past built form and the ideas behind it but also the capabilities and limitations of past societies. Raising the house on pilotis ( columns) was not just a stylistic feature but meant the damp conditions traditionally associated with ground floors could be avoided, and cars could be parked underneath. ![]() Such considerations, hitherto not recognised as important in past societies, were a direct result of progress in medicine and health generally. #Significant architecture lost to time windowsThe windows allow light into the building because it was recognised that access to light and fresh air were conducive to good health. ![]() Le Corbusier’s houses often feature large, ribbon windows and open plans. This was an important concept in an age of enlightenment when great progress was made in philosophy and the sciences, and architects and designers were keen to express such notions. The gardens at the 17th century Palace of Versailles just outside Paris follow the then French style of being highly formal and ordered, expressing a mastery over nature. This was because glass was not only very expensive but also because it could not be manufactured in large sizes. Medieval windows and stained glass are typically characterised by small glass elements held in place by lead cames. Why did some medieval houses include a jetty (a small projection or overhang) at the first and sometimes second floor levels? The reasons are bound up not only with gaining a little more living space but also about conspicuous consumption, an ostentatious feature to express the owner’s wealth and prestige. Today, the tallest buildings are usually office buildings, an indication of how important commerce is to the modern world. For example, a tall building would be tall for a reason: what idea did it express that required such height, usually at great expense in terms of cost, not to mention the lives lost to achieve it? Gothic cathedrals were the tallest buildings of their day because religion both ordered and regulated society. A building can reveal much about the society that produced it. Knowledge of architectural history gives an understanding of the ideas that were important to and shaped past societies. Why an understanding of architectural history is important The architecture of other geographical regions may also be added eg, African, American, Chinese and Japanese and many others.
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