Blog Post 8: architecture in a nautilus shell

Architecture has evolved greatly throughout time. There seems to be a pattern of rejecting the architectural guidelines instilled by the previous generation. For instance, the Renaissance dismissed the architecture of the Medieval time period as "Gothic;" a period of darkness. Later, the Baroque architects discarded the rules the Renaissance had established and went in the opposite direction; trading in simplicity and balance for complexity and ambiguity.
However, these transitions did not happen in a day. The styles emerged from existing architecture. The stones set vertically in Stonehenge are mirrored in the columns of ancient Greek architecture. The Stonehenge focused on the skies and similarly, the Gothic cathedral designs strive upward as well to capture the sunlight. The Renaissance designers looked to the ancients to learn and find inspiration from them. The Baroque styles exaggerated and distorted those same elements which the Renaissance strove to achieve. They blew up the scale and stretched their circles into ovals.
Styles change, but like people, they do so in a measured way. The elements of circles, stacks and groves can be traced back to the first attempts of design. The goal of  producing commodity, firmness and delight remains the same.