Georgian Architecture Research

The Georgian period of architecture is named so after the century in which three different Georges ruled upon the throne. It was designed as a succession to Baroque and can generally be classified into three different periods - Palladian, early and late Georgian. It lasted from around 1714 to 1837. (1)

The period of architecture primarily developed from Inigo Jones' work on various buildings throughout London, including places such as the Palladian-inspired Covent Garden. After the Great Fire of London in 1666, new houses had to be built, which were planned to be houses built out of brick and with a classical influence. From these needs developed the idea of a terraced house, built to squeeze in as much living space as possible in a small space. Georgian houses themselves were often built tall and narrow, using both space above and below to provide adequate living space for families. (2)

Georgian period terraced houses, being much taller than they are wide, designed so they use as small a footprint as possible

A major design influence in Georgian period buildings was the desire for uniformity, symmetry and proportion to be the main driving elements of the visible parts of a building. The shape of the square was considered a key architectural shape, and this basis was used to create seven 'ideal proportions', many of which were based off of the golden ratio, or the Fibonacci Spiral. These proportions were used to define the position and shape of the windows, the door and the building itself in relation to its elements, creating very geometric but also homely looking buildings. (3)

There is a hint of the golden spiral in places such as the window dimensions, as well as where they're placed on the wall

Sources:
1 - http://www.bbc.co.uk/homes/design/period_georgian.shtml
2 - http://fet.uwe.ac.uk/conweb/house_ages/flypast/section1.htm
3 - http://www.britsattheirbest.com/creative_brits/cr_seeing_music.htm

Mood Board - Georgian Architecture

I collected some images of  Georgian architecture to help get a better understanding of what I'm supposed to be looking for and the general characteristics that are prominent throughout this era of architecture.

One of the most noticeable features is the striking symmetry and geometry that a lot of Georgian architecture bears. In the late Georgian years, this, alongside using mathematical rules to determine exactly how many rooms a house would have, as well as the dimensions of a building, were strongly approved of whereas asymmetry was frowned upon. Regularity in general was desired, which is why there are a lot of similarities amongst the different images, much more than what would probably have been found looking at most other areas of architecture.

There were a lot of inspirations that Georgian architecture took on. Having succeeded Baroque, it took on a little of its form, whilst also including Palladian architecture and, in a lesser sense, Gothic. Later on, a Greek Revival was also incorporated.

In terms of materials, it is clear that stone and brickwork is the primary backbone here. Ashlar (very finely cut and shaped) stonework was popular around this time, and makes its way in here, show especially in pictures like the top right. I will have to do more material research later on.

1st Model Study

My first choice for a model study is a window I picked from my previously taken photographs of Norwich.

At first glance, I can see that the most important part to capture is the circular shape of the window. At this point of time, I won't be focusing on the texture as this part will come later.

This was my attempt at trying to accurately capture the shape of the window. I think the biggest issue I had was trying to keep it low-poly, which isn't as much of an issue with today's technology. At this point of time I shouldn't be worrying about the polycount, as I could easily get away with having hundreds of polies for this single window. I also barely focused on working with primitives beyond the initial cylinder for the window, which means accuracy has been compromised a little by using tools such as extrude instead.

Here shows the wireframe view of the window. This makes clear how low-poly the window is, which is something I hope to improve on for the next model study.

Photo Gathering of Norwich

Our first task given to us was to go around Norwich and collect photos to use for our studies. Since our model studies are meant to be of roughly 1x1 metre squared areas of a building, we were advised to focus on this size for our models. We were given a choice of three different eras of architecture to focus on - Norman, Georgian and Contemporary. I'll be making a mood board of these to get an idea of their commonalities and differences later, but for now these are some of the better images I collected. I focused mainly upon Georgian architecture when I was going around and taking photos, but I did get some Norman architecture alongside with it.

From looking at these photographs, there are a lot of aspects to consider when creating a realistic-looking replica of part of a building:

• Their overall silhouette. Observing this will help one understand how to construct the objects out of primitives.
• The wear and tear. Observing this will make objects seem more realistic and less perfect and mathematical in nature.
• The materials. Observing this will help in constructing the various texture maps we will be required to include later on.
• The silhouette compared to the detail. Observing this will help understand what parts of a model should be in the geometry and what parts should be part of the texture.

Project Brief for BA3

This project will be applying the knowledge we have been learning in Directed Study throughout the year, where we will be using Autodesk Maya to create an architectural piece as our final submission.

However, at this moment of time we have not been briefed to the creative part of the project, which we will be filled in on after we have completed the study portion of this project. First, we will expected to spend 4 weeks developing 4 model studies from life, focusing on creating quality assets so that we can improve our skills with the program without getting distracted by the creative brief.

Throughout this project, we will also be expected to develop an understanding of architecture. Suggestions as to how to achieve this would include gathering photos, doing sketches and drawn studies of buildings, 3D models, as well as texture and lighting studies. The ultimate aim is to focus on learning how to make objects look realistic and polished.

I am glad to finally start learning Maya properly after having been introduced many months back, as it is a very versatile tool. As was said in the lecture, 9/10 of employers will expect me to have 3D knowledge, so getting good with the program will be an invaluable skill, though this may be the most challenging project so far.