Late Nineteenth-Century Architecture

During the ages, there was always an individual that embraced the characteristics of a hero. They were compassionate, chivalrous, honest, caring, and inspiring just like the hero in the past. For example; Achilles, Gilgamesh, and Roland. There was a different type of hero called a Romantic Hero. Which was a larger-than-life figure with extraordinary expectations and goals. The title of this excerpt is “ Nationalism and the Hero.” The intended audience was, of course, me and the people who enjoy reading and learning about all types of heroes. This excerpt begins to talk about nationalism and how it started to change people's ideologies and creates a sense of self-determination and political freedom. The language, custom, music, art, and poetry …show more content…
This excerpts intended audience could be future engineers/architects, historians, and students that are only reading it for a grade on their response papers. The intended purpose of this excerpt is to see how architecture was revolutionized. During the 19th century, Engineers began to use cast iron as a structural support in their building to provide strength for all the bulk. Thus the cast iron became very popular and spread throughout Europe. According to the text, (“ the innovator in the use of cast iron for public buildings was, in fact, not an architect but a distinguished horticulturist and a greenhouse designer, Joseph Paxton.” in Fiero 195) He has a building that was first prefabricated building and the forebear of the functional steel and glass architecture. This building was called “Crystal Palace” and it was 1851 ft in length. Then the article begins to chime in about the ‘Eiffel Tower”, which was created by Gustave Eiffel. This building soon became one of the most symbolism to early modernism. Even though most people believe it to be a giant mistake, the Eiffel Tower is still a miracle building for the industrial age. This gave way to skyscrapers in which enhanced the urban scene and launched the beginnings of corporate America. The text also says (”that steel and cast-iron technology also contributed to the construction of bridges.” in Fiero 196) By building bridges, it made a great economic change by expanding the market system. Since the construction of bridges, the demand for goods and services were increased. The economy benefited from the quick outpour of resources and in return, a greater profit emerged and thus created a better economy. I think that cast iron and steel were a great contribution to the industrial age because it let engineers express how they