Making an Entrance - teaching architecture - Brief Article

Arts & Activities, March, 2001 by Guy Hubbard

Entrances have always been focuses of attention. In structures at all levels of importance, gates, doors and doorways, together with porches and porticos, are usually much more elaborate than roofs, walls and windows. Of course, every entrance to a building is also an exit, although, seen from the inside, they are normally not as distinctive. In fact, interior doorways are usually simple, except for those in some of the great palaces of the world.

The design of an entrance tells visitors a lot about a building and the people inside it long before they ever enter. Entrances to fortresses or prisons are generally small and undecorated, while the doors are simple and rugged. In contrast, entrances to palaces and places of worship are usually large and designed to impress visitors with the power of the owner or the importance of a religion. Office towers, public buildings, resort hotels and even stores in shopping malls are also likely to have prominent entrances, whereas entrances to hospitals and factories are unlikely to be spectacular.

The entrances to ordinary homes are smaller and less decorated than those found in great buildings, but they are still likely to provide a visual emphasis to a building. A front door may have a porch, perhaps with a few steps leading up to it. The doorframe may be decorated, while the door itself may be constructed of attractive materials or painted in one or more bright colors. Some front doors will even be carved, while others may have windows of decorative glass.

In addition to these differences, the entrances to buildings may be further modified depending on when and where they were built. In different places and at different times, buildings may be designed either very simply or with much decoration. Some designs may be recent and original, while others--that may also be new--may borrow from one or more historical artistic style(s). As a result, knowing about the ways in which entrances are designed and the kinds of materials used will tell a viewer not only when a building was constructed, but what artistic ideas were used by the designer.

Studying entrances may also be one way to interest students in the history of architecture when entire buildings may be too complex or may not appeal to them. Also, since many entrances are prominent and very often decorative, they hold considerable visual information about a particular architectural style in one relatively small detail. This helps in making comparative studies of such topics as historical precedents, use of images, choices of materials and proportions.

Student knowledge of entrances may also encourage them to include interpretations of entrances as settings for original pictures and illustrations--to provide a place for action to occur, to make a background for a picture or perhaps to emphasize a dramatic mood. The design of some entrances may encourage students to create abstract interpretations.

A knowledge of entrances may also provide rich sources of ideas for use in quite different art forms, such as ceramic sculpture, jewelry and weaving--ranging from representation to fantasy. Not least, students engaged in school drama programs may be able to use their knowledge of entrances in scenery designs, together with distortions and imaginative lighting, to match the mood of a special event.

Before any of these things can occur, however, students need to have acquired a collection of images of entrances to which they can refer when attacking artistic problems. A few fortunate students will easily be able to memorize these images and recall them when needed. But most students either need to refer to drawings they have made or build collections of photographs (or photocopies) for reference. Such collections may be assembled individually or may be the result of classroom projects in which everyone makes a contribution.

In growing numbers of classrooms, however, students are now able to search for useful images through the World Wide Web. It is important to note, however, that in order to prevent time being wasted in fruitless searches, teachers need to provide addresses of useful Web sites. The images reproduced in this article, for example, were all found on a single site.

The pictures seen here are included partly to help students understand something of the diversity of entrance designs and also to provide ideas that may be used in their own art work.

Westminster Abbey, North Front, London, England. [C] Angelo Hornak/CORBIS.

Construction of Westminster Abbey began almost 1,000 years ago. It is one of the great Gothic religious buildings of the Middle Ages. Like many important buildings, it has been rebuilt and restored several times--often because of fires and the discovery of new architectural ideas. The most recent rebuilding of this part of Westminster Abbey occurred just over 100 years ago. As a consequence, although the architects retained the Gothic style, almost no part of the entrance is original.

The first major change took place when a new entrance replaced an earlier one built during the 13th century. This was a time when architects had learned how to spread out the enormous weight of stone walls and roofs on supports called "buttresses." The use of buttresses made it possible for larger windows to be inserted in walls to help light up the interior.