Everyone is familiar to the term “art”, but if you were to be asked about its definition, you probably would not know exactly what to say. Art can be defined as the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power. During time architecture has become a form of art, and, because of all the thinking, planning and hard-working metal buildings required to become the newest and most modern worldwide practice by architects and engineers, as exposed in the article “The Origins of Steel Buildings”, we could argue with no doubt that within architecture, metal buildings are the most artistic.
Why are metal buildings argued to be more artistic than other buildings?
First, construction with metals is the latest trend in architecture, and it literally revolutionized the way buildings of all types are erected: we can see metal in storage deposits, stables, skyscrapers and even houses. When one first hears about metal structures in the household he may be repelled by the idea, thinking that steel may kill the concept of aesthetic. This idea could not be more far from reality. Bellow, one of the more asked house styles by clients for architects to design and build for their home.
“Creative skill and imagination” and “emotional power”
You may not be familiar to all the complicated processes that humans had to go through to have metal building supplies like the ones architects and engineers have available nowadays. “The Origins of Steel Building” names the Bessemer Process (1856), the first invention that made mass production of steel possible, and the Open Hearth Furnace, the replacement of the Bessemer Process due to its excellent final metal product, different to the Bessemer one given that this sometimes came out as brittle and so not reliable and prone to fracturing, in a simple and understandable yet complete way. Given that both methods consist of a complex process made out by different parts or steps, it can surely be said that this type or architecture is indeed an art given that it needs of “creative skill and imagination”.
As regards emotional power, if what you are looking for is for your next architectural project to emanate power, and to be powerful as well, a metal building is the way to do so. Not only does it provide literal power and strength to the bones of a building, making it last a lifetime, but it also transmits an idea of power. A building made out of metal speaks, it speaks about power.
Modern Architectural Art is made out of Steel
Above, it has been mentioned that steel buildings are indeed an art, and within architecture, the most distinguished one because it not only consists of sketching and building but also of processing the metals in such a complex way (previously briefly mentioned) and of engineering, the art of handling numbers with no error margin. In another article, “Steel Buildings: The Future of Architecture”, it is exposed that steel is a material that can not be outran by time or climate, which is why many artists have chosen it as the channel through which to show their feelings today and in the future given that metal buildings prevail. Below, a few of the most renowned artistic metal buildings in the world:
The Walt Disney Concert Hall
The Aquatics Centre (London)
Swallow’s Nest Cultural Centre
