Architecture as a Reminder of Cultural Achievement

      Not all forms of architecture employ the characteristics and elements of nature the way the Gothic form does. During our roadmap presentations I noticed the dull, modernist architecture of several Houston area high schools that my classmates attended. The use of the floating box holds no truth to nature, yet is a fundamental element of modern architecture. On the contrary, Gothic and Victorian Gothic are the best examples of upholding the disposition of nature in collegiate architecture. The course website defined touchstone to mean “that which serves to test or try the genuineness or value of anything; a test, criterion,” but it can also mean “a basis for comparison; a reference point against which other things can be evaluated; "they set the measure for all subsequent work.” Nature is the touchstone of Gothic collegiate buildings’ architecture around the country because it provides the criteria to test the personality and characteristics of both the internal elements and external forms of the building for “truth to nature.”

      Around the University of Texas campus, instances of Gothic architecture like the Littlefield Mansion are seemingly apparent. The external forms, at least, are obvious; mosaic tiles and iron framework accompany a “steep Mansard roof [that is] broken by a variety of turrets, dormer windows, high-pitched spires and finials” (Bump 382). So from the outside, the Littlefield Mansion appears to have many of the characteristics of Gothic architecture. There is no mention of foliated traceries, but because Gothic architectures centers on the unity of several forms, one or two can be missing; “the withdrawal of any one, or any two [features] will not at once destroy the Gothic character of a building, but the removal of a majority of them will” (Ruskin 540). The text states that Westminster Abbey, a building known for its Gothic style, even lacks traceries around several of its windows. Thus the Littlefield Mansion’s Gothic appearance should not suffer by the absence of one form of the architecture’s style.

However, I have not yet seen enough of the building to argue that it fulfills the requirements for the internal elements of Gothic style; only upon further investigation will I be able to formulate an argument over whether or not the moral characteristics of Gothic style - savageness, changefulness, naturalism, grotesqueness, rigidity, and redundance – are fulfilled. Fortunately, I believe our extended visit to the Mansion on Thursday and a look inside should aid me in this inability. The influence of Ruskin’s essay can be found in buildings like the Old Main Building and the Littlefield Mansion, but rather need further insight to determine the magnitude of the impact of Gothic style on the buildings. The Littlefield Mansion includes intricate work on the capitals of columns, on shields of bronze in the grillwork of the doors, and on the stairway railings. This implies that changefulness was in fact an issue in the construction of the building. The Old Main building went through several contractors and architects, each of which added on to the work of his predecessor. Even the look of these buildings – the projecting angles of the flying buttresses, the thorny or spiky ends of the turrets and gables, the high arches of the doorways of the Old Main Building – reflect the naturalism that Gothic style represents. Thus I would argue that without a doubt that this architectural style does remain true to nature and that Ruskin’s six features of Gothic style are easily found in buildings like the Littlefield Mansion. I’ve just yet to discover the details of them all.