Architecture is the art and technique of designing, planning and constructing

buildings and other physical structures. Architecture works, in the material form of
buildings, are often perceived as cultural symbols and as works of art.
During the Middle Ages architecture was practiced in England with even greater
success than among any of the medieval nations. In beauty of detail and elegance of
proportion, the English buildings generally surpassed their ancestors.
Art in the Middle Ages was inseparable from religion. It was infused with
spiritual symbolism and meaning. he purpose of art was to awe and inspire the viewer
with the grandeur of !od. It also served to symboli"e what people believed.
Despite being the largest city in medieval England, you could walk across #ondon
in twenty minutes. Most of it laid inside the stone city wall originally built by the
$omans. he wall%s large gates were locked and guarded at night. Medieval architecture
mainly served for defense and because of this outside the wall was a moat and beyond
that were fields. As time passed by and population increased, suburbs developed outside
the gates, forming the beautiful city that #ondon is today.
#ondon has a comple& architecture due to its variety of styles, so I would like to
show you how the specific architectural styles used during the Middle Ages, he
$omanesque and he !othic styles, differ from the modern architecture that we see
nowadays.
'irstly, I would like to play a video which offers a great view of the #ondon%s
skyline and #ondon%s variety of architectural styles.
As you can see from this video, one of the most significant difference between
modern architecture and medieval architecture is the simplicity and clarity of forms and
elimination of (unnecessary detail). his means that modern architecture has simple
designs, yet comple& to achieve, but easy to remember while medieval architecture puts
emphasis on the decorative details which can be seen in the $omanesque and !othic
architectural styles.
Moreover, visual e&pressions of structure can be seen in the modern architecture
as opposed to hiding of structural elements in the medieval architectural styles. his
process is called (the truth of materials) meaning that the true nature or natural
appearance of a material is ought to be seen rather than concealed or altered to represent
something else. *y this way of constructing buildings, modern architects wanted to
reduce buildings to pure forms, removing historical references and ornament in favor of
functionalist details. *uildings display their functional and structural elements, e&posing
steel beams and concrete surfaces instead of hiding them behind decorative forms.
Another remarkable difference between modern architecture and medieval
architecture is the use of materials. During the medieval period, stone, which was cut
with precision, was mainly used in the process of building. *ecause of this, $omanesque
buildings, for e&ample, were often very heavy and dark inside. +owadays, there are used
industrially,produced materials which reduces considerably the effort put in the building
process. hese materials also allow the building to become free standing because of their
capacity to sustain more easily the structure of the building.
o conclude, it is crystal clear that #ondon%s architecture has come a long way
due to the growth of population and their needs regarding the buildings that they would
like to live in. -umanity leaves immortal echoes through its history using the media of
language, art, knowledge and architecture. .e are mortal, but we wish to become eternal
and architecture is our success in this battle. /o why does architecture have a tremendous
role in our lives0 I%ll tell you1 as .inston 2hurchill said (.e shape our buildings3
thereafter they shape us).