From the History of the Profession

I n ancient times, architects and builders were one and the same. Roman architect Marcus Virtruvius Pollio wrote in his influential book, “Ten Books on Architecture”, that architects should possess knowledge of both the theoretical and practical aspects of construction. However, the architects on ancient times were subservient to the owner, who claimed the design of the building as his own. Credit for the beauty and structural ingenuity of the Pantheon, for example, went to Roman emperor Hadrian – not to the architect.

During the Middle Ages, architects were called master builders. They acted as designer, supervisor, and contractor for cathedrals and castles. They learned their craft through on-the-job training with stonecutters, carpenters, and other artisans before rising to the rank of master. Not until Renaissance Italy did the architect become wholly responsible for the artistic aspect of a building and have his name associated with the project. The owner, meanwhile, assumed the role of patron or financial supporter, and pride himself on fostering the most talented designer.

D uring the eighteenth century, architecture became a subject studied in books and at school. You were not considered educated unless you knew something about buildings and their design. Aspiring architects traveled throughout Europe and farther afield, sketching and soaking in famous architectural sights. From their drawings of ancient Greek and Roman temples and other historical monuments, European and American architects of the 1700s and early 1800s created new buildings for their own times.

Blue-Blooded and Blue Collar

During the eighteenth century, two distinct types of architects emerged.

• The gentleman architect was well educated in architectural theory. This architect designed buildings in his spare time while pursuing another career. He was the person that you see in all of those old European paintings standing in his library wearing a powdered wig, breeches, and white stockings.

• The builder-architect was trained practically and was more closely tied to masons and carpenters. The builder-architects were the guys who liked Scotch, got their hands dirty, and told stories about North American Indians.

A good example of the gentleman architect is the US President Thomas Jefferson who was America’s first great native-born architect. There were no architecture schools in colonial Virginia, so Jefferson learned architecture from books. His "bible" was the Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio's The Four Books of Architecture, which taught him the rules of classical design. Jefferson also looked to his contemporary world for ideas. He owned a vast collection of books about architecture and completed many impressive buildings.

Though classicism was his foundation, his distinctly American buildings incorporate a “melting pot” of design ideas. Monticello, the estate house, which Thomas Jefferson himself designed, was based on the neoclassical principles described in the books of Andrea Palladio. It is situated on the summit of an 850-foot-high peak in the Southwest Mountains (see right). The name "Monicello" comes from the Italian "little mountain" and is located in Virginia.

As the Industrial Revolution took off, the gap between the design and construction aspects of a project continued to increase as structures became more sophisticated. In fact, building technology increased to the point where an engineer was added to the building team. Engineers were responsible for the entire design in some cases and created awesome metal-and-glass structures, much to the chagrin of architects.

During the nineteenth century, architects separated themselves from amateur designers and the building trades. They were distinguished by their knowledge of printed sources, such as treaties from ancient Rome and the Renaissance, and their ability to draw. The grand tour of the European continent was an important part of their education. You were just a big nobody if you didn’t do it. Many young architects studied the classical building in Italy and Greece and other continental styles of architecture, which in turn, inspired their own designs.