Three Styles of Architecture This essay will provide information to compare and contrast data for three different styles of architecture. The three styles are Art Deco, Art Nouveau and Neo-Gothic. To give a complete and clear explanation of these styles, information on the architecture will first be provided, then the three styles will follow with intermediate points of comparison and contrast. First of all, to inform about architecture, we need to explain what it is. Architecture, referring to construction, is defined as “The practice of building design and its resulting products; customary use refers only to those designs and structures that are culturally significant” (Ferrier 20). Some might say that architecture must fulfill its intended uses, but it must be technically sound and must convey tasteful meaning. Although some of the greatest buildings survive their original uses, these buildings now stand not only as beautiful works of art, but as history of our culture. Achievements in architecture show the true achievements of the society in which they were built. It's amazing how architecture has blossomed. As technology has grown and people have gained knowledge in the wide range of architectures, many different forms have developed. Even though we will only look at a few, it will be easy to understand why people find architecture so interesting. For example, the Art Nouveau style, which became very popular throughout Europe and the United States, is an elegant decorative artistic style and is characterized by intricate and detailed curved line patterns. An excellent example of this type of art is the 1911 John Hudson Thomas W. L. Locke House, in Oakland, CA (Partridge). Art Nouveau is an international style of decoration and architecture. This style spread quickly. It grew as a reaction to the other excessive academic art revivals that were occurring at the time. At that time artists decided to create a new type of art. They wanted to have something that was a total and complete decorative style that combined all the arts (including painting, graphics, sculpture, decorative arts, and architecture) into one expressive package. The importance of Art Nouveau cannot be denied as Earl A Powell III, director of the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, explains: "The Art Nouveau style was self-consciously international." Continued…middle of the paper…although there was tension implicit in the movement between the decorative and the modern. Art Deco added order. Stepped shapes, rounded corners, triple stripped decorative elements, and black decorations show how Art Deco added order to history (Jacobs). Gothic Revival architecture added beautiful design to many churches and other buildings. Architecture is something that is often overlooked. Its beauty is exquisite. The work behind each work of art is intense. It shows how much people love what they do and how creative they truly are. Architecture is something that people have to have an interest in to truly love. Works CitedArchitecture.com. Royal Institute of British Architects. October 5, 2002 Ferrier, John-Louis. Art of Our Country: The Chronicle of Western Art from 1900 to the Present. Trans Walter D. Glaze. New York: Prentice Hall Press, 1998.Hewitt, Mark A. Art Deco November 12, 2002Hunter, Sam, John Jacobs. "Chronology." Modern art: painting/sculpture/architecture. 2nd edition. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1985. Partridge, Howard. Art Nouveau architecture 20 Oct. 2002 Religious Architecture of the Netherlands 10 Oct. 2002