Viollet-le-Duc was a French Gothic Revival Architect who did work on many of the medieval buildings. His motif in restoration was to restore the buildings to their original style through a love of both Gothic architecture and iron. This love of both seemed problematic in his designs, but his restorations later showed entirely new elements added to them that he had felt necessary to the design. Many archaeologists today have criticized his work and questioned whether it was a restoration of and recreation of his own design. After studying the architecture of Paris and restoring many churches and town halls, he was employed to restore the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris.
This is an image of Sainte- Chapelle after it had been restored.
http://hipparis.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/ste-chapelle11.jpg
Contrasting from Viollet-le-Duc, John Ruskin was different in his insights about Gothic Architecture. They both had an adoration for the Gothic style however Ruskin had a strong distaste for the use of iron in his work. Ruskin's main work was The Seven Lamps of Architecture. The Seven Lamps where the principles and reasons of Ruskin's in the Gothic Revival. He believed that these seven lamps where the moral values that formed a connection through religion. Ruskin believed in the nature of the building and upholding its value through the expression of the craftsmen before him.
This is an image of one of Ruskin's works in Ontario
http://www.ontarioarchitecture.com/gothicrevival/Gothott.jpg
The final architect was Gottfried Semper. He was among the most influential architects of this time along with Viollet-le-Duc and Ruskin. He contrasted from other two because of his focus on tectonics and had a hate for both Gothic and iron. He was born in Germany and began by arguing the approach of modern architecture because of his background in industrial art. He was responsible for his writings of Four Elements of Architecture. In these writings he talked about architecture as a reflection of socio-political conditions. Semper had a focus on textiles and the intricacies of the patterns and wanted to implement those into his designs rather than the traditional Gothic style. His work was later criticized for his lack of appreciation towards the Gothic style.
This is an image of Semper's Dresden Opera House.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Semperopera.jpg
With such contrasting styles and views on material and restoration, these men began to form the foundation for modern architectural restoration. Their practices and theories have influenced many and people and still are important to study when looking at Modern Architecture.
Barnes, C. F. (1991). Light, Wind, and Structure: The Mystery of the Master Builders/The Architectural Theory of Viollet-le-Duc: Readings and Commentary (Book). ISIS: Journal Of The History Of Science In Society, 82(4), 732.
Chatterjee, A. (2009). Tectonic into Textile: John Ruskin and His Obsession with the Architectural Surface. Textile: The Journal Of Cloth & Culture, 7(1), 68-97. doi:10.2752/175183509X411771
Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc. (2011). Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition, 1.
Gottfried Semper. (2011). Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition, 1.
Houze, R. (2006). The Textile as Structural Framework: Gottfried Semper's Bekleidungsprinzip and the Case of Vienna 1900. Textile: The Journal Of Cloth & Culture, 4(3), 292-311.
