Our Question of the Week:
Kris: Industrial Architecture
Answer by: Guido (08/10/10)
Question: How would I best describe the architecture/style of this 1910 hydroelectric power plant building constructed in 1910 west of the City of Boulder, CO.? I'm doing some historical work for the City of Boulder, and while I'm pretty good at identifying residential and commercial styles, nothing seems to work for this building. Thank you very much.
Answer: Hi Kris, thanks for your question. It is an interesting architectural example
The year it was designed and built is really important information, because back then, around the end of the 19th century and early 20th century, they were some industrial buildings that were influenced by historic styles that tried to fill contemporary new functional needs (train stations, power plants, and hydroelectric power plant etc) with historic images, (like the neo- Romanesque, neo-Greek styles and so on) because there weren't any standards available images and types to fit those new functional needs.
The Boulder Canyon Hydroelectric seems to be one of these cases. It seems to me a mild neo-classical style. The only hints of that are on its windows opening arches and the use of the brick in the facade .
where you can see an historic photo, they built some addition on one of the sides. But the general image and style didn't change that much in all these years.
If you need to have more info about this plant, I would research this plant and others built around during that specific time, perhaps would be other examples that can make you define which neoclassical style is this.
Hope that this was helpful. Let me know how did it go. Good luck with your work!
The year it was designed and built is really important information, because back then, around the end of the 19th century and early 20th century, they were some industrial buildings that were influenced by historic styles that tried to fill contemporary new functional needs (train stations, power plants, and hydroelectric power plant etc) with historic images, (like the neo- Romanesque, neo-Greek styles and so on) because there weren't any standards available images and types to fit those new functional needs.
The Boulder Canyon Hydroelectric seems to be one of these cases. It seems to me a mild neo-classical style. The only hints of that are on its windows opening arches and the use of the brick in the facade .
I found an old picture in this link :
where you can see an historic photo, they built some addition on one of the sides. But the general image and style didn't change that much in all these years.
If you need to have more info about this plant, I would research this plant and others built around during that specific time, perhaps would be other examples that can make you define which neoclassical style is this.
Hope that this was helpful. Let me know how did it go. Good luck with your work!
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About Us...
Guido Tenaglia
LEED AP
LEED AP
Guido Tenaglia has over 15 years of experience in the architectural profession and has worked on a variety of projects including corporate, retail & professional office installations.He received a Master of Science in Architectural Science from the University of Buenos Aires School of Architecture & Urbanism. Also had Post-Graduate courses in Architecture & History in the Universita IUAV of Venezia Italy.Mr. Tenaglia is Leed Accredited Professional ,meaning that he has demonstrated a comprehensive understanding of green building practices.Also he is a member of the Buenos Aires Board of Architects(CPAU).
Hsiang Lin
AIA, LEED AP
AIA, LEED AP
Hsiang Lin is a registered architect in the State of New York with 12 years of experiences and holds the NCARB (National Council of Architectural Registration Boards)certificate, which signifies that he has met the profession's most objective standards of competence.He received a Bachelor of Architecture from Syracuse University and graduated with the Dean's Citation Honor and is a LEED accredited professional from USGBC (United State Green Building Council).