As you might expect, eclecticism is a combination of older, time-tested and modern – or what was considered “modern” at the time it was built – architectural features to create something novel. Once an architect finds a style from which to draw inspiration, eclectic architecture allows for a great deal of freedom.
Many government buildings and skyscrapers of the borrowed from Greek, Byzantine, Deco, even Gothic styles to create the pillars of American architecture. Although eclectic commercial building saw it’s heyday in the 19th and 20th centuries, it is alive and well in residential construction today. In fact, man “McMansions” could be classified as eclectic. Enormous, square houses, designed around interior space rather than exterior aesthetics, with a spire, dome or turret thrown in for good measure. Guess it’s better than a plain-old rectangle.
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