INGENUITY AND LUXURY 



were due primarily to the geological formations of 

 the regions in which they originated. When civili- 

 zation had forced its way into the almost limitless 

 forests of Northern Europe, a typical timber architec- 

 ture was developed which later adapted some of its 

 peculiarities to edifices of stone. 



By the thirteenth century Gothic architecture had 

 reached a marvelous stage of development. But the 

 stone used was no longer the granite and marble of 

 the ancients. The material had a tendency to split 

 and crumble. This reduced the unit of construction, 

 and still retained the arch which now assumed a pointed 

 form. 



The various architectural styles have been developed, 

 therefore, through the acquisition of knowledge of the 

 properties of materials, and their use in the manner 

 indicated as best by this knowledge. Of course, 

 other forces than those purely physical operated in 

 architectural development, and of these the most power- 

 ful and noteworthy have been those created by political 

 creeds and social customs. All of these enter into the 

 evolution of the habitation or dwelling-house. 



Habitations were originally designed as a shelter from 

 the elements. The form of shelter which, naturally, 

 would suggest itself first was that which called for the 

 least ingenuity; namely, a conical structure of logs 

 and boughs with walls and roof as one element. When 

 the inevitable demand for increase of size made itself 

 felt, there were two ways to meet it; by increasing 

 the circumference and retaining the circular form; or 

 by dividing the structure in two, separating the portions 



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