In general, all architecture is thought to represent the culture and value of its place and time. Victorian architecture represented a value system that things should be beautiful, not practical. It represents wealth and well-being. For example, wealthy Victorian women wore many corsets, hoop skirts, and dresses that used yards of fabric. It made sense that trendy home designs would also reflect that excess. Victorian architecture is named after Queen Victoria because she reigned during that time period. Queen Victoria took command at the very young age of 18, taking command of Britain on the brink of radical change. Before his rule, few questioned the supremacy of institutions such as the Church, God, the state and the monarchy. It was a very difficult time to govern and his time soon became known as the Great Age of Doubt. It was the time of Marx, Darwin and Freud, science and inventions such as electricity and motors promised to create solutions that nature could never provide. It was an era of rapid social upheaval with a new underclass of industrial workers flooding into the cities. The resulting family upheaval and poverty led to modern ideas such as unionization, feminism, and communism. It was a period of literary and artistic innovation. In contrast, the architecture of the time represented wealth and stability, enduring traditional values. During this period, there were many social changes resulting from science and philosophy. The impetus of the industrial revolution accelerated the trend, although it was the ideas of the Gothic style that started it. Steam-powered sawmills could now create elaborate, cheaper and faster materials. As a result, houses became more and more decorated. Low-income families could finally afford... paper snacks. The living room, always located just off the atrium, was used as a showcase for the family's possessions. It was a key indicator of the family's social class and taste. During the Victorian era, clutter meant class, and the woman of the house was always responsible for outfitting the living room with as many expensive, exotic, and new objects as she could find, such as lamps, vases, teapots, figurines, and dried flowers. . The living room was used as the main gathering place for the family, where they played games, conversations and other diversions from life. I hope you can now see that Victorian architecture had a very wide range of styles and historical references, from Greek, to Roman and so on. But what united all those cultures was the perception that they represented traditional values and stability, because stability equaled being safe
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