What: Wellington Arch
Where: Near Hyde Park, down the road from Buckingham Palace
Design: Decimus Burton
Date: 1820s
History doesn't always need to hide.
The arch shape was very recurring this day. It is very strong in architecture but has to be perfect to stay up, in that the blocks must be perfectly shaped and placed in its exact spot in order for the arch to stay up. Within that it is a more organic shape than a rectangle, and that goes along with the incorporation of nature into design. The Wellington Arch stands tall in the center of a park, close to Buckingham palace. The location in comparison the palace also shows its importance to the city and royalty.
Many pieces of history that have significant amounts of garden and floral adornment when the shape is that of an archway. This archway shape combined with the organic shapes on them, creates a heavenly entrance. I believe this aligns with the aspiration to feel closer to God and to appease a higher power.
The history of this arch is that in the late 1800s designs for gates to the city were created but shut down because the government wouldn't pay for them. In 1816, money was committed to the country's win over Napoleon, so the future of the gates was back to being a possibility. The arch was moved to its current placement in 1883 by being taken apart and rebuilt. The area around the arch was turned into a roundabout and it changed the architectural setting.
There is some design influence by the Iron age in this set of gates. The gates themselves are iron and crafted with a floral motif. They actually feel similar to Morris' floral designs with the types of leaves encorporated. Another aspect of the gates is that the arch is a Roman design and it shows the impact of the Roman rule in Britain from the past. The doorway or opening differs from that of Grecian design, a more rectangular shape.
Citations:
English Heritage. "Wellington Arch." English Heritage. Accessed April 30, 2019. https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/wellington-arch/.
Pevsner, Nikolaus. "From Eighteen-Fifty-One to Morris and the Arts and Crafts Movement." In Pioneers of Modern Design: From William Morris to Walter Gropius. London: Penguin UK, 1991.