Name the Architect Trivia Quiz

Answer: Frank Lloyd Wright

Wright was a prolific and influential architect, designing over 1,000 buildings. He is credited with inventing the "prairie school" of architecture, which integrated buildings into the landscape. In fact, Fallingwater is suspended over a waterfall. Some of Wright's other famous works include the Unity Temple in Oak Park, IL; Taliesin (his home and workshop in Spring Green, Wisconsin); the Guggenheim Museum in New York City; the S.C. Johnson Wax Research Tower in Racine, Wisconsin; and the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. Early in his career Wright worked for Adler and Sullivan. Mahony was one of the first women to get a degree in architecture and was the first employee hired by Wright.

Answer: Brunelleschi

Brunelleschi's works are must-see buildings on an art and architecture tour of Florence. Il Duomo was a masterpiece of engineering, as no one else had figured out how to span a space that large without using buttresses. It is still the largest dome ever built out of brick and mortar. Ghiberti is also associated with the cathedral, having beaten Brunelleschi in a competition to design the doors of the baptistery (referred to as "The gates of paradise"). Most of Michelangelo's work was in Rome, but he did design the Medici Chapel at the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence.

Answer: Phidias

Phidias designed the statue of Zeus at Olympia, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, as well as the statue of Athena inside the Parthenon. The most famous building on the Acropolis is the Parthenon, which has become a symbol of Greece. Phidias supervised the design, although the architects were Ictinos and Callicrates.

Answer: Mies van der Rohe

Mies invented the modern office building of steel, glass, and minimal ornamentation. His philosophy of architecture is encapsulated in two famous quotations: "less is more," and "God is in the details." Mies, Gropius, and Le Corbusier were all important modernist architects. Gropius and Mies were both members of the Bauhaus in Germany. Le Corbusier was working near Berlin at the time and may have met them. Tigerman was one of the Chicago Seven who rebelled against what they saw as the boring repetition of modern buildings inspired by van der Rohe.

Answer: Antoni Gaudi

Gaudi was a leader of the Spanish Modernist movement. Sagrada Família started in 1882 and is projected to be completed in 2026, the centennial of Gaudí's death. It is an art nouveau interpretation of the Gothic style ... and truly unique. Any tour of Barcelona will include other Gaudi structures including private homes, apartment and office buildings, and a museum.

Answer: Eero Saarinen

Saarinen is considered one of the masters of 20th century American architecture. The other answers are also 20th century architects. Jorn Utzon designed the Sydney Opera House. I.M. Pei designed the glass pyramid at the entrance to the Louvre. Frank Gehry designed the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain.

Answer: Bernini

Bernini was a leading Baroque architect and sculptor. St. Peter's Basilica was designed by Michelangelo, but the square in front was designed by Bernini. Bernini's fountains include the Fountain of the Triton and the Fountain of the Four Rivers. However, it was Salvi that designed the Trevi Fountain.

Answer: Daniel Burnham

Burnham was a key player in the "Chicago school" of architecture. He was the chief architect of the Flatiron Building, one of New York City's first skyscrapers. In addition to creating a plan for Chicago, Burnham was involved with the plans for Cleveland, San Francisco, Manila, and Washington D.C. All of the answers are Chicago architects. Atwood and John Welborn Root were partners of Burnham. William Jenney designed the Home Insurance Building, which is widely regarded as the first skyscraper.

Answer: Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles

Haigia Sophia is a masterpiece of Byzantine architecture and was a major monument for the Ottomon Empire. It was the largest cathedral for nearly a thousand years, until Seville Cathedral was completed in 1520. Isidore was a scientist and mathematician, while Anthemius was a geometry professor. Mehmed II was the sultan who converted the church into a mosque. Eudoxius of Antioch was the bishop who inaugurated construction of the first church on the site in 360. Justinian was the emperor who commissioned the current building.

Answer: Sir Christopher Wren

After the Great Fire of London in 1666, Wren was involved in rebuilding 52 churches in the city. He also designed the Royal Observatory, the library at Trinity College, and major renovations at Kensington Palace.

Palladio was a Venetian Renaissance architect who inspired many 18th century architects. James Gibbs designed St. Martin-in-the-Fields. Capability Brown was a landscape designer.