Happy to help with this question. The questions asks you to determine the most likely reason the author mentioned Wagner’s choice of a “circular ground plan for churches.â€
Answer A that this was included to provide an example of the kinds of technological innovations Wagner introduced to Modern architecture. This answer is incorrect because a circular ground plan is not a technological innovation. In the final paragraph it discusses how this circular ground plan was inspired by the centralized churches of the Italian Renaissance. The passage as a whole is not about technological innovations Wagner introduced to Modern architecture. Instead, it is about how Wagner's philosophy of Modern architecture centered on a tension between the incorporation of modern technologies to meet the demands of the present era with incorporation of aesthetic inspiration from historical models. That is the tension discussed in the final paragraph in which the circular ground plans are introduced as an example.
Answer B says this was included to provide an an example of Wagner’s dismissal of historical forms from the Italian Renaissance. This is incorrect because Wagner was not dismissive of historical forms. Indeed, the circular ground plan was inspired by the old churches of the Italian Renaissance.
Answer C says this was included to provide an example where technological issues were much less significant than aesthetic demands. Wagner believed that technological issues and aesthetic demands were a “symbiotic relationship essential to Modernism.†The circular ground plan is an example of this. While he could justify the design on modern technological terms, it was truly inspired by his emotional attachment to the aesthetics of the historical models. Both technology and art were significant.
Answer D says this was included to provide evidence that Wagner tended to imitate historical models. Wagner advised “against the mechanical imitation of historical models†and argued for “new forms appropriate to the modern age.†While he drew inspiration from his emotional attachment to historical models, Wagner did not have a tendency to merely imitate them.
Answer E says that this was included to provide evidence of the tension between Wagner’s commitment to modern technology and to the Classical tradition. This answer is correct. The final paragraph begins by discussing the “apparent inconsistency†and “tension†between Wagner’s position as a “confessed Classicist†and his “arguing for new forms†that incorporate modern technology. Immediately after describing this tension, the author introduces the example of the circular ground plan for churches (line 53) and described how Wagner justified the design in terms of modern technology but was truly inspired by architectures in the Classical tradition.
