Point

Foundations, the starting point to any structure. Whether it is a pyramid, temple, or a cathedral, they all have to start from the bottom up. I feel that this unit has shown us where certain designs began in one dominating culture and then over time spread to different areas of the world. And in their travels to their new sites they found innovative design changes and also adapted to their own cultural aesthetics and needs.

It all started in Ancient Egypt where pyramids began to rise in honor of the great pharaohs. They used methods of stacking to reach great heights to symbolize an entrance into the divine world. Pyramids were the man made mountains signifying power beyond measure. However it was not until places like the Palace of Knossos or Hypostyle Hall were erected that designs changed. Instead of having places where one person was honored and sent into the after life for eternity, they made divine places where people could come have a religious and mystical experiences. Here is where the first columns were introduced. Like the pyramids the columns were enormous to signify power of the Gods and making man feel powerless under their presence. They also introduced the idea of axial progression in designs.

From Ancient Egypt grew the Era of Greece, and with Greece came great change. The Acropolis in Athens Greece is an excellent example of design evolution. Here we see many aspects of design like repetition, contrast, emphasis, harmony, balance, proportion, and unity all within one area. Here many of the foundations for architecture were born. For example, the columns went through great change in just one place. In the Parthenon Ionic columns ornamented the outside, and although the illusion of the columns is supposed to be perfection in reality they are not. They tilt somewhat and if you were to stretch them upward they would eventually converge. The Grecian people designed every aspect of the buildings even the flaws. From the precision of the Greeks came the progressive Romans.

In Rome, it was somewhat of a melting pot of ideas and a revival of Greek architecture, but at the same time the Romans made many advancements in architecture. One of the most important was the invention of the arch. With the arch now one of the most used structural elements the column got pushed from being a structural element to being decorative, as seen in the Coliseum. With the combination of stacking layers and the use of the arch the Coliseum was able to reach great heights and width. The arch was a stepping-stone to the dome, which was one of the greatest achievements in Rome. The dome lead to many advancements in design especially for the Cathedrals during the Gothic period.

The cathedrals were a main point in this era because not only did the fulfill their religious purpose they were also a puzzle piece to many designs around the world. One of the earlier cathedrals, Salisbury had some of the main design concepts that followed through in all of the other cathedrals at that time.

The importance of culture and architecture goes hand in hand. Designs travel not only from place to place but they survive and develop through centuries. Even today we see many of the classical designs from ancient Greece and Rome still present in many buildings. They may not be replicas but the basis of classicism has revolutionized design and inspired new techniques for building in a modern world.

Reading Comprehension 3

1) The amazing thing about architecture is that it is universal; someone starts a style and as move farther away from the styles origins we see how different cultures interpret it. Take for example the cathedrals built between 1200 and 1500. Many of them started with a simple design and as the design moved to different cultures it developed and transformed to meet the needs of that certain culture.

The Salisbury Cathedral is a great place start to comparing differences in designs. It is one of the earlier cathedrals that we had to compare. It was built in 1220 and completed in 1228. The landscape around the cathedral is very suburbia like. It has low lying cityscape and plenty of open space. The architecture plays around with different volumes. It has modest height throughout most of the cathedral except where the crossing tower is. The tower sores above the main part of the building towards the heavens, and can be marveled from clear across the landscape. Standing 404 ft tall it is the tallest spire in all of England. Inside the cathedral boasts beautiful stained glass to achieve a heavenly experience, vaulted ceilings, and clerestory windows to enhance the natural flow of light.

However different, the Amiens Cathedral has many similarities to the Salisbury Cathedral. Like Salisbury it has an axial progression through the nave, it also shares the same vaulting for structural purposes. One of the main differences would be Amien’s surroundings. It is more of a city area and has to be built up rather than spread out over a more open space. So in this case due to the culture and the surrounding area the design had to transform to fit its environment.

Although the Florence Cathedral is in more of a city than Salisbury it still has a design that is spread out and has one major point (the dome) that is much higher than the rest of the cathedral and towers over the city. It also shares the same ornamental ceiling that Salisbury has. Another similarity between them would be there floor plans, although Salisbury has more nooks and crannies, the two cathedrals have cross design, obviously demonstrating the religious purpose of the cathedrals.

In Germany another cathedral has been erected, the Cologne cathedral. Being in Germany it has more of a bold style to it. In Salisbury the cathedral has flying buttresses for structural support but they are not a prominent feature in the design, whereas on the Cologne Cathedral they are very prominent and a major part of its massive structure. Like Salisbury it has vaulted ceilings and also towers over its surroundings with its two spires.

Even with all of the slight variations in design the purpose of all of these cathedrals remains the same. They are all built for people to come and have a religious experience, one where they have sense of being in heaven with all of the ornate and beautiful details.

2) Life in the renaissance changed drastically. No longer were people concerned about details and ornament. It was a minimalist style where the bare necessities took center stage.

In the drawing the woman seems to be preparing a stew of some sort in the kitchen area. Because function was the only essential need, there were no comforts. The floor and the walls are bare because decoration was not a need to survive. Stone walls and wooden floors usually made up the construction of these residences. The solid materials offered protection to the families. The Great room was where most of the activity took place in the house. It was where the fireplace was (which is supposed to be the center of life, everything was done around the fireplace) they slept here, had events and gatherings, and also ate in here. The room was divided from the rest of the house with partitions usually constructed of wood. If there was any decoration in the house it was in the great room, usually on one wall hung a tapestry that told some kind of tale.

Life was all about amenities and how to survive with a minimalist approach. As long as they had warmth, food, and a place o gather with family and friends the people of the renaissance could live happily.

Reading Comprehension II

1. As I have learned in class Greek architecture is built to honor the Gods. Their buildings and temples are built and planned with precision and perfection to pay homage to the Gods. The Greeks built there columns upward and tapered to converge in the heavens. It only makes sense the designs of all the architectural details were based on sacrifices to the Gods. Hersey describes the columns as representing the sacrificial ceremonies. Where the base is the foot tied with the rope or molding, the vertical fillets in column represent the spears for the hint, and of course the capital would represent the head, and the tablature would represent the table where the offerings were placed to the Gods. The Greeks had a way with taking something as literal as a sacrifice to the Gods and abstracting it into an ideal architectural detail like a column, that happened to be the support for a temple that honored a deity.
2. In the story archeologists from the future discover what they think is a large burial site, however to our knowledge we know this place as a motel. Through their horrible conclusions of the artifacts they find, they misread all of the evidence that is right in front of them. Their discovery gets passed on like wildfire even though what they conclude they find is incorrect. This type of situation happens all the time on the internet. Someone misrepresents information and it gets used in papers and passed on continuously. We can stop this by referencing books instead of Wikipedia and other unreliable sources. By using books we know the information is correct because it has to go through many revision processes and is proved truthful.
3. In ancient Egypt women were not treated as equals to men. They were looked down upon and not worthy of a rulers status. However, when Queen Hatsheput took throne she had to change that. Pyramids that Pharaohs built spoke of eternal life and reaching the heavens. They were built at enormous scales as if the Pharaohs were creating there own mountains and becoming closer to their deities. Hatsheput had a very different design to her temple. It is more low to the ground and built up in layers, that had a large set of stairs leading to the entrance. i believe her design represented her moving "up" in society or gaining a political status . her ideas were not so much about eternal life and reaching the heavens but gaining power and respect in her time and society.
4. Although there may be some similarities in physical characteristics of Egyption and Greek architecture. The evolution of designs is very different. Take for example the great pyramids of Giza and the Temple of Hera i. In ancient Egypt the pyramids had one purpose to act as a burial for Pharaohs so they could gain eternal life. The designs of these burials really never developed past the pyramid. Egyptians were not interested in evolving, they had a design that worked and they never changed it over time. Where as the temple of Hera i was constructed and to the Greeks the design of was unfinished. Yes it served its purpose, to honor Hera, however the design needed to change. To the Greeks the columns not perfect and the single row of columns down the center was impractical for displaying statues. Therefore, they evolved the design to strive for the perfect temple to honor Hera. They came up with a design that had columns surrounding the outside, then a collanade inside. Which is two rows of columns allowing the middle of the space to be open. This design gave them the ability to have openness so they could display Hera and she could visible from every angle of the room.
5. In my opinion the furniture of the pharaohs was very light weight because it represented a transient object in a humans life. Where as the pyramids represented eternal life, they would be on Earth forever.
6. In Grecian culture the women were not valued like the men. They were to serve men in any way possible, often times even being enslaved. Greeks often made statues of women symbolizing their enslavement forever. These statues were not to honor them but to show that men had control over women. the urns depict that very well because in both the women are serving the men.

Summer

Over the summer I got the chance to work more with water colors and improve my technique

IAR 211: Process for diagrams

Aedicule: Point

Point

Nicole Ware
History and Theory of Design
Patrick Lucas
September 6, 2010
“Architecture, the unavoidable art, why is it unavoidable?” “Because… when u walk into it…. It HURTS!” This is what I have learned thus far in Iar 222. A very good lesson indeed, I have numerously walked into walls or stubbed my toe on them before however, it never crossed my mind that what I was walking into was the unavoidable art that we are studying so diligently in IARc.
As we move through the unit we discover how to look at design and architecture. As good designers we learn to consider how the structure will be affected by the outdoors, or how the outdoors might affect the structure as seen with Frank Lloyd Wright’s Falling Water House. We see by example through natural architects like the nautilus how their designs can withstand the test of time and how they keep living records of their history just as we do, but in a different fashion. Other aspects of design to reflect on as we learn through history are how materials evolve from the simplest like rock and wood to complex materials like glass and steel. Then we observe how those materials revolutionize design and our way of living.
One of the greatest things about design and the history of design is the cross-cultural experience we get from it. We get to learn how the events that occurred in a certain time and place effected the design of that era which then influenced design in the future. An example of cross-cultural exchanges would be textiles from Europe that had influences from the east embedded throughout the design. Materials were a huge factor in altering design that which were also exchanged from different cultures. Starting with some of the basic materials like rock used to make one of the earliest structures, Stonehenge. Rock lead to the invention of simple forms of concrete and from there materials evolved drastically.
A building may be attractive and has a purpose but what if it is not stable? A building must meet all the requirements to be successful. It needs to have commodity or a purpose, firmness, and delight. Without one of them then the building has failed. Buildings also have to be unique and be able to stand the test of time. This is where great designers are defined. Architects like Frank Lloyd Wright, Greene and Greene, Corbusier, Zaha Hadid, and many others pushed the boundaries of design while meeting all three requirements and making there own style. They have inspired young designers to do better and push the envelope more and see where our creativity takes us. Unlike all of the mcmansions we see being thrown up everywhere come from poorly designed and money hungry contractors, who are only interested in spitting out poorly designed houses. They are not concerned with building homes that are unique, sustainable, or sometimes even sturdy. This is why we study those who impact the world with great design so one day we don’t aspire to mass-produce land fill. When we design it should be there for life.
In conclusion, this first segment of class has already inspired me to look beyond what is right in front of my face, it has taught me how to see in many different ways, to search through history, and to evolve. However, the most important is to watch where I walk so I don’t run into the unavoidable art.