Reading Comp. Two

[1]
George Hersey's the lost meaning on classical architecture is a brilliant composition of his understanding through research on culture and how it so greatly influences classical architecture. He begins with the tree and moves on to such things as relating a tabulatum to an offering table. A holy tree, which is extremely sacred to the Greek culture. The Greeks surrounded early structures with trees and columns were originally constructed from wood. Hersey digs deep in the cultural and mythological reasons and influences on architecture. It's something i've never before thought of but through reading his text, I find great validity in all of his arguments. He presents wonderful evidence for everything he speaks of. 

[2]
Macaulay's Motel of the Mysteries tells a story about how a man would discover present day situations as ruins in the future. His understanding of his finds are completely distorted from the truth. This man, now can go about misleading others with his own generated perception of what he [believed]  happened at the Motel of the Mysteries, much like the internet today. The internet is a wonderful resource we have today. I would, as well as most people i'm sure, would have a difficult time without the internet at our fingertips. The internet however, can be extremely deceptive. When you base all of your information from the internet, it's possible you could be gathering material posted by someone like the man in the Motel of the Mysteries who shares information based solely on what he [believes] to be true. One could avoid this by having a balanced library of resources i.e. books, internet, periodicals, and videos. then compile this and be sure you don't have contradicting information. 


[3]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Hephaistos.temple.AC.02.jpg

The Egyptian and Greek culture and architecture had many commonalities but they also had a lot of differences. The Egyptians focused more on repetition and symmetry. They had geometric and stylized naturalistic designs. They tended to use a lot of color. Greece focused on proportions and order. Their temples paid more attention to the exterior more so than interior. 

[4] 
The temple of Queen Hatshepsut and the pyramids for other pharaohs are similar in that they make a statement and they both reek power. Hatshepsut's however, is built in to the side of a mountain almost as if it were intentionally trying to fit in. This reason somewhat could be that the mountain is already there, so use what you are already given and built onto the mountain. The problem with that though is I believe if she wanted her temple to stand out like those of the pyramidal forms, that is what she would've got. She perhaps wanted to be more subtle in the design. Regardless of how subtle it may be, it is still a magnificent structure. I think it may even be plausible to compare it to present day civilization; men want these huge hummers, 70' boats, and mansions, which all are to stand out and make a statement that everyone can see. Typically these things aren't what woman fantasize about. So maybe looking at in this way is what the thought process was back then. 

[4]

Harwood's examples of Egyptian furniture describes it being made from things such as: wicker, ivory, leather, linen and other delicate materials. Comparing furniture to tombs, tombs are made up of stone and other heavy materials. Perhaps the reasoning behind this is that tombs are built from these massive and statement making objects such as stone to: 1.) show divine power from the exterior and 2.) these materials are suitable for their eternal purpose. Furniture is built from precious materials which was probably preferred by whomever the user may have been. Furniture didn't have to withstand weather and wear and tear as the tombs did. 

[5]

Both images listed has meaning of what's going on regarding gender. The one on the left has what appears to be a young male of some power position with a woman greeting him, or presenting something in front of him for his approval. This could also be a slave of sorts serving him. The second image has an older male who looks to be of higher power with two women, both of which appear to be serving him. 

Point: Theories

The theories unit covered material on practice <opposite> theory, culture, the design cycle, foundations, alterations, reflections, and explorations. We discussed how these played a major role in the conceptual/idea stage, the completed stage, and the life span of design. 

Wotton dubbed good design having commoditie, firmness, and delight. Having discussed this in great detail, we learn design should include function; a church should be designed so that individuals are able to worship. Function however, should not be so basic. Worship does not require a "St. Peter's" to worship or any building of any kind for that matter. A designed church although, should have seating and perhaps a pulpit. But digging deeper, there is more much more function to be thought of. First, how is the building designed to create good acoustics? If the space is rather large, the voice of the preacher or priest or whomever it may be should be well distributed throughout the room. Visual contact is important as well, by raising the pulpit, or raising the seating row after the next so that someone in the back row is able to see down to the pulpit. 

Architecture is a part of design where time, geography, and culture are all tied together. Various cultures have their own unique way of creating foundations for design and building. China, for instance, focuses on ordering systems such as axiality and hierarchy. This was embedded before conceptualizing of design began in lieu of designing first, and come up with ways of incorporating this afterwards. Before the easy access of trading information through internet and visits across the world, cultures would over time come up with new, innovative ideas on how to improve their current design strategies. As seen in nature and dealing with biometrics, when there is growth on the inside, there also needs to be growth on the outside accommodating that which is within. 

Culture is important in design, culture can also be broken down into subcultures. An example of this would be something one thinks of to be great, because it gives them enlightenment (culture), on the other side, the person who thinks in a negative way about this something is the subculture. 

Architecture includes aedicule in more situations than what you would think. Aedicule is implied space created by a form. When sitting at Frank Lloyd Wright's table in the Robie House, the high backs on the chairs creates an implied space, a room of sorts within the table you are sitting. This, i think is a great example of how aedicule is used in architecture. 

As alterations were mentioned before, they are seen all throughout the design world. When something is invented or discovered, it seems that alterations or advancements never end. There are constantly ideas brewing up for a new and better way of making something function better, make it stronger, and to make it look better. Examples of these can be seen everywhere you look. In order to advance , there is often times of failure. Depending on how you look at things, if you're a optimist or pessimist. Failure can be good, very bad, or not even exist at all. Cell phones are interesting regarding their rapid advancements. There is constantly new technology available for cell phones. Overtime, there has been the ability to make them extremely small. This can be very convieneint as far as putting it into a pocket but there's a point where it gets too small. This has been recently, people don't want a phone there're unable to dial a phone number on because it's so small. Manufactures once had a goal of reaching the smallest possible, now that it is achievable, it's no longer the goal. 

Architecture of Happiness

     "[Beautiful] architecture has none

     of the unambiguous advantages of

     a vaccine or a bowl of rice"

          -Alain de Botton, The Architecture of Happiness, 2006

http://www.visitingdc.com/images/st-peters-picture-2.jpg

Achieving [Architecture of Happiness]. Is it possible? I believe St. Peter's Basilica is a perfect example. From the time you arrive, the Colonnade welcomes you to enter as if it were opening it's arms to you. Once inside, despite the height and openness, it gives a feeling of security with massive concrete columns. You feel comfortable surrounded by gold with a breathtaking level of detail. The monumental Michelangelo dome which floods the space with light seems to bring you closer to the sky, helping you to forget about failure and realizing nothing is impossible. 

De Botton talks about how a building, or architecture can help alter the mood you're in. This is very true, I can only imagine the level of astonishment one gains when exploring St. Peter's. [Architecture however, cannot be expected to suddenly make all of the unhappiness you exhibit disappear]. At this point, begin thinking; if architecture can't make you happy all of the time, what can? Anything? A spouse, a car, a tv show? Unhappiness is inevitably going to occur. If you happen to be within beautiful architecture as this moment happens, don't blame the architecture. Having said that, [architecture can create [happiness] only to a certain extent]. 

Space

http://thefirstborn.org/Pictures/preaching.jpg

http://www.sxipanihati.org/IMAGES/Classroom_2.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/91/236186316_7cd7dc95b7.jpg

The classroom we gather in for 222 is much larger than what would be sufficient. Our class doesn't even take up half of the seats. The way in which we have been raised teaches us to expect this sort of abundance. This gets quirky however, you walk into this large space with all of this room to spread out. You then sit down between people on either side of you, and this large space suddenly becomes small and overcrowded. Now, you and your neighbors have notebooks out taking notes and you find yourself in this uncomfortable, crowded space within this rather large room. You then have to concentrate and actively listen to the lecture, which would be difficult for some given the uncomfortable situation. 


What's the real reason we find ourselves uncomfortable? Is it because there truly is not enough space between ourself and the person beside us, or is it because we've become so accustomed to this theory that we must have the availability to have more space if we wish. We gather in this room with a 25' projector screen which is more than enough to clearly see and use to take notes. If we are in the very last row, there's not an issue of not being able to see because we are elevated above the row in front of us. The professor's voice seems to travel well throughout the entire room, so no problem with being able to hear. The seats we sit in are cushioned and are more comfortable than a lot of classrooms. The proximity of others causing us to not be comfortable, or is it us?


The first image is a gathering outside. I don't know how we would feel if we were asked to have class outside, through 90degree weather, through 30degree weather. Nor do I know how we would take it if we were asked to be practically stacked upon another as seen in the second image. A lot of us Americans have a lack of appreciation to what we are given. 

Textile design

http://www.textiledesigning.org/textile 20design 2000079.jpg

The textile above shows a variety of eastern influences. Harwood spoke about circles, spirals, and swastikas; which all can be seen in this textile. It's easy to get lost in viewing it as a whole.

There are tiles that have been mirrored, rotated, and manipulated in such a way that the original tile is lost within the design as a whole. In examining closely, you begin to see this circle starting out as some form of flower surrounded by what appears to be leaves which begin to get lost when you continue outward to the next level of the circle with more defined flowers. The circle is clearly seen simply by the shape. Within the circle, the leaves begin a spiraling effect starting from the center moving outward. The color of the faded leaves in the outer circle helps create the form of a swastika. All of this, as discussed by Harwood. 

Commoditie, Firmness, Delight

     "In architecture as in all other operative arts, the end must 
     direct the operation. The end is to build well. Well-building 
     hath three conditions:

          Commoditie, Firmness, and Delight"

               -Sir Henry Wotten, The Elements of Architecture, 1624 

http://www.ec-lapierre-evry.ac-versailles.fr/IMG/jpg/India_-_Taj_Mahal_sunrise_Hz_5x8-2.jpg

In exploring the text of Roth's understanding architecture, the building that first came to mind during his chapters on [Commoditie, Firmness, and Delight] was the Taj Mahal. The Taj (meaning "crown of buildings") touches on all three subjects Roth discussed.

[Delight]

The Taj is among some of the most precious buildings on earth. When viewing the Taj from the south (above image), it shows planning and design excellence. The pool gives an inviting effect leading your eye all the way up to the Iwan of the main structure. Once focused on the main building, you begin to explore the symmetry and geometry of this magnificent structure. The geometry of the Taj seems to be perfectly proportioned which is pleasing to the eye; a sense of delightment. Delight doesn't stop at viewing from afar with the Taj...

Walking through and exploring the details of the entire complex, it is found that beauty (or delight) is never left out, either from viewing the building a thousand feet away or inches from a small detail.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Taj_Mahal_Mosque_Interior_Hall.jpg

[Firmness]

When viewing the Taj again from the south, beauty is not the only thing present. It shows a massive, solid structure. The center of the taj (the central dome) being the main focal point, has smaller domes on either side, a huge mass beneath, and finally the four towers surrounding the main building (perhaps protecting the center piece, or watching over the building) gives the entire building firmness. As you approach the Taj, the solid form of white marble gives you sense of kingdom, something so big it couldn't fail. 


[Commoditie]
The Taj scores low in commodity. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan for one his wives Mumtaz Mahal. It seems the size of the Taj is just a bit unnecessary for a burial site. However, it has become one of India's finest attributes.