The alternatives unit encompassed designs that may have been inspired somewhat by what preceded them, but was usually the designers and architects during this time brought completely new ideas to designing – this time being the Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Rocco periods. For example, they began creating buildings along the horizontal instead of the vertical – the buildings spanned as far as the eye could see, not as high as one could see. Also, the landscape slowly became an important feature to building designs during the alternatives unit.
To start, Gothic Cathedrals were one of the first alternatives we discussed – these cathedrals, as well as many of the other buildings, were highly ornamented and displayed many details. For example, in a cathedral there were highly ornamented carvings which depicted stories from the bible. These details from these stories that spanned the exterior walls and doors, as well as the interior columns and walls sided in teaching the illiterate commoners who came to worship. Details were also very important for other reasons. For example, when the architect didn’t follow the original plans while building the Notre-Dame of Amiens, he made the buttresses too thin, almost causing the building to collapse. (Roth 334)
After the Gothic period, architects and designers went through a revival – the Renaissance. What was created during this time were places that followed rules more strictly, with less decoration, but the same amount of detail; the attention to detail was just used in a much different way. For example, instead of small, story-telling details, designers based their work on symmetry as well as geometrical shapes. During this time of revival, the façade of a building was crucial – the front face of buildings, especially ones that were directed toward highly populated gathering areas (those on busy street corners and surrounding a popular court), were grandly decorated to express wealth. These buildings may not have had the same expressions of detail the Gothic buildings had, but they were, as I have said, very strong symmetrical details. Also, as was the case of the Palazzo de Medici, there were different materials used to represent different levels of the building, each level was a different size, which separated floors for business, socializing and family. All of this was apparent just from the details on the front façade. (Roth 376)
There was another transition made during the alternatives unit – and that was from the Renaissance period to the Baroque and Rocco periods. During this time designers decided to break the rules and design ‘out of the box.’ This means that usually the designers disregarded any of the written design rules from the Renaissance, and made their own designs, usually more highly ornamented then anything yet. The designs were, at first, highly disliked and made fun of. Many designs, for instance, were so highly decorated that the viewer was unable to take in everything at once. (Roth 414) It required them to think deeply, and become more emotionally connected to the art. Also, other geometric forms began appearing; as a replacement for of simple circles, squares and rectangles, there were ovals – as seen in the Piazza of St. Peters – as well as hexagons instead of circular domes.
Showing posts with label unit summary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label unit summary. Show all posts
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Unit Summary: Foundations Unit
Foundations are the basic unit of a space: what holds a building together, the beginning of a structure, the basics, and in some considerations the most significant part. Either in buildings – if the foundation is not secure then the building may collapse – or in architecture as a whole – the first bits of architecture that influenced everything thereafter. To begin this review, however, I feel I should set my own foundation; we began with a very important concept, the power of three. Many strong architectural designs stem in threes and, ironically, there are three main forms I have learned in this unit.
The first, as declared by Sir Henry Wotten (Roth 11), is commodity: function: delight, all of which must occur in a building for it to be great. For a building to live up to its potential, it must have a sturdy structure, serve its intended purpose, and bring pleasure to those who pass through/by it. A church, for example, usually fulfills these three concerns; it is used as a place of worship, it is sturdy, and more often than not, the building makes its worshipers feel joyous.
The next power of three group it archetype: prototype: hybrid, which can be experienced anywhere in architecture. The archetype of columns, for example, came from Egypt and was known as the Doric column. The Grecians took this idea of the column and expanded on it, creating Ionic columns. Ionic columns were prototypes because they stemmed from the original idea; they became sturdier and more appealing to the eye. The hybrid in this situation would be Corinthian columns, which were the most delightful to the eye, most full of life, and sturdiest. A further example of this would be how the Romans took the Doric column and created a prototype – the Tuscan Doric – which was more slender. (Roth 31)
The last power of three we learned was porch: court: hearth, and can also be found throughout architecture. Take for instance an average house in the suburbs; it has a porch area (the entrance, which can create a change in mood), a living room functioning as the court (the gathering center; this can also be a kitchen), and a master bedroom which is the hearth (the private, sometimes most important space). This can also be applies to whole cities, Acropolis in Athens, Greece is a good example of this. There is a large winding path to Acropolis in which a traveler may encounter multiple other people, and become overwhelmed with the importance of this grand space, followed by the actual entrance itself with towering walls, all part of the porch. The court was the gathering area near the front where there weren’t many buildings, and the hearth was the Parthenon – the large temple built for Athena.
There were many buildings constructed for people, and they were most often dedicated to men who were Pharaohs or rulers. There were also buildings, cathedrals for example, which rose in height in attempt to connect the heavens and the earth, or used a dome shape with a hole in the center to the heavens could always be visible. Of the buildings dedicated to people, the ones which were tallest and spotted the landscape the most were more often for men (such as the temples in Egypt and the towers in Rome), and this is because the height imitated the male form, and was expressing his power. Some buildings were made for women, such a Queen Hatshepsut’s Tomb; it was still a heavy structure, but was more feminine because it centered more on the horizontal, and seemed to be built of the land. The difference between being of the land and on the land was how much its appearance differed from the land, or how much the structure utilized (or didn’t utilize) its entourage. The Romans, for instance, preferred ignore the natural landscape, and cut through and hills or mountains, and attempt to move water. (Roth 250)
The shapes that were first used in architecture were very basic – circles were utilized in Stonehenge, lines were found in Carnac, and triangles were used in Egypt. Each of these shapes would later be improved upon and create more options; a plain circle, for example, was used in later Roman architecture to make domes and even octagonal shapes. The use of squares and rectangles came into play in the Roman Empire as well to create ordered areas of axially disposed buildings (Roth 250). Order was important to the Romans, and they made buildings appear the same on the outside, as well as sit in straight lines.
The section on foundations explained the basic principles that created architecture in its very beginning. The first architects used basic shapes, as well as directional cues to create order and fluidity. Designs from these times are the archetypes of architecture today.
The first, as declared by Sir Henry Wotten (Roth 11), is commodity: function: delight, all of which must occur in a building for it to be great. For a building to live up to its potential, it must have a sturdy structure, serve its intended purpose, and bring pleasure to those who pass through/by it. A church, for example, usually fulfills these three concerns; it is used as a place of worship, it is sturdy, and more often than not, the building makes its worshipers feel joyous.
The next power of three group it archetype: prototype: hybrid, which can be experienced anywhere in architecture. The archetype of columns, for example, came from Egypt and was known as the Doric column. The Grecians took this idea of the column and expanded on it, creating Ionic columns. Ionic columns were prototypes because they stemmed from the original idea; they became sturdier and more appealing to the eye. The hybrid in this situation would be Corinthian columns, which were the most delightful to the eye, most full of life, and sturdiest. A further example of this would be how the Romans took the Doric column and created a prototype – the Tuscan Doric – which was more slender. (Roth 31)
The last power of three we learned was porch: court: hearth, and can also be found throughout architecture. Take for instance an average house in the suburbs; it has a porch area (the entrance, which can create a change in mood), a living room functioning as the court (the gathering center; this can also be a kitchen), and a master bedroom which is the hearth (the private, sometimes most important space). This can also be applies to whole cities, Acropolis in Athens, Greece is a good example of this. There is a large winding path to Acropolis in which a traveler may encounter multiple other people, and become overwhelmed with the importance of this grand space, followed by the actual entrance itself with towering walls, all part of the porch. The court was the gathering area near the front where there weren’t many buildings, and the hearth was the Parthenon – the large temple built for Athena.
There were many buildings constructed for people, and they were most often dedicated to men who were Pharaohs or rulers. There were also buildings, cathedrals for example, which rose in height in attempt to connect the heavens and the earth, or used a dome shape with a hole in the center to the heavens could always be visible. Of the buildings dedicated to people, the ones which were tallest and spotted the landscape the most were more often for men (such as the temples in Egypt and the towers in Rome), and this is because the height imitated the male form, and was expressing his power. Some buildings were made for women, such a Queen Hatshepsut’s Tomb; it was still a heavy structure, but was more feminine because it centered more on the horizontal, and seemed to be built of the land. The difference between being of the land and on the land was how much its appearance differed from the land, or how much the structure utilized (or didn’t utilize) its entourage. The Romans, for instance, preferred ignore the natural landscape, and cut through and hills or mountains, and attempt to move water. (Roth 250)
The shapes that were first used in architecture were very basic – circles were utilized in Stonehenge, lines were found in Carnac, and triangles were used in Egypt. Each of these shapes would later be improved upon and create more options; a plain circle, for example, was used in later Roman architecture to make domes and even octagonal shapes. The use of squares and rectangles came into play in the Roman Empire as well to create ordered areas of axially disposed buildings (Roth 250). Order was important to the Romans, and they made buildings appear the same on the outside, as well as sit in straight lines.
The section on foundations explained the basic principles that created architecture in its very beginning. The first architects used basic shapes, as well as directional cues to create order and fluidity. Designs from these times are the archetypes of architecture today.
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