unit 2 [reverberations]
week one: expressions of faith in stone + glass: is all architecture frozen music?: composition: eyes dance across surface, music enfolds, light washes from above. worship spaces stand as tangible expressions of faith in glass and stone.
during the baroque period, architecture looked like it was pushing the limits and wasn’t possible. this period of “architecture on drugs” experimented with the fluidity of buildings, shimmery ornamentations, and new representations of ideas. the sant’ivo alla sapienza in rome has a ceiling that is made up of circles super imposed in a triangle, which is different than anything that people had seen before then. the san carlo alle quattro fontane’s façade goes in and out and makes it look very fluid. this involved experimentation in materials and they way they could be used, but also still keeps the idea of stacking. there are two examples that represent the difference between the baroque time period and the renaissance. the statue of david done by michelangelo portrays david standing straight up and looking calm, serene, and like he is thinking. the statue of david done by bernini shows david crouched over and in the process of slaying a lion. the renaissance was more a time of thinking and viewing, while the baroque was one of action.
february 7- march 25
reverberations: to be repeated several times as an echo; appear to vibrate or be disturbed because of a loud noise; to have continuing and serious effects.
week one: expressions of faith in stone + glass: is all architecture frozen music?: composition: eyes dance across surface, music enfolds, light washes from above. worship spaces stand as tangible expressions of faith in glass and stone.expressions of faith are shown in all different areas of the world. the pyramids of egypt show this through hieroglyphics that are carved into stone, then later the greeks showed this idea in the parthenon and the romans in the panthenon. after that, shikara, or the hindu cosmos, shows the dance of the Indian temple to express their faith in their god. this idea is echoed throughout time, but represented in different ways by different cultures and regions. some buildings make the eye dance on the interior, while others make it dance on the exterior. this just represents which surface the designer or architect decided to ornament the most and show the connection to god through the details in the building. the creation of these buildings shows that the money of the empire is put into religion, and also trying to create the biggest and best building to show power.
the idea of all architecture as frozen music is represented in the way the interior of the building and the wall reverberate sound throughout the space. the types of instruments or variations of vocals can be completely altered in different settings, whether it is in the african safari or a gothic cathedral.
“music as well as architecture is a visualization of the time and construction of space.” – toyo ho. architecture and music both consist of structure + function.
week two: unfolding scenes - a world of maps: coke can cathedral: regions + perspectives: the first millennium ends, the modern world map unfolds: we see more enlightened places + people than previous notions of the “dark ages.”
cognitive map – mental processing by which an individual can acquire code, store, recall, and decode information about the relative locations and attributions of phenomenon in their everyday or metaphorical spatial environment. deals with objects, spaces, buildings, and places as maps and what they depict. a good example of this is the Ste. Marie cathedral. the floor plan is in the shape of a cross where the main section is broken into three sections made up of three circles. this divides the space up and leads the person through the space, like a map would. also, the overall building appears very peaceful and serene, but if you look closely at the detail, it is gorish. the scale that the person views the building has two completely different effects and represents two opposing ideas. at the center of cathedrals is the heart where the altar is and the connection between the two sections meets. also, it is where heaven is prominently inscribed in the cathedral. the height and the dome or pointed tops relate and point to the heavens. the stained glass windows tell stories and also let large amounts of “holy” light in upon the worshipers. all of these aspects also show the position of man and heaven, and tries to represent the connection between the two.
week three: the great eastern + western design rule book: dialogues + conversations: architecture of happiness: making rules to break with gothic ideas and re-link to the ancients of the western world: observing continuities with the past in the east.
the great eastern and western design rule book mainly applies to the renaissance, which took place during the 14th and 15th century’s. the east was more about expanding your inner world while the west deals more with expanding your physical world, but both regions “followed the rules” of design during this time period. in the east, the kasara temple in india represents the idea of the dancing eye and is not only just a religious space, but also a place for worship and praise. in the west, the palazzo medici’s surface and materiality represents the three levels of the interior. it layers stone, but the amount of texture on each level goes from rough to more refined to show the lower levels as less important, and the higher levels that are further from the street as more important. the interior and exterior clearly shows that man and his needs are the most important part of this building.
the idea of the architecture of happiness during the renaissance is show by designers trying to get away from cold cathedrals and searching for beauty and the delight quality of design. they were focused on the feeling of a space and tried to introduce rules into the design world. this brings about the question, does the architecture of happiness have rules? in my opinion, it doesn’t. the feeling of a space and the way it is perceived is different for each individual, and opposing ideas or feelings can be happy for one person, but unhappy for the other. there can never be a list of items that if included in a building, object, or space will make it happy for every single person.
week four: spare no expense: coloring outside the lines: nautilus: as western rules made + written, designers work across genre + scale to bend + break them: eastern designers maintain a continuous approach.
the next cycle of design is not to follow the rules, but now to break them. andrea palladio, a very influential architect from the renaissance, designed many buildings that now “broke the rules.” he designed the san giorgio maggiore, which had a façade made of white marble while the rest was made of plain brick. the front also breaks the rules by not following one precedent of design, but rather combines multiple facades with different influences. designers played with different lighting, porches, landscapes, staircases, wall paintings, vestibules, facades, and much more.
during the baroque period, architecture looked like it was pushing the limits and wasn’t possible. this period of “architecture on drugs” experimented with the fluidity of buildings, shimmery ornamentations, and new representations of ideas. the sant’ivo alla sapienza in rome has a ceiling that is made up of circles super imposed in a triangle, which is different than anything that people had seen before then. the san carlo alle quattro fontane’s façade goes in and out and makes it look very fluid. this involved experimentation in materials and they way they could be used, but also still keeps the idea of stacking. there are two examples that represent the difference between the baroque time period and the renaissance. the statue of david done by michelangelo portrays david standing straight up and looking calm, serene, and like he is thinking. the statue of david done by bernini shows david crouched over and in the process of slaying a lion. the renaissance was more a time of thinking and viewing, while the baroque was one of action. trade routes influenced objects, spaces, buildings, and places. they changed the decorative arts, illustration, fine arts, fashion, food, dance, music, manners, and much more.
week five: colonial expansion - breaking new ground: semiotics + language: an architecture parlent. colonial expansion brings ideas + people around the world. in these encounters, emulation and maintaining difference both become important.
colonial expansion during this time period brought about advances in the engineering and science worlds. rather than creating buildings and seeing how much weight the structure could support, engineers began thoughtfully thinking about the structure of a building that was determined by how much of a load it could carry. this time period could be defined by: the sequential understanding of history, engineering materiality, rational and logical systems of thinking that were different than the church, and changing practices in terms of industrial revolution. the quest for being modern that has always been present throughout time continues, and there is a split between thinking + writing and making which will eventually lead toward the enlightenment time period.
semiotics is the uncovering of the latent meanings in everyday life. this ties into the language of the building, which was also changing. the language of architecture was turning more persuasive, and had more of a sense of purpose and representation of an idea.
week six: turning matters on end: industrial revolution – and the world goes round: the dollar bill exercise. architecture and design obscure significant political, social, and cultural change brought by revolution and invention throughout the world.
our direction is now focused on expansion in American during the 17th and 18th century’s. in the north, we see more georgian style of architecture, which is very symmetrical, and the most decoration is on the front of the house. however in the south, the architecture is similar to Palladio’s work (England) due to the trade routes.
the cycle of revolution goes from rotation, to cycle, reform, renaissance, revival, then back to rotation and continues this pattern. as America goes through revolution, we see changes in architecture that go hand in hand with the changing nation. seating, slaves and servants, dinner wear, etiquette, and many other things change, which in turn changes the design of a building or house to accommodate these new aspects.
to me, this picture of a man standing at the center of a tunnel represents this unit. the tunnel echos ideas throughout time, but has a uniform similarity throughout the whole thing, just as design and architecture does. it is constantly following this pattern of making and breaking the rules, and man is at the center of it all. there is a movement out of the "dark ages" and into the enlightenment period, and cycles of design and revolution that move in a circle and repeat themselves.
images:
-http://www.123rf.com/photo_7115752_shikara-decorations-on-the-parsavanatha-jain-temple-khajuraho-india.html
-http://cics.bsu.edu/cicsworld/nmcewan/2010/10/
-http://www.michaelarnoldart.com/Gianlorenzo%20Bernini%20Painter.htm
-http://www.newsmild.com/2010/10/16
