Between Silence & Light

I did not go on the trip to Monticello and Falling Water, however, in discussion with the class, it was noted that the craft of the two buildings was great.  I recall someone talking about how the original door hinges were still in place and working just fine on at least one set of doors in Monticello.  Craft was also very important in our last project.  In this project, we had to use ¼” MDF.  We had to be able to cut our design out of this material and put it together while maintaining a level of craft.  Mine I feel was lacking in craft.  Some pieces were too short, the cuts were not all even, and there were glue spots from where I had had problems getting the artifact to stay together.  Craft is important in every design, whether it is only made to last a couple days or hundreds of years.  

Over the semester, we have learned many different ways or techniques of doing things.  In drawing, we learned how to use watercolors, markers, colored pencil, and other types of media.  We are now learning techniques for using MDF such as how to hold it together and what to cut it with.  In my precedent analysis project, I have found that I.M. Pei had to use new techniques in construction and innovation to get the Bank of China Tower to stand and be able to withstand typhoon winds.  

Public and private can be defined through many different means.  At Falling Water (I believe), there was the long, narrow, darker hallway that led to one of the bedrooms.  Public would be more along the lines of the living room/family room, kitchen, and dinning room.  The bedrooms and bathrooms are more private.  In my house, this is separated by the stairs.  Downstairs is all public space, while the upstairs is private. 

I felt that there was a lot this week that I could have related better to the field trip had I gone.  There seemed to be a good deal that related back to the detail or the structure of one or both buildings.  Monticello and Falling Water, both, have something that can be talked about for every word, but I also found myself thinking back to my own home and comparing it to these to buildings.  Craft, public and private, and technique have all changed over the many years.  My house would not be able to last quite as long as these two.  Looking at Monticello and Falling Water and hearing the discussions in class, have really shown how things have changed in the way of architecture, both private and commercial (public). 

[Re]actions

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, there was much exploration going on.  From exploring new lands, to trade, to the industrial Revolution, there was much movement in the literal way, but also in the way of design.  “By the mid-nineteenth century, Britain led the world in terms of trade and enjoyed great prosperity” (Massey 7).  Also during this time, people began to build with glass and steel.  Some amazing buildings, such as the Crystal palace, were created during this time.  

In design, we tend to look back, or reflect, on the ideas and styles of the past.  If you look around at some of the buildings in American, our capitol for example, go back to the style of the ancient Greeks.  Then there was the Gothic Revival. “The Victorian Gothic Revival was mainly inspired by Pugin and his interiors for the new Houses of Parliament building designed by Sir Charles Barry.  The style continued in use into the twentieth century, feeding into the Arts and Crafts Movement” (Massey 9). 

Not only does source go back to where an idea originates, but since we have been studying perspectives, I have found that source can also refer to the vanishing point, the source of the drawing, where everything seems as if it could have been pulled from that point.  I feel that is the effect, because every line that is not horizontal or vertical goes to this point, which makes it seem like they came from this point.    

Rotation, I believe, would have to do with the rotation of ideas from country to country.  This is why we can find the same style in different places all around the globe.  As people explored, they took their ideas and styles with them.  When the British began colonizing the Americas, they brought with them the style of architecture at the time. 

Illuminate: In Studio, we have been working with light and shadow.  We had to create something using ¼” MDF.  It had to show the relationship between light and shadow in a creative way.  I started out with a box that had little “windows” in the sides.  From there, I added six slats into the box with the same design as the outer panels.  I then went from six slats to four.  Finally, I ended up with something that looks kind of like a bookshelf, but it still uses the same pattern as the original pieces.   When put in the light, it causes the shadows to crisscross and form a checkerboard pattern. 

Grammar:Syntax

[re]visions:  Revision is going back and looking at the work one has done and changing it and manipulating it to make it better.  With architecture, this could mean making something of a different scale or style or simply changing a design for structural purposes. 

audience:  In design, the building or space needs to fulfill the characteristic of delight.  This means that it needs to appeal to its audience.  For example, if you were to design a space meant for children, it would need to appeal to them.  This could involve things to climb and play on and bright, fun colors.  Another example would be Versailles.  It was designed to please the King of France and to show that he had the most money and the most fabulous house.  It was to be large and elegant to show his power and his royal status.

Character:  Every piece of architecture has it’s own character.  Patrick was talking about how, in France, all the houses in parts of France were connected together and all shared the same basic façade.  This was character of the whole complex, but not of each individual house.  With houses today, we see a similar case.  Many houses, especially in developments, tend to look basically the same as all the others.  However, on the insides, each home has it’s own character.  

Transition:  Throughout time, architecture has been through many transitions.  From the early civilizations to modern day, architecture has been revised and changed.  Transition is also very important when creating a presentation because you need to be able to move form one thing to another.  The project need to be understandable to those who look at it so that the information can be put across in a neat and readable fashion.

Datum:  In our last project for drawing, we had to set up project boards.  My group chose to run two datum lines through our boards.  We had a larger red datum line running on the top that went from a solid line to the brick layout of the floor.  On this was the title of our building and our names.  Under the diagrams, was the other, smaller datum line.  On this one, we wrote our statement about our building.  The datum lines were used to establish order and boarders within our project

P Week

Periphery refers to the edge of something, such as the edge of a building.  I would associate this word to the walls of a space.  In Drafting, this could refer to the boundary created around the edge of the paper.  

A portfolio is very useful in showing a person's work.  It is used to keep the artwork or other things together and in a place where the person can go back later if they need a work.  For Drafting, we keep all of our assignments in our portfolio.  A portfolio, however, does not have to be paper copies of everything, it can also be found online.  Our blogs are like online portfolios.  They are a place for us to keep our work and be able to talk about it and let others look at it.

Every good project starts with a beginning model or drawing, but through a Process, it is developed and made better.  It is always important to be able to show your process, show how your ideas have changed through trial and error or the thoughts of others.  A person's portfolio is a good way to keep track of a project's process.  One example is the process each group had for the pathways project.  We began with drawings, throw up sheets, and ideas.  We took those and made many more drawings and models.  Through the ideas of our fellow students and the teachers, we created our final ideas and began casting.  We had many critiques and will be installing the final pieces soon.

We have been working with perspective since last semester.  We looked at one point, two point, and three point perspectives.  In Drawing this semester, we did perspective drawings for our group project, where each group had a building.  My group ended up choosing two perspective drawings per person for the final presentation boards.  Now we have begun again with perspective drawings in Stoel's drafting class.  

For the project for drawing, with the buildings, we were to create final presentation boards.  These boards were to present the information about our group's building in a functional and professional manner.  It is important to be professional when presenting your design and your ideas, because you want the client to choose you and your design over all the other choices.   

Macro to Micro

The Porch/Court/Hearth combination is found in most or all of the buildings we have looked at from the Greeks to the early Christian period and the “dark ages”.  One example of this system can be found in Old Saint Peter’s Basilica.  Roth states that “in the new church basilicas, entry was from one end, where a vestibule, or narthex, was created, with the alter placed at the far end in the semi-circular apse.  Outside, preceding the narthex, a large atrium forecourt ringed with colonnades was added where the unbaptized withdrew during the Mass of the Faithful.  At Saint Peter’s, entrance to the atrium was through an imposing propylon or gate” (282).  The forecourt or atrium is the porch of Saint Peter’s, the Narthex serves as the court, and the altar is the hearth. 

http://www.beliefnet.com/imgs/tout/story/keating_awareness.gif

Diagrams are used to better explain a site or a plan to someone.  There are different diagrams to show different things.  A few are context, matrix, and bull’s-eye.  “For example, a highly useful type of plan is a diagram that, in presentation, acts as an informative link between site analysis findings and the more formal communication of the design solution” (Porter, Goodman 28).  Diagrams can show how people move within a space, what is around that space, and what the functions are for different parts of a building or space.  These things can be shown using color or different types of shading, from shading to crosshatching.

“Another plan drawing which is seldom made is a composite drawing of the context into which a building is to be placed” (Lockard 28).  A contextual diagram refers back to the composition of a building or space, by showing what is around it.  This could be anything from other buildings to streets to trees and other vegetation.  Nicole Robert and I were actually given the task of drawing the contextual diagram for the Mossman building.  We drew the building with the sidewalks, streets, and parking lots around it.  We also put a few of the buildings that were close to it.    

Detail drawings are usually closer up than perspective drawings.  A detail drawing does exactly what it says.  It shows the detail of a certain item.  One example of this is our assignment for drawing.  We had to each pick a detail that was specific to our building.  I chose to do a detail of the brick floor.  I chose this because bricks are something the Mossman building has a lot of.  The walls, outside walkways, and floors are all made of brick.  No other building on campus uses brick for as much s the Mossman building.

http://www.mattmurray.eu/images/_MCM0034.jpg

Impression can be like the feeling one gets from a work of art, and building, or a space.  The Gothic Cathedrals are a good example because of the impression they have upon a person.  When you first walk in, the size of the structure itself and its complexity can cast  a feeling of awe on those who see it.  

    

Voices

http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/Rf.html

Metric is defined as a way of thinking of a building as a system (Baths of the Diocletian handout).  The handout talked about how the baths were divided into different areas.  One was the caldarium, another is the tepidarium, and the other is the frigidarium.  They were divided by the different temperatures of water.  The cathedrals and churches were also divided into different areas.  They tended to keep the form of the porch, the court, and the hearth.

http://www.urbansketchers.com/search/label/Gabi%20Campanario

Finding a precedent is where a designer starts when taking up a project.  This could be of a style of furniture or a building.  The precedent is used to give a basic idea.  In studio, we were divided into groups and each group was given a building as a precedent for their portal design.  The group I am in consists of Chey, Neil, and myself.  We were given Old Saint Peter's cathedral as our precedent.  We are taking the idea of the courtyard for our design by adding a seating area or a bench.  

Presence is the feel a building gives.  An example of this could be the cathedrals.  Their high, vaulted ceilings can create a feeling of power and awe.  For me they create fear due to my extreme fear of heights, but that's just me.  Different spaces let off a different presence or feel.  Some can make you feel relaxed and calm, while others can make you feel energized and ready to go.  For me, Gatewood Studio Arts building has a relaxed feel, but I am still able to focus on what I need to do.

Thumbnails drawings are a good way to show different moments happening, even if they are in the same place.  For example, we were divided into groups in design drawing.  Each group was given a building on campus.  My group got the Mossman building by the EUC.  Even with five people in our group, we all still managed to capture different moments within the building.   

Duality is the interaction between two things and how they work with one another.  With black and white, the black would seem as though it were more overpowering to the white, because our eye is drawn to that point or that area.  It gives us a sense or presence of being mysterious; the unknown.  

All of these words; metric, precedent, presence, moments, and duality; all intertwine with one another.  Precedent, presence, and moments give a person a feel for the space or the building.  They can all be different for different people and can be interpreted in different fashions.  Duality can go along with those by saying that the duality of a work or a space can be taken in a different way for two different people.  Metric has more to do with the design, but can tie with precedent because a precedent can give one the idea for the different areas or metrics.

Parts:Whole

Order refers to the different types of columns developed over the years.  The orders from least ornate to the most are doric, ionic, corinthian, and composite.  When we looked at the Acropolis, the Parthenon has doric and ionic columns while the neighboring Erechtheion has ionic columns.  "Although the temple was built with the Doric order, massive and austere, and benefitting the goddess of war, the roof of the Parthenon chamber was supported by more delicate Ionic columns" (Roth 236).  The orders were used to show hierarchy.  Then, when we look to Rome, we see that the Colosseum has utilized the doric, ionic, and corinthian orders in the decorative architecture of the building.  Doric is found at the bottom and corinthian at the top. 

Entourage is one's environment or surroundings.  In Suzanne's drawing class, we have been working in groups on a building on campus.  The group I am with got the Mossman building.  The drawing is actually from Human Resource Services, which is located on the first floor of the building.  It shows the area just inside the office and the area surrounding it in the main area of the building.  "At the base of the Acropolis, paths leading out to the surrounding farms eventually became streets, and along one of these, Northwest of the mass of the Acropolis, a roughly triangular, open space was set aside as the agora, whose boundaries were defined by the surrounding houses and public buildings" (Roth 222).

The Parthenon is a good example of hierarchy, because it is the largest building on the Acropolis.  Also, all of the other buildings on the Acropolis face the Parthenon, which, in turn, draws the eye towards it.  In drawing, hierarchy can be shown by what is closer.  These parts of the drawing are larger than the rest, so they stick out more.  Hierarchy can be shown from architectural structures, to furniture, to simple sketches.  "By far the most important Greek building was the temple.  Although it served a most vital public function and was a symbol of the polis, it was not a public building in the sense that we use the word, for only priests and selected individuals actully entered it" (Roth 229). 

http://www.richeast.org/htwm/Greek/Furniture.html

Archetype/Prototype/Hybrid.  These are the process in developing a piece of architecture or even a piece of furniture.  For example, the temple (Megaron) had to go through many changes to reach the desired look, the look of "perfection".  

Source is the place at which something, such as an idea originates.  The source for the temples of Greece would, of course, be the designers and architects who came up with the ideas.  However, the ideas and the "images" of the building itself needed to be spread around.  To do that, people who had seen the building would talk about it and eventually the ideas would spread all over the Grecian Empire.  This is why several buildings can be found with a similar style, but be in completely different places of the empire.  "The ancient Greeks learned much from Egypt, apparently adapting their earliest sculpture and post and lintel stone architecture from the Egyptian models" (Roth 215).

              Scale is used for many different things in Architecture.  In drawing, whatever is closest to you is bigger and as it moves back, it gets smaller.  So if you had a crowd of people, then the people in front would be larger in scale than those in the back of the crowd.  Also, scale is a way of showing power or hierarchy.  This is shown in the pyramids, ancient Greece, and many other places all over the world.  Normally, the larger buildings have a religious or political use or power.  We also use certain scales to show a room, building, or piece of furniture in a smaller way, so as it will fit on paper or board.  One example of this was drawing a plan view of Pat's chair in 3": 1' 0" scale. 

radified.com/photos/step_pyramid.htm

www.aztec-history.net/aztec_pyramids

Unity can be the relationship between two drawings, to spaces, or to different cultures.  One example of this was discussed a week or so ago in History.  Similar architectural styles can be found between places half a world away from one another.  The Aztec pyramids in Mexico and the pyramids in Mesopotamia have the same stacked formation, however, they were on opposite sides of the world.  Unity was also a major issue discussed in the workings of the Pathways, Edges, and Boundaries project.  The issue was creating designs specific for each area, but still maintaining a sense of unity between all of the groups.

                     

Vignettes are a way of showing a scene, but not showing everything within the space.  In a vignette, there are no definite ending lines.  The ending lines trail off, giving you a less defined space, where watercolor or whatever coloring medium does not have to follow any definite ending points either.  

In drafting, we had to do two sections of Pat's chair.  I picked two points at which to "cut" the chair.  Where the chair was cut, I poched to show that these were the parts that had been cut.  A section shows what is inside the structure.  In a house or other building, a section would show the pipes and wiring within a wall.  These are features not normally seen in an elevation or plan drawing.  

Boundaries are a way of defining a space.  My drawing actually shows a lack of boundaries.  This is determined by the edges and lines that just fade out instead of coming to a definite end.  Boundaries are currently an important topic and issue in the Pathways, Edges, and Boundaries project for studio.  We are designing and installing artifacts for each given space, however, each space has certain boundaries.  Some are definite, such as street curbs or sidewalks and others, such as the wires that run for the emergency pole, are not clear boundaries.

Each one of these words comes from at least on class specifically.  I relate sections more towards drafting.  Vignettes to drawing.  Boundaries toward studio.  Scale goes towards all and is seen in all, because scale is a major part of drawing quality and architectural details and accomplishments. 

When you illuminate a picture or drawing, you are making it pop from its background; making it stand out.  The pyramids in Mexico are actually illuminated by the surrounding area.  The green in the forest and landscape make the brown of the stone temples stand out.  This draws attention to them.

An Idiom has to do with the language or dialect of a society.  The Egyptians used hieroglyphics as their written language.  They used it to tell the stories of the gods and of the pharaohs.  "Scribes and artisans [also lived reasonably well], for their skills were crucial to the operation of the temple services and the creation of inscriptions and paintings in the temples and tombs" (Roth 209).  These inscriptions were deeply cut into the stone so a to stand the test of time. 

  

Materials are a very important part of design.  Certain materials aid in the firmness or strength of a building.  Materials also have to do with what you use to do a drawing or painting.  For example, I used watercolors, pen, and colored pencil.  The Egyptians had to find a material that was available to them in the desert.  They found and used a type of sandstone, which was used to build their temples and the pyramids.  This material had to strong enough to last forever, due to the Egyptian's beliefs in an afterlife.  

Commodity is the usefulness of a space or an artifact.  For Pat's chair, I did a chair and table combination with a shelf.  This could be used for many things, such as working, eating, or just relaxing.  Sir Henry Walton stated, "In architecture, as in all operative arts, the end must direct the operation.  The end is to build well.  well building hath three conditions: commodity, firmness, delight."

If a building or an artifact does not have firmness, then it will not be able to stand over time.  A good example of firmness are the pyramids of Giza.  They were built from a strong stone and in a shape that is able to withstand the pressure of gravity.  This is why they are still standing.

Delight is simply pleasing to the eye.  The Great Wall of China shows delight, because it moves with the land.  This makes it pleasing to the eye, by flowing smoothly and having smooth curves.  Decoration of an artifact of space can also fill the qualification of delight.  

All together, these features combine to create an artifact, space, of piece of architecture that is useful, able to withstand the test of time, and be pleasing to the eye.  All architecture and design relates back to these points to make is successful.  

Translation (week 1)

TRANSLATION: An example of translation can be found in A Midsummer's Night Dream.  Bottom dreams that the Fairy Queen has fallen in love with him.  He also is being turned into an ass.  This is a translation of how other people see him and his general character.  He thinks of himself as superior and able to do everything the best.  This, in turn, gets him into trouble, and he finally realizes what he is becoming and tries to fix it.

Cycle (week 1)

CYCLE: Cycle is used in some stories by starting with one event and looping around to the same event or just the progression of the story.  In the Design History and Theory class, it was stated that history is like a cycle, because it tends to repeat itself.  Architecture and furnishings tend to follow the pattern of cycles.  A style will be "fashionable" for a while, then it will "disappear", only to return later on in the future.

Stories (week 1)

STORIES: Stories are a means of entertainment and of passing around information or knowledge. One thing that holds it's own story is my bear. His name is Nick and he was given to me by my best friend. She has one named Joe that goes along with my bear. He reminds me that I will always have a best friend whom I can go to if I need advice or help with something. I tell her everything, so to have something to remind me of her is great. Stories can be told many different ways and come from many different things. They can also be found everywhere in everyday life.

Multiview (week 1)

MULTIVIEW: With multiview, a reader can see a story from different points of view.  One example of this is the play A Midsummer's Night Dream.  The story is told from the views of the main characters.  One specific point of the play is Bottom's dream when the fairy queen is in love with him.  This part is seen from the view of Bottom, the Fairy Queen, Puck, and Oberon.  This gives the audience or the reader different ideas about the scene and how different characters feel about certain situations.

Artifacts (week 1)

ARTIFACTS: Artifacts play an important role in story telling and in stories themselves. They assist in the development of a story. For example, in The Three Spinners, the spinning wheel is the main object used in the story. Without it the girl and the spinners would not be able to carry out the tasks set for them in the story. Also, in A Midsummer's Night Dream, the flower is the beginning and one of the causes of all the chaos. With out this artifact, the characters would not have fallen in love with whom they did, thus completely destroying the story line. Artifacts, therefore, play a huge role in any story.