Point: THEORIES

Transitioning through time, theories of architecture have formed just as humans grew into being. Starting at the core of basic human needs, shelters such as Terra Amata, the Homo erectus dwelling excavated in Nice, France represent the earliest known dwellings constructed by human beings. Built to provide a necessary living environment for gathering people, these basic requirements for human living quarters would expand in the centuries to come as human’s basic needs in their architecture would become as complicated as the people themselves. For in the beginnings of man, basic function was the prime reason for containing people within a space, as we must have shelter to prosper as human beings. In the words of Louis Khan “Architecture is the unavoidable art”. Although even in primitive times, we’ve learned that art in its very beginnings is much more than décor, as the quest for survival ranked first on the list of early natives concerns in their structures. At the very beginnings, spiritual undertones ruled people’s daily actions. However, it seems that when basic needs are met even the earliest of mankind took pleasure in what most of society does today. As mankind gained greater control over the materials of the earth which surrounded him, structures began having more and more specific uses to consent to these aspects of life such as eating, drinking, musical and other performance, and material goods that we enjoy in modern time alike. Architecture started to cover more than mankind’s basic need for shelter and the concerns for longevity against the elements aesthetic concerns, and the ability to control human interaction in the made space brought the biggest movement in history in terms of architecture to our knowledge in modern day.

Architectural critic Lewis Mumford once noted that; “the greatest problem of the architect is to mold the essential structural form in such a way as to perform all the purposes for which the building exists.” Shifting from the point at which human beings were able to spread their concerns beyond the basic ideal of staying alive, Architecture became an elaboration of the concepts that became issues the same time at which people decided to live together. The idea of architectural happiness arose and Sir Henry Wotten established the notion that good architecture “hath three conditions”, these conditions included commodity, firmness and delight. The Romans surely excelled in terms of Wotten’s definition of firmness as we see the ancient structures still standing today. However, buildings of modern times do not invest in that kind of economy or management of resources (by economy- referring to the Greek meaning of nemein which means to manage). Rather we have been testing out new materials throughout the past century most specifically in hopes that they will too stand the test of time. For when new ideas fail as the John Hancock Center in Chicago did when it could not stand the lateral pressure of the wind, we learn and rebuild accordingly. This is where my understanding of architecture comes in; we build to fulfill our needs, and when the architecture that encompasses our daily lives does not harmonize with our own agendas, we rebuild. I must learn from my mistakes in studio, specifically when building to see what does and does not work. The only solid sources of wisdom I can gain is from mistakes of my own and others throughout history. “The Hidden Dimension” depicts how crucial it is to step back and draw from history, as all people across the globe are not alike. This reading suggests that different cultures experience space in different ways, a concept demonstrated though many historical precedents I have read about as the structures’ vary greatly from the east to the west just as they do from the north to south. Through this reading one can find that the variation has occurred since the beginning of mankind just as mankind in its entirety is made up of a variety of cultural differences. The best I believe, which is a major task in and out itself is to be able to understand at this or any point, the idea of true accommodation and its shifts concerning every aspect of the inhabitants, place, purpose and time.




BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION:
"taj mahal." Bollywood Food Club. Web. 8 Sep 2010. .
[NOTE: Italicize "Bollywood Food Club"]


PARENTHETICAL CITATION:
("taj mahal")
Mumtaz

I choose the Taj Mahal as my image to describe the theories unit. This elaborate and outstanding structure has stood the test of time, its commodity still prevalent as it is in use still today. This ornate structure is indeed beautiful at the expense of its modestly but as Roth notes; "A modest structure for a modest cost would have provided durable and hygienic protection for the mortal remains of Mahal and Shah Jahan. But by spending more- by some estimates, about $8 million-Shah Jahan got the Taj Mahal. It has rejoiced the world ever since. Surely this was sound economy. Our test should be similar. The most economical building is the one that promises to give the greatest total pleasure for the price.".