Point: Alternatives

In a glance at the alternatives unit, we travel in time through the Renaissance, Baroque, and Rococo periods. When architects sought after ancient examples from the forms that the Greeks and Romans left behind, a new adaptation of classicism arrived in a wide rage of forms. Each society after the 15th century exemplified classical principals and forms in their structures to produce their own alternative revision of classical ideals varying by region and place in time. Man became the measure of all things and the “rebirth” of classicism known as the renaissance arose. Patronage to built works and art was taken on by high societal figures such as popes, merchants, and other wealthy elites who commissioned a vast amount of new architecture in order to give their city’s a sense of delight based on the numerical proportional systems which displayed a sense of intelligence and vestige in a time where knowledge was sought after by looking to the past. Scholars such as Vitruvius wrote the standards of perfect classical form for architects of the time and centuries later to follow, though his own reinterpretation of classical concepts, passed down though time only to be reinterpreted again and again. “Emboldened by their flourishing urban (and urbane) culture, they set out to match the intellectual and artistic achievements of the ancients” (Roth, 353).
Renaissance church floor plans such as Filippo Brunelleschi’s Church of Santo Spirito in Florence were based off of the system originating off of a Roman Basilica. Capturing monumentality through the use of arches, massive scaled Corinthian columns and pilasters were developed by the mathematical proportions, using a great deal of care to achieve such spectacular results. The commissioning of these great buildings was a form of cultural representation often times depicting a show of human accomplishment. New building types became more prevalent opposed to the churches and palaces that reigned over architectural commission in the past. The Ospidale Innocent was a founding hospital, which took on a different “riff” of old forms. Throughout the Renaissance we can see a marriage of past principals given new light such as the basic stacking and layering of arches and columns to develop new ways of thinking about old ideals. Overall, Renaissance architecture was a simple arrangement of, circle, square, and rectilinear forms used in ancient times expressed in mathematical proportion. This concept can conceivably be seen the easiest in the examples of Andrea Palladio. (photo credit)This celebration of human knowledge though, would soon be transformed into dramatic Baroque theatricality, and later, Rococo embellishments as new ways of stimulating human emotions through interiors were approached. In an effort to drag citizens back to the church, buildings took classical forms such as columns, vaulting, arches, and pilasters and teemed them up with chaotic ornament, changing the rules of classism. The visual complexity of structures like Bernini’s Cornano Chapel in Rome depicted a heavy use of art in the form of frescos which created the optical illusion of three dimensions, showing perspective on a two dimensional plane. In Bernini’s churches, the central plan that had been mimicked over and over, transformed into a longitudinal direction, molding the Basilica template in a new exploration. Concepts such as axial arrangement became embedded in French architecture through examples like the extravagant Versailles. In England, excessive ornamentation brought theatricality again in Blenheim Palace, which took classical forms on a dramatic skew once again. The last step away from the heavy architectural elements and rich colors of Baroque interiors was the Rococo movement that began in Paris in the 1720’s as elites moved out of the city and into the county to only spread across many regions of Europe. This response to the heaviness of Baroque style took a lighter approach in its ornamentation through narrower swags, shells, and other nature-inspired décor became curvilinear and delicate. Femininity reigned as a focus on light seen in the light pallets and focus on manipulating natural light itself though cleverly positioned windows mirrors and filigree reflected the idea of bringing the outside in. The regeneration of Architecture is seen throughout this chunk of history, however, this “regeneration: is a concept applied daily in modern times as much as the past. In order to start designing, I often look a past precedents. This is not to replicate these forms, but rather, improve them on my own terms, distorting inspirations into something completely new. Architecture throughout the Alternatives unit used this same approach with classical precedents to develop new styles for changing environments and times. “…These avant-garde architects now sought to create a rational modern architecture reformulated structurally from the ground up in the light of a new understanding of ancient architecture”. (Roth, 435)


I Choose the image below as my description of the Alternatives unit because of the changing adaptation of old forms throughout this bit of time. Mimes adapt to new situations as well, contorting their human form to mimic different characters observed in the past.


photo credit

Reading Comprehension 4

Question One

The artifacts come together as one through their symmetry and order on the basis of shape, proportion, and embellishment added greatly to their scale in comparison to the architecture that surrounded them. The artifacts listed as the Sheraton chair, State bed by Robert Adam, Tall clock, Windsor chair, and desk all hold highly ornamental aspects, some more than others as they are derived from different places and style periods. Across the board however, the intricacy in the artifacts is clearly defined in their construction. The Windsor chair for instance is perhaps the least ornamental out of the bunch, yet holds an attention to detail through its delicacy with an appearance of boundaries shining through in its shape and proportioned. No geometry within these pieces is random. We see a repetition in motifs, speaking a similar classical language, like the swags depicted on the tall clock. Developing from past designs, these artifacts represent the attention one devotes to more personal objects within a space while displaying the owner’s wealth and learning.

The spaces listed including Holkham, Gunston Hall, Marie Antoinette, Saltrame House Saloon, and Garner Pingree range greatly in their renditions of symmetry and balance. Maries Antoinette’s room is certainly theatrical, but order is still slightly prevalent, developed through pattern. It is still so excessive in its details this “order” feels somewhat chaotic, while in Gunston Hall the architectural element of the stairs are celebrated though symmetry and balance of space through evenly spaced banisters in repeated form. The Garner Pingree has subdued, centralized ornament however, through the placement of urns. Order is brought through transition as the molding following the lines of the room bridges the gap from wall to ceiling, creating fluidity within the space. Classical motifs are brought in spaces like the Saltram house saloon showing repeated forms while in Hokham the repetition and contrast in the placement of patterns brings an organization to the space. These spaces celebrate many classical elements while adding and subtracting ornament, using various techniques such as contrasting ceilings and wallpaper to bring balance throughout the space.

Choosing a different take on classical design, the buildings listed as Chiswick, Drayton Hall, St. Genevieve, Nathaniel Russel, and Monticello all take on ideas such as repeating elements at different scales, built with classicism in mind to depict the owners learning and wealth to visitors. Monticello has an octagonal dome similar to Chiswick, showing to design risks in the formation of complex geometric shapes opposed to a more simply circular shape; a new take on classicism. Contrasting, St. Genevieve takes a more literal approach to classism within its monumental scale and great contrast between solid and void. Drayton Hall and St, Genevieve shares an emphasis on their front facades, similar to that of the Romans. While St. Genevieve is perhaps based off examples such as the Parthenon, Nathaniel Russel takes cues from palazzo Medici going from bottom to top, and public to private.

Taking in the built works of the places listed as England, America, and France, we can observe the influence of Classical architecture of Greece and Rome carry across the regions. With different regions however, come different cultural standards. For example, Classical language within English architecture showed signs of an owner’s education while the classical elements in the newly birthed country of America served as a form of setting standards while legitimizing education much like England. French architecture takes on a much more detail oriented approach in a spin off of Rococo. Addressing the different takes on classical elements Roth discusses “ The Classical elements of column, entablature, pediment, and arch remained, but the intellectual formal austerity was replaced with a new, deliberate sensualism. This change, only hinted at in Mannerist whimsy, shortly would be transformed in full-flown Baroque Theatricality. (ROTH)


Question Two

All and all, I have found the designs begin to encompass three main aspects in my analysis. These are a step towards residential design for the middle class. No longer is “good” design reserved for royalty and the extremely wealthy, the main materials used include a heavy use in wood as it is bountiful across the landscapes, and basic classical principles are tweaked and often simplified to create a less formal atmosphere.

In Boston, The Parson Capen House stays true to classical ideas within the idea of symmetry, and the dark exterior translates similarly to the Hurt House interior in its emphasis of used dark wood as a main material choice. From the beamed ceiling to mixture of contrasting elements throughout the Hurt House, although simple, uses the basis principal of repetition, an aspect carried through in the Gateleg table as well. The repeated geometry within the simple ornamental motif adorning the Gateleg table provides a great staple for each of the space, building, and places within this group, which is a level of functional grace.

The use of contrast is the main principle linking the second group together. Within the light walls and dark wood of the Governor’s Palace we can also see some steps towards simplicity. This is translated in St. Augustine as patterns become much less chaotic. Repetition of geometric shapes is present within the entry of Columbus House and the repeated motifs bring a balance of horizontal and vertical elements in the artifact Fraileros.

The use of compartmentalization stands true in the designs of New Orleans as storage pieces include double doors in their wood form. We can observe these boundaries at the Single Brothers House thought the use of boundaries, compartmentalizing of a larger scale,. Although simplistic, these boundaries are also set within the floor plan of Parlance Plantation throughout the separation of public and private spaces.

In New York, German influence is prevalent in the Jackson house as we see a functional hierarchy in the balanced space of the shrank. Andrew Jackson’s parlor and chamber uses this balance of space to create a multifunctional atmosphere.

“By the beginning of the nineteenth century, architects were turning increasingly to specific source models, in a wide variety of historical styles resulting in revivals of Greek and roman Classicism, medieval and Gothic architecture, as well as Egyptian and even more exotic re-creations.” (ROTH)


A sketch of a Palladian influenced Baroque floor plan.




Question Four

Looking at the Baroque theatricality in architecture within the style period, the buildings do tell a story much like a theatrical show or musical/dance performance. To speculate wether the theatrics or the architecture came first though is quite iffy in my opinion though. Just as buildings, spaces, and artifacts come into different scales of ornament, playing off each other, culture and the activities surrounding it shape architecture as architecture shapes culture vis versa. It would be very hard to not stand in awe at the excessiveness of Versailles just as it would be hard to to move forward in a metro station. When done to meet intention, form translates function, and therefor a culture within a building.

Diagramming in Perspective

For this Project I continued diagramming Zaha Hadid's Landscape Formation One in Wheil Am Rhein, but took the route of communicating to non-designers. Through pictorial perspectives I hope to showcase the longitudinal stretch of the building and feeling emergence between the natural topography of the land with its artificial re-imagining.


Final Board


Interior Perspectives ( scale figures included on large format )




Exterior Perspectives




Site Plan


Plan Including Shadows ( people depicted by points in shadow )

Point: FOUNDATIONS

Ancient civilizations introduced the foundations of what we know to be empires of progress, passing on knowledge to each proceeding civilization. Across regions, we see architectural development borrowed, improved and elaborated on. Not immensely distant from Ancient Egypt, Minoan Greece incorporates structural columns in the Palace of Knossos in Crete. Design expression in the form of artwork becomes seen vividly throughout structures by tile work and mosaics. In civilizations to come these forms are used to tell stories and advertise retail goods and services to the illiterate mass. Ancient Greece develops a distinct idea of the temple design or first interactions of the megaron and its development. For instance the temple of Hera I (530 BC) has a row of columns in the middle of the four sided rectilinear shape, supported in a post-lintel style fashion with a four sided colonnade lining the outer side, while the temple Hera II (460 BC) advances to two rows of parallel columns guiding the occupant.. Having linier navigation comparable to the hypostyle hall, temple features from between the two societies gives light to cultural and religious differences between the two ancient societies while showing development in architectural form. By and large, Grecian architectural design concentrated on the aspect of symmetry, balance, and order. Creating the perfect proportion in each structure from insights in geometrical studies, this style deemed in history as “classical” was the basis for many of the Roman and Medieval architectural feats to come. Strategies such as building to a scale so monumental, the structure engulfs its occupants in building types like temples, are passed down to each of civilizations following afterwards in the Foundations unit. However, these massive houses of worship mold to the needs and beliefs of the societies constructing them and therefore in no way exact copies, but rather “riffs”. Grecian examples such as the Parthenon could be seen to serve as a kind of template for later societies to style into their own form of excellence. “The Greeks cared little for immortality on a spiritual plane, but rather, they sought to ensure their immortality in human memory…The Parthenon is proof they succeeded in living forever”. (Roth) The basic Megaron was molded as new innovations were discovered, an example being the Roman creation of the arch, which in turn allowed domes and vaulted ceilings. Transitioning from Acropolis to Rome, we see the temple and its basic system of navigation change dramatically as a different culture has its own take on it. The addition of a triangular shaped gable roof and one set of steps opposed to the three equal sided steps of the Grecian temple designate a clear entrance to an occupant. Budding again from this basic post and lintel system though, Mankind was able to create incredible structural improvements as mathematics and play of geometry (symbolism attached) allowed for the “trappings of an empire”. Roman being one of the major empires of progress, some of these “trappings” include the bath, market, aqueduct, villa, dome, road, arch, coliseum, and basilica. Architecture had long since molded to provide basic shelter, but rather conform to the needs of a growing society. Baths oriented to Roman neighborhoods show the development of mankind conforming to what we now consider to be “civil” ; a water united society, rich in learning. The Basilica perhaps was one of the most influential of the Roman designs, becoming a template in itself to create architectural master pieces in the Gothic Cathedral architecture of the high middle ages. Although the overall theme of cathedrals could be considered entirely different than the concept of Greek and Roman temples and Basilicas, the contrast only resides because of the developments made on the basis of the Greek and Roman innovations that Gothic cathedrals elaborated on to create such emphasize on verticality and light throughout the Cathedrals that went up such as Amiens in France and Cologne in Germany. The flying buttresses created at this time allowed the extreme verticality to enter the landscape. Architecture throughout the foundations unit became more innovative taking ideas to build up and out interpreting previous designs in new ways, while still following a similar chain of design elements.

In my own design, I try to step back from all the land statements made to figure out why these altercations took place. Although these ancient societies copied the architectural forthcomings of each civilization prior, no structure is identical from one society to the next for good reason. Molded by developments and beliefs, the concepts of architecture changed in each era of time. I have learned that no belief or design principal should be ignored or possibly just as worse- grouped together. Societies and structures should be analized for what they are individually as each form as a specific story and reason behind it. I must have reason to hide, conceal, build up down, or around emphasizing thee story of design and what it took to get to the final product.



I choose the picture below to sum up the foundations unit as it serves as both a reminiscent look into Roman developments and segway into a different outlook of these developments in a new era. Peeling back the layers of the Florence cathedral, this photo depicts how each innovation allowed this design. The architect Brunelleschi drew back on the foundations of Rome to construct the tallest dome since the pantheon.


click here for photo source

Reading comprehension 3

Below is my colored pencil depiction of Cologne Cathedral in Cologne Germany. Construction dates 1248-1560 & 1842-1880

As the monumental verticality of the cathedrals engulfs its occupants, light pours in sectioned off, mainly through the passageway of arched windows. This “engulfing” could be considered to many as a divine attribute, very fitting for the structure type of a cathedral. The pointed arched windows found in both Cologne and Salisbury cathedrals follow the same verticality along the walls they adorn. Elongated forms, allow the illumination of these buildings in daylight. Light can be viewed as a source of life, which allows humans to produce, and stay warm. At a time when so many were searching for refuge often in the simplest form of having shelter, the concept of staying alive was a main priority many had to work towards, in a day-to-day struggle. This sense of light and warmth could possibly define the “Dark Ages” because of this principal that one needs light to live. The illumination of the Cologne and Salisbury interiors thus, automatically designates the structures as sanctuaries along with being places of worship. Adding to the stretches of vertical windows letting in massive streams of light, from bottom to clerestory, the stained windows often tell a story of their own. Other sources such as candles and reflections from thereof provide a more mystical sense of light and warmth, more indispensable at night. Overall, both Cologne and Salisbury cathedrals center on verticality and light. Light permits life and provides virtue of the divine.

The world did not add a layer of shadows in between the time of ancient Romans fall and the start of the “Dark Ages”. In fact to allow the amazing structural innovations such as barrel vaulted ceilings and flying buttresses to arise, the collaboration of many laborers was necessary in its development and construction. The designers logically would be higher up in social hierarchy in comparison with the many laborers. This is in assumption however, that such structural innovations were well thought out, requiring an educated designer, not just the makings of some “happy accident”. Although many were fleeing for sanctuary in the “dark ages”, some of the lucky individuals had the blessing of structural enclosure. The time that wasn’t spent preparing for the daily grime was allocated to great thought, perhaps enough to develop such structural strategies. Popping up in a time that has been looked at so drearily in history, we must observe aspects of the Cologne cathedral such as the ceiling in comparison with the vaulted ceiling at Amiens to look at the validity of this idea. The technological innovations in architecture seem to cross-regions without extreme alteration. Though we find more distant variations in the more elaborately adorned flying buttress at Cologne computed to its French neighbor (Amines). A focus on intricacy is more of a style change I would note as the most contrasting element between the two churches. The over-all compositions of the cathedrals show regional distinctions in style. As the result of taking a more artful approach we may easily see aspects such as exterior details that depict distinct styles. Their main contracting element once again being the level of intricacy, the Cologne is the cathedral, which takes on a more elaborate language. If anything, this showcases the great thought that must have been involved in creating these structures at a time we now consider to be “dark”.

Cologne

Amiens


It would be easy to suggest that a reiteration of a classical form such as the dome in Duomo cathedral in Florence suggests a degree of change leaning towards the beginning of the Renaissance as we correlate forms between historical periods. The circle as we know it, represents the divine form, appropriate for a place of worship as it symbolizes such perfection that man could not create. Perhaps this bold move in architecture was a calculated one based on the knowledge of Roman symbolism behind certain geometric forms. The cross of Cologne cathedral carries a human centered approach in the language of antiquity according to this belief. If all knowledge is based on the past we could regard that the forming of Cologne cathedral having a more humanistic core in comparison with the Florence cathedral was indeed purposeful. The architect Brunelleschi of Florence cathedral however, did in fact study ancient Roman architecture for a period before designing the dome, ringing true the idea that a skyward centered church was an intentional and past rooted creation. We see this shift without question when comparing the Cologne and Florence cathedrals’ crossing. The whole form of the Florence cathedral could be considered much softer as the result of these curves and a more prominent use of shingles. The Cologne cathedral protrudes as a defining landmark to it's city as well, but in a much different fashion of boldness. Instead, the spiky towers are more on the side of poking the sky along with protruding. Although both Cologne and Duomo cathedrals are astonishing masterpieces, they speak very different languages in terms of their design.

Plan-Cologne

Plan-Duomo


Imagining out of the various forms of domestic medieval Architecture that this woman depicted was working in a castle, we can assume a variety of attributes amongst her interior environment based on the information mainly provided to us my Harwood. The windows at this point are probably relatively small out of concern for safety. We might find some fabric wall hangings as these textiles travel easy in a time of consistently seeking refuge. Firelight torches and possibly some candles provide light and warmth in this space. From the looks of the given photo, the walls are whitewashed and the floors are made out of some type of dirt or stone. Judging by the outfitting and action being performed of this woman (working) however, a fabric hanging would be the possession of a wealthy master.

Compass

For this "compass" i used the following definition
5. archaic a circular course
8. to achieve; attain; accomplish

Using the artifact of the Corinthian column in 2D form. I placed the Roman stable in the context of a re-imagined Basilica Ulpia. The Roman's achieved quite after the Greeks. When it comes to narrowing these accomplishments down though, the Corinthian column serves as a excellent way to navigate how the Romans designed. Taking many Grecian architectural forms and elaborating and expanding on them was some what of a standard for the Romans, who turned the supportive column into an exterior detail at the colosseum. The capital of the corinthian, made out of stone/marble is the most intricate of the orders and therefor represents Roman accomplishments the best.