Alternatives/Reflections Review

For the Alternatives unit, Corry Mears takes us through the different paths stranding off the ancient styles. Citing the ten rules of the rennaissance: single decorative facade, reviving the classics, man is the measure of all, separation of spaces, harmony through repetition, geometric patterning, patronage dominates the building industry, no building is one single style, boundaries/edges/borders are all vital, and separation of public/private, Mr. Mears guides us through how these rules are applied in the works of historical greats such as Andrea Palladio. Through his insight of Villa Capra and a few other renaissance master pieces, we get a clear depiction of what this unit is about. Abigail Buchanan follows a similar route in her alternatives point, also citing Villa Capra but carefully building her essay on the ideas of man as the measure of all things. Through her focus on the idea that much of the architecture of the unit displayed build upon forms from ancient classical works, her point is received successfully. Nicole Ware on the other hand, makes these similar points yet characterizes her point through breaking the rules instead of adding new ones. The reformation of design brought out a variety of new designs through her coverage of renaissance, baroque, and rococo architecture, but she concludes with the statement;" Through the ages we have developed ideas and a set of rules that correlate with these ideas. However, the people who break those rules are the ones that will be remembered in the end." The image above is a wonderful example of a beautiful Renaissance sculpture by none other than Michelangelo depicting mother Mary mourning over her son.

In the relections unit a number of different styles were approached, all around the globe. Interpreting this mix, Kayla McDonagh characterizes this units explorations like the motions of a cartwheel in that the first motion is formal and rule-abiding, second step out you explore, third motion you are upside down, breaking the rules, and lastly you are standing once more with a whole new set of rules. This is a wonderful way to look at this unit, especially connecting to the examples she cited such as Strawberry Hill's Pink room, Royal Pavilion, and Crystal Palace; all incredibly distinct works of architecture.Faith Ramsey looks at all of these different, and often times opposing style changes as bringing a sense of clutter to the reflections unit as a whole. Concerning heavily on what must have been going through the minds of the designers of the time, she uses her own inferences to point out how each style movement led to the next. Justin McNair on the other hand, labels the unit as an obsession with revolutions that no one can seem to make up their mind about, yet more and more people are talking as time goes on. He brings up excellent points in examples of how eastern trade routes and western exploration affect western design like the "eclectic surface decoration called Chinoiserie". Another wonderful observation is how industry and the rise of mass produced goods push design to stay into different styles, like Victorian clutter, but also great exhibition halls like Crystal Palace. The foggy New York skyline image above is on Justin's blog, assimilating the idea that the fog combines all of the once delightful stylistic madders as an unattractive whole ending that with all of this the rise of industry is becoming ever prominent.