Opus Post 6: Macro to Micro

Porch, Court, Hearth-

The Greek and Roman city, and structure plan was always to have a grand entrance called the porch, a receiving area called the court and a private area known as the hearth. Each of these areas has a distinct relation to the Greek and Roman culture. The porch represents the ideal aesthetic beauty and leads to the court which in a house is the living room and receiving area for guests. In a city the court may be the forums, the theaters, baths and other public spaces. It is the most ornate room so as to show off the family wealth when guests are present. The court represents the classicism that developed. The hearth is the bedroom of a house hold and is private where only the keepers of the household go. In a city this area would be the residential area around the public spaces. 

Composition-

Composition refers to the way in which a graphic is organized so that it is most effective. In doing our large inspiration pictures I sat in the MHRA and had to think about placement of myself- where I would sit and how much ceiling or floor I would show. When doing our drafting assignments I've found that there are subtle ways to be creative in establishing your own style of certain elements such as north arrows, graphic scales, trademarks and titles. Although some of the listed things such as my graphic scales aren't particularly original I try to have a consistency of where they are placed on each of my drafting assignments. I've created little carbon paper trace cutouts so that I can have the same north arrow as well as trademark in all of my drafting assignments. 

Diagram-

In doing my diagram for the MHRA I focus on the hierarchy of ornateness through the building. I found that as would be expected the court areas are the most ornate while the hearth areas such as the offices are arranged in cramped hallways seeming disconnected from the open, bright and abstract style of the rest of the building. I think it's interesting how the right side offices seem to be more approachable and linked to the ornateness of the rest of the building apart from the front offices.

Impression-

Impression can refer to the lasting impact or remembrance one may have for a particular design.

Detail-I chose to do my detail on the water fountain in the MHRA. They are actually grouped into twos. I like the button in that it is shaped and "flowy" like water. They also float in the air in that they stick out of the wall rather than being separate water retrieval receptacles. 

Reflection-

Thinking about how to put all of our translation models into one portal/panel composition was not an easy task. Focusing first on the Baths of Caracalla helped us find a foundation for our design. Using the cardboard to our advantage helped us create an impression that our arch is actually eroded. There is also much detail in the stratified texture and its overall composition tells us that it is a porch to to its office.

Pat's Axonimetric Views

Foundations Unit Abstraction: The Theatre of Everyday Life

  How is a civilization's daily life reflected through their architecture? From studying structures, furniture and other artifacts we can trace the origins of past civilization's interactions and ideals. 

Egyptians-

The Egyptians incorporated nature into all of thier building, as the nile river was one of the main sources for their limestone material for building all structures. Pyramids were made of the local stone materials creating a contrastingly large structure which blended with the sand of the desert. Egyptians furniture turned to animals in linkage to nature. The legs of furniture would often have animal like feet turned forward to show the natural position of the animal. Hieroglyphics often featured animistic figures to represent letters, words and meanings. Because cats were so greatly revered, they were seen as protectors of the people. They were domesticated by the Egyptians in 200 B.C. and were utilized in hunting parties to catch fish among other small game. The sphinx- another cat form is the symbolic protector of the land made by Pharaoh Kafre (4th dynasty).    

Although they eventually created chairs with slanted backs we see that early furniture as well as heiroglyphics of ancient Egypt dictate that straight posture was a large part of their ideal human form. Furniture such as chairs often had very straight backs, head rests placed on beds were like cradles for the head which would maintain straight posture even in sleep. The emphasis on straight posture may be related to cats as they were highly revered for their aristocratic manner conveyed through their prancy straight gait. 

Nature is also part of the very symbolic culture of the ancient Egyptians in that the sun, cats, the nile river among other things had vast importance to religion and the theatre of everyday life. Large ammassments of slaves were gathered in order to take on the pharoah's many building projects. They created pyramids to build up to and point to the sun. They were a physical manefestation of their pathway to afterlife. The nile river was another physical manifestation of the division of life and afterlife. The east side of the nile is life while death or the afterlife resides on the west side. In Someone's tomb all of their belongings such as furniture, slaves as well as pets are buried with them so that they may use them in the afterlife. 

Greece-

Natural designs were reflected in Greek columns: The volutes of the ionic columns were related to ram or goat horns, Corinthian columns were based on acanthus leaves. Their furniture was also animistic in that the feet were modeled after animal paws. They differed from Egyptian design in that the paws were turned outward rather than in the direction the animal faces. Wealthy people showed hierarchy through the feet of chairs in that the feet were often on top of carved "reeds" to symbolize that the ruler's feet never touch the ground. 

Architecture was based on the symbolism of the the Greek gods as each city was modeled after and based on a the story of a god. Outside of the Erectheion in Athens, Athena was said to have beaten Poseidon in a fight in which Athena won therefore naming Athens after herself. The temple of Athena sits on the acropolis amongst the Erectheion and the Parthenon.  

The People of Greece sought to achieve "arete" meaning "quality and excellence attained from fine testing and refinement" (Roth 215-246) so that they would be immortalized through their accomplishments. This is evident in various facets from their orthogonal planning to their fine lined columns and temple cornices. A focus of democracy began through this: demos meaning the people and cracy meaning governed by the people. Although this truly meant only land owning free white men could vote there was still a great focus on civic interaction through the creation and use of agoras, theaters, and coliseums. 

Stone was the primary material of the Greeks. Forts were created in the defense against the surrounding "barbarians." Stone is also permanent relating to the immortality of arete.

Rome-

Structures such as theaters were built into hillsides so as to create a natural backdrop to the stage. Natural designs were also in their furniture continuing the tradition of animal forms. 

The Roman person was based on militarism and duty to the state. They refined past people's designs as well as the greeks through their engineering in aqueducts, roads, and arches. The Romans adapted their religion to be like the Greek religion of the Olympian Gods. Like the Greek the Romans had a large emphasis on civic life and like the Greek agora they had forums- spaces outlined by the basilica and other buildings. The emperors of Rome dictated much of the Roman culture through free entertainment and the architecture of theaters, baths, and stadiums. Bathhouses built on top of natural springs or fed from aqueducts cycled into the Roman's daily life. The typical roman would work from sunrise till noon, visit the bathhouse for the rest of the day then return home for a relaxing dinner. 

The Romans continued the use of stone as well as concrete and created new forms of columns such as composite columns- combinations of ionic, corinthian as well as influences from other designs.  

Citations-

Springer, Ilene (2001,4,1). The Cat In Ancient Egypt. Retrieved February 28, 2009, from touregypt.net Web site: http://www.touregypt.net/magazine/mag04012001/magf1.htm

Roth, Leland (2007). Understanding Architecture. Westview Press.

Opus Post 5: Voices

Metric-

The Metric system is a universally used numeric system based on ten. The metric system unifies many different countries and groups of people in that aside from the United States; the rest of the world uses the metric system for their numerical measuring system. It unifies people in that everyone has a strong relation with the number ten as we all (or most of us) have ten fingers and ten toes. Because we have the most of those body parts on our bodies we often use them to count. In the planning of the Cathedral at Amiens the "Roman Foot" was used to measure out square units (of ten Roman Feet) used to form and measure the space. Therefore the Roman system of measuring as well as other ancient systems based on ten are precedents to our standard metric system we have today. 

Precedent-

From the precedent study on the Baths of Diocletian I did last year in Patrick's class, I learned about how the Roman baths are precedents to the modern/present day health and fitness club. The large size of the baths is also related to the large fitness clubs of present day. A political precedent to the baths can be found in the Egyptian pyramids in that each successive pharaoh would create a larger pyramid just as each successive emperor of Rome (in this case Diocletian) would create a larger bath house (McManus). 

Presence-

Paula Carr’s presence and her presentation inspired and changed the way I think about design in many ways. From the first structure she showed we saw how something like a beachside snack shack can be turned into something truly site specific- blending in with driftwood, rocks and terrain of the area. I can imagine approaching the structure (“East Beach Café”) from behind not knowing what to expect and finding that it is much more than a trashy snack shack. In a way its purpose is to have no presence on the beach as it’s low profile and natural architecture allows the natural beauty of the beach to be the focus rather than interrupting it like the typical bright pink snack shacks. Her presentation made me think of how my model shouldn’t just direct someone’s path but direct his or her mood and focus as well. The underground Oklahoma City tunnel project was a good example of designing around a very controlled environment, providing a simple solution to navigation within. I want to take something from that example and adapt it to our current project of creating a portal. There is a great presence of control and definite dos and don’ts regarding our hall space. I feel that if we place anything in the hallway a claustrophobic presence may take over. It almost seems as if rather than creating a physical door size “portal” we should create something that implies direction of space or implies a space so that the portals presence is physically minimal. The designers of that tunnel clearly had this direction in mind in that their project would need to be physically minimal.

 Moment- 

In spending so much time in the Moore Humanities building I found that although it is a large building with many large spaces it really has many small environments within creating special and intimate moments for those who inhabit them. Sitting in the main lobby I found that the bench area underneath the stairs is where people love to gather to people watch, read, and even sleep. This little shelter under the stairs provides people who sit there with a view from which they can watch passing people and not feel threatened by outside attention. 

In designing my 3D model walkway/circulation zone I played around a lot with the scale figures I created. Perhaps out of silliness, I created scale samurai sword fighters, which I placed on top of my cantilevering walkway. After looking at them in relation to the other figures I decided I would present the model with the two samurais on top having their own moment while the other figures could be below. The samurais actually provided much strength to my model in that they could have their own private sparring/training/battle or what ever story the viewer may create. I feel like I created a basis through which people can create a story or moment for themselves vicariously through the scale figures. There is also a duality in that there are also people below to not only show a man's relation to the structure's height but to create basis for another moment separate from that of the samurai's. I learned that a lot more than what we think of the project is dependent on the scale figures; scale figures with agency can enhance and provide more visual stimulation and meaning for the project than generic standing figures.  

Duality-

There is a duality in the Moore Humanities building as discussed above that although it is comprised of many large spaces it has many concentrated areas where people like to gather or study and meditate alone. It is often in these moments that because you are on free time and you don't have to do homework that you are most productive. The lobby of the MHRA seems to pull people into its intimate spaces and encourage this productiveness. It is perhaps that during these moments you feel as if you are on free time and you are not stressed about getting the work done but rather focused on what it is you are doing. 

There is a duality in the respective purposes for why emperors created larger baths as well as in how Pharaohs created successively larger pyramids. Although both civilizations’ emperors would do this to glorify their own power there were other reasons. The pharaohs created their pyramids to glorify themselves before the Gods so that they would be well received. The emperor Diocletian created his large and grand bathhouses to not only glorify himself but to appease the people while the four emperors slowly imploded Rome in a power struggle (McManus, 1). 

In my final 3D model I show a duality in that thin linear pieces "stretch" to imply a larger space. The top piece’s structure curves downward to direct the eye inward and around so that a circulation zone is implied below the structure not just on top.

Reflection-

Design is influenced by the environment it is made for and to be successful it should create moments as well as a presence that complements the environment. It should also complement the environment in its scale relation to natural surroundings just as our own metric system was developed through precedents of natural systems of ten.

Citations-

McManus, Barbara (2003, July). Roman Baths and Bathing. Retrieved February 21, 2009, from vroma.org Web site: http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/baths.html

Wukitsch, Dean (2004, October). Baths of Diocletian. Retrieved February 21, 2009, from mmdktw.org Web site: http://www.mmdtkw.org/RT04-BathsDiocletian.html

Roth, Leland (2007). Understanding Architecture. Westview Press.

Opus Post 4: Parts:Whole

Archetype, Prototype, Hybrid- 

Looking across the room during our 3D model critique on Friday I found that my model's function did not work and it was very underdeveloped. This is because it was a prototype of what it may one day grow from. The idea of  a structure which manipulates light is my archetype, creating the light mechanism and the structure is the prototype, bringing all of those things together to create a cohesive structure is the hybrid.  The Romans also sought to manipulate light in domes such as the pantheon in which a cut out hole in the dome became the primary source of light (Roth 178-277).   

Source- 

In analyzing my fairy-tale for inspiration I found that there is neither a huge emphasis on dark or light characters, that the characters are often gray. I thought about how I could convey that grayness or mood through my 3D structure. I decided on actual light and its manipulation as my source for grayness. having a mirror bounce light from one platform to another vertical platform creates an image of something which has a softness to the lines as well as an untouchable quality. Conveying the mood through the mirroring of mysterious eye cutouts allows the viewer to see how white and black/good and bad are often blurred together in characters and in architecture. Seeing eyes in a shadow is somewhat ethereal, which can also relate to fairy tales in general in that they are from another world but still almost tangible.

Entourage-

An atmosphere and mood is made through its entourage of objects within. The objects within the space give character as well as a mood created through their interaction with color and lighting. The various shapes and sizes of bottles, shelves, lights etc. provides a liveliness and interaction that would be missing if the composition were only comprised of people and a counter.

Hierarchy- 

The Greek acropolis was a mountain which brought those worthy in society to enter the acropolis to be closer to the gods (Roth 178-277). 

Order- 

The citadels within Greece and Rome were ordered with three basic parts in mind the porch hearth and court. This Trio of order also extends to subdivisions of the city such as the acropolis and then to houses. The MHRA building on our UNCG campus is ordered much the same way in that there is a grand entrance (porch) leading to a gathering area (court), and then within the more sectioned off parts of the building are the central offices (hearth). 

Reflection-

The Order of three can be found in many facets of architecture. In the way of design there is Archetype, Prototype, and Hybrid. With each step along this tripartite there is a greater hierarchy of development in that styles are refined and the people who inhabit these refined structures are at the top of their society. 

Citations-

Roth, Leland (2007). Understanding Architecture. Westview Press.

Perspectives and Inspirations

My Drawing (top)

Inspired by:

Artist: James Hobbs

http://www.james-hobbs.blogspot.com/

My Drawing (top) inspired by:

Greg Betza

http://www.gregbetza.com/

My Drawing inspired by:

Stephen Gardner

http://www.urbansketchers.com/search/label/Stephen%20Gardner

My Drawing (top) inspired by:

Adebanji Alade

http://adebanjialade.blogspot.com//

My Drawing (top) inspired by:

Joao Catarino

http://desenhosdodia.blogspot.com/

When I first started this exercise it was very hard for me to break out of my style. I decided to draw in my style in light pencil and then later with the pen make it more like the inspiration artist. This worked well for the above picture as well as the top picture but not all. Once I became more comfortable with studying the artists I started directly copying their style on site (as best as I could). I liked this experience because it forced me to look through another artists eyes and I think I will continue to develop some of the styles in contrast to mine to create an even better mine!

Moore Humanities (MHRA) 1st Floor Thumbnails