Reading Response 7

Blogpost 7

For me, having an architecture of happiness means to have a place that you can go that has the ability to change you mood in a positive form. It makes you happy to be there and can be quite relaxing. Having a place of happiness ties in to the rules of architecture because it is all about personal satisfaction.  The agenda of it is no longer to just have religious meaning, although it may, but to have a more personal meaning. A happy space on campus to me is the EUC courtyard. More specifically, in that vast space, the place that stands out as particularly happy to me is the swing area. In that place people can relax, let loose, and just be a child again. It allows you to just let go of all of the stress that comes with college and adulthood and takes you back to the carefree days of childhood when there was nothing to worry about but when you what you were going to play that day. 

Reading Response 6

Blogpost 6

Although there are many similarities among the different Gothic cathedrals, there are also a variety of unique differences that allow you to see a difference. These differences also assist in defining a particular region to each of the different cathedrals. The cathedrals that were viewed by the phoenix group were in Cologne, Germany and Amiens, France.

http://www.featurepics.com/online/Cologne-Cathedral-1541420.aspx

http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2355920650031963949lMPNrI

 

 

 These two buildings both have the gothic style, but the differences that help to show their regions are all in the material selections. In Cologne, the stone that is used is much darker than that of Amiens.  Traditionally Gothic cathedrals in Germany tend to lean towards this darker style, and the tendency for French building to be of a lighter color has been around long before the Gothic era, and continues in French design long after. Another thing that helps to define a difference is the colors used in the stain glass that is selected to accent the windows of the cathedral. Cologne used much brighter colors than Amiens, which is what would be expected due to the fact that the stone chosen in Germany has more color to is as well. 

http://www.anicursor.com/colpicb.html

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Amiens_cathedral_Son_et_lumi%C3%A8re_003.JPG

My final difference that adds to the accent of a regional difference is the statues that are chosen to put on the outside of the cathedral. As was seen above the cathedrals in Cologne tend to be of a more masculine build and those of Amiens tend to have a more sleek, feminine look to them. This continues on in the statues that are placed. Those of Cologne have a powerful, masculine, dominant look to them. In contrast, the statues of Amiens are elegant and sleek.

http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-45566953/stock-photo-cologne-cathedral-of-saint-peter-and-mary-exterior-statues-famous-church-in-germany-seat-of.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sgparry/3143105972/

Design Manifesto

My own personal process with design has grown and developed as this first year in the IARc program has moved on. In the beginning I started out very unsure of how to in fact start what I was doing. But as I completed project after project I came to realize that I had already had a process of my own, and it was working for me. I begin each project by reading through the project guidelines, and after this is done ideas come rushing through my head so fast its hard to even remember all of them. Because of that fact, I write as many of the ideas down as I can at the moment. After that I look back over the project sheet and see if there was anything I missed and to help me decide which direction i should go in.  Once I choose my direction I head to the sketchbook and start drawing some things out and writing information down to elaborate on my idea. I also go on to the computer and look up some things that have previously been done and some things that I feel go hand in hand with that I have in mind. Over the rest of the duration of the project I build up on what I initially created, making adjustments as necessary [which I plan out in my sketchbook], and going back to the original guidelines to insure that I am staying on track and not losing what the essence of the project is about.

Conquer World Hunger

Unity

• 8 randomly selected people from the United Nations are invited
• Ceremonious event  
• Unifying to fight world hunger
• Humbling ourselves
• Small and intimate 
• Bring the outdoors inside 
• Low lying table
• Plush floor cushions (orange [color for hunger awareness])
• Table
• Made of 4 small tables that can be connected at the corners
• Needs 2people to connect together 
• Use the 2people on each corner to connect the table (representing the unifying of the different nations)
• Food
• Chicken, fish, rice, salad(s)  
• Lemonade, teaCook together

Unit Summary

Unit One

• Finding out what it meant to design ("There is a great need to revise and broaden our view of the human situation, a need to be both comprehensive and more realistic, not only about others, but about ourselves as well." - E.T Hall)
• construction
• meaning
• symbols in design
• the symbols all had their own meaning to the that stayed strong throughout time
• circles groves and stacks came into the picture

• The circles, groves, and stacks all represent sacred places
• this is true throughout the history of design
• Ancient Egyptian pyramids were made of stacks 
• Pyramids of Giza: 2589 BCE
• Stonehenge: 2500 BCE, England
• Circle of tall stones that puts emphasis on the importance of what is inside
• Light shines through at certain times

• Combinations of groves and stacks
• temples & palaces
• Acropolis: Athens, Greece: 405 BCE
• Parthenon 
• stacks (columns <3types doric, ionic, corinthian>) 
• design got more sophisticated
• made so that it would look perfect
• matching the need and represent the meaning of the building in the way that it is designed

• Design changes as needs of the people change
• Commodity, Firmness, Delight
• commodity (function)
• firmness (structure & stability)
• delight (satisfying aesthetic features)
• Precedents help mold design
• Different societies have different ways of designing the same kind of building
• their own style unique to the country
• Many different building forms in western civilization
• plan
• road/street
• aqueduct
• bath
• basilica
• temple
• arch
• column
• market
• forum
• amphitheater
• colosseum
• dome
• Colosseum: Rome, Italy: ca 72-80 CE
• center of Roman society
• tells history of the society on the building
• ties in circles, groves, and  stacks (key ideas from the unit)
• fits 60,000 people
• still used today as a precedent for the design of present day colosseums 
• high commodity, firmness, and delight 
• the essence of unit one can all be found in this building

Reading Response 5

Blogpost 5

Balance. Unity.

The waves all move together.

Harmony lives on.

Babette's Feast

The culture that Babette was used to and the culture of the small town were quite different, and throughout the film we see this in not only the way that they act, but also the design and food they are used to.  Because the sisters grew up in a small, modest, Christian town, this reflected in their attitudes towards life as well as the look and feel of the town and even the food that they eat which was most apparent as Babette prepared her feast.  The lifestyle that she had grown accustomed to in France was much different than that of the small town.  Food was more of a ritualistic event that people actually enjoyed what they are eating and socialized more with one another. It also had a much more elegant and extravagant look to it due to the candelabras, table cloth, and numerous plates and glasses. The difference in the cultures was extremely evident because when the people of the town saw all those decorations and the varieties in the food they thought it was a sacrifice and that they were being poisoned so they attempted to not enjoy it at all. which was not the case in the end.

Reading Response 4

Blogpost 4

The music building on UNCG campus is a building that stands out to me as a very high scoring building in it commodity, firmness, and design as a whole. But more specifically the entranceway to it from the bridge leading from College Ave is astonishing. It is a very stable entranceway which gives is a high firmness score, and it also has also clearly does its job in marking the entrance to the building. It is a circle surrounded by columns that lead into large class doors.  When looking at the exterior of the building it stands out simply because of its form and mass. Not only does it do its job and stay strong, it is also beautifully crafted from the top of the columns to before.  This beautiful craftsmanship does not just stop on the outside of the building however. It continues on into the lobby as you walk in. The circles on the ground outside of the exterior echo in the tile on the floor of the interior lobby area. This gives it a wave-like musical effect, which reemphasizes the purpose of the building. It also does this with the columns that lead you around the space while also adding to the beauty of the building as a whole.