Five Scale Figure

Her pictures won't show up but:

Quek See Hong

Rene Fijten

Shiho Nakaza

Gabi Campanario

Anchor Skye W.

Figure+Arrangement+Mode=Form+Space+Style

http://www.intute.ac.uk/images/Stonehenge
The foundation of architecture relies on commodity, firmness, and delight. Humans first dwelings made of bone and animal skins have not stood the test of time, so it is hard to tell what utility they had for buildings besides shelter. But others have, like Stonehenge, and despite being surprisingly sophiscated still elude us on its purpose. Why do we still look at these buildings if they hold no meaning to us? We still look for answers because "architecture is shelter, but it is also symbol and a form of communication...the crystallization of ideas, a physical representation of human thought and aspiration, a record of the beliefs and values of the culture that produces it." (Roth 159) The Pyramids of Giza are 4,500 years old and besides being pilfered over the centuries, are considered one of the wonders of the world.Their commitment to Firmness shows that "the Egyptians valued bigness, mass, and solidity as the expression of duraility, a guarantee of unlimited security and indestructibility." (Roth 210) Because of the way religion was stressed into everyday life, every Egyptian's goal was to adher to the principal of "ma'at" which "combines aspects of truth, justice, order, stability, security, a cosmic order of harmony, a created and an inherited rightness." (Roth 192) This is also reflected in their building style, "the Egyptians never stepped back from the architectural object, never studied it reflectively as an abstract things, because, as E.B. Smith recognized, "they saw not the stone but the symbol." (Roth 210)

This semester we are working with a lot of new materials. Pat's chair is being made with chipboard, which is supposed to represent MDF (a cheap but sturdy wood, satisfies commodity and firmness but perhaps lacking on the delight). Suzanne is teaching us how to use watercolors as a medium in our drawings, which we practiced on drawings of our story artifact. In history and design we covered chapters that explore how architecture came to be and evolved from the materials in their environment. Ancient civilizations erected behomith stone post and lintel sites, towering pyramids and ziggurat temples...etc. Firmness was extremely valued and served as a form of delight, since "monumental architecture in stone was invented for more symbolic ritual structures" (Roth 168) during a time when religion was so tightly integrated into everyday life. As science progressed the Romans discovered concrete (and later reinforced concrete) which gave them more flexibility in the designs of their buildings, especially large buildings, with the help of the arch and dome.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/2008/03/080328104302-large.jpg
Every society breeds their own original idioms, have stood the test of time but no longer make sense to us. Places like Stonehenge, Lascaux and the Egyptian hieroglyphics are idiomatic because their sense of commodity is lost--we are aware of their sacredness but are unsure of why. Each of our influential predecessors also developed their own sense of style (the Greeks with their columns, the Egyptians with their pyramids) Although Egypt seems very foreign to us it "is where Western architecture begins," (Roth 188) being the first to use the post and lintel system.

Several theories have been articulated to illuminate the purposes behind these mysterious buildings, for instance ancient pagan rituals were influenced heavily by astronomy, so Stonehenge is hypothesized to be some sort of sundial, or shoutout to whoever is watching in space. But for the most part buildings have shed light on what was important to the people that built them. The Pyramids at Giza built for the Pharoahs with all of their belongings and riches buried with them tells us a lot about their views on religion and outlook on life because "its greatest remnants are buildings dedicated to funerary practices, its pyramids serving as man-made mountains of burial, its temple lining the Nile with endless repritions of column after column, of court and chamber leading to yet more courts and chambers. It is an architecture of great mass and monotonous regularity." (Roth 188) These temples and tombs were so important because "things were never as good as they had been at the time of creation...that had been a golden age, where the gods inhabited the earth...the ideal world made at creation would reamin fixed for eternity as long as all the necessary ceremonies were correctly performed." (Roth 189-190)

In drafting we are learning to draw technically precise plans, elevations, and sections to illuminate our craft. In Perceptions and Communications the use of watercolors in our drawings are not only visually stimulated, but use light and color to illuminate the essence of our picture. We also built an artifact in studio pertaining to a Grimms' Fairytale to illuminate the essence of our story.

SUMMARY

Previous cultures developed their own idiomatic styles through the help of breakthrough materials or lack thereof. Having limited materials forces you to be creative, and think of new alternatives to a project. Because Pat can only afford one piece of MDF board, creating a multipurpose desk/chair/workstation out of one sheet forces you to become efficient and the flimsiness of the wood requires sturdy craft. Being given the use of color through watercolors gives our opus a whole other dimension. But because many of these idioms are now missing commodity, firmness, or delight it is difficult to tell their story. Our clothing artifact for our grimms' fairytales had to make a statement, and embody these three disciplines. There are several clues left behind however that help illuminate these ancient buildings, and give us a clue to why someone wanted them to still be here today .

Fairytale Artifact

My Story was King Thrushbeard. The essence of the story was "things aren't always what they seem." I focused on the duality of that message making one side the royal king thrushbeard side and the other the basket weaving beggar he pretends to be.

Lettering

Opus 1 Build:Design::Tell:Story

TRANSLATION

In Studio we were assigned the project "found in translation," where we read and dissected a grimms' fairytale and used abstract artifacts to translate the story. In history + theory we learned architecture is subdivided into vernicular vs. high style. It is debatable whether solely vernicular style can be consider the art of architecture, because art is interpreted differently based on your previous history, the context, and it is in general a difficult language to understand. Some would say "a bicycle shed is a building, lincoln cathedral is a piece of architecture," (Nicholas Pevsner) while others translate vernicular style in a more abstract way. We also were urged to notice the symbolism that goes into many architectural projects by examining its history as well as its purpose.

MULTIVIEW

(http://image.cinemaclock.com/images/midsummer.JPG)

Perceptions and Communication is pushing us to do more than see, to really know/experience/investigate/observe when we draw. Interior Architecture has many different facades, but one of the more simple ways to look at it is where inside and outside meet. When designing it is also important to look at the spaces in many different views, Aedicule is "a unit of space to help divide and understand a larger space" because "seldom is a building devoted wholly to one function." (Roth 18) Whether it is a 2-D plan, a 3-D section, or how the design will be seen through time. A Midsummer's Night Dream has four different sets of stories that all intertwine together. By showing the characters interact through different perceptions gives you the power to hide or reveal certain information, depending on the view. In design graphics, Pat's Chair is designed to be different from all four directions, which will in the end make the desk more dynamic.

CYCLEIn Grimms' fairytales we encounter archetypes that have been recycled all over the world in countless scenarios. History does have a habit of repeating itself, the past molds the present and future. The further back in time you go the easier it is to see the patterns that have rippled. In history + theory we learned about the design cycle. Designers have a cycle, their creativity peaking in their 50-60s. But buildings go through cycles too. A style of architecture's popularity is best described as a bell curve. Different styles do overlap however, some being hugely fashionable but burn out quickly. While other classic styles may never reach the same hype, but stand the test of time and become standard throughout history.

ARTIFACT

"Architecture is arguably the most accurate, the most truly revealing, human cultural artifact." (Roth 12) The study of material culture and the semiotics, ideologies, and signs that encompass it divulges into how tightly linked memories are with tangible objects. Roth suggests "perhaps the most fundamental concept is that the mind, particularly the human mind, is programmed to seek meaning and significance in all sensory information sent to it. (67) After translating our fairytale into an abstract quilt/board, we were asked to make an artifact grasping the essence of the story. This is very important in design, picking materials that bring out the story of your design.

STORY
Architecture expresses itself as a "form of dialogue with past and future." In studio we are learning how to let our designs tell their own story. History can be defined as the interaction of humanity and nature. We distinguish ourselves by telling stories, it is necessary to who we are as people. "When sight, hearing, smell, and touch are completely unstimulated, as in an isolation flotation tank--the mind will eventually invent its own stimuli, and hallucination will result." (Roth 69) I thought this quote was interesting because Stoel also referred to stories as "lies," which hallucinations are as well. Patrick referred to a quote that argued that out of a book of words, deeds, and art, art would be most honest. It reminds me of a Picasso quote, "art is the lie that tells the truth."

SUMMARY

The word "story" requires all of the other four words: multiview, translation, cycle, artifact to function as a whole. They are the sum of its parts, each an aedicule that make up the chapters. Every story has a cycle; a beginning, middle and end. There is a deeper meaning usually disguised in symbolism, sometimes they are people but many times artifacts, which needs to be translated. Multiview is "stories within stories," seen through different perspectives. Embodying these prompts in my design process will lead to a more "holistic creation, development and completion of space for human use." (John Kurticht and Garret Eakin)

IAR221 Timeline 700BC & 700AD

700AD

institutions

Arabic replaces Greek as official language of Egypt
Buddhist monasteries become center of culture (Japan)
Construction begins on the Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem
Climax of the Zapotec Culture
Beginning of Punuk/Birnick cultures in the Arctic
Teotihuacán destroyed by fire and deserted by its inhabitants
Easter Islanders begin to build stone platforms which form part of ceremonial enclosures

technology

Metalworking techniques reach Costa Rica from Colombia
In Eastern Arizona, Pueblo people live in houses above ground for the first time
Mississippi Native Americans build flat topped mounds as temple bases
Introduction of pagodas in Japan from China

governance

Umayyad forces destroy Carthage and Utica
Islamic army conquers Sind and found first Muslim state in India
Srivijaya takes the Melayu kingdom at Jambi; sends an expedition against the kingdoms in Java
Suwawa kingdom flourishes in North Sulawesi
Avar and Slavic tribes conquer Byzantine territories in the Balkans, occupying lands as far south as the Peloponnese in southern Greece
Arabs invade and occupy most of the Iberian peninsula except for an area in the far North

commerce

Copper and silver coins officially issued by Nara court (Japan)
Sumatran kingdom of Shrivijaya extends its trading network as far as the Moluccas and western New Guinea
Trade along the coast of East Africa expanded and promoted the founding of such settlements as Kismayu, Mogadiscio, Gedi, Malindi, Mombasa, Kilwas and others.
Construction of a new, and permanent, capital city in Nara (Heijôkyô) begins in Japan
Abd al Malik issued the first pure Islamic coins


700BC


institutions

Around this time the poet Hesoid writes the Theogony, and Works and Days
Cities are rising in the Ganges Valley
Early Celts start burying swords with their dead

technology

Aqueducts in the Middle East
New Orientalizing pottery shapes emerge in Corinth, Geometric period ends
Writing systems brought to Mauryan kingdom from Arabia and Persia
In China, boiled water is safer to drink than untreated water, and tea becomes popular, accompanied by the belief that tea has medicinal properties
Exotic Near Eastern animals, monsters and other motifs increasingly used in Greek art
Chariots introduced into Italy by Etruscans

governance

End of the First Messinian war; Sparta enslaves the Messinians, known now as helots
Assyrian army lays siege to the city of Lachish in Judah
Arrival of Gaels in Ireland
Emergence of Etruscan city-states in Central Italy

commerce

Increase in trade between Greek cities and other cultures exotic
Launacian' bronze industry flourishing in southern France
Romanians expand trade routes bringing Greeks to the Black Sea
Aryan migrations into the Ganges Valley are over or coming to an end
In the West the Lydians (Turkey) are the first to make coins

works cited

http://www.historyexplorer.net/?World_History_Timeline
http://www.camelotintl.com/world/
http://www.worldtimelines.org.uk/
http://ehistory.osu.edu
http://timelines.ws/0600AD_999AD.HTML
http://www.fsmitha.com/time-bc3.html
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001209.html

The Oasis Story Pt III: Exhibition

Neal and Nicole had set up the Exhibit part of the Oasis project. We are taking over everything, because it was our group that lead the way in the circle/rectangle concept.

Our Process Wall. Linsey Frost and I had documented it via the class project blog, but we could not have done it without Cassandra's and Iliana's photographs.

Our first parti. We first cut down on the amount of pillars and then completely took them out of the picture.

The Final Model. We had changed our idea to the border last minute after they had made the scale model so it still shows a pathway

Pathways Edges and Boundaries: To Scale

Afterwards it was just time to cleanup. I helped clean up the loading area and outside the woodshop, and Aubrey and I were the Oasis representatives who helped return everyone's projects back inside.