Saturday, April 30, 2011

One Point Perspective


I really enjoyed working on this project and am pleased with my drawing.  It took me a total of about 8 hours to complete this drawing with about 3 layers of paper.  I think in this drawing I really improved my skills at shading and drawing.

Comparative Composition: Falling Water and Monticello


For my sketch, to compare Falling Water and Monticello I felt that a overall sketch of the exterior of both was appropiate.  I also compared the two using an interior sketch and a sketch of the enterances.  I think that with the enterance sketch you can really see the difference in the use of material, location, and a lot about the time in which both buildings were designed. 

In class Sketches

At the beginning of the semester we focused on our drawing skills by setting up obejects to help us practice our skills and techniques in drawing and shading.  These are a few of my in class sketches. 










Dinning space Precedents and Parti



These are images of spaces and products that helped to inspire my dinning space.

Writer's Retreat Perspectives

Perspective of my public reading space looking down the hallway leading to the back spaces.  My walls come in at the top to compliment the change in ceiling height from the front to the back.  I carried out this design for my bed headboad. 

Perspective of my bedroom space

Two-Point Perspective of the writer's office and sitting area

Writer's Retreat Plan and Sections

As my project progressed I developed the overall concept of overlapping.  In arranging my spaces my main idea was allowing my public and private spaces to overlap and flow into each other.  My way of acheiving this was keeping the original amount of space in the front of the house for public readings and allowing for my kitchen and bathroom to serve as overlapping areas into the semi-private and private spaces.  From my kitchen, the space opens into the writer's office. I placed a meeting table for students to meet with the writer infront of the side door which serves as a overlapping area dividing the kitchen from the office.  The office opens into the back area which is a seating/living area for the writer dividing her/his office and her/his bedroom.  From the bedroom there is a door which allow for the writer to have a private enterance.

Section showing the front reading space bookshelves and fireplace along with the kitchen, meeting table, and office desk.

Section showing the back of the house which is composed of the writer's office desk and file folder, seating furniture, and bedroom.

This drawing represents where my section cuts are located along with my persepective views.

Plan

Diagram showing my idea of overlapping within my space.  The shaded aread represent spaces dividing my public and private.

Learning to Render

So we move on to color! Rendering with color was very difficult at first.  It took me a while to figure out a rendering style I liked and also what kind of paper was best for rendering.  I found I like the loose style better however I am still practicing with different techniques.











Friday, April 29, 2011

BP 14 : 4/29/11

Object:



I think that the yo-yo is an interesting design mainly for its fuction.  The yo-yo has been around forever as a toy, way to pass time, and for some, a hobby.  Its basic form and fuction has been the same throughout time however, people have learned how to master it with creative tricks.  I like things that are constant with a twist.

Place:
 
My place of inspiration is Wilmington.  I love the history of the the city along with the connection to the sea.  I think this helps define me as a designer because I love historical architecture and in Wilmington I am surrounded.

Building:



I love the buildings of the Greek isle.  They way the bulding up the land looking out to the sea.  Their clean white colors and geometical shapes give a sense of harmony and peace.

Space:



Call me crazy but one space I love to be in is a hotel room.  I've always traveled since I was a kid and so being in a hotel room gives me the feeling of a new place and exciting adventure right behind the doors.

Unit Summary 3 : 4/29/11

As we wrapped up the semester, we entered into the Explorations unit.  Within this unit we looked at the world fairs, arts and crafts movement, art deco movement, and the trasition to modernism. During this unit, everything previously dicussed came together as the world began to evolve and change.  We see the continuation of history, advances in technology and the effects of regionalism.

The world fair began in 1851at the Crystal Palace in London. During this time, the exploration of new ideas, cultures, and land were important to people and fairs allowed for people to experience new ideas without traveling far.  The purpose of the fairs were to be commemorative, commercial, collabrative, and celebratory.  The fairs help to represent countries along with indicating world events and reflecting the hopes and fears of people.  The fairs also brought new materials such as iron and glass and new structures such as the eiffel tower.


http://modeling-agencies.celeboutfit.com/eiffel-tower

Around this same time, machines started playing a large role in the production of buildings/objects. Machines brought cheaper designs as the handmade products became more valuble and expensive.  Great debates arose on whether it was good to use the machine or not and this lead to the Arts and Crafts movenment.   The machine allowed for mass production however, people debated that although the machine was good, it can be prefected.  William Morris was one of these people who believe in "good design for all" and that with the machine can come great crafts through mastering the machine. These ideas lead to the opening of the Bauhaus in the 20s which helped to push and internationalize the ideas of modernism through the teaching of many great modernist designers such as Le Cobusier.

Example of Arts and Crafts


The red house in Kent, England by William Morris
http://www.ontarioarchitecture.com/ArtsandCrafts.htm

The Art Deco era began in teh 1920s and brought with it more decorative qualities.  Materiality, fluidity of lines, geometric aspects, and speed or movenment were all key characteristics in Art Deco buildings.  During this time, people were questioning for something modern but not quite getting modernism. 

Builings of the Art Deco Era


Rockefeller Center, NY, NY.
http://www.allposters.com/-sp/Rockefeller-Center-Posters_i2548785_.htm


Chrysler Building NY, NY.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/wonder/structure/chrysler2_skyscraper.html

Modern design brought with it, simple materials, less details, clean lines and geometic shapes, along with materials such as glass, concrete, and steel.  In the 50s design was more art and less fuction but as we come into todays time, fuction becomes a key aspect.  Skyscrapers take a huge part in the use of new modern materials. 

Examples of modern buildings.


Edith Farnsworth house by Ludwig Mies Van der Roche


1st modern home in Greensboro by Lowenstien

Modernism has and still doesn face many challanges such as historical preservation of buildings.  Designers much learn and know how to echo the past at the same time that they make it completely new.  Lowenstien worked on this with the Bennett College building in Greensboro, NC.  The boston public library is also an example.  Modernism also faced challanged with the rise of technology and regionalism.  Eamples of these challanges are seen in Lloyd's of London and the Sea Ranch Condos by Moore. 

Architecture has and will always face challanges and this is something that as a designer we must recognise and learn how to work with. 

Monday, April 18, 2011

Extra Credit assignment 4/18/2011

Charles and Ray Eames Legacy.....today's design star

Today’s discussion about the Eames’ legacy and how it plays into today’s design star philosophy was very insightful.  It was interesting to discuss how design has evolved and the way the world looks at design today.  Good design takes talent.  Anyone can go to school and get a design degree however, I think it takes passion become a good designer.  Being a design student myself, I know that education plays a huge role in design because, it helps you to develop skills and new theories/perspective.  Studying design in a class such as this history class gives one a better background and a new way of thinking and looking at design.  It also allows for one to become familiar with famous designers throughout history.  I also think that it is equally important to have credentials and experience because although school can teach you skills, one must apply those skills with experience. The best way to learn is through doing.  When designing, it is important to take into account every aspect as a whole.  A good designer designs not what they think is important but what their client thinks is important and in doing this a lot of times one will have many different clients/styles and opinions.  To successfully approach a task like this, I think one must take a holistic approach.  It takes all parts of design and not just one, it makes for a better design because design adapts and changes based on the environment. Every designer designs different, and I believe even when a design is designing for a client, they still have their own style.  This can be seen in many different shows such as design star but also through looking at designers we have studied such as Frank Lloyd Wright and Charles and Ray Eames.  Media has a massive role in today’s design.  It is a way for designers to get themselves out there and network but it also is a way to draw in people who usually would not be attracted to design.  The Eames’ legacy brought design to simplicity, function, and mass-production.  Today shows such as design star build off of that but through the more crafty feel they give to design, they bring in different cliental to inspire to design. 
Within our group we also touched on another question.  Do you think design is better when you have more money to design with, or less?  My answer to this question is less because through having less money one is open to exploring things/materials they wouldn’t otherwise.  Less money opens up the mind to creativity. 

BP 13 : 4/18/2011

The Impact of Scandinavian Design on Today's Design

Scandinavian Design was a modern movenment that began in the early 20th century.  This movement focuced on designing products and buildings that were simply, fundamental, sustainable fuctionable, at the same time they were made out of cheap material so they can be mass produced. Many great Scandinvaian designers were Eero Saarinen and Alvar Aalto.  When thinking about the impact that Scandinavian design had on today's design, a perfect example would be IKEA.  IKEA is a company produced out of Sweden which focuses on the same values such as simplicity, functionality, and cheap cheap design.  At the same time IKEA products as well as the IKEA company themselves strive to be substainable.  They hire their own designers specifically for their products.  Their products also come packaged to transport and self-assemble which goes along with the theory of today's design of being able to do it yourself!


http://fuckyeahikea.tumblr.com/

RR 13 : 4/18/2011

The Design of Museums

As the rest of the world began to shift and change to modernism, the design world of museums fell behind.  Throughout the 20 th century we do see a few museum buildings appear in modern design such as Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim Museum. Its not until the 1990s that they start to get a new face other than that of neoclassicism.

Museum Design during 19th and early/mid 20th century carried the imprint of the Enlightenment:
  • Ordering of space
  • Systematization of knowledge
  • Owning of precious objects
Museum buildings really tied into the concept of history, advances of archaeology, and the understanding of art.  The building represented well, the purpose of a museum in representing the ancient cultures.  Museums were also a way to represent national pride.


http://askmissa.com/2010/01/13/free-concerts-at-the-national-art-gallery/
National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C.


http://dillonlibrary.blogspot.com/2011/02/londons-national-gallery-lecture.html
National Gallery in London



In the 1990s the global economy boomed and having a tourist site such as a grand museum could in great revenue thus museums were a economic power.  Museum building types became the interest of architects, planners, politicians, and the public.  No longer was the architect expected to preserve concervative thoughts or respecr high culture, they were now to represent the modernity of contemporary culture. 


http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/guggenheim-museum-bilbao-landmark.htm
Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain


http://www.xxlglass.net/references.php?tri=oui&option1=&option2=&option3=&option4=&option5=
One building of the Samsung Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea

Monday, April 11, 2011

RR 12 : 4/11/11

The Bauhaus


http://meilbox.asyanna.com/?p=604

The first Bauhaus school was founded in Weirmar, Germany in 1919 however, due to the lack of support by the govenment and city Walter Groupis moved the Bauhaus to Dessau, Germany in 1924 where it was open until 1933.

The Bauhaus building divided the program into 2 major sections by a road and bridge where conviently Groupis' offic was located.  The bridge divided the studio space and the classrooms.  The building did not have a classical layout but had its own progammatic layout. 
  • Dorms on east end were connected to the long, one story space (lecture hall and canteen)
  • One story space was connected to the main building with two stories of studio spaces
  • L-shaped area contained officed and classrooms

http://herculezz.wordpress.com/2009/03/17/bauhaus/bauhaus-model/

The Bauhuas was founded as a school that's inital purpose was to produce a new guild of craftsmen.  Groupis' goal was to unify the arts and bring together industry and craft. "The question was not just how to make things, but how to percieve and experience things as well" (Ching, 718).  Students were taught by an array of teachers from different backgrounds.  They were taugh to use their creativity and form it into reality much like we are taugh today in our studio classes.

Much debate when on about the Bauhaus and its way of teaching modern architecture.  Most argued that one can not learn architecture through aesthetics, decrotive design, and individual creativity however, the Bauhaus remained a leading school of modern design where many great modern designers studied and taught such as Ludwig Mies va der Rohe.

Products from the Bauhaus movement:
                             
     

"...the Bauhaus became a lightning rod for debates, furthering modern architecture in the brief time between the early 1920s and the return of neoclassicism and nationalism in the 1930s" (Ching, 718).

BP 12 : 4/11/11

When I think about good design for all, my mind goes to the Bauhaus movement and it's focus for designing for all.  Designer's in the Bauhaus really focused on accessiblity for all.  This meant they were to build with cheap, accessibly materials, packaged designs which were self-assembled, and mass-production. 

Moving away from this, I think a good place that represents good design for all would be New York's Central Park.  It is a greenspace which allows for a ecofriendly envoriment in a big city.  This gives people a place to get away from the busy, concrete city and feel like they are out in the open, green, county.  The park is filled with every kind of activity and event one can think of so, it is a place for people in all shapes and sizes. 



http://blogs.e-rockford.com/applesauce/2009/08/01/

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Unit Summary 2 : 4/8/11

The unit of reverberations comes down to three major components; the establishment of rules, the breaking of those established rules, and the recreation of rules.  During this unit we explored many different styles of architecture, some connecting back to the ancient classical world then moving forward to gothic, baroque, romantic, back to classical.  It is now that we also see the change in architecture as it is influence by colonial expansion and industrialization. 

Beginning in week five we start to explore the institutionalization of religion and how buildings began to express this through changes in design and materials.  Cities were becoming more populated during this time so places to worship were needed at larger scales.  Examples of these are the Pantheon, the Church of Nativity, Hagia Sophia, and many Eastern churches that start to arise.  As these temples and churches arise, they began to evolve.  Form and material were key points in design.  Focusing on light and the importance of light with certain materials were seen.  
“Light, God’s eldest daughter, is a principle beauty in a building.” Thomas Fuller
Designers played with light through materials such as glass and the use of stain glass.  The also interested in surface and substance for example, mosaics were placed inside churches so when light cast in they appeared to have movement and be dancing.  A great example of this can be seen right here in Greensboro at the Greek Orthodox Church. 

Evolution of  form:


This week also reflected on the theory that architecture as frozen music.  “Architecture is music in space, as if it were frozen.” Fredrick von Schelling  Music and architecture go hand in hand and it is interesting to see how certain types of music can be reflective of certain types of architecture.  It helps one to understand the fluidity through time of architecture.  Just as music changes and evolves so does architecture. Just as music speaks a language and is a form of expression so is architecture.

During week six we looked at a new type of architecture evolving.  The millennium had ended and a new was beginning.  This was what history calls the dark ages however, this is a time when a new era of architecture arose called the gothic style.  Gothic cathedral were magnificent in size and grandeur.  They were highly decorative and ornate with complex labyrinth designs.
Through these Gothic Catherals we start to see how churches become a source of media control.  Churches spoke the dark language of the end of the world and they instilled fear in people through the expressions design on and in cathedrals.

During this week we also discussed how people began to express themselves through maps.  Maps are a way for us to now see and understand how people saw the world.  A question arose that was can objects, buildings, and places be maps?  The answer is yes and we see this with the basic crucifix layout of every gothic cathedral.   Gothic Cathedral’s also help us to see how different regions viewed the world.
Cologne Cathedral- Germany
http://www.webbaviation.co.uk/deutschland/cologne-cathedral.htm

During week seven we enter into the renaissance.  This is where Western and Eastern rules are established breaking away from the previous gothic generation.  We see connections back to the ancient world as new things are being placed on the landscape through the past; circles, groves, and stacks.  The renaissance really focused on calm, veritcal, serene spaces, and the individual rather than the community.

Week eight was all about breaking the rules.   During this time, designer’s broke away from the previous rule books (mainly in the West) through elaborate details and decorations, emphasizing on materials, and the play with theatrics.  Buildings also focused on using the horizontal landscapes and designing the gardens was just as important as the design of the buildings.  This was called the baroque era. 

Difference in Renessance and Baroque represented through the Davids
Michelangelo's David during the Renissance:  Vertical, Calm, serene

Bernini's David during the Baroque era : Active, theatrical


Week nine we focused on colonial expansion to the new world.  This was time when  designer’s began to look back at the rules.  In Europe it was all about copying the king and matching the wealthy.  Over in the new world it was all about revolution and breaking away from English ties.  In doing this we see that our forefathers went back to classical times in a Greek Revival.  This can be seen in Washington D.C. and also at Monticello, where we visited earlier this week.

Capitol Building in Washington D.C.

Monticello : Thomas Jefferson's home in Virgina


Our tenth and final week of this unit we discussed industrialization which begin to change architecture yet again.   We also discuss the design cycle.  The design cycle helps to explain that design is in an ever continuing loop moving from revolution to revolution.  Every new generation is a direct reaction to the previous periods.  We see that just as a cartwheel, the architecture is continually being turned upside down and ride side up.  This helps us to see that architecture is ever changing and always being influenced.  

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

BP 11 : 4/6/11

Why is it important for people by the beginning of the twentieth century to be working so hard to be modern?

With the new century comes new design!  Modernism meant breaking away from the details and history.  Making things simple but yet still meaninful was what design focused on.  Also, with the rise of industrialization, the whole world seem to be changing, moving on so why not architecture.  Technological inventions and change in material allowed for new ways of building.  Mass-production influenced a lot of movements such as the Bauhaus, where designing with lighter materials, more geometrical shapes, and simple structures came to good use.  Although design was becoming more simple and less detailed, that does not mean buildings were not designed with purpose.  Architecture still spoke the same language however, it was new and refined to fit the new and refined world.

http://www.galinsky.com/buildings/savoye/index.htm
Villa Savoye, France by Le Corbusier

This house is an example of a house designed in the moderist time.  The house is very simple compared to earlier architectural eras with a very basic and geometric design however, through the materials used and the design layout the house still has a grand voice.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

RR 11: 4/6/11 : Building Up

Building Up

With all the change in Architectural style within the 19th century, we see a new type of Architecture emerge as architects begin to build vertically. With a bricklayers' strike in Chicago, iron skeletal frames were not only being used for the interior frame but also the exterior frame.  Over the next five years, metal frames were being used in almost every building reducing the weight of the office building blocks by more than half.  They also elimintated the thick supporting walls at the ground floor and basement. With this improment building design began to change along with technology such as the invention of the passanger elevator. Buildings began to rise and rise to the skys.

http://blog.lib.umn.edu/lindg157/architecture/2006/10/iron_vs_steel.html
Home Insurance Office Building, Chicago. By William Le Baron Jenney

With this new architectual style, design was changing rapidly for these office buildings.  Louis Sullivan thought that witht he tall office block being a totally new building type, it required a complete new way of thinking so he established the three principle function rule.

  • There is a basement below the sidewalk level which houses mechanical equiptment and utilities
  • First principal visible area is the street-level zone.  Here there are a mix of street shops with a public entrance leading to the central elevator.
  • Above is the second visible area which consists of stacked identical office cells grouped along corridors branching out from the central spine where the elevator is located.
  • Atop all of this is the third area consisting of some offices, elevator machinery, and other utilities.
With these principles, Sullivan used the steel columes, beams, and external frame of the buildings, along with terra cotta to emphasize and represent the three prinicple layers of the building.
Red: First Principle area
Blue: Second Principle area
Orange: Third Principle area

Adler and Sullivan Guaranty Building in Buffalo, New York

When looking at the architectual changes of vertical buildings, the basic principles of stacking come back to my mind. It is important to remember the importance of the basic principles of design and also that even with the change to modern architecture, they are still present. 

Just as the Egyptians stacked and built to the skies:
Pyramids of Giza

So we are still repeating the same stacking and building to the sky in our own modern language.
Buji Skyscraper in Dubai