Blog Post 3

 The Acropolis and Xingyang Palace are very different structures built in very different locations in the ancient world. They both make statements regarding space, power, scale, technology, order, and surface, but their statements are quite different.

While both structures were built around a central form, the complexes are strikingly different. Xingyang Palace is an enormous single structure built around and enclosing a central courtyard, and the Acropolis is a series of structures built around an open court. This series of structures is what we view as the whole of the Acropolis. The experience of the Xingyang Palace and the Acropolis were very different. Common citizens, and even slaves, ascended to the top of the Acropolis by a specifically designed path that led them through the Propylaia, and finally into the inviting expanse that was the Acropolis. Contrastly, the Xingyang Palace was a colossal structure that was imposing and menacing. The citizens in the local villages were not expected to approach the palace. In fact, its monstrous size was meant to intimidate any potential invaders. The mass of the building is to discourage any approach. The size of the palace is a demonstration of the power of the ruler. The Xingyang Palace gives a solid sense of order by its use of symmetry and form, while the Acropolis has the sense of harmony in melding very precise but different structures into one unified space.

The Acropolis and Xingyang Palace were both integral components in the importance and maintenance of society, proving that architecture can be a unifying identity.