Project 3: 1st year studio plan/section

 Updated iterations of studio plans including north and west sections

  

Here is a pic of my 3rd project in design vis. One is a plan of the first year studio, the other is a section of the studio.

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.

RR 3 DIY Hybrid Designs

front cover

inside page

hybrid design

conclusion

For my reading response I made a book with the 5 architecture orders and cut them into thirds. By interchanging the thirds, one can create unique hybrid designs and determine whether they would work in an actual environment. This is a fun way to play with classic designs and recognize some of the mistakes that are still being made in architecture with regards to proportion and style. Thanks for looking.

Reading Response 2

Blog Post 2: Circles, Groups, and Stacks

Circles, groups,and stacks are important elements of design because humans have always organized items in these ways. Circular forms represent the containment of that which is precious, or of great importance. Grouping is an automatic function of the human brain that allows us to catergorize items as similar and recognize those that are dissimilar. Stacking represents the human desire to gather and store daily neccessities and to reach toward the heavens by immulating the form of mountains and volcanoes.

Because humans have used circles, groups, and stacks intuitively as a way to organize and designate that which is important, it is only natural that these elements are the basis for design. Built environments use these elements to designate importance, worship, government, daily life, etc, and we associate these elements with specific rituals in certain contexts. The question of whether rituals influence environments, or environments influence rituals is a chicken and egg question. The short answer is, yes. There are rituals that are performed because of the environment AND there are environments created to suit rituals. Additionally, some ritualistic environments evolve to better suit the ritual, which, in turn, sometimes causes the ritual to be altered.

I have never thought about design in terms of these three intuitive and simplistic design elements. But after discussing it in class and looking for them in built environments, I better understand them as a universal way for humans to catergorize and organize that which we see, use, and value.

The following are some examples of these design elements in built environments around the UNCG campus. In looking for these elements, I very quickly realized they are seldom used singularly.

Circle

I am using this image of the library entrance as an example of a circle. The important thing inside the circle is the entrance. The (semi) circle on the front of the building indicates where the entrance is by appearing different from the rest of the building; not only is it circular but it is a different material from the rest of the building and is painted a different color.

There is also the element of grouping (grove) in this entryway.

Grouping

This is my example of grouping (grove). These are (steam?) stacks on top of the Sullivan Science Building. The building is very tall and it is interesting that this grove is atop it. The stacks, themselves, are a little squatty but the orientation of them makes them a very interesting grove.

One can not ignore the fact that these are also circular. 

Stacking

This building (attached to the Sullivan Science Building) looks like a modern zigurat. For us, building upward is a way to utilize the most square footage for a given amount of land. Even so,  it is easy to see the same form that ancient cultures used in building stepped towers.

Circles,groups. stacks

The clock tower is the built object on campus that I feel best embodies the three basic design elements. The tower is encircled by a low, brick wall. The brick wall has designated places where a person can walk through it and enter the circle to continue on their path. The clocktower is supported by a grove of brick columns that are at least two stories tall. The second story of the clocktower serves as a circle in which the stacks of bells are housed. The roof of the clocktower is stacked in a pyramid shape, further emphasizing the importance and centrality of this built environment.

This is my grey scale project for IAR 112, design vis. I used graphite for three of the scales and ink for the other three scales. Each medium is done in 11/2":1', 1":1', and 3/4":1'. Thanks for taking a look. 

Reading Response 1
Catal Huyuk