IAR 221:Modern Architecture

Falling Water

When I think of modern buildings before its time, Falling Water always comes to mind. Falling Water was built in the 1900s by Frank Lloyd Wright. Wright is famous for his modern style homes and buildings. While visiting Falling Water a week ago I was informed that the client of Wright wanted a sort of modern getaway cabin in the woods. Although Wright used materials that were very ancient the design however is not. Falling was also a building with style and substance. I feel these days you have a lot of modern aesthetically pleasing buildings with wasted space. In Falling Water no space is wasted. The bedrooms are very small because Wright felt that was just a place for rest not to hang out all day long. The living room and cantilevers have the most multifunctional space.

I feel that the reason people in the 20th century tried so hard to be modern is because they felt like designers borrowed from the past too much as many people do. Design is one of those things where it is hard to be original because a lot of things have been done before. I also feel that whoever influences you as a designer often reflects the work you do. In Wright's case he was either trying to break the rules of what he had been taught or he was influenced by his mentors. 

Picture Source

wright-house.com

IAR 221: Crystal Palace Fairs

Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace(front)

• Designed by Sir Joseph Paxton.
• World fairs were held within this building.
• The structure was mainly made out of steel and glass.

From first glance the Crystal Palace resembles a huge greenhouse. It's arched glass ceiling echoes the elements of a greenhouse. These elements were put in place by Paxton who was an innovator of steel and glass greenhouses.( Ching, 664). Paxton played these elements up even more by adding plants and trees in the inside of the the nave of the building. Many plants and trees died due to the heat and humidity within the palace. A lot of contrast was added to the building with the actual people who were on exhibit in the building. These people were usually slaves and native americans. There ancient setups and customs were opposite to the new innovation of steel and glass.

Trees & vegetation in the Crystal Palace

Many fairs were held within the palace. These fairs would sort of advertise new products on the market. These products were mass produced or handcrafted products from other cultures. Millions of people flocked to these fairs to buys materials and to view the structure and exhibits.

Paxton's idea for the Crystal Palace was for it to look delicate, but large at the same time. The palace consist of light weight elements that were built on site.(Ching, 664). 

Present Day

Greensboro Coliseum

The Crystal Palace in many ways remind me of the Greensboro Coliseum. Architecturally the glass on the coliseum and the palace echo each other. The pattern of the glass and the support beams are very similar. I have also seen many plants within the Greensboro coliseum as well. 

This weekend the coliseum held the craftsman show, which they have every year. In the craftsman show are a couple hundred artists selling their handcrafted artwork. It's sort of like fairs they used to have in the Crystal palace.

In today's culture we still have many conventions that cover things from anime to apple products. I feel that the innovation of the Crystal Palace influenced the fairs and conventions that we have today.

Sources

                                                                      en.wikipedia.org

londonwalkblog.blogspot.com

tigerrag.com

Revolutionary Lamp

This lamp has been in my living room for a long time. As you can see there are a lot of detailing along the lamp stand suggesting a certain class. A lot detailing and art that was carved around an object, walls, or floor was a sign of wealth. In the middle of the lamp there are groves going vertically up the lamp. In my opinion the middle of the lamp echoes Greek and Roman columns. If I had to pick one I would defintinely choose ionic since there is not enough detailing to suggest otherwise. I feel that this is revolutionary because it is kind of like the revival of Roman and Greek architecture. While observing the lamp shade I noticed a smalling detail along the bottom. It looks like woven braided yarn dyed gold and ivory. The lamp shade is not perfectly round at the bottom. It has little indentations around the it. This could go along with the theory of reform because most normal lamp shades are round at the bottom and very boring. This change was probably more pleasing to the eye.

Frank Lloyd Wright

Ward Willits House

Front view of the Ward Willits House

• Built between 1900-1902.
• Wright designed this house with influence from Japanese architecture.
• This house broke the rules of the normal suburban home.
• Ward Willits House is located in Highland Park, Illinois.

Frank Lloyd Wright was a designer who supported English arts and the Crafts movement. A lot of the suburban homes that were being built around this time contained this idea. When Wright begin to build suburban homes he broke the rules by opening up more space within the houses he was designing. Wright played with horizontal lines and contrast while designing the Ward Willits House. The horizontal lines in the design add more space to the outside of the house as well as the inside. The dark stained wooden members contrast the white stucco on the walls.(Roth, 497).

Ward Willits House Floor Plan

Wright was famous for hiding things such as water heaters and regular heaters within structures he placed in the rooms or in the structure itself. He felt that they we not aesthetically pleasing. As you can see in the floor plan the Ward Willits house is built in a landscape principle, but also has that cross mid section where spaces contributed around within the structure.

Present day: Falling Water

There are a lot of similarities and differences between Falling Water and the Ward Willits House. These houses were both built in the 1900s. When looking at the environment or starting places of both designs you can see that they are drastically different. Falling water starting place was on a stream bed in the middle of the Pennsylvania woods. Wright's principle for Falling water was to incorporate nature into the structure rather than leveling it out and building something on top of it. For the Ward Willits house Wright designed these structure on a flat suburban area in Illinois.

The similarities of both these designs mainly have to do with the idea Wright had for both of them. First, both designs had Japanese influence. Secondly these designs both contain a lot of contrast. With the Ward Willits House it's more in the color of the structure on the outside. In Falling Water the balconies in the structure overlap and cross each other. Lastly the most important similarity in my opinion was Wright's idea of opening up the space. The spaces Wright created were multi functional and no space went without purpose.

Sources

delmars.com

m.eb.com

wright-house.com

IAR 221: England's National Style

The Georgian Style

Example of a Georgian style home

• Georgian style first originated in England.
• The two main qualities of georgian architecture was functionality and serviceability. 
• Georgian architecture was also used in the American colonies that the english controlled.(Ching, 581).

Georgian architecture began with the rise of King George I. King George is known for creating the system known as the Whigs. Soon after all the political changes came architectural changes. This change was known as Georgian architecture. Most Georgian style buildings were brick with simple doors and windows. These building were also very symmetrical and almost always had some sort of walkway or porch leading up into the building.

Stratford Hall Plantation

Georgian architecture was adopted by the mercantile class, who were involved in coal and agricultural ventures.(Ching, 581). This led to Georgian architecture going abroad to places such as America and Ireland. 

In my opinion these buildings are very elegant. I would say mostly upper class people resided in these homes. These Georgian style buildings remind me of modern day mansions. When I compare mansions and the Georgian style building I'm mostly referring to the type of class that is associated with the buildings, not so much on the size. Some of these Georgian style buildings are only 2300 square Ft, but the elegance and simplicity of the architecture makes them grand in their on way.

Modern day Mansion

Sources

ratethismuseum.com

thehammocksonthesound.com

flickr.com

IAR 221: Object Space Building Place

For my object I chose a disposable coffee mug. The object screams "I'm on the go". Its a portable coffee cup that could essentially hold anything you want it to. Being a college student, I usually see a lot of these on campus, but the most prominent places you would receive or see these coffee mugs in are cafes. 

The shape of the coffee mug gradually gets wider as it gets taller. This design allows for it to sit comfortably in the hand as you carry it. The brown paper also reminds me of recyclable material, but its there for protection from hot liquids.

The overall language that I'm receiving from this object is fast paced, quick, easy, warm, and good design. Not only does the coffee give you a quick joult of energy, but the good design of the vessel that holds the coffee makes the experience even quicker. 

IARC 102: Understanding music through 3D design

While interpreting Beethoven's music in class we picked several elements of design that fit the music piece. These elements included contrast, repetition, and elegance. When we came back from completing our individual projects we had to decide what aspects of each project to put within the final project. As you can see in the photo there are three sticks that erect from the middle vessel. I chose that form in my individual project to represent elegance. While the form is simple the other elements of the project makes it work. At the bottom of the project is a very strong base, which is supposed to represent the dissonance in our music piece. This particular aspect of the project was designed my Monica. The lined up bamboo sticks on the base add more to the elegance feature we were going for. 

The vertical stacking vessel in the middle of the our design was designed my Torrey. The stacking represents repetition that is found in the music. Last, but not least we examined the paper curls designed by Rachel. We found that Rachel's curls vs. Torrey's vertical stacking added the contrast we were looking for.

IAR 221: Hacienda Communities

Haciendas 

Ancient Hacienda, Yucatan.

• Haciendas usually specialized in certain things.
• Slaves that resided in the Haciendas were usually bound to that Hacienda forever.(Ching, 557
• The word Hacienda comes from the Latin word focere which means "to make something".(Ching, 557)

Haciendas go back to the 1500's made to be communities that were mostly populated by slaves. The slaves that made up these Haciendas were usually African and Native Americans. The reason why I also refer to Haciendas as communities is because not only did the slaves work there, they also lived there. The Mexican people had to ensure that the people and themselves got what they needed since the Haciendas were far from metropolitan centers.

Panoramio, Ancient Hacienda

For this reason Haciendas varied in size. Some Haciendas had its own market place, cemetery, jailhouse, etc. I feel that another reason they built a little community is because the slaves and their descendants were stuck there. There was porbably children  and older people there and they also had to be some sort of order.  All these communities focused on producing things. Things like coffee, sugar cane, cotton, food, etc.

Cotton

Present Day

Haciendas in my opinion remind me of big factories. Factories all over America rarely make everything. They usually specialize in one or two things. My aunt used to work at UNIFI. UNIFI made yarns and fabric for textile products. My aunt would spin yarn for ten hours because that was her job. They provided areas where they could eat or rest . As far as the architecture, factories and Haciendas are very large in size. The spaces within these structures a made for production and easy traffic flow.

Sources:

http://www.colonial-estates.pvoss.de/mexico-historical-haciendas.htm

http://www.panoramio.com/photo/23870526

http://kaufmann-mercantile.com/organic-cotton/

Light Chamber

Experince the morning sun through the curtains

Color Theory