IAR221: Reverberations Unit

Religion has had a significant influence on architecture for many years. The most common places would be the spaces inside of churches and cathedrals. In this time period people often used mental maps to record the locations of buildings such as churches and other geographic places. When architects build churches and cathedrals they often place or incorporate motifs within those buildings. We refer to this as “faith in stone”. For example many churches have stained glass windows with biblical stories painted directly upon the glass. I went to my grandma’s church for a very long time and I always wondered what the purpose of those windows was. After learning about faith in stone and glass it finally made sense. Another example of faith being incorporated in stone is the Amiens Cathedral. This is a gothic cathedral that contains really long columns. This columns are not only there to support the structure, but they are also there to represent the grand nature of the cathedral. Their vertical structure reaches to the heavens. That was a very important feature on gothic cathedrals.

As the new millennium approaches there is a change in world maps and architecture. In the dark ages there was a lot medieval castle like cathedrals located in France. These cathedrals contained pendentives and some classical elements of the renaissance period. Many Villas were also built around this time period, one being the Villa Rotunda, which is the most copied building of the western world. As time goes on there begins to be a lot of rules that the western world adopts. These rules include things like exact measurements, balance, layers, etc. Unlike the Chateau fountain staircase which completely rejects the renaissance.

Architecture has been linked to emotion in history. The space in the interior of a building can have an effect on how you feel. Architecture in happiness is not just concluded as buildings that make you happy because they are pretty. Architecture in happiness means that the building must function well, stand the test of time, and interact with people in a positive way. For example I recently took a trip to falling water and toured the interior spaces in the bedroom. Although I loved how the space looked I didn’t have the same interaction with it as everyone else did. The space made me feel a little uncomfortable. I feel this had to do with it being so neat and set up. It wasn’t very homelike to me.

Semiotic language means to uncover the latent meaning in everyday life. I feel that when Wright built Falling Water he had his own semiotic language of how the space would be interacted with. Semiotics can also play a part in class. When you go on vacation you’ll notice most of the time that either the top floor is more expensive or the bottom floor. Town housing back in the day had the same idea and that usually separated the rich from the middle class.

Colonial expansion brings new and old ideas to new places. Some people were trying to revive the old while others were trying to reform or change old ideas. All designs in architecture go through a period of revolution. This is a cycle of things falling out of popularity, coming back into popularity, and being completely thrown out. For example things such as skinny jeans, Chuck Taylor’s, and penny loafers are all things that have went through a period of revolution.

During the 19^th century a lot of new innovations and revivals begin to come into play. These new innovations include things like steel, glass, cast iron, and the revival of concrete. The Crystal palace, designed by Paxton, was essentially a huge greenhouse where they held fairs and other events.

I believe that architecture is revival from the past with little differences to be called original. I also believe that it is important that we go back to old architectural elements in order to remember the past.

Example of revival of roman columns on

the white house.

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