Point Explorations

What is the ideal city? Man has been reinventing this idea even before the first temples went up in Egypt and ever since. In the Painting 'Ideal City', the artist has included in his view of the ideal city, an open courtyard, ships for commerce, three story buildings, columns and arches, all of which are still fundamental to building practices today. However this version of the ideal city is missing people, leaving it empty and cold. Ideas and labor come from man, everything must be done with people in mind.

During the machine age, art and industry collided to create the Bauhaus. The main goal behind the Bauhaus was to combine crafts and the fine arts. Several disciplines were combined to be taught under one roof. Not only was the Bauhaus a place for learning, it was also a way of building. This way of building took into account all aspects of a buildings use and comfort for those occupying it. It was a school of building to include a total work of art. It too had an ideal for perfect building. The Bauhaus style was void of ornament and instead preferred to allow the materials to speak for themselves. The function comes first and the form follows.The style of Bauhaus has been influential throughout the century. The idea of building is putting elements together to make a whole and setting standards. Shortly after, the modern movement began. In our quest for the perfect artistic expression, some fundamental considerations were missed.

Although Mies van der Rohe had many successes, some of his failures were due to the fact that he didn't consider people in his some of his designs. Just like the 'Ideal City' painting is free of people, Mies van der Rohe forgot to consider them in some of his projects. Two of these designs include the Farnsworth house and the Lake Shore Apartments in Chicago. Both of these residential places were ideal, however one very important aspect not taken into account was the indoor climate. The Farnsworth house is a minimalist construction made with glass walls that don't offer much insulation from the heat of the sun. The same on all four sides, the Lake Shore apartments does not consider that one side is exposed to the sun more throughout the day and may need different treatment.

In the explorations unit, we looked at some new styles, some with the same basic ideas from years ago. In modern society, commerce and transportation are two of the main factors dictating the way and what we build, from skyscrapers to massive winding freeways. Another reason we build is self-expression in the form of art. Even though society has changed, some of the same principles still apply today. As a consumer society, commerce and the flow of goods is an important consideration in any city today.

Today we still build with some of the same main ideas from the painting. Every major city has ports for shipping, three story buildings have turned into skyscrapers, and city parks for gathering. But the ideal city is always changing because our ideas and way of life is always changing. This is also the reason way no single style period lasts forever. There is no perfect ideal and there is always room for growth.

Assignment 8.0

The students at UNCG put together a gala to raise money for the primary school being built in Ghana. Here are some pictures of students hard at work and some of the items up for bid.

Here is final counterpoint for iar222. The final unit was about the machine, my chosen scale was artifact. The form was paragraph. I chose to write about the Postal Savings bank of Vienna, and the heating system there.

Reading Comprehension 7

At the Weatherspoon Museum, I analyed an abstract work of art by Al Held. He, along with George K. Morris, use tight compositions to balance curvelinear and rectaliner forms. The word abstract also means to take away from, this is true of architecture taking elements of art during the modern movement.

In the painting ‘Giza Gate’ by Al Held, there is a relationship in contrasts similar to that comparing the past to the present in design. The dramatic contrast of black and white was the first thing that caught my eye. The severity of this contrast works equally well with the contrasting shapes. The circles and squares are opposites but they compliment each other. The sharp contrasts cause your attention to go back and forth between them. The shapes in this painting also take the form of architectural lines and space.

In the same collection was the piece Steinway Ghosts by Claribel Cone. This piece has a much less rigid composition than Giza Gate and most off the elements of the painting are free form. It is about as opposite of Giza Gate as it can get. It is full of color compared to Giza Gate, which is black and white. Steinway Ghosts was inspired from a piece of music and has many levels.

In the explorations unit we covered the arts and crafts, and art deco movements. Both of these design styles relate to and draw inspiration from art and hand craft techniques. We explored the intersection of art and architecture. We have always thought of architecture as art, now we see a direct influence in modern times. During the modern movement, many buildings are made in an artistic style as sculpture. Architects and designers incorporate new methods and experiment with new techniques. The modern movement not only incorporated new styles, it also drew upon inspiration from the past. As the modern movement took off, many women found careers as interior decorators. A prominent woman in the field at this time was Betty Joel, “her interiors reflect the geometrical inspiration of Art Deco mingled with the smoothness and glamour of the moderne” (Massey pg. 130). Many buildings have elements to them that are proportional as a work of art meaning they are small enough to fit into the overall composition while adding visual interest.

Reading Comprehension 6

Interior Design Since 1900, Massey (pg. 35)

1] The Art Nouveau style of design incorporates motifs, undulating curves and high style to create a new way of design that is beautiful and full of nature. Art Nouveau was the first style catered not toward the very wealthy, but toward the middle class. It was a style that aimed to create architecture and interiors as a whole, placing as much emphasis on interiors as exteriors. The iron age and new advances made the style period possible. It was the designers who fully embraced the movement and brought it to life in interiors all over the world. " Art Nouveau was indebted to the Arts and Crafts for its flowing line, simplicity in furniture design and rejection of academic models." (Massey pg. 33)

In Belgium, the designer Victor Horta brought to life and epitomized the style through his use of a vine motif on the walls, floors and the winding tendrils in his first Art Nouveau residence, Tassel House. He went on to design several more domestic residences. The Tassel House is the most remembered, because it pioneered the interior style in Belgium. The wall paper clearly shows a tie back to England with Hortas use of an English wall-paper. Even though Horta mostly designs interiors, he got his start designing a government building for one of the socialist parties, making the style associated with socialism in Belgium.













Interior Design Since 1900 (pg.43)

Horta had severall contemporaries, one of which was the Parisian designer Hector Guimard. Guimard was inspired by the Art Nouveau style upon meeting Horta and viewing the Tassel House in Belgium. He immediately applied the style to the interior of an apartment complex he was working on in France. Another important figure who contributed to the style catching on in France was Van de Velde. He was close to artists and art critics. Being close to the art world influenced his design, and allowed him an outlet to display the style.


2] The major theme of the modern movement was "less is more". This attitude can clearly be seen with the de-materialization of the Bauhaus through the use of a glass curtain wall. The architects and designers during this time aimed for "truth in materials". The goal of the style was to strip away all unnecessary elements of a building or home. This led to interiors that some critics considered cold and de-humanized. The use of the curtain wall and exposure of metal beams is still popular in many commercial buildings today.




















Understanding Architecture, Roth (pg. 518)


3]

Point summary

http://www.taracronica.com/bonnie/rule-breaker

I chose this image because it is a graphical and literal representation of what the alternatives unit was about, and how my classmates viewed it.

For my summary I read point essays by, Katherine Mccain, Kayla McDonagh, and Kacie Leisure. All of my classmates had excellent point of view.

For the alternatives unit I loved Katherine Mccains view of breaking the rules. In her point of view she states "The people who help guide our lives do this to keep us on the right path until we can make a good decision ourselves." This quote is directly related to the statement 'know the rules before you break the rules'. All three of my classmates related well to the fact that rules were being bent and broken. Kacie Leisure reminded me that styles were being combined. I think this mixing of styles allowed new styles to emerge by looking at design from a new perspective. By reading these different points, I realize this unit was all about rules being

broken.

http://www.sarahsensei.net/dmz.html

I chose this image because it's about coming together just like the reflections unit is about style from all over the world coming together.

By reading other points of view on the reflections unit, I concluded that the same thing can be said in many different ways. The reflections unit was all about change. Many different design voices could be heard at once. It was about bringing these different perspectives together. From revolution to thinking outside the box, something new and exciting was about to happen. And design was influenced by many different parts of the world.

I enjoyed my classmates way of writing on the unit purely from their own perspectives aand understanding rather than using a lot of examples of architecture. After reading these points, I will make my final point essay more from my own perspective.

Point: Reflections

http://www.abcgallery.com/W/whistler/whistler44.html

In this unit we explored how the boundaries of classical design were tested. Lots of different ideas about design were being discussed and utilized by many different people. Beginning with the Crystal Palace a design revolution using glass and steel kicked off the industrial age. With these new materials, design revolutionized and many more possibilities opened up. This period was a time of exploration where designers broke the rules and looked at new ways to design. The new expanding middle class demanded a wider ranch of thinking about architecture. Buildings like Place de vosges are made to house middle class families. The buildings are made to look like grand palaces but are actually many units in one.

Many new building designs were employed thanks to the new cheap production of iron and glass. Crystal palace was built to house items from all over the world for sale. It was a new utilitarian design, made more for function than for beauty. There was a debate about what was the true style, Crystal Palace or the items inside. Iron and glass together were also utilized for many other building needs including libraries, train depots and shopping centers. The use of these materials eventually led to the rising of skyscrapers.

Up until now buildings have been made based on classical design, so there wasn't any other language being spoken. Theory making becomes as important as actual practice. Alot of ideas are worked out on paper, but never actualy realized. During this time, science is also on the rise, this contributes to the new and exciting architecture being realized. There is also a mixing of styles which leads to new design.

Britain had many colonies across the world and some of the architecture reflected the gains they made from foreign lands. One of Britains colonies was America. She was a new country and needed to prove to the world she could be taken seriously. Southern states had a strong sense of classical styles, and employed this in the architecture and artifact design. Even after the revolution of 1776, America still employed styles from across the pond.


One of the many voices being heard about design was from our neighbors in the East. These neighbors had a large influence on the design of architecture and artifacts. All the way from the simple integration of shelves into the structure as in the Peacock room (London ca. 1876), all the way to the opulent over worked Royal Pavilion (Brighton England ca. 1815).
This influence could also be seen in clothing design and furniture through the simple use of lines and geometry.






http://www.hevac-heritage.org/landmark_buildings/residential/residential.htm
Overall this unit was about freedom from the rules. It was about exploring new ideas in design, breaking away from the classical. It was about finding a new language and fluid rules. There was a dialog being held about the unexplored and how to realize it. Many voices were being heard and styles were commingled to create new imagined and sometimes utilitarian design.