[KRAMLICH RESIDENCE : FINAL POSTER]

This project serves as a precedent for a space delineated by walls, which encourages interaction. For instance, a giant screen in the garage serves to display images as visitors walk in.  Everyone will enjoy this feature considering projectors are placed outside of the house to watch films under the stars. To conclude the floor plan, downstairs there are galleries for state-of-the-art viewing. 

The purpose of this project is to create an innovative way for a married couple to co-exist with contemporary art in their primary residence. In other words, it is a house that exhibits space for Media Collection. (Terence,1). Why would a married couple do this? The common bond in their marriage is their passion of a acquiring vintage media artifacts and transforming them into DVD-ROM and MPG-2 file format (Woodward, 4). The main idea is to establish a priceless residence for a couple that the only thing they have in common is art. 

This home not only protects its inhabitants from the elements but it also communicates through the visual sense. Glass is the main material that is being used throughout the house, especially in the single-story structure that features 10-foot-high exterior wall that are made entirely of laminated glass.           

Also, curved glass partition walls divide the rooms on the ground level. When one turns on the projection screen it doubles the room by simply flipping on the switch. Dick and Pam Kramlich’s house can be best described as  “glassy jewel box”  (Woodward, 2) 

[KRAMLICH RESIDENCE : RENDERINGS]

[MAGAZINE : HOUSE BEAUTIFUL : 1919]

     At the beginning of the 1920s, fewer than 10% of households took advantage of an electricity supply network, and most that did only utilized the technology for lighting only.  Two common features of electrical equipment inside the homes, the electric vacuum and the electric radio, transformed living patterns and interiors. Replacing the broom with a vacuum cleaner resulted in different solutions: Electrolux pioneered the cylinder design of suction cleaners, Hoover championed an upright model.  Both companies advertised, sometimes several times in a single issue of House Beautiful.  “How much easier is it to roll this cleaner back and forth across the rug, than to labor a broom?” represented its signature advertisement. House Beautiful advertises home furnishings as well, with more rhythm in lines with intricate carvings. With many ball and claw feet, oak furniture ads occupied every part of the magazine.  Everyone had to have a product advertised by House Beautiful, including iron fences, garage doors, wood furnishings, heating and refrigerating systems, and noiseless screen doors.

[FOUNDATIONS]

In this foundations unit we looked at many different places and structures. Along the many different things we studied, the most remarkable to me were:

-        The Great Wall of China

-        The Kofun Mountain

-        The Great Serpent Mount

-        Bath of Caracalas

-        Coliseum

-        Aqueduct

-        The pantheon

-        Trajas (WUWU)

-        Hypostyle hall

-        Citadel

-        Lions gate

-        Acropolis

The Great Wall of China was considered a protective barrier or a boundary maker for the Chinese. For many years, it was thought that the great wall was the only man-made structure that was visible from the moon. The materials used differed according to the location and the land. In certain sections of the wall, to ensure a fine standard of the bricks, each manufacturer had to mark each bricks with a name and the date of manufacture. Stone slabs had to be cut and transported from the excavation point. The bigger stone slabs seen weighed around 1000 kg and took much effort to be transported to desired location.

The Kofun Mountain in Japan was built in the early third century. Most of the Kofuns are shaped like a keyhole. The structures represent the differences and similarities between men and women. They explain or tell a story about how men are placed higher than women. Once a part of the wall starts to wear off, it is replaced with identical materials to preserve the original look of the structure.

We also looked at the Ohio Valley burial site which is commonly known as the great serpent mound. It is the world’s largest prehistoric effigy mound yet to be discovered. It is located in the southern part of Ohio and its about 1300 feet long and 3 feet high. It represents an unwiring serpent. The serpent is covered in mystery and controversy. Many people say that it’s a serpent that has swallowed an egg while others suggest that it is an eclipse. Either way people believed that the serpent was the protector of mankind and this figure creates a passage way between the living and the dead. This place was not constructed for burial purposes.

[READING COMPREHENSION 3]

[1] Compare and contrast the cathedrals according to the matrix. To illustrate your post, hand draw a view of your “main” cathedral, scan it and place it at the top of your response. Your written thoughts should fully illuminate the questions asked with each cathedral pairing on the website. Strive for 250-300 words total for this response. Include additional images, as applicable, if you wish. Also check out the west vs. east page and digest what is written there.

SALISBURY VS AMIENS: TOWN: examines the impact of what comes first, cathedral or town.

The Salisbury and Amiens Cathedral were both constructed in the same year (1220).  However, the main difference between both cathedrals is the location in which they were built. The Salisbury cathedral was built on new ground outside the old city of Sarum.  In contrast, the Amiens Cathedral was built in Amiens, the chief city of Picardy.  An important difference here is they built the cathedral around the city.  One can visually see the difference between both structures. Salisbury has the freedom to spread out as far into the horizon while Amiens is constrained to the city’s parameters.  The cathedral in Amiens was impelled to be constructed vertically instead of horizontally. Salisbury took advantage of this by creating more open spaces. It has the courtyard to the side, which highlights its ability to take advantage of the land. Shortly after, a trading center for wool and cloth grew up around the Salisbury cathedral.  

SALISBURY VS COLOGNE: LIGHT: Unites all gothic cathedrals in contrast to the “dark ages”

SALISBURY VS FLORENCE: IMPRESSION: first glimpses provide colorful language for examination.

[2] This illustration from A Medieval Home Companion depicts woman at work in a medieval interior. Unfortunately, the image is closely cropped so we don’t see much of the rest of the dwelling in which she works. Using Harwood and Roth, complete the rest of the scene using words and images to demonstrate your understanding of the domestic medieval interior.

Great halls  were a centralized location for most various activities would take place. These great halls  were consisting of a dais, a screen and a hearth to warm the space and in some instances a minstrel’s gallery.  Interior décor was influenced mostly by rich if not saturated colors of red, blue green white and brown. Lighting was a challenge because heat was paramount most lighting was supplied by fire, candles, fire place, torches, or lamps. Stone, brick, clay, or even dirt would define the floors. Walls were graced with wood paneling and or stone, windows sometimes nonexistent were small in nature due to outside threats. Vaulted ceilings beams or timber roofs were prevalent were as furniture was very limited including items such as beds and tables. 

[EGYPT : GREECE : ROME]

               Throughout history, architecture has changed its primary focus in design. Starting with the Egyptians, having an unquestioning theme of permanence drove their megalithic sense of architecture to great heights using stone in a land of sand owned this trait. The Egyptians interior architecture mostly lacked this principle, of permanence, because of the use of wood primarily save the pharaoh’s throne. The Egyptians canonized much of their architecture making it easy to be upheld for centuries to come.

              The Greeks came with a vigorous pursuit of perfection achieved with mathematics.  Developing much of what we know of modern geometry mathematics played a significant role in the building of Grecian temples and ultimately cities. Their study of nature and the natural order of things brought a significant discovery the Golden Mean, a purporting system (1:1.61) that allowed things to not only to look proper but to function properly in our natural world most notably the column. Thus bringing life to structure achieved the beauty and idealism the Greeks so treasured.

               The Romans and the advent of concrete revolutionized the ancient world. Building on the work of the Greeks they were able to create roads and less dependence on the meticulous work with marble allowed faster building times. Achieving the dome and metropolitan cities, most notably  of course Rome  to which the famous pantheon and its magnificent “oculus” is  home to is still a marvel should one travel to Rome. 

[READING COMPREHENSION 2]

[1] Hersey describes a grammar for Greek architectural elements based on the idea of sacrifice. SPECULATE about the validity of his argument based on what you know about Greek design and the evidence (both visual and written) he provides.

     Hersey explains in the reading how Greek art, most of the time, contains a vast amount of sacred trees. The “trees were considered the first temple.” They believed that these sacred trees were even be more righteous than the alter that actually served them. Many sacrifices took place round these trees. There were groups of trees that were often adorned with materials that were left over from the sacrifice ritual. Materials like bones, horns, urns, lamps, flowers, weapons, etc. Nature was the main inspiration for Greek architecture. Wooden construction techniques were often used. For example, Tree trunks were trimmed down to take the form of a column which served as support for the temples.

[2] Meant in jest, Macaulay shapes a world of the future in which the main character claims meanings for archeological evidence uncovered at the Motel of the Mysteries. EXTRACT what you believe to be the lesson of mis-interpreting evidence and link that lesson to the real world phenomenon of the internet. In other words, EXPLAIN how you might avoid such a blunder as mis-reading evidence when you use the web as your major information source.

Many people believe everything they hear and read, and I think at some point in our lives we all have been guilty of this. When looking for information on the internet it is always a good idea to look at who wrote the article, post, blog, etc. Many times people publish things on the internet that are not necessarily true or it’s based on their own personal opinion. We all know that Wikipedia is not a valid source, although it does provide a lot of information. Like I said before, anyone can post online.  Also, another thing to take in consideration isthe date it was published. Make sure that the website has been updated recently and verify if this site has been professionally reviewed.

Like Patrick said in class

"books go through many reviews and a lot of people look at it before it is published and anyone can post online"

After reading this humorous story, which by the way I loved the drawings, left me thinking about what I should and shouldn’t believe.

[3] The funerary temple design of Queen Hatshepsut speaks a very different design language than the pyramidal forms for other pharaohs. From your readings and the ideas addressed in class, RECOUNT possible reasons why Queen Hatshepsut used this building form.

The Temple was built for the great Queen Hatshepsut to honor her achievements. It was also built to serve as a funerary for her and a sanctuary of Amon Ra (a God). Most temples during this time were being built of sandstone, but this particular one wasn’t.  Queen Hatshepsut’s temple was built of limestone. The temple designed by Queen Hatshepsut was breathtaking and it appeared to be part of themountainous backdrop that it was built against.  There is a series of imposing terraces from the plain desert. The decoration inside consists of scenes of gods in which she also was involved with. The queen was determined to hold on to power so she wanted to make her temple look strong and massive. She wanted to show everyone her power and strength.

[4] Although some evidence suggests links between the Egyptian and Greek civilizations, and some building forms and details provide support for that linkage, the two societies produced design responses in great contrast to one another. Select a building type (house, tomb, or temple) from each culture and ELUCIDATE similarities and differences in the two forms over time. Provide an annotated illustration for each selected type.

     The main differences between Egyptian and Greek architecture are function, structure, and symbolism. They also differ in structural use and site layout. Egyptian temples are much greater in size than the Greeks. Greek temples were small, long, and narrow because of limited resources. As the Greek wealth grew, they started having more resources which gave them the opportunity to expand and build slightly larger temples. On the other hand, Egyptian temples were grand in scale because of the abundance of materials such as the limestone, which we know was used to build the pyramids. Something else that I found very interesting is that Greek architects made conscious choices in design for aesthetic reasons and not just for function like Egyptians did. All of these differences help us distinguish one temple from another.

[5] Harwood shows examples of Egyptian furniture on pp. 60-61. HYPOTHESIZE about the lightweight nature of Egyptian furniture when compared to tomb architecture, as at the Pyramids of Giza, which many characterize as massive and heavy.

     I suppose that the Egyptians we more interested in the afterlife than they were about life on earth. Which is the reason I believe the interior of the space was so light weight and simple compared to the massive and intimidating exterior.  

     Egyptians built pyramids out of huge blocks of stones which suggest a sense of immovability and eternalness, just like the pharaohs soul, which cannot be overlooked. Over 2.5 million blocks of limestone were used to build a pyramid. Each block weigh from 2 to 70 tons and the base of the pyramid spread over 13 acres of land. The exterior of the pyramids is rough, heavy and massive, unlike the interior.

     The interior of the pyramids is empty with unfinished chambers.  Wood was quite scarce during this time, which is why large furniture items were not very common. By far the most common pieces of furniture were small stools, which were built for the idea of providing seating. These stools have been found in common houses but also in Pharaohs’ tombs. Egyptian furniture doesn't have the quality of permanence that tomb architecture has.

[6] Based on a careful reading of the visual evidence in these two images, DRAW OUT an explanation of design and gender roles as you see both depicted. As this language of urns represents essentially one of the main ways we know about Grecian culture, COMMENT on the validity of such a practice of reading evidence.

     The two urns portray images of men that look very powerful and in control since the female appears to be attending him. In Grecian culture, all men were above women. Men had higher power and were the ones that were in control. Women were basically used to serve them in any way possible. 

     On this first urn, we can see that the ruler is handing the female a sword. This does not mean she is in power. You can only give what you have, which means the ruler is giving her the sword so she can fight for him.

     

     This urn is much different from the one above. Here you can see the ruler holding a cornucopia as he sits on his throne. It appears that he is being served by two women.