Modern concepts of Architecture
The great 19th century architect of skyscrapers, Louis Sullivan, promoted an overriding precept to architectural design: "Form follows function".
While the notion that structural and aesthetic considerations should be entirely subject to functionality was met with both popularity and scepticism, it had the effect of introducing the concept of "function" in place of Vitruvius "utility". "Function" came to be seen as encompassing all criteria of the use, perception and enjoyment of a building, not only practical but also aesthetic, psychological and cultural.
Nunzia Rondanini stated, “Through its aesthetic dimension architecture goes beyond the functional aspects that it has in common with other human sciences. Through its own particular way of expressing values, architecture can stimulate and influence social life without presuming that, in and of itself, it will promote social development. To restrict the meaning of (architectural) formalism to art for art’s sake is not only reactionary; it can also be a purposeless quest for perfection or originality which degrades form into a mere instrumentality”.
Ivar Holm points out that the values and attitudes which underly modern architecture differ both between the schools of thought which influence architecture and between individual practising architects. Among the philosophies that have influenced modern architects and their approach to building design are rationalism, empiricism, structuralism, post-structuralism, and phenomenology.
In the late 20th century a new concept was added to those included in the compass of both structure and function, the consideration of sustainability. To satisfy the modern ethos a building should be constructed in a manner which is environmentally friendly in terms of the production of its materials, its impact upon the natural and built environment of its surrounding area and the demands that it makes upon non-sustainable power sources for heating, cooling, water and waste management and lighting.
There is also a concept among architects that although architecture does not exist in a vacuum, architectural form cannot be merely a compilation of historical precedent, functional necessities, and socially aware concerns, but that to achieve significance, a work of architecture must be a transcendent synthesis of all of the former and a creation of worth in and of itself.
Reference: reference.com
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Theory of Architecture
Theory of Architecture
The earliest written work on the subject of architecture is De architectura, by the Roman architect Vitruvius in the early 1st century CE. According to Vitruvius a good building should satisfy the three principles of firmitatis utilitatis venustatis,
Which translates roughly as -
• durability - it should stand up robustly and remain in good condition.
• utility - it should be useful; and function well for the people using it.
• beauty - it should delight people, and raise their spirits.
According to Vitruvius, the architect should strive to full fill each of these three attributes as well as possible.
Leone Battista Alberti, who elaborates on the ideas of Vitruvius, saw beauty primarily as a matter of proportion, although ornament also played a part. For Alberti, the rules of proportion were those that governed the idealised human figure, the Golden Mean. The most important aspect of beauty was therefore an inherent part of an object, rather than something applied superficially; and was based on universal, recognisable truths. The notion of style in the arts was not developed until the 16th century, with the writing of Vasari.
The 19th century English art critic, John Ruskin, in his Seven Lamps of Architecture, published 1849, was much narrower in his view of what constituted architecture. Architecture was the "art which so disposes and adorns the edifices raised by man … that the sight of them" contributes "to his mental health, power, and pleasure". For Ruskin, the aesthetic was of overriding significance. His work goes on to state that a building is not truly a work of architecture unless it is in some way "adorned". For Ruskin, a well-constructed, well-proportioned, functional building needed string courses or rustication, at the very least.
On the difference between the ideals of "architecture" and mere "construction", the renowned 20th C. architect Le Corbusier wrote: "You employ stone, wood, and concrete, and with these materials you build houses and palaces: that is construction. Ingenuity is at work. But suddenly you touch my heart, you do me good. I am happy and I say: This is beautiful. That is Architecture".
Reference: reference.com
The earliest written work on the subject of architecture is De architectura, by the Roman architect Vitruvius in the early 1st century CE. According to Vitruvius a good building should satisfy the three principles of firmitatis utilitatis venustatis,
Which translates roughly as -
• durability - it should stand up robustly and remain in good condition.
• utility - it should be useful; and function well for the people using it.
• beauty - it should delight people, and raise their spirits.
According to Vitruvius, the architect should strive to full fill each of these three attributes as well as possible.
Leone Battista Alberti, who elaborates on the ideas of Vitruvius, saw beauty primarily as a matter of proportion, although ornament also played a part. For Alberti, the rules of proportion were those that governed the idealised human figure, the Golden Mean. The most important aspect of beauty was therefore an inherent part of an object, rather than something applied superficially; and was based on universal, recognisable truths. The notion of style in the arts was not developed until the 16th century, with the writing of Vasari.
The 19th century English art critic, John Ruskin, in his Seven Lamps of Architecture, published 1849, was much narrower in his view of what constituted architecture. Architecture was the "art which so disposes and adorns the edifices raised by man … that the sight of them" contributes "to his mental health, power, and pleasure". For Ruskin, the aesthetic was of overriding significance. His work goes on to state that a building is not truly a work of architecture unless it is in some way "adorned". For Ruskin, a well-constructed, well-proportioned, functional building needed string courses or rustication, at the very least.
On the difference between the ideals of "architecture" and mere "construction", the renowned 20th C. architect Le Corbusier wrote: "You employ stone, wood, and concrete, and with these materials you build houses and palaces: that is construction. Ingenuity is at work. But suddenly you touch my heart, you do me good. I am happy and I say: This is beautiful. That is Architecture".
Reference: reference.com
World and New Architectures
World and New Architectures
The architects of the later 19th century found themselves in a world being reshaped by science, industry, and speed. A new eclecticism arose, such as the architecture based on the École des Beaux-Arts, and what is commonly called Victorian architecture in Britain and the United States. The needs of a new society pressed them, while steel, reinforced concrete, and electricity were among the many new technical means at their disposal.
After more than a half-century of assimilation and experimentation, modern architecture, often called the International style, produced an astonishing variety of daring and original buildings, often steel substructures sheathed in glass. The Bauhaus was a strong influence on modern architecture. As the line between architecture and engineering became a shadow, 20th-century architecture often approached engineering, and modern works of engineering—airplane hangars, for example—often aimed at and achieved an undeniable beauty.
More recently, postmodern architecture, which exploits and expands the technical innovations of modernism while often incorporating stylistic elements from other architectural styles or periods, has become an international movement.
Architecture is the art and science of designing buildings and structures. A wider definition often includes the design of the total built environment: from the macro- level of town planning, urban design, and landscape architecture to the micro-level of construction details and furniture. The term "Architecture" is also used for the profession of providing architectural services.
Architectural design involves the manipulation of mass, space, volume, texture, light, shadow, materials, program, and other elements in order to achieve an end which is aesthetic as well as functional. This distinguishes Architecture from the applied science of engineering which usually concentrates on the structural and feasibility aspects of design.
Architectural works are perceived as cultural and political symbols and works of art. Historical civilizations are often known primarily through their architectural achievements. Such buildings as the pyramids of Egypt and the Roman Coliseum are cultural symbols, and are an important link in public consciousness, even when scholars have discovered much about a past civilization through other means. Cities, regions and cultures continue to identify themselves with and are known by their architectural monuments.
Reference: reference.com
The architects of the later 19th century found themselves in a world being reshaped by science, industry, and speed. A new eclecticism arose, such as the architecture based on the École des Beaux-Arts, and what is commonly called Victorian architecture in Britain and the United States. The needs of a new society pressed them, while steel, reinforced concrete, and electricity were among the many new technical means at their disposal.
After more than a half-century of assimilation and experimentation, modern architecture, often called the International style, produced an astonishing variety of daring and original buildings, often steel substructures sheathed in glass. The Bauhaus was a strong influence on modern architecture. As the line between architecture and engineering became a shadow, 20th-century architecture often approached engineering, and modern works of engineering—airplane hangars, for example—often aimed at and achieved an undeniable beauty.
More recently, postmodern architecture, which exploits and expands the technical innovations of modernism while often incorporating stylistic elements from other architectural styles or periods, has become an international movement.
Architecture is the art and science of designing buildings and structures. A wider definition often includes the design of the total built environment: from the macro- level of town planning, urban design, and landscape architecture to the micro-level of construction details and furniture. The term "Architecture" is also used for the profession of providing architectural services.
Architectural design involves the manipulation of mass, space, volume, texture, light, shadow, materials, program, and other elements in order to achieve an end which is aesthetic as well as functional. This distinguishes Architecture from the applied science of engineering which usually concentrates on the structural and feasibility aspects of design.
Architectural works are perceived as cultural and political symbols and works of art. Historical civilizations are often known primarily through their architectural achievements. Such buildings as the pyramids of Egypt and the Roman Coliseum are cultural symbols, and are an important link in public consciousness, even when scholars have discovered much about a past civilization through other means. Cities, regions and cultures continue to identify themselves with and are known by their architectural monuments.
Reference: reference.com
The Architect
The Architect
Architecture as a profession is the practice of providing architectural services. The practice of architecture includes the planning, designing and oversight of a building's construction by an architect. Architectural services typically address both feasibility and cost for the builder, as well as function and aesthetics for the user.
In the 1440s, the Florentine architect, Alberti, wrote his Di Re Aedificatoria, published in 1485, a year before the first edition of Vitruvius, with which he was already familiar. Alberti gives the earliest definition of the role of the architect. The architect is to be concerned firstly with the construction. This encompasses all the practical matters of site, of materials and their limitations and of human capability. The second concern is "articulation"; the building must work and must please and suit the needs of those who use it. The third concern of the architect is aesthetics, both of proportion and of ornament.
The role of the architect is constantly evolving, and is central to the design and implementation of the environments in which people live. In order to obtain the skills and knowledge required to design, plan and oversee a diverse range of projects, architects must go through extensive formal education, coupled with a requisite amount of professional practice.
The work of an architect is an interdisciplinary field, drawing upon mathematics, science, art, technology, social sciences, politics and history, and often governed by the architect's personal approach or philosophy. Vitruvius, the earliest known architectural theorist, states: "Architecture is a science, arising out of many other sciences, and adorned with much and varied learning: by the help of which a judgment is formed of those works which are the result of other arts." He adds that an architect should be well versed in other fields of learning such as music and astronomy.
Reference: reference.com
Architecture as a profession is the practice of providing architectural services. The practice of architecture includes the planning, designing and oversight of a building's construction by an architect. Architectural services typically address both feasibility and cost for the builder, as well as function and aesthetics for the user.
In the 1440s, the Florentine architect, Alberti, wrote his Di Re Aedificatoria, published in 1485, a year before the first edition of Vitruvius, with which he was already familiar. Alberti gives the earliest definition of the role of the architect. The architect is to be concerned firstly with the construction. This encompasses all the practical matters of site, of materials and their limitations and of human capability. The second concern is "articulation"; the building must work and must please and suit the needs of those who use it. The third concern of the architect is aesthetics, both of proportion and of ornament.
The role of the architect is constantly evolving, and is central to the design and implementation of the environments in which people live. In order to obtain the skills and knowledge required to design, plan and oversee a diverse range of projects, architects must go through extensive formal education, coupled with a requisite amount of professional practice.
The work of an architect is an interdisciplinary field, drawing upon mathematics, science, art, technology, social sciences, politics and history, and often governed by the architect's personal approach or philosophy. Vitruvius, the earliest known architectural theorist, states: "Architecture is a science, arising out of many other sciences, and adorned with much and varied learning: by the help of which a judgment is formed of those works which are the result of other arts." He adds that an architect should be well versed in other fields of learning such as music and astronomy.
Reference: reference.com
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Etymology and application of the term, Architecture
Etymology and application of the term, Architecture
The word "architecture" comes from the Latin, "architectura" and ultimately from Greek, "arkitekton", αρχιτεκτων, an architect, or more precisely "master builder", from the combination of αρχι a "chief" or "leader" and τεκτων, a "builder" or "carpenter.
While the primary application of the word "architecture" pertains to the built environment, by extension, the term has come to denote the art and discipline of creating an actual, or inferring an implied or apparent plan of any complex object or system. The term can be used to connote the implied architecture of abstract things such as music or mathematics, the apparent architecture of natural things, such as geological formations or the structure of biological cells, or explicitly planned architectures of human-made things such as software, computers, enterprises, and databases, in addition to buildings. In every usage, an architecture may be seen as a subjective mapping from a human perspective (that of the user in the case of abstract or physical artifacts) to the elements or component of some kind of structure or system, which preserves the relationships among the elements or components.
Reference: reference.com
Meaning of Architecture
Meaning of Architecture
1. The profession of designing buildings, open areas, communities, and other artificial constructions and environments, usually with some regard to aesthetic effect. Architecture often includes design or selection of furnishings and decorations, supervision of construction work, and the examination, restoration, or remodeling of existing buildings.
2. The character or style of building; Romanesque architecture.
3. The action or process of building; construction.
4. The result or product of architectural work, as a building.
5. Buildings collectively.
6. A fundamental underlying design of computer hardware, software, or both.
7. The structure of anything: the architecture of a novel.
The art or science of building; particularly used to differentiate between building and the art of designing buildings. In the latter context, there has been great division of opinion as to what exactly constitutes architecture. The most usual standpoint is typified by Ruskin in The Seven Lamps of Architecture (1849): ‘Architecture is the art which so disposes and adorns the edifices raised by man, for whatsoever uses, that the sight of them may contribute to his mental health, power, and pleasure.’ Pevsner, in An Outline of European Architecture (1943) puts it more succinctly: ‘A bicycle shed is a building; Lincoln Cathedral is a piece of architecture.’ Traditionally, therefore, architecture has tended to concentrate on aspects of higher culture, looking at ennobling buildings such as the Parthenon (Athens) and the Pantheon (Rome), and studying the work of great artist-architects such as Wren and Schinkel. Nevertheless, the practice of architecture in the 19th-c, and especially in the 20th-c, increasingly involved a larger number and variety of often complex skills and disciplines, ranging from the technical considerations of structural engineering, environmental services, and energy conservation, to the functional considerations of room layout, interior design, and human comfort, as well as the overtly intellectual considerations stressed by Ruskin and Pevsner. Correspondingly, there has been a greater acceptance of the wider concerns and domain of architecture as anything which has been consciously, or even unconsciously, designed and built for the use of people.
The analysis of building types provides an insight into past cultures and eras. Behind each of the greater styles lies not a casual trend nor a vogue, but a period of serious and urgent experimentation directed toward answering the needs of a specific way of life. Climate, methods of labor, available materials, and economy of means all impose their dictates. Each of the greater styles has been aided by the discovery of new construction methods. Once developed, a method survives tenaciously, giving way only when social changes or new building techniques have reduced it. That evolutionary process is exemplified by the history of modern architecture, which developed from the first uses of structural iron and steel in the mid-19th cent.
Until the 20th cent, there were three great developments in architectural construction—the post-and-lintel or trabeated system; the arch system, either the cohesive type, employing plastic materials hardening into a homogeneous mass, or the thrust type, in which the loads are received and counterbalanced at definite points; and the modern steel-skeleton system. In the 20th cent, new forms of building have been devised, with the use of reinforced concrete and the development of geodesic and stressed-skin (light material, reinforced) structures.
Reference: reference.com
Friday, September 14, 2007
ARCHITECTURE : I Love It ...
My wish is build me up as a good ARCHITECT in Bangladesh and maybe in the world. I don’t know maybe it is possible, maybe it is not. Maybe I can. I think I can do it, I think I have the power, I have the passion and I have the powerful emotion to do it. I can do hard work very much. I want to do good ARCHITECTURE. I will do my best for my father and mother and my family, specially my little sister. That is my goal now; I hope I will reach hopefully very soon.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
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