Image Analysis:
The reflection task for this week was to make three comments on the above pictures:
1. DESIGN: The building dominates the surroundings in terms of its scale, materiality and design. Whilst the smaller buildings appears to be in a vernacular style, the large building stand out as a more modern building. Its modern design seems to lack connection with the surrounding built forms and the environment. From the scale and location of the building, its purpose is most likely an exhibition centre or museum or some kind of public building. In the lecture we looked at how architecture deals with its surroundings, whether it "loves itself", "loves its neighbours", "likes its neighbours" or ignores them. In this case I believe the architecture "loves itself" as it clearly dominates the surroundings.
2. CONTRAST: The building is in contrast with the surround smaller buildings, it has very few windows and stands out in the very beautiful natural landscape. It appears to obstruct the view for the other smaller buildings and if I were a resident I would feel disappointed about this building as it seems to place the natural environment on the back foot.
3. ALIGNMENT: The building seems to run on an axis with everything being symmetrical and uniform. This reinforces the idea of this building being an exhibition centre or some kind of public building.
Lecture Reflection:
In the lecture Mirko began by giving a brief unit review, outlining the assignments before moving onto the question, "What is Architecture"? Some quotes from some famous architects and designers such as Le Corbusier and Aldo Rossi provide us with some insight into what architecture can be summarised as, however it's clear that architecture can not be defined by one person. Architecture is design, and design is entirely subjective and thus a clear cut definition of architecture is not possible. Cultures, customs, styles and many more are some factors that influence architecture and therefore its meaning/symbolism would differ from each person. Here are a few definitions that some famous architects described a city as;
Le Corbisier-
a city is a victory of man over nature.
Pierre George-
a city is a demographic unit and has to defined and analysed as such an object.
Aldo Rossi-
a city is made of several parts, each has its own characteristics. The monuments are fixed points in the city development.
Leon Battista Alberti-
the city is a big house and a house is a small city.
Personally I think Aldo Rossi definition of a city is very accurate as monuments are a fixed point in a cities development and tend to dictate or influence the growth of the city. Monuments are there for a long period of time and form focal points within the city and give it character. A city where I feel this is very obvious is in Rome where monuments from hundreds of years ago still remain intact and give the city a historic feel (refer to image below).
 |
| Rome. Monuments. |
Le Corbisier definition of a city, I feel is very straight line and in some means very true. Cities do seem to completely disregard the natural environment and it appears to be a constant battle between nature and man. However, in recent years there has been an increasing awareness of the environment and the importance of it, this was not a key factor when Le Corbisier was designing. The idea of the city being a demographic unit is a more mathematically way of analysing a city. When I think of demographic, the image of suburbs and districts comes to mind with each suburb or district being characterised by a certain feature or attribute. Alberti seems to perceive a city as anything its just in terms of scale and they way you look at it.
How does a city come to be?
1. Expansion of primary civilisations.
2. Syoecism- coming together of proximate villages to form a town.
3. Agricultural revolution- expansion of farming land.
4. Urban revolution- joining of close villages and towns.
There are two key ways we can recognise Urban Forms;
- Organic
- Planned
In "A.E.J Morris, History of Urban Form" it talks about the natural determinants for an organic city being the following;
- Topology
- Climate
- Materials
I love my neighbours:
addresses the context of the surrounding buildings directly.
I like my neighbours:
Acknowledges the context, has similiar placement of windows and uses the same form as the surrounding buildings but at the same time differentiates itself.
I love myself:
The Graz art museum in Graz, Austria by Peter Cook and Colin Fournier shows no acknowledgement of its surroundings or context.
READING 01 REFLECTION:
Mathews, S. 2006. "Cedric Price : From the 'Brain Drain' to the 'Knowledge
Economy.'" Architectural Design, 76(1): 90–95.
- Cedric Price took a different approach at designing buildings- wanted to address the economic and social character of the period whilst creating something that was highly adaptable to these conditions.
- it was a new approach to architecture and a new way of thinking.
- INTERACTIVE ARCHITECTURE- accommodates the changing needs of users.
- Cedric Price and engineer Frank Newby designed a structural matrix with overhead cranes to allow assembly of prefabricated modules. (1964)
- Price's work reflects a new approach to architecture as a site of change and impermanence, rather than as permanent and monumental symbols of cultural cohesion and consensus.
- Price and Littlewood developed the "Fun Palace" with the goal of providing educational opportunities in the guise of leisure entertainment.
- improvisational architecture endlessly in process of construction, dismantling and reassembly.
This idea of "adaptable architecture" which Cedric Price highlights the importance of in the reading I believe is very evident in today's modern architecture. Prefabricated homes designed for quick assembly and dismantling are being used in disaster zones.
After five years of transitional occupancy, its recyclable materials can be scrapped and reused entirely, re-purposed as a whole or form the basis for expansions and additions into a longer-term residence.
- only takes 6 hours to construct
