Unit Summary 3

Materials are probably the biggest influence in design. The materials place limits on what can be achieved and the impact the building will have. The buildings that we looked at in this unit were made of a variety of materials from wood, to concrete, to glass, to plastic, the buildings were all very unique and were made this way because of the materials that were used in their construction. 

The materials help us to understand a building because it is how we conceptualize its construction. We know what the materials are so we can better understand the space. Materials can have a huge influence on the scale of a building, take the coliseum for example, because of concrete it was able to be as massive as it is. 

Material is very important to the principles and elements, it influences the lines, color, texture, sometimes even the light and harmony is influenced by the materials used in its construction. A building can be analyzed and described using material but it has be accompanied by the principles and elements as they link the materials used to the design.

  

The first image is the Long Leeds House which is constructed with brick, but the important material in the building is the glass. The large number of glass windows is what makes this building stand out and seem impressive. The second building the Parthenon, it is constructed of concrete by using this material the building was able to have a large dome with an oculus. The last sketch is the Colosseum which was also made of concrete, the arches allowed for it to be built taller and wider so that more people could use the space.

Campus Building Light and Color

Central One has someone of a monochromatic color scheme. For the most part it is different shades of brown with some grays. This color scheme helps the building fit with the surroundings, but still highlight certain portions of the building. The light for this building during the day is really noticed in the large glass doors and the multiple widows which glint from the sunlight. At night the building is illuminated with street lights which soften the look of the building.

Light+ Color 1

Light and color can make a place seem soft and relaxing or intense and stressful. The use of light and color to manipulate the tone of a space is very impressive. The  Knossos Palace in Crete Greece is a perfect example of how light and color can manipulate a space. The interior has very few windows and the walls are solid stone, but the light from the ceiling and the red details on the columns makes the space lighter, it warms the space and makes it seem larger.  

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Canstruction

The cans were very difficult materials to construct buildings with, this was mainly because we were stuck with the size and shape of the can so we had to do very simply buildings that had straight lines. We chose Stonehenge and a temple mainly because we knew that we could stack the cans in a way that somewhat resembled the structures. The whole class built the pyramids since its easy ti stack cans into a pyramid. This activity really showed the limitations that are put on designs based on the materials used.
    

21st Century

21st Century materials are very advanced and creative in there usage. The introduction of man made material such as Styrofoam  and PVC were very revolutionary in the building industry. The man made materials that were popularized in the 21st century have also created the need for a green movement due to the impact all of the non-biodegradable materials.  
The green movement encourages the use of environmentally responsible materials. It also takes inspiration from nature and mimics its appearance or blends with it. It also often uses recycled or re-purposed materials.
The 21st century has many divers building materials and also uses them in diverse ways.

Concrete Encounter

The Concrete was an interesting activity. I really enjoyed getting to experience a medium. Mixing the concrete was challenging as you had to have the correct consistency to get it to form correctly. This wasn't something I had expected, I thought that it could just be thrown together and it turn out. It was also really hard to remove the rubber glove because of the way the concrete had gotten into the creases of the glove. It was really fun though.
Concrete was more difficult to work with than I had thought it would be so I can imagine building something out of it, I struggled to fill a glove, building a dome out of concrete had to be incredibly challenging.

Unit Summary 2

Scale is something that we often do not think of, but at the same time we cannot imagine a building without it. Scale helps a building fit in with its surroundings or stand out. In many of the buildings we have seen in class such as the Pope Villa scale is what is notable about the building. The large front porch makes the building seem even larger than it truly is. The tall ceilings make the rooms much larger as do the curved walls of the drawing and dining room, Scale is used in this space to alter the perceived area of a space. The Pope Villa was not an exceptionally large building but the way it was constructed and used scale it made it seem much larger. Scale can be used to describe design as it how parts relate to one another and so this can be used to describe the design. Scale seems to be nearly as important as the principles and elements that we learned about in the last unit.

The Pope Villa porch makes the rest of the house seem far grander that I could be on its own. The porch adds to the  façade and makes it much larger because of the scale of the porch and the windows.

 

The round walls in the drawing room and dining room use scale to make the space seem larger than they really are, it also makes the room more interesting.

The chairs we looked at in class also used scale, the tall backs created a space within a space useing scale.