Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
More maps
I'm enjoying "Maps of the Imagination" and although the book is geared towards writers, we can apply it to our study of architecture. We started building our maps using a photo from the giant book for inspiration and the words that we chose from each chapter.
Chapter 3: Projections and Conventions
1. measure the whole universe
2. objective presentation
3. assume bias
4. ability to convince us
5. cartographic paradox
6. homogenous
7. "conventions of illusion"
8. "a bank of frozen oatmeal"
9. frenzy
10. "unsettle the suburbs of your routine sentiments"
11. "rattle the tracks of your trains of thought"
12. the issue of color
13. armchair explorer
14. effectiveness
15. transparently useful
16. orientation
17. crucial relationship
18. curious exceptions
19. cause and effect
20. resiliency
21. persuasive evidence
22. logical conclusion
23. implicit assumptions
24. correlation
25. lush descriptions
26. detail
27. context
28. artistic representation
29. intellectual construct
30. selectivity
31. disturbing omissions
32. inconsequential
33. assertion
34. visual statement
35. "Words can never be a simple reflection of life."
36. unspeakable data
37. minimize distortion
38. speak powerfully
39. a point of view
40. vital energy
Chapter 4: Imaginary Scrolls
1. "Perhaps being lost, one should get loster."
2. orientation is entirely arbitrary
3. visually dominant
4. ongoing practice
5. fundamental assumptions
6. the rules of composition
7. automatism
8. scientific desire for comprehension
9. "into the beaten way"
10. technical challenge
11. disorientation
12. disorient and orient us spatially
13. perspective
14. "repeated with progressive vagueness"
15. implications
16. understanding rises
17. linear unfolding of words
18. "navigational systems"
19. travel-oriented enterprise
20. conventional realist
21. absorbed and uncertain
22. conflicting desires
23. the metaphor of seduction
24. the cycle of arousal and denial
25. interwoven narratives
26. desire for coherence
27. methodical
28. utterly controlled
29. familiar trail
30. deviations
31. blending of dialogue
32. never fully yields
33. larger weave
34. adapting
35. formidable
36. repetition
37. infinitely ascending
38. bold assertion
39. a world of obsession
40. crucial components
Chapter 3: Projections and Conventions
1. measure the whole universe
2. objective presentation
3. assume bias
4. ability to convince us
5. cartographic paradox
6. homogenous
7. "conventions of illusion"
8. "a bank of frozen oatmeal"
9. frenzy
10. "unsettle the suburbs of your routine sentiments"
11. "rattle the tracks of your trains of thought"
12. the issue of color
13. armchair explorer
14. effectiveness
15. transparently useful
16. orientation
17. crucial relationship
18. curious exceptions
19. cause and effect
20. resiliency
21. persuasive evidence
22. logical conclusion
23. implicit assumptions
24. correlation
25. lush descriptions
26. detail
27. context
28. artistic representation
29. intellectual construct
30. selectivity
31. disturbing omissions
32. inconsequential
33. assertion
34. visual statement
35. "Words can never be a simple reflection of life."
36. unspeakable data
37. minimize distortion
38. speak powerfully
39. a point of view
40. vital energy
Chapter 4: Imaginary Scrolls
1. "Perhaps being lost, one should get loster."
2. orientation is entirely arbitrary
3. visually dominant
4. ongoing practice
5. fundamental assumptions
6. the rules of composition
7. automatism
8. scientific desire for comprehension
9. "into the beaten way"
10. technical challenge
11. disorientation
12. disorient and orient us spatially
13. perspective
14. "repeated with progressive vagueness"
15. implications
16. understanding rises
17. linear unfolding of words
18. "navigational systems"
19. travel-oriented enterprise
20. conventional realist
21. absorbed and uncertain
22. conflicting desires
23. the metaphor of seduction
24. the cycle of arousal and denial
25. interwoven narratives
26. desire for coherence
27. methodical
28. utterly controlled
29. familiar trail
30. deviations
31. blending of dialogue
32. never fully yields
33. larger weave
34. adapting
35. formidable
36. repetition
37. infinitely ascending
38. bold assertion
39. a world of obsession
40. crucial components
Monday, October 19, 2009
Maps of the Imagination
The first part of the last class session was spent looking over our visual maps. We must now redraw them using pencil so we can try to foster our intuition.
Idea ----process----> architecture -------> experience
Chapter 1 - Metaphor: Or, the Map
1. "Every step is an advance into new land."
2. great conflicts
3. meaningful discoveries
4. organize information
5. maps suggest explanations
6. exploration
7. "Tell me a story."
8. overlap, intermingle and impersonate
9. "assertive action in the face of uncertain assumptions"
10. presentation
11. "Artistic creation is a voyage into the unknown."
12. pointlessly lost
13. risk of failure
14. invented answers
15. "What lies beyond the stars?"
16. contemplate a world
17. "objective" or "faithful"
18. governed by intention
19. enchantment and beauty transcend the rational
20. no particular place to go
21. ecstatic fruitfulness
22. exhilarating moments
23. "the technique"
24. methods of expression
25. the muses
26. trailblazers
27. well-worn path
28. "Sometimes it's very tempting to be satisfied with what's easy."
29. preconception
30. to translate one's sensation
31. obsessive devotion
32. spontaneity
33. creative shaping
34. passionate excesses
35. irrational and useless beauty
36. the howl of the Beats
37. the delirium of Dada
38. pilgrimage
39. into the interior of the self
40. benchmark
41. restrict the prescriptive
42. balance of intuition and intention
43. tantalizing in its brevity
Chapter 2: A Wide Landscape of Snows
1. "by its indefiniteness, it shadows forth"
2. immensities of the universe
3. a world of possibility
4. spoiled blanks
5. internal struggle
6. premapping
7. locate onself
8. scenic route
9. sense of place
10. paths of spiritual energy
11. "season-on-the-line"
12. placing themselves
13. deliberately withheld
14. mapmaker's culture
15. "a perfect and absolute blank"
16. aggressive tendencies
17. insufficient curiosity
18. "I love white spaces, love the telling omission..."
19. urban myths
20. spiritual landmarks
21. to destroy false notions
22. fanciful fripperies
23. provocative
24. sounds and smells are difficult to map
25. primarily visual
26. "My map absorbs me with what it does not reveal."
27. unfathomable void
28. surrounded by blankness
29. the world's overwhelming richness
30. "...everything in my head interests, moves and excites me."
31. "Don't go there."
32. putter-inners
33. leaver-outers
34. selection and compression
35. naturalism
36. persuasive whole
37. The Way Finder
38. "We aspire to a kind of magic."
39. the unblank
40. principle of the iceberg
41. "...desiring the darkening effect of ink"
42. explicit depiction
43. tabula rasa
Idea ----process----> architecture -------> experience
Chapter 1 - Metaphor: Or, the Map
1. "Every step is an advance into new land."
2. great conflicts
3. meaningful discoveries
4. organize information
5. maps suggest explanations
6. exploration
7. "Tell me a story."
8. overlap, intermingle and impersonate
9. "assertive action in the face of uncertain assumptions"
10. presentation
11. "Artistic creation is a voyage into the unknown."
12. pointlessly lost
13. risk of failure
14. invented answers
15. "What lies beyond the stars?"
16. contemplate a world
17. "objective" or "faithful"
18. governed by intention
19. enchantment and beauty transcend the rational
20. no particular place to go
21. ecstatic fruitfulness
22. exhilarating moments
23. "the technique"
24. methods of expression
25. the muses
26. trailblazers
27. well-worn path
28. "Sometimes it's very tempting to be satisfied with what's easy."
29. preconception
30. to translate one's sensation
31. obsessive devotion
32. spontaneity
33. creative shaping
34. passionate excesses
35. irrational and useless beauty
36. the howl of the Beats
37. the delirium of Dada
38. pilgrimage
39. into the interior of the self
40. benchmark
41. restrict the prescriptive
42. balance of intuition and intention
43. tantalizing in its brevity
Chapter 2: A Wide Landscape of Snows
1. "by its indefiniteness, it shadows forth"
2. immensities of the universe
3. a world of possibility
4. spoiled blanks
5. internal struggle
6. premapping
7. locate onself
8. scenic route
9. sense of place
10. paths of spiritual energy
11. "season-on-the-line"
12. placing themselves
13. deliberately withheld
14. mapmaker's culture
15. "a perfect and absolute blank"
16. aggressive tendencies
17. insufficient curiosity
18. "I love white spaces, love the telling omission..."
19. urban myths
20. spiritual landmarks
21. to destroy false notions
22. fanciful fripperies
23. provocative
24. sounds and smells are difficult to map
25. primarily visual
26. "My map absorbs me with what it does not reveal."
27. unfathomable void
28. surrounded by blankness
29. the world's overwhelming richness
30. "...everything in my head interests, moves and excites me."
31. "Don't go there."
32. putter-inners
33. leaver-outers
34. selection and compression
35. naturalism
36. persuasive whole
37. The Way Finder
38. "We aspire to a kind of magic."
39. the unblank
40. principle of the iceberg
41. "...desiring the darkening effect of ink"
42. explicit depiction
43. tabula rasa
Monday, October 12, 2009
October 7th
For this class, we started putting together the visual map for our building. I chose six vignettes that represented each of the primary characteristics of the Contemporary Jewish Museum. After some insightful tips from Francisco (am I allowed to call you that?), I cleaned up my drawings and added two additional sketches. I am pretty happy with the results.
The two images on the left represent solid and cavity and the image in the center represents the figure/ground relationship.
The top left image shows the texture of a wooden bench, the center image represents the relationship between hard and soft and the top right image shows rhythm as related to music.
The left-hand image shows the scale and proportion of the front entrance as related to the human figure and the bottom right-hand image also represents rhythm as related to time.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
texture drawings
The top represents brick and the bottom represents pebbled granite.
The top represents wood on a bench and the bottom some stone, probably granite, on the ground in front of the museum.
September 30th, 2009
We reviewed rhythm, focusing on its relationship to music (music as a metaphor for architecture).
-a line is as light as a feather (line weight)
-what will draw us into an experience? A line?
-asymmetry, cavity (curiosity, unknown), rhythm as AAA/ABA (structure, beats, math/formula)
-timing of music can create balance, be dynamic or evoke stability
-p.196: Alvar Aalto's M.I.T. building - view, perspective, individual
-to see rhythm, think in terms of music first
-BUILD FROM THE CORE, HEART, MIND
We moved on to the subject of texture. What is the experience?
-creating textures
-Cherokee woven basket, used for storage - what is the process? (how: habit, spiritual, function, materials, symbolism, structure); HAND vs TECHNOLOGY
-the Cherokee used to have homes with entrances on top (metaphor)
-we live with objects; our objects describe who we are
We very briefly touched on the subject of color.
-color is associated with material; materials come from nature (the honesty of color)
-painting creates a feeling of homogeneity (historical, i.e. Greek)
*YOUR LINES WILL BECOME YOUR ARCHITECTURE!
-a line is as light as a feather (line weight)
-what will draw us into an experience? A line?
-asymmetry, cavity (curiosity, unknown), rhythm as AAA/ABA (structure, beats, math/formula)
-timing of music can create balance, be dynamic or evoke stability
-p.196: Alvar Aalto's M.I.T. building - view, perspective, individual
-to see rhythm, think in terms of music first
-BUILD FROM THE CORE, HEART, MIND
We moved on to the subject of texture. What is the experience?
-creating textures
-Cherokee woven basket, used for storage - what is the process? (how: habit, spiritual, function, materials, symbolism, structure); HAND vs TECHNOLOGY
-the Cherokee used to have homes with entrances on top (metaphor)
-we live with objects; our objects describe who we are
We very briefly touched on the subject of color.
-color is associated with material; materials come from nature (the honesty of color)
-painting creates a feeling of homogeneity (historical, i.e. Greek)
*YOUR LINES WILL BECOME YOUR ARCHITECTURE!
texture shots
simple brick
granite base
grain of wooden benches
don't know exactly what this material is, possibly more granite
beautifully pebbled ground
Friday, October 2, 2009
Experiencing Architecture
Since I finished the book a while ago, I think it'll be a good idea to peruse it again and jot down some of my own notes.
Chapter 1 - Basic Observations
- putting together things that belong
- learning from architecture of the past but not trying to recreate it
- appropriate design for environment
- different people experience architecture in different ways
- hard vs. soft
- man's desire to build shelter
Chapter 2 - Solids and Cavities in Architecture
- visual process --> observation
- supported / supporting
- relation of forms
- solid vs. cavity
- figure vs. ground
Chapter 3 - Contrasting Effects of Solids and Cavities
- light against deep recesses
- balance and harmony vs restless / dramatic
- every period of architecture is followed by a period of deviation from it
- harmony with nature
Chapter 4 - Architecture Experienced as Color Planes
- color and light
- hard materials that look like fabric (light)
- importance of decoration
- buildings can appear heavier or lighter than they actually are
- making structures appear thin or light
Chapter 5 - Scale and Proportion
- Pythagorean theorem, golden section, golden ratio
- vibration
- Le Corbusier's Le Modulor and DaVinci's Vetruvian Man
Chapter 6 - Rhythm in Architecture
- subdivisions (windows, doorways, etc.)
- repetition
- rhythm borrowed from other arts such as music and dancing
- axial symmetry
- harmonic proportions vs. tension and mystery
- M.I.T. building's undulation
Chapter 7 - Textural Effects
- intricate patterns of Cherokee baskets
- satisfaction of certain materials over others
- materials must be used with integrity
- honesty of material
- lacquer vs. paint
- when using a cheap material, good design can make it look expensive
- interesting vs. homogenous textures
Chapter 8 - Daylight in Architecture
- daylight is the one true variable but extremely important in its own right
- lighting can affect spatial impressions
- daylight vs. indoor light
- quality vs. quantity
- lighting can add effect, mood, perspective
- good design considers light
- windows are good devices to control light (Holland utilized a very efficient system of windows)
Chapter 9 - Color in Architecture
- architecture does not totally rely on color... the emphasis lies on form
- nature supplies the colors
- link between material and color
- colors can be symbols, create mood or space, express character and spirit
- color theory
- the right color can leave a lasting impression
Chapter 10 - Hearing Architecture
- echo, reverberation
- appropriate acoustics should be considered
- structures can be built to carry sound or absorb it
- use of drapery, rugs, furniture can change acoustics
Chapter 1 - Basic Observations
- putting together things that belong
- learning from architecture of the past but not trying to recreate it
- appropriate design for environment
- different people experience architecture in different ways
- hard vs. soft
- man's desire to build shelter
Chapter 2 - Solids and Cavities in Architecture
- visual process --> observation
- supported / supporting
- relation of forms
- solid vs. cavity
- figure vs. ground
Chapter 3 - Contrasting Effects of Solids and Cavities
- light against deep recesses
- balance and harmony vs restless / dramatic
- every period of architecture is followed by a period of deviation from it
- harmony with nature
Chapter 4 - Architecture Experienced as Color Planes
- color and light
- hard materials that look like fabric (light)
- importance of decoration
- buildings can appear heavier or lighter than they actually are
- making structures appear thin or light
Chapter 5 - Scale and Proportion
- Pythagorean theorem, golden section, golden ratio
- vibration
- Le Corbusier's Le Modulor and DaVinci's Vetruvian Man
Chapter 6 - Rhythm in Architecture
- subdivisions (windows, doorways, etc.)
- repetition
- rhythm borrowed from other arts such as music and dancing
- axial symmetry
- harmonic proportions vs. tension and mystery
- M.I.T. building's undulation
Chapter 7 - Textural Effects
- intricate patterns of Cherokee baskets
- satisfaction of certain materials over others
- materials must be used with integrity
- honesty of material
- lacquer vs. paint
- when using a cheap material, good design can make it look expensive
- interesting vs. homogenous textures
Chapter 8 - Daylight in Architecture
- daylight is the one true variable but extremely important in its own right
- lighting can affect spatial impressions
- daylight vs. indoor light
- quality vs. quantity
- lighting can add effect, mood, perspective
- good design considers light
- windows are good devices to control light (Holland utilized a very efficient system of windows)
Chapter 9 - Color in Architecture
- architecture does not totally rely on color... the emphasis lies on form
- nature supplies the colors
- link between material and color
- colors can be symbols, create mood or space, express character and spirit
- color theory
- the right color can leave a lasting impression
Chapter 10 - Hearing Architecture
- echo, reverberation
- appropriate acoustics should be considered
- structures can be built to carry sound or absorb it
- use of drapery, rugs, furniture can change acoustics
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