Little Progress! - Week 2/3 recap
I short recap of what i have been doing with my studies the past couple of weeks.
Design Studio 1
House model of Casa De Vidro.
I will upload the final project and the drawing I do next time.
History 1
My submissions for short responses to a discussion topic.
Topic 1: What is Architecture? (with introduction of ourselves)
My name is Leighton Fuller, I am pursuing a bachelors and then masters of architecture, I have interest in photography, graphic design and basketball (yeah, I’m basic). I have chosen to study architecture because the creativity and design aspect interest me. In particular sustainability for the future, and think being established to do high-end residential work with this as a focus is very interesting. The most expensive thing most people buy is a house and I think it would be cool to design the most premium aspect of people’s lives. Alongside that I have an interest in pushing the comforts of living to push cultural change through design.
What is Architecture?
Architecture; the art or science of building.
This definition of architecture, answers the question very well in my opinion. It shows a strong connection between it and buildings but doesn’t say it is buildings. It doesn’t say it is art or science, because it can be both or neither. A structure can serve no purpose other than being art and it is still called architecture, the formation of structures with calculated experimentation adds the science to architecture while reinforced with the links to physics, chemistry and biology in its practice. Architecture has NO right or wrong, you can’t learn everything about it, you can always improve meaning there is no limit.
Reference: “Architecture.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/architecture. Accessed 5 Mar. 2021.
Topic 2: Industrial technology was the driving force of Modern Architecture!
The early visionaries of the 20th century ‘modern’ architecture saw radical changes to the form of structures moving towards prioritising the functionality of a structure over the visual form. This movement led to the simplification of structures. The industrial technologies emerging, such as the production of iron beams (later into steel beams), re-enforced concrete and the advancements in glass’s capabilities meant that structures could be stronger and lighter. Part of the significance of the technology was not just its structural capabilities, but the production was significantly improved making the materials far easier, cheaper and faster to make. This benefited the United States and Allies post WW2 seeing a boom for their economy and thus an increased spending on buildings, many of which reaped the benefits of the easy and fast construction newly available. Not only were the structural components used, but the style of the visionaries was emulated, with the expansion of high rises as well as smaller buildings. Although this era saw a drastic change to the construction and design industry, I don’t think that this time was exceptional. Throughout history ‘modern’ technology has shaped what architects/visionaries have created. Our imagination is always expanding but limited to our foresight of what we have available currently.
In today’s world, the advances in technology we saw around the start of the 20th century, such as mass-producing and assembling building elements, make it environmentally cheaper to produce buildings.