F O U N D A T I O N S

In the Foundations unit we explored the architecture of the first establishments of civilization. We started this journey in Egypt and moved onto Greece and into Rome. We carefully compared the architectural structures and elements and their evolution throughout time and civilizations.
In Egypt we studied the concept of time and passage. We looked at the Pyramids of Giza which were built to withstand time and become an aspect of the transition to the afterlife. The Egyptian culture centered around the Nile River because it was their source of life as well as their main passageway. The Pyramids were a highly advanced structure that took many hours of man power and hard labor to achieve.
We then continued to Greece where the underlying concept was that of the Wu-Wu’s. Throughout this unit we saw a lot of vertical expansion reaching up towards the heavens and towering over top the city below. This concept of ‘size matters’ and ‘the higher the better’ is what the Wu-Wu is all about. They used masculine forms through the form of architecture to portray their strength and dominance. You could also see female forms throughout architecture to symbolize victory.
We studied the Greeks attempt to achieve the ideal versus the real. Through studying this we discovered the use of archetypes, prototypes and hybrids. An archetype would be the real…the imperfect form. The changes made to those archetypes were the prototypes. The evolution resulted in hybrids which are seen in so many aspects of architecture. A good example of this is the classical orders. By looking at the orders you can see the slight variations that keep building upon one another throughout time.
We studied the variation between cultures and the change of surface versus structure decoration. For example the Greeks focused more on the exterior facade rather than the details within. One commonality we saw within the structure was not only the hierarchy of the buildings but the concept of incorporating a porch, court and hearth. These are three key areas that helped define space and purpose and continued throughout both various civilizations as well as future generations. We made ties from the east to the west in all aspects of architectural and technological development as well as structure and surface design.
Throughout all cultures, I learned that commodity, firmness and delight are essential to good architecture. Commodity was the first established. It is the simple concept of your structure supporting the uses you need it to meet. This is the most basic concept of architecture that is further tested by the firmness of a building. Firmness represents a buildings structural strength. If a building cannot hold up then it can not meet your needs for long. Without exquisite craft a building is useless. If past structures were not well-made they would not be standing today for us to study. Delight is the reason people are drawn to architecture. It is a pleasant feeling that is evoked inside of you. The evolution of surface facades is just one aspect of delight. These three things are one of the most important thing I have learned about thus far because of their importance in all good design.

Overall in the Foundations unit we saw a lot of uses of vertical growth within structures as well as the abundant use of precedents that are carried over and changed through time and culture. The Foundations unit set the bar for architecture and the concept of reviving architectural history in the form on new buildings. In the upcoming unit I expect to see more structure that raise the bar and change from renewing past concepts to forming new and different ideas veering away from past concepts. I also expect to see the beginning of more horizontally spread buildings rather than towering structures.

The artwork above shows ancient Rome and with the Roman Coliseum in the center it illustrates how the structure impacted its surroundings.

I chose the image above because it shows both the scale of the coliseum compared to the rest of the city as well as an idea of the feeling you would get while standing inside of the coliseum.  As you can see in the picture all of the roads center around the coliseum.