Road Trip...Opus Eleven

Compression: Release

The growth of urban areas in the 19th century represents compression in society. Thousands of people were moving to big cities in America and Europe. The cities weren't designed to hold that capacity, so they had to be redesigned so that spaces weren't cramped. Napoleon had Paris re-planned, including new streets and water systems. "Numerous small parks were built throughout the city, and two enormous park preserves were created from royal hunting grounds were created at the west and east edges of the city; these Haussmann called 'the lungs of the city.' " (Roth pg. 491). The fact that the designers wanted to create an open space for people to enjoy showcases release, which is the exhale that comes from compression.

Materiality

The Industrial Revolution completely changed the world of architecture. Along with the need to provide more structures for more people, improvements in industry itself provided new materials to work with. "Architects were also presented with new building materials, cast and wrought iron as well as glass, in quantities never available before, thanks to improvements in mass production." (Roth pg. 471). Iron and glass affected what and how designers created. New possibilities in form were presented because of the pliability of iron. Glass allowed for huge buildings that reflected light as well as let it inside.

While working on our drawings for Suzanne, it was important to accurately render the materials used. In the above rendering, I showed materials such as wood, steel, fabric, and stone. The key is to give visual clues as to what the material is. When rendering the stainless steel refrigerator i left vertical strips to indicate light reflecting on it. Using gray over the whole image wouldn't have made it look like it was shining.
Roots

We use roots to understand how it is something began. Relating to history, the use of iron began for specific reasons. England did not have enough wood for the amount of people on the island. The use of iron came just in time to create new structures. "At the very time that the need for iron began to rise, the English forests were fast disappearing into the charcoal furnaces." (Roth pg. 462). The humble origins of using iron for building eventually became a hugely popular style, as evidenced by this structure:



Congruence

Design in the early 21st reflected many styles, some that were combined. Structures from previous centuries remain in many parts of Europe, and the Parliament building in London is no exception.

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"The Gothic details of the new work allowed it to join with the surviving medieval portions in such a way that the line between the two is nearly indiscernible." (Roth pg. 477)



Concept

It's extremely important to have a concept when designing something. Sometimes you have your idea or concept from the beginning, or sometimes it's something that gradually comes through in the design process. Regardless, a concept is something that helps guide you along in the process and make decisions. Why is it that many government structures in the U.S. have a classical style to them? An explanation from Roth: "Or a new governmental building might be Grecian in style to relate to the contemporaneous political struggle of the Greeks in the 1830's to rid themselves of centuries old Turkish domination." (Roth pg. 469) This quote explains using a historical precedent as a concept.