Matt Rowell Blog 9/10

The progression of architecture in Latin America has always been something I have enjoyed studying. Since the ancient times, Latin Americans have developed structures that reflect the landscapes around it. Construction of temples and landscapes has been directly related to orientation of the land they inhabit. Today, the same traditions are continued in Latin American regions. Even new buildings and complexes encompass surrounding landscapes. The progression of architectural styles have transformed through innovation in technology and outside influences, but the tradition of making connections to the land has remained.

We studied the Teotihuacan's Avenue of the Dead in Mexico. These massive temples were build with a unique orientation aligning its tallest pyramid with the tallest mountain top. While Latin Americans have evolved from the construction of temples into much more sophisticated construction purposes, the relationship of structures to the land remains a priority. The Four Sports Halls by Giancarlo Mazzanti in Medellin, Colombia is a prime example of how new-age architecture continues to reflect the landscape in Latin America. The structure demonstrates the cultures ability to innovate and become more ecological. While at the same time the truss system undulates to mimic the contours of the surrounding mountains. Latin Americas' ability to withhold such strong traditional values while continuing to creatively innovate construction will forever intrigue me.

Angela Liccardo Blog 9&10

Our most recent lectures about Michelangelo, Bernini, etc catches my interest through their beautiful sculpting. But nothing has interested me more than the rock cut temples we studied. When one thinks of a building, they think building something out of nothing. But this work was not just beautifully design but was created through carving and sculpting rock. Specifically Queen Hatshepsut Temple, the art of carving an entire temple, before advanced tools came about, amazes me. Through out the history lecture, you watch architecture evolve; structurally, decoratively, religiously, but I believe the rock cut temples was ahead of its time. Rather moving forward with rock cut temples, I believe it is unachievable now.

Greg Gaffney 9 + 10

Through all the buildings and formations we have touched upon this year, my favorite was Stonehenge. The allure of Stonehenge first came from the mythical construction, with no definite answer found to date. But after learning about it in class, and learning the usage of the space as a calendar, I was much more interested in Stonehenge than previous. From watching things on TV about it, I only ever knew it as this odd rock formation and historians battled over if aliens built it or not. But having the classroom experience and learning about it being used as a lunar calendar, gave Stonehenge an entirely new level to connect on. It's amazing to think that people hundreds and thousands of years ago can build such structures with such thought and precision.

Greg Sherwin Blog Response #9-10

A building that I found to be most interesting this semester was in one of our more recent lectures of Rome. St. Peter’s Basilica although we only studied a few parts of the building and site is an absolutely breath taking building. Like we have mentioned before, there are some buildings that we could spend a whole lecture on understanding its past and features as well as the multiple architects that were involved, and St. Peter’s would be one of those. It’s monumental dome and incredible colonnade around its large entrance for a major gathering space in itself creates an incredible approach. The most impressive feature of this building/site is it’s size and monumentality! I have done a large scale axonometric and plan/section which revealed some of the amazing details of structure and space within.

John Greene Blog #9-10

There were lots of interesting points throughout this semester, but one lecture in particular really caught my attention. That lecture was on Islamic architecture and it was the technology, sacred geometry and pendentives that really caught my attention. Previous to this semester, I had no idea how advanced the Islamic civilization was during such a dark time in world history. For a culture to actually rise up in the dark ages and contribute in the world of architecture, writings, and religion. One of the more amazing things to me was they weren't just contributing to these ideas but preserving them by collecting all the writing they could so they wouldn't be lost forever. On top of the rising of the culture, the actual pendentive construction the Islamic tradition invented I found quite fascinating. This idea can really be seen in the Hagia Sophia with its different pendentives throughout the building. The multiple banding of the arches makes up a part of Islamic sacred geometry that I can really appreciate. I find myself getting lost in the overlapping shapes and it seems to take my brain away from the physical world and lets me relax my mind. It is these few ideas and a couple more that really made the Islamic lecture, specially the Hagia Sophia, the most interesting, and I definitely see myself looking a bit more into the Islamic past for ideas with geometry and arches for my future project.

David Girardi- Blog 9 & 10

I always have trouble learning history; it has never been my strong subject. I always look for ways to make learning history easier. I find an easy way to learn it through movies. I enjoy watching movies and I especially like movies that have a historic connection. That is way I enjoyed the topic of Bernini this semester. He is an amazing sculptor and designer, and many of his works were shown in the movie Angels and Demons. When discussing Bernini in class, I found that I grasp the topic a lot easier and I found myself really more interested in the topic overall. Although many of the topics this semester were fascinating, I found the Bernini topic even more interesting.

Chris McEwen - Blog Response 9 and 10

Throughout the vast number of historical buildings and creations that we learned about this semester, it’s always the ones with an interesting history that distinguish themselves from the rest. And there are no other buildings with a more unique history than the Naiku at Ise Jengu. The Naiku (Inner Shrine) is a temple that is rebuilt every 20 years in the same exact way it was built initially. Without this aspect, the idea of this magnificent piece of architecture would never have lasted this long. Most buildings last for hundreds of years, but this one has the chance to potentially last indefinitely thanks to the idea of its creators. It is also the only building that is deliberately rebuilt, where certain buildings were recreated, but only after being destroyed by things such as fires and wars.