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.

Paul Woodworth - Blogs 9 and 10

The ancient cultures that we first studied created monolithic, organizational structures in attempts to interpret their universe. Rock formations found at sites like the Nabta Playa and Stonehenge are almost purely this. The formations were organized to track cosmological patterns and sun paths, among other things. Whatever the purpose, these civilizations found it important to use their man made structures to understand more about how the universe works, and also perhaps why. In a way, these early structures are similar to our blog entries. The blogs provided opportunities for us to really look at the historical ideas we covered and apply them to the world around us. The search for details and structure throughout the city helped spark a more wondrous appreciation for the physical world around us and the potential to see it through different perspectives.

Alycia Schramm Blog 9 + 10

This semester, I have been very interested in our exploration of the roots of classical architecture. It has been very intriguing to see the layers of history and interpretation that make up the architecture of each era. Vitruvius looked back to antiquity the Greeks and established his own criteria for architecture. Jacopo Sansovino saw the Orders through a Venetian lens. Palladio's foundation was Vitruvius, with special attention to temples. Architecture in the classical style changed in many ways over the centuries as each person built upon or shifted the ideals of the person before him. This architecture is not just one idea; it is a collaboration of culture, history, and the ingenuity each individual contributes to their epoch.

Ashley Bressette Blog Nine & Ten

Out of all of the lectures we have had, I found the lecture on Buddhist and Hindu Architecture to be the most intriguing. Each has similar values and beliefs, yet when expressed architecturally, they are completely different, making it that much more interesting. The stupa may not be the most intricate of architecture, however its connection to the mandala and religious traditions to me make it a very complex and meaningful place. As time progressed, the stupa as well altered and the introduction of more intricate exterior and interior elements were added. Although intricacy is a desirable trait, I admire the simplicity of the structure because it makes the stupa very easy to understand and interpret. After all it is not about what it looks like, but more of the experience and movement that occurs upon entrance. This applies with everyday architecture as well, just because the exterior of a building may not be anything special, the internal experience may be life changing. This course also did a fine job at highlighting a buildings connection and experience with its culture and surroundings. I was able to understand the material at a deeper level because it was never just about the obvious physical traits.

Anette Balestrand Blog 9&10

Kailasnath, Ellora (750) made me think about Architecture in a different way. In school we have become accustomed to the additive process and often forget about subtraction. It is very fascinating to me to see a building created through a strict subtractive process. The care and detail that went into the work is something that we do not see much of in today’s architecture. Today there are not many stone carvers and sculptures working in architecture, and to use them for a project is very expensive. In ancient times stone carvings were considered a craft and it was very common to have a stonemason or craftsman work on a project. Those people took pride in their work. Today we have become so obsessed with manufacturing and cheap shortcuts, that we do not appreciate this type of work.

Mitchell Haughton: Blog Response 9/10

The section that interested me most was the Ise Jingu shrine. This building to me embodies the relationship between a physical building and the ideals of the people that occupy it. The Japanese have a close connection with nature, which highly influences this building. It is made out of materials (mostly wood) which are found close to the site. Yet the most incredible thing about Ise Jingu is that it is rebuilt every 20 years. It symbolizes the life/death cycle which we see so often in nature. Organisms die and their remains nourish new life. The shrine is rebuilt with new materials every year, and the old materials are given to other shrines to use. This is a most extreme case in which a building closely relates to the beliefs of the people who occupy it, which is why, out of everything we learned, it caught my interest the most.

Steph Greenlaw Blog 9&10 Response

The Egyptians have always baffled me. I’ve always found it very interesting that from the outside, Egyptian architecture seems simple but in reality it is probably one of the most complex and mysterious. Even still, it is one of the most easily recognizable types of architecture throughout the globe. Because the pyramids are such complicated puzzles even today, many people don’t believe that humans actually constructed them. A new theory that aliens built the pyramids has emerged to explain the meticulous orientation, connection to other structures and rivers, and the labyrinth type circulation through the pyramid. Personally, I think that it is just very unfortunate that over time the technology that the Egyptians developed was lost.

James Fulton -- Blog Response #9+#10

At the beginning of the semester, we discussed the caves at Lascaux. We spoke of them in terms of their significance with regards to the origins of the human spirit and man's cosmic foundation, and we also briefly touched upon a similar site in Cheveux that Herzog has recently made a documentary about. Having had the pleasure of seeing the Herzog film at a press screening over the Summer, I had learned that the nation of France had decided to close off the caves in Cheveux to all but a small and selected group of scientists and researchers.

The part about these cave sites that really interests me, architecturally, is not the original site but the hyperreal recreations that have been or are being made by France in order to draw in tourists. Lascaux II, as it is known, is a replica of two of the famous caves from Lascaux that was opened in 1983 after the "real" cave was closed in the 60's. At the point of filming, the caves in Cheveux had been digitally mapped to an almost molecular level of detail -- with plans to reconstruct the cave with excruciating care in an adjacent site.

While namedropping Baudrillard may not win merits with some people, I think his ideas concerning reality become extremely important in this instance. Are these replica sites capable of becoming hierophanies? If yes, is it an acceptable condition for them to embody, or should this opening of replica sites be disallowed? The arguments certainly have parallels in the old arguments that came about when the ability to quickly copy and mass produce poster-quality replicas of famous art works came about, but the discussion is not entirely the same.

Having visited neither site, my gut opinion is that, regardless of the quality of the copy, the temporal nature of the original caves is so overwhelmingly important that its absence must completely overshadow all of the makeup applied to the replica caves in an attempt to fool you into a false spiritual connection with our history as a species. So, while they are probably not worth the money, I do not think they are actively detrimental to the integrity of our spiritual history.