Elizan McLean: Blog Response 9+10

The projects I found most interesting over this semester were the Itsukushima shrine and the Ise Jingu family shrine. Old Japanese style architecture has always been very appealing to me, but I found the story of how they rebuild Ise Jingu every 20 years to be amazing. No matter how good a design or how solid the structure a building is, it will eventually break down. I think the average life span of a building is designed for around 100 years or so. We as architects focus a lot on how our buildings will impact the environment at the time of its conception, but rarely do we give thought to its end life. There are already a few cities in the united states that have hundreds of abandoned buildings just decaying in them and taking up space, and its most likely only going to get worse as buildings reach their limit, and we as a nation get further and further into debt. If we look at Ise Jingu as a precedent though, and try to build our buildings to be recycled frequently with low costs and labor required it might help keep our cities from becoming decaying ghost towns. In general though, I love how Japanese architecture gives the chance to reflect all aspects of nature and the different kami's and the use of the torii to often capture a certain view.

Teresa Le- Blog 9/10

I have always been interested in the effects of how the differences of religions create conflicts between each other. So when we learned about the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem and how multiple religions can find the same place to be important to their history, I found it very compelling. Although the various religions have very different beliefs they all see Jerusalem and the Dome of the Rock to have importance. In Judaism, Jerusalem is considered to be the “Holy City” where the Temple of Solomon is located. The raised platform of the Dome of the Rock is where they face during prayers because they believed it was considered to be the holiest place on earth. In the Islamic tradition the placement of the rock represents where Muhammad ascended to heaven. In the Christian religion they believed that Jerusalem was where the Last supper, crucifixion and resurrection took place.

In todays society we see just how separated the different religions are, but looking back in history, we realize how much the religions converge to on single spot, Jerusalem.

Stephanie Goldsack Blogs 9+10

I would say the most interesting thing we talked about was the Venetian Culture and how it influenced the architecture. Their culture was very conceited and wanted everyone to know that they were better. They would go to other cities and areas, steal icons, treasures, and other prized items. Not only would they steal the items and make a mockery of the places they stole it from but to further the humiliation they put it on display in their city’s main square and entrance. The trophies were even displayed on S Marco, including the way they stole the items. Ever since I visited Venice I have been beyond intrigued with how they stayed so strong when so many other civilizations have failed soon after taking over.

Travis lombardi blog 9

Throughout the course of this semester, I found myself most intrigued by the medieval era. Though the immense amount of detail, thought, and production was unlike any other, what interested me the most, was the amount of variation and progression of design within such a short amount of time. Based purely on the cultural tendencies of its time, the architecture changed to what was deemed appropriate or acceptable. As more thought was put into things like religion and politics, architecture became higher, more detailed, and more grandeur. Looking at the Notre Dame in Paris and comparing it to St. Pierre in Beauvais, one can see the amount of differentiation, yet both are cathedrals. I have begun to think about our generation and what architecture best reflects our cultural tendencies. What will architecture be in 20 years when a new political power is in control and there is a new religious majority? St. Pierre was a response to the catholic religion, the higher, more detailed the work the closer to God you were. Are the buildings that are being developed today a reflection of economy? Showing who has the most money through using the most expensive material or breaking the record for highest structure? My excitement lies within the fact that architecture will always be a changing response and you never know what will come next.

Nick Dyer- Blog 9 & 10

Of all the subjects we covered this semester in history, I found Rome to be the most interesting. I think it has the most influential architecture of any other concentrated areas. It is a place where you can just become immersed in beauty all around you.

One person who I became interested in the most when going through Rome was Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni. He is widely known as just Michelangelo. This was an astounding man with incredible gifts and talents. He is probably known best for being an Italian Renaissance painter but he was also a sculptor, an architect, and an engineer.

At the age of 24, not much older than I am now, he created La Pieta, a sculpture of Jesus layed out in Mary’s arms after the crucifixion. And then before he turned 30 he created the statue of David which is one of the most renowned works of the Renaissance.

Michelangelo also created two of the most influential works in fresco in the history of western art: the scenes from Genesis on the ceiling and The Last Judgment on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel in Rome.

And if it wasn’t enough to be a world renowned sculptor, painter, and engineer, he was also an architect. Michelangelo pioneered the Mannerist style at the Laurentian Library. At 74, he succeeded Antonio da Sangallo as the architect of St. Peter’s Basilica.

Michelangelo was so influential in many different types of arts and it is astounding how young he started creating and how he continued creating masterpieces into his old age.

Cameron Savela - Blog 9-10

I have always been interested in ancient Greece and when we talked about the Greece theaters that were built into the hillside I was impressed. I was amazed by the technical use of the landscape to make their use of a theater. The angle of each of the theaters is determined by the surrounding area, which shows how they can adapt for the use of their theaters. The amount of seating they can fit in such a dense area on a hill and allow for stairs and walkways to a flat stage is also very interesting. Pretty cool to learn about some of the simple things they designed for their entertainment areas not just their temples.

Dan Zarkadas - Blog 9+10

For me the lectures on ancient Greece were some of the most interesting. Not because the culture itself is necessarily any more interesting than some of the others we’ve learned about, but because its such a popular setting and mythos in entertainment. I found myself comparing the characters and places brought up in both lecture to their appearances or purposes in movies and games, and it was really interesting how creative minds can put their own spin on a story that has been referenced so many times now. A lot of time the mythology of a culture can be hard to understand because of how out there is it but when you have more polished visual representations to compare to it becomes a lot easier to understand. The painting of Zeus on the left may be a little nondescript but the two modern interpretations from God of War and The Immortals gives him more character.