Architecture has to work structurally because it is functional. It is holistic because the materials and processes employed fundamentally impact the structure of a building. What it is coated or decorated in is another matter that we would call that the style of the piece.
This is the difference between art and design; the latter is design led and must be functional as such while the former is not.
Unlike art, humans cannot choose to dismiss architecture. Infact our lives are defined by the buildings in a way, especially in urban spaces.
The advance on material science in the 19th made it possible for ua to build narrower and taller structures. The only building that had approached this historically were Gothic cathedrals, a lot of which collapsed due to structural limitations; usually aa a result of the weight of the materials used. It only became possible for architects to truly manifest their innovative visions when these new materials became available.
Like the Guggenheim museum that was built by frank Lloyd Wright.
FallingWater – he wrote the architectural designs in 4 hours.
People did innovate historically to overcome structural issues by building in a different way e.g. colloseum and the Roman’s use of arches.
Le Corbusier was a father of modernism / modern architecture. He is also responsible for a lot of the awful 70s/ 80s architecture built by local planning authorities who were trying to render cheap copies of his buildings.
What kind of functions does architecture need to provide? For example, security and shelter, longevity and aesthetic.
What are buildings made from?
Rock:
Sedimentary
Readily available and easier to shape e.g. sandstone
Metamorphic
Sedimentary took that’s been changed by heat e.g. marble. Weathered better but still erodes over time.
Igneous
Load bearing capacities of a building:
Is crucial and is intrinsically bound up with the material chosen for the build.
Generally speaking the lighter the material the less robust it is; however strength can be improved by the design chosen e.g. wood is less load bearing than stone but offers strength if used as a frame that pushes together to create a more rigid structure.
Conversely, the heavier the material, the stronger it is, but also the greater the mass of support needed to carry the weight toward the base.
Western architecture: the classical orders of ancient Greece
Watch who were the Greeks for an overview.
Classical architecture behins woth the Greeks they originally built in wood but want it to have more longevity so starred using stone.
They started with my girth and squatter. As they grew in confidence building this way with stone they started building higher.
Leave a Reply