Point : Foundations.

For the foundations chapter, I feel we really focused on the idea of culture shaping different pieces of architecture. Different traditions are carried on while others are forgotten and replaces by newer, modern ones. The limits of buildings are tested. The idea of Minimalism and just focusing on the simple demanding needs of a human being are now being exaggerated and made more into an art form of more then just 'necessities'.

New methods are developed for more efficient firmness and for larger scale. Square is out, circle is is. Arches, vaulted ceilings, and domes are introduced. Scale is larger then usual, creating verticality symbolizing something more. In Cathedrals, verticality stands for many things; strength, christianity, and heaven. This symbolism is there for humanity to feel like they are 'connected' to God. Stacking is also developed. This idea of design was efficiently shown in the coliseum in Rome. The stacking enabled this building to be easily emptied in just 15 minutes. Arches were also used. Arches and stacking enabled the scale to be large and wide. This is contrasting to the coliseum in Greece, where instead of being built on top of the land, it was built into the land. I still feel they used the idea of stacking with the seats, but it played not nearly as big a role of firmness as the stacking does for the Roman coliseum. Stacking doesn't only serve the purpose of firmness, but also symbolizes power; the higher up you go, the more power you obtain. Steps always mean something. Whether it is getting you from one place to another, it is also leading to greatness.

Mesopotamia started to develop the idea of temples, axial progression of initiation to death. Teotihuacan ("city of the gods"), contained a sun temple, a moon temple, which signified that of the living and the dead. They developed the sub-theme of graphics which told stories of how their world worked. The mountain of the city (which was man made), was of large scale and separated the sun and moon temple. Next in line would be the Egyptian civilization. They were very stable and it is shown in the detail of the buildings. In the hypostyle hall, the massive columns have swirling stories of pharaoh's and their power. Size does matter! The pyramids are another demonstration the pharaoh's power in Egypt, but only this time, is displayed after their death, while they are in the 'afterlife'. Largeness=Power, more largeness= more power. The beacon at the top was made of gold and was put there to shine in the sun and supposed to shine down the four corners of the pyramid to extend to the four corners of the earth. I found this concept extremely brilliant and symbolic.

Another very important thing we talked about during this unit were the principles, elements, connections, and amplifiers of design.

Principles: balance, unity, harmony, contrast, repetition, proportion, unity

Elements: line, space, form

Connections: organization, coherence, clarity, parts to a whole, order

Amplifiers: color, texture, value (light)

The lectures and projects of this class keep opening my mind expanding the way I think about things. I like that we exaggerate on the ideas of architecture we may or may not know. I like hearing it and I love learning more and more about the ideas, concepts, details, everything of historical architecture and how it still ties in today with our surroundings.

Our modern day pyramid.

the LOURVE.