Point : Alternatives

The topics of the church that we discussed this unit was interesting to me. The ideas incorporated into the architecture was something I thought about, but never understood. We talked about long churches vs. circular churches, both of which communicate important aspects of gathering to worship. Circular churches generically have better acoustics, but also communicate equality because of it's shape. Because building concepts weren't developed that well, these spaces could only accommodate smaller groups of people. Circular spaces usually contained a dome, which spoke a strong language of verticality connecting humanity to heaven. The pro's also create the con's in this case; since there is the idea of equality, how do you designate the power of the alter? It also does not allow large groups to worship. Long buildings however, show the progression of initiation to death and show a clear leader. Then, over time, circles and squares began to combine.

[Taken from notes]

For example, the Hagia Sophia stacked circles and squares.

After the Gothic era began to subside, the re-birth of Renaissance was thriving. Humanity was revived, and also was man as a measure. The idea of controlling the view was key, and having a horizontal shape enabled this. The Villa Barbaro displayed this new concept very well. Reach, scope, and size are three words the described the goals of the building; 'reaching' across the land, having a broad 'scope' of sight, and scaling down to human 'size' and having man as the measure.

After the Renaissance comes the Baroque period. This period is about breaking all of the rules the Renaissance created. In the S. Maria Novella, the front facade was extreme and 'squished' onto the front, but was completely lost throughout the rest of the building. There was only surface decoration, no depth. In the Ospedale Innoceti (hospital), accidents are celebrated in the structural columns around the front. The corners were exaggerated by having an extra column for stability. Symmetry is thrown away as this era carries on. The Palazzo Medici is completely asymmetrical, especially on the first floor. The ideas of an ideal city were disappearing.

As the baroque period moves on, the front facades begin to over flow into the rest of the building. The palace of Versailles push the boundaries and bring the outside in by creating a holistic experience. The hall of mirrors and decor of flowers and nature almost make the walls themselves absent. While in France, the Renaissance stays strong. The Louvre is classicism repetition and almost 'waters down' this characteristic because of it's grand scale. This creates an idea around architecture to create things more 'grand' then they actually are. The Palace de Vosges was built for the middle class as a residence. It's very grand in it's exterior facades, but pretty normal on the inside. It was created to look better then it actually is.

We are still in the Renaissance today. Designers are still experimenting with boundaries and rules. We have grasped the concept of having ideas, and simply leaving them just an idea. Boullee designed a cenotaph for Newton. It was rather large, and practically impossible at the time. Architecture at the time was in a revolution.

Revolution: "a drastic and far reaching change in ways of thinking and behaving"

Nothing is ever impossible,

and there are no such thing as rules.