Sunday, November 7, 2010

Reflections Summary



Jasmine Jones
Jasmine's introduction to her essay makes me feel very interested to keep reading. Her idea of evolving architecture beginning with a simple thought is so true. She states that fact then once one person thinks of something, other people join in, and these thoughts tun into actions. People produce these thoughts because they are curious of what else is out there. These curiously thoughts then turn into revolutions; a change in what is happening in their current time. People are done with order and classism, and are ready for something new. She states the idea that trading of all different cultures is what put new ideas into people's minds. Everything was new, especially materials. I agree with her thoughts of eastern inspiration on western products, we discussed this a lot in class and in our reading comprehension. She then goes into the idea of the industrial revolution and mass production. To support the growing population and job opportunities, mass production was needed; not this made by hand stuff anymore. The need for craftsman became scarce. Glass and iron were the new materials and they opened many new doors for architecture. I enjoy reading her essay, as along with the others, because we all discuss different important topics of the units. It's nice to hear what stuck out to other people.
Her picture fit well with her essay. She describes this design era as 'overwhelming' in the sense that it is rapidly changing. She states, that as the ferris wheel goes round, it always comes back to where it started to cater to new groups of people. How philosophical!
Ebony jumps right into the idea of testing the boundaries of classical design. She begins to talk about the Crystal Palace as the 'kick off' for the industrial age because of the use of new materials, glass and iron. I liked how she put that this era was a time for exploration for designers. The Crystal palace was built for people all over to bring their goods to sell. She states this building as a utilitarian design, and not made for beauty. I disagree. This building was beautiful for the soul fact that people had never seen anything like it before, and that is why people were drawn to it. She then describes the life cycle of iron. It started off with the Crystal Palace, then extended to train stations, shopping centers, and libraries, then eventually led to the building of skyscrapers.
These ideas of mixing design and moving away from the typical classism leads to new design ideas. She ten discusses the idea of eastern influence, which Jasmine previously discussed. She looks at this unit as exploring ideas, and about finding a new language.
Kacie starts off explaining revolution and all the different steps. I believe this is an appropriate intro to the start of discussing this unit. She begins with the gothic revival at Strawberry Hill in England. She points out specific details such as the gothic art, and references heavenward, all characteristics of the gothic style.
Just as the other two people I have summarized, she points out the eastern influence on the west in regards to design language. She references the four aspects of design, which was a good tie to make! She states that these new western designs were an "escape" of what they were used to. Patterns on plates and bowls became used on western carpets and fabric. Silk was also being imported and used for clothing. She then ties all these influences to the Royal Pavilion building in England. This building made her think it should be in India, which I agree. It looks like it came out of the movie Aladin. The reference is made to the banquet hall, where it appears that everything was just shoved into the room and onto the walls, hence, introducing clutter. She then continues to state the presence of gothic style still prevalent in today's designs.



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