Group Precedent Analysis

Cathedral of Notre-Dame

The Cathedral of Notre-dame located in Amiens, France, embodies all of the qualities found in the cathedrals of the Middle Ages. Though this church changed designers a few times throughout its construction, it is regarded as the most pure version of the Gothic style cathedral. It contains the iconic cross pattern in its layout of the floor space, with the place of most importance located in the square formed by the crossing corridors. This floor pattern is also shared by two other cathedrals of this time period, the cathedrals at Cologne, Spain and at Salisbury, England. The building is also very tall, with the central aisle rising high up into the air. This was a major problem in the construction and design process and eventually led to the addition of supports to reinforce such a tall structure. The flying buttresses that support the walls of this majestic building also had to be redesigned throughout the course of the construction, adding more supports underneath the original ones. As the structure become more and more complete, the technology and the understanding of construction on such a large scale also became more complete. This allowed designers to possibly anticipate problems that could have been the downfall of such an ambitious structure. Another characteristic that is very prominent is the two tall towers and the middle oculus that shape the façade of the building. This idea is found on the Cathedral at Cologne, but not the one at Salisbury. This may be due to the proximity of France and Spain, or the time in which construction finished. The cathedral in England was finished in 1258, whereas the other two were not completed until much later in the Middle Ages. This building at Amiens, though it took many years to complete, is the ultimate and perfected version of this wonderful style of architecture.

Voices

This is a plan drawing with each dimension labeled.

Metric is many times considered a measurement. Have we ever really thought about it any other way? I think that metric can have a couple different meanings. The most common one is a form of measuring something. Metric is a unit that was originally used in France. Therefore, they use the Metric system like we now use inches. However, in History class we looked at baths of the Diocletian. This building can be considered a system just by so many ways it is divided into. It is 32 acres and is separated into 10 different facilities. This can be considered a system of where to too put these different rooms. Finding the exact space to locate all this facilities and also accommodating the different times of day to make it convenient for men, women and slaves also creates a Metric system. Its like a space of time and location that has to be established. To me all these forms of placements have something to do with metric. However, relating it back to measurement, metric is a way of measuring. In our drafting class, measurements are major points. When we design something it has to be according to the space. As designers we have to know where to put something and how much space we have. By knowing this we know how much we have to work with and it just makes thing much easier.

This is an inspiration drawing that I was looking at while drawing my view of my building. This would be considered the precedent that I used.

Precedent is like a model that was designed prior to our actual design. In many cases we look for precedents to come up with ideas of our own. When looking at precedents we often take similar characteristics of that building/or structure and input it into modern days work. In history class we were to pick a building for our precedent analysis project. When researching different 20th century buildings, I wanted to keep in mind different characteristics of the past that look similar to my building now. I decided to research further on the Chrysler building in New York. This building contains a decorative style characterized by sharp angular or zigzag surface forms and ornaments. Buildings in ancient Rome where always ornamented and consisted of columns and arches. The same way, Gothic architecture took from Roman Architecture. “ The same kind of movement away from structural directness in favor of ornamental embellishment occurred in the late Gothic Period. In France, this attention to ornament appeared in decorative forms, particularly in the stone tracery of stained-glass windows.” (Roth 342) This shows us that even though it was their own time period they to had the same characteristics that Rome did. In studio class, many times we are asked to create different models. In order to create models we sometimes have to look for a precedent to be inspired for our creation. We then take certain characteristics of this object, or model, and create something of our own.

I feel that the walls in this image show a presence of safety, since it is surrounded by the fortified walls.

Presence is the vibe/essence that a building portrays. To me the way a building is built shows the essence. “ The keep at Dover Castle came to be surrounded by two such fortified concentric walls, resulting in an inner bailey and an outer bailey.” (Roth 307) When I think of “fortified concentric walls” I immediately picture something that is strong and provided to protect. Later Roth also talks about presence in a different way. “ Architecture attempted to recall the substantial presence and clear circular geometries of Roman Construction.”(Roth 314) Here it is stated as something that has existed over time and within time they have been trying to take the basic appearance of circular geometries that Rome had. Presence can also mean the appearance of something. In many cases our appearance and the way we are dress influence our models in many ways. For example, when presenting our artifacts, our appearance was somewhat important. The colors that we wore or the style of our clothing affected the artifact. When wearing something that many times went with our design completed the image of your head and made you think of a situation where the project could be used.

In this image I wanted to capture the "moment" when you walk into the building and look up at the ceiling.

Moments in many ways can mean the point where something becomes meaningful. In history we saw how Romans were more interested in the façade of a building and Egypt was more about around the site. This shows that many times the surrounding is what creates the moment in the building whereas the Romans considered the façade of a building to be the moment. Also certain areas of a chair create a moment. For example, churches that have the rose window which cast light on the alter. This creates the special moment on the alter. In Suzanne’s Class we were asked to draw certain places through of our assigned building that would take people through our building by just certain drawing that we created. For example, we were to draw thumbnails of the most important places of the building. Places that create a “moment” in the building, the most important places that may become significant to the building.

Duality has different meanings. This drawing shows the same design but each having a different meaning. As you can see the one on the left shows fire and the right shows ice.

Duality is having two different meanings or having a combination of meanings. In example, Roth says “ A wooden tower structure was built, serving as both a place of refuge and a residence of the local lord”. (Roth 305) This shows how a building was made for different purposes. It could be used for a place for protection or a place for something to live. Also I feel that buildings have a duality of a way they are created. “ Although designed to accommodate their new commercial and municipal functions, stylistically these buildings borrowed extensively from the vocabulary developed for church building, using pointed arches and elaborate tracery.” They are designed for a purpose of providing different functions yet the building characteristics has a dual meaning by using the same design and characteristics a church has. The same way that this medieval architecture had dual meanings, my designs in studio class had dual meanings. In class we have been working with the words symmetry, balance, hierarchy, proximity, rhythm etc. When creating a model that was symmetrical you ran into a problem where it could also be balanced. This was because when you cut something in half and it looks the same on both sides it creates a balance and makes the image symmetrical.

This week we have seen many architectural structures that have precedents from the previous time periods. However, even though it may have similar characteristics each building has its own special moment inside. This creates a duality because even though two building may have the same kinds of designs they may have two different meanings. This can be by the exterior or interior which set a different presence in the location they are.

Pat's Furniture [Multiple Views]

When working on the different views of Pat's Chair design we were to concentrate on the southwest side. We used a scale of 1"-1' scale.

#1

Proximity

#2

Symmetry

#3

Positive/Negative Space

These were three other models that were to be made after creating the first black and white model. From this step we were handed three words that were also to be incorporated when creating our designs. I decided to keep the thin paper strips that I first used to create the circular model. However I decided to create different forms of passageways. The first model would be you walking underneath it and being able to look up into it. The second model would consist of walking into this structure and being able to look in it and around it. The last one was made with circles that gradually got bigger which would create an automatic passageway where you would be, almost forced, to walk around it making the circular shapes get bigger. In conclusion, I've decided to move forward with the first model. Maybe change a couple of things but at the same time keep certain areas the same.

5 Inspirations

Jose Louro

Florian Afflerbach

Yong Hwan Lee

João Pinheiro

Katherine Tyrrell

EUC Drawings

These drawings were made bigger on an 8x11 paper from the original 12 thumbnails that we did at first. We were also asked to look at different artist and the way that they drew perspective drawings using their drawing techniques.

5x5 Thumbnails

Parts:Whole

Hybrid Example: Final Model

Archetype : This is the model that I first made to get and idea of what I wanted to do. Even though my final model doesn't look completely like it, it has similar characteristics.

Archetype : prototype : hybrid – all three of these words tie together to create the definition of archetype. Archetype is the original design, pattern or model. Overall, these three words put together show progression. In example, in History class when talking about the different order we looked at different types of columns. The first column being the Tuscan. The Tuscan would be the archetype/prototype in this case. Then we would consider any other column coming after that to be the hybrid. The composite for example would be the hybrid since it includes all the characteristics of the prior columns. Roth talks about the roman temples as being part of a prototype." The Roman Temple, templum, based on Etruscan prototypes, was similar to the Greek temple and eventually was embellished with Greek orders and architectural details." (Roth 150) This shows how other temples also took from other structures. In similar ways these words relate to our other classes. When working on the black and white projects we had to come up with different iterations. The first iteration we did would be considered the archetype. From here I constructed my final iterations that had certain characteristics from the first model. The first model was made from circles and had a space in between the top and bottom plate. However, my final one had an overall circular look to it but also had its own qualities.

I decided to post a picture of books because even though I didnt mention it below, sources are also information that you get from a book. In this case a source would be the books we use in Theory class.

Source is something that is specific used to create something. Marble and concrete for example were the principle elements used in roman architecture. Concrete, according to Blakemore, "was responsible for the alteration of interior spaces. Concrete was used to cover vast interior surfaces without immediate support." (Blakemore 52) This was because concrete was so inexpensive and could be manipulated easily. Marble on the other hand was used more for major buildings. In our classes this week the main source has been our black and white projects. From this project we have had to come up with different other ideas to construct the upcoming projects.





Entourage is also the surroundings of an environment. Roman theaters were not located near temples but instead near the business center of the city. (Roth 264) I think that they located it in a business center to make it stand out more, whereas if you put it near other temples it would probably just blend in. Also this might have been because of the amount of space there is around a building. Usually important buildings are built on open space to make them look bigger and important. In Perception/communications class we were to make 3 drawings called entourage. This meant that from everything we had learned already we were to make an entourage and include the environment/essence of the place. I feel that the environment that surrounds, in this case a drawing, is very important because it creates a real feel to where something is located. However, when talking about the environment of a building I feel that the location its in has to do a lot with what the building means. For example, when you see all the buildings in a capital or downtown area, they are similar or have the same meaning. You wouldn’t picture a tall building in a little town.






Hierarchy shows the different ranking of certain things. This shows what things can be worth more then others. Also building can show hierarchy in design to give people a more powerful standing. In history when talking about the different designs in different buildings it really made sense to me why the white house would have the more detailed columns. This is because the president is the person that stands in front of it, which not only himself is important but the building would also have to illustrate that. For example in the Akropolis there were many temples that had different symbolisms. “Parthenon to the south represents logos, clarity and precision, the Erechtheion, with its delicate and highly enriched Ionic detail seems to bring order..” (Roth 235) This shows how certain building represent different things but just by having different structure can have more meaning then others. In studio class we had different ways to represent hierarchy. One in which different people did thumbnails and had different heights and colors

Order

These are two of the thumbnails that I did for my black and white project.

Order can have many meanings. In history one order signifies different structures and their meanings. We studied different types of columns : Tuscan, Doric, ionic, Corinthian and composite. The way they are laid out shows the differences in hierarchies. As you see the order from left to right illustrates the columns going from simplest to more detailed. We later learned that these columns not only show order but also represent many other things. The column represents a male and arches represent females. Also we learn how they are either used for decoration or structural support. "..columnar types, or orders were adapted by the Romans, who added more ornate variations of their own, and the orders became part of the basic architectural language..." (Roth30) They would add their own writing to create stories along with it. Switching to another class that also showed the importance of order was Perception/Communication class. We worked on 12 different thumbnails of a specific building that each group was assigned. When drawing these thumbnails I kept in mind the order of which one would walk through the building. You have to keep it in chronological order so that whoever was looking at these thumbnails would get the idea in their head of where they are going next. This shows


I feel that all together Architecture is made up of Archetypes, prototypes and hybrid. Every building has to have some precedent that relates to it in some way. However, even though each building may have comparisons, certain ones have a higher hierarchy in which the symbolism of a building is more powerful then the other.This can be determined by the order of things or the environment the surrounds the building which creates an entourage.

EUC Thumbnails

ELLIOT UNIVERSITY CENTER

We were given a building in Perception/Communication class. From this building I had to draw 12 thumbnails of the main locations of the building.

Black and White

Chrysler Building

Chrysler Building by William H. Reynolds
Built in 1930
Located in New York, NY

The Chrysler building by William H. Reynolds is a building that has overtime become a center of New York City. I feel that this building is very interesting because of its unique steel structure. Even though its part of the 20th century it has many characteristics that take us back to the beginning structures of architecture. It has a decorative style characterized by sharp angular or zigzag surface forms and ornaments. When designing this building they wanted to keep in mind the main purpose, which was to create the tallest building in the world. This building was later taken over by Walter Chrysler. When designing this building, they focused a lot on the exterior on how the ornaments on the shaft and setbacks allude in different ways to the automobile, with metal hubcaps, gargoyles in the form of radiator caps, car fenders, and hood ornaments. This building is 1046 ft. tall with 77 floors. It is a skyscraper building with the purpose of being an office building.

Citations
http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=114867

..Tying it all together..

This image shows the comparison of a 5'8" person so you can get a good image
of how big the desk is.

Scale is very important in architecture and design. In both drafting and perspective/communication class we focused on drawing scale figures. Both showed different views. In example, in Suzanne’s class we looked at how different scale figures could be drawn, and explored how being able to draw scale figures could help us. It later did come into handy when in Stoel’s drafting class we were asked to draw a scaled figure to represent the scale size of Pat’s Chair. This shows that when you have a scaled person it can give you an idea of how things will be in reality. However I feel that in history class scale isn’t about actually seeing something and getting a picture in your head of how big something is, but instead it symbolizes something else. When reading Blakemore, we see how Egyptians built different structures at a different scale and each used a different material. Small-scale structures were considered houses and palaces, which required a material of mud. On the other hand their large-scale structures required large timber. (Blakemore 2) This shows that in architecture in order for something to work out you need to look at the different sizes to decide what kind of material you would need to make it firm. Also, I feel that throughout the week talking about male and female and looking at Khufu and Hatshepsut the scales of these structures don’t really matter. They have the same importance and the way Hatshepsut is more planar and Khufu is more upright doesn't change the meanings.

When drawings this image it shows how all techniques learned where applied.

Unity is combining several parts into one. In Suzanne’s class we combined everything we had learned in her class from drawing vignettes, figures, foreshortening, quick contour, watercolors, composition, colored pencils, illuminating and writing. When we combined all these we were to create an entourage. We were to draw people and their surroundings using all these techniques put together creating a unity. In history we talked about another type of unity, two different types of structures that have the same purpose yet one looks less inviting then the other. Overall I feel that all architecture in history is unified because in different parts of the world we see similar kinds of architecture with similar characteristics as others.

This is a drawing of the site plan of a house. The darkest line shows a boundary which also shows were the property ends.(limit)

Boundaries is somewhat of a line which divides something and sets a boundary/limit. For instance in Theory, according to Blakemore something that was used as a boundary would be the river which was critical in ancient times. The river was often used for transporting indigenous building materials, communication and also trade with other regions. (Blakemore 1) Roth talks about boundaries in a different sense. " To Romans I set no boundary in space or time. I have granted them dominion, and it has no end".(Roth 249)This shows how the Romans had no boundaries in creating so many different things in the space that they had available.In all Iarc classes we have boundaries. Except these boundaries are like expectations.Also we use boundaries in drawings to show where to stop or where something ends. We are given certain expectations that have to be met. However, another boundary would be when drawing a vignette. You end as it fades away creating a boundary. Overall boundaries can signify different things.




Section is cutting something at a certain place and showing more in depth. In drafting class we designed pats chair and made several drawings to illustrate it at different perspectives. Top View, Major Elevations and Section. When doing the section drawing we pochèd the area that was cut. This drawing is useful because it reveals internal details. However there are many other types of sections. In history, space planning is what is divided into sections. A megaron is comprised into three components: a hall, a storeroom at the back and a porch. (Blakemore 31) However in palace setting this was different. Megarons were constructed independent units and served as apartments. These megarons consisted of a porch, an optional anteroom and a hall. As we talked about in class we now know it as a porch, court and hearth. Like Blakemore says this is now how regular residential houses are. They include a porch (entrance), court (living room), and a hearth (bedroom). Another place I saw things divided to create sections was in the Khufu and Hatshepsut structures. The temple has many more sections that are created by the windows whereas the pyramid is one section itself and has 2 other pyramids and its surroundings.



Vignette are drawings that briefly illustrate the main points of something and begans to fade away towards the end. In Suzanne’s class we drew different vignettes to show conversation and to get the environment around people. Like our prior projects the vignettes where not completed causing a fading background which was then emphasized by watercolors to make it look even more unfinished. A vignette in history could be like Blakemore says an incomplete picture from the evidence available when trying to reconstruct the definitive Greek residential interior. (Blakemore 33) This could perhaps be the structures that has overtime started to erode and is left with an unfinished look. This creates a frame around it causing a vignette.


Overall these words all fit together to form a vignette.Architecture is still incomplete. However sections of structures from all over the world are somewhat unified. They are unified because even now when you visit certain Boundaries/places you can see different characteristic are similar to many other things we have seen . Everything put together is basically a section that has been unified but has certain boundaries.

Pat's Furniture [Section]

This is Pat's chair cut in the middle at different areas. Everything that you see that is Poche is what has been cut. This is drawn at a 1"-1' scale

Conversations?

This was my first experience going out in public and drawing people that were in the middle of their conversations. This one was especially awkward because I was the only one sitting across from them and they realized I kept looking up at them. Overall all I felt like it was a fun experience

I really liked this drawing just in pencil but after going over it in pen I realized i didn't like it as much. These girls were eating in the table right beside of me but they knew I was drawing them and they kept trying to see how they looked. I'm glad they didn't. Every time I felt like I was making it to obvious I would take a sip of my drink. I don't think that really changed anything.

This guy was sitting all alone eating his Chic-fil-A. He was the only one sitting in this section so I decided I would keep an eye on him and see what he did. As I started drawing him I saw that every time I looked up he looked up. AWKWARD. I was debating on telling him that I was going to be drawing him but I decided to keep it to myself. He was a very cooperative guy cause he almost didn't move.