Micro to Macro

Composition is the way things are placed. When drafting you always have to think about the way you place things on an 18 x 24 paper. When doing an assignment in Drafting we were asked to focus on all 5 drawing as 1 composition. By doing this we had to fit all the section drawings on the same sheet of paper and make it look understanding and appealing. When speaking of architecture in regards to History, Roth talks about Gothic Architecture being “an assembly of parts worked out for each building individually.” (Roth 353) I feel that everything is placed according to the visual impact it has. In this case the dark ages brought a time period the evoked culture as well as the “intellectual and artistic achievements of the ancients.”( Roth 353) This makes me think of the compositions of the Gothic architecture on a whole new level. One in which they were looking for something new, but also where they would include details that Roman architecture would. Also, Blakemore talks about all the different shapes and ways things are laid on the floor as a different type of composition. “Border design for the panels and for the overall composition often comprised ornament derived from architecture and textiles….and guilloche.”(Blakemore 55) This shows that the “compositon” of the floors came from many different detailed ornaments.They create border lines in which creates a unique shape then filled by the different compositions that are required to make the floor appealing and detailed.




Details are the most intricate parts of a building. To me details are very important. This illustrates the importance of a building. For example, all the cathedrals we looked over throughout the week are very detailed. This shows the time and effort it took to get to the final appearance of the building. However, many buildings are distinct in the way they are constructed. Each one having it’s own specific detail or a multiple of different abstract details. In example, Roth speaks of the new urban architecture that rose with the “rise of new cities and the accumulation of private bourgeois.” (Roth 344) It shocked me to know how much detail is put into buildings that are so ancient. Each building that belonged to either archbishops or bishops were always enclosed in an irregular way. However, the place where they were enclosed was used for fairs and religious plays. So much detail was put into this architecture form the large shop rooms, arched window walls that would lead to the street. It impacts me to know how much time periods changed. I feel that so much more detail was put into the interior of their building than we do now. In the urban residential architecture there were rooms for apprentices and storage for merchandise and supplies. No all these detailed rooms don’t exist. The normal standard houses include bedrooms, living room, kitchen and bathrooms. There is no need for each individual room. However, Blakemore talks about detail in a different way. “Interior surfaces- floors, walls, ceiling- can be described broadly as revealing an obsession with ornament and ornamental pattern, a passion for luxurious materials and techniques…. and a predilection to elaborate any surface.” (Blakemore 55) To me this shows all the intricate detail that is used to make things pop. Like Blakemore says, all these qualities are what lead to the effects that the interior spaces create inside a home. Every single one the these surfaces required a lot of detail. For example the floors had all types of shapes and were polished marble or limestone. They used mainly complex mosaics. This to me shows a very important view of detail used in Roman Architecture.

Elliott University Center- FUNCTION PLAN

Diagrams are mainly outlines used to illustrate and explain the different parts and operations of a building. In Perception and Communication class, the way we used diagrams was by dividing different characteristics and putting them into diagrams. For example, my responsibility was getting the function diagram done. In this diagram I divided each group into the certain different functions. Entertainment, Food, Meetings and halls were the main categories. Each different function was shown with a different color. Diagrams make it easier for people who don’t know how to read an architectural plan to know where they stand or know how to read things on a map. So by adding color each person would know exactly what each room is used for and know exactly where to find things. I feel that there are many diagrams in history that help us understand the construction of a building. When reading through each chapter assigned, the visual diagram given gives a better understanding of what the author is talking about.

AMIENS CATHEDRAL:OCULUS

Impression is a view someone or something creates to you at a first glance. In history when learning about the different cathedrals, I was assigned the Notre Dame Cathedral in Amiens. When looking over each cathedral and comparing it to every other one I saw a major difference in it. The oculus that was in front of the building stood out to me a lot. I felt that this was what made this cathedral stand out. First of all the cathedral is made of many forms; arches, columns and peaks. However having this round rose window really stood out from the rest. I consider this and impression because it is like the first impression you get from a building. Its when you look at something and this one particular thing of the cathedral stands out. This makes me want to go into it and see how this one piece of architecture affects the inside. The same way this building creates an impression to many people by just looking at the amazing architectural characteristics it has, we also have impressions from other works. Roth says “Suger wanted to replace walls of stone with membranes of stained glass, which filtered and transformed sunlight so that it symbolized divine illumination.” (Roth 324) This to me would be a great idea because it would create such a great impression on everyone that saw it. In order for something to be appealing it must stand out and this would be a great way to catch peoples eyes. Another example of impression would be in studio class where many times we think of something being completely different. This would be considered our first impression. When creating our portals, many times we have first ideas. Our ideas don’t always turn out looking like what we wanted it to look like, however, when actually creating a model we get a view of what eventually this will end up looking like.

This is a megaron which consist of a porch,court and hearth.

Porch – Court- Hearth- is many times compared to a house. When thinking of porch, we often like to think of the porch/entrance of a house followed by the court that then is the immediate big opening of a house."A megaron is comprised into three components: a hall, a storeroom at the back and a porch." (Blakemore 31) This big opening would be considered the living room. Following the “court” is the hearth. The hearth is often times the main point of the whole building, the important location. This would be considered the bedroom. This is the most important part of a house. Where it is personal and only you would go in. Many times in Rome we talked about these three words. Court being the place where people gather to worship.



In conclusion, all architectural building are like diagrams that include a porch, hearth and court; Each one of these, which have different symbolisms where one might have a greater meaning then the other. When people walk through each of these buildings each one creates a different impression. When looking at the way that different things are composed and put into a certain order you can see all the different details and effort things actually show.