Naja's Blog: March 2012

Friday, March 30, 2012

(RR 10) Frank Lloyd Wright: The Art and Craft of an Idea

Frank Lloyd Wright's home in Oak Park

Frank Lloyd Wright's Robbie House, Chicago

Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water, Pennsylvania

The Arts and Crafts movement was created when machinery began to flourish. Those who believed machinery would corrupt art and the art of design were apart of the arts and crafts movement, Frank Lloyd Wright being amongst them. Parallel to Morris as his protege, Frank Lloyd Wright's influence on the American Arts and Crafts movement was very well known. He believed the foundation for a modern home or building had to derive from a single idea. Frank Lloyd Wright believed the U.S. needed its own design for their homes. As evident in the photos displayed, his inspiration/idea was to extend the homes using horizontal panels and separators. Such a simple concept of horizontals created these modern homes. As we have learned the whole semester, the foundation for design has came from the simplest things we see. The sun was the inspiration for Stonehenge and all the horizontal lines we see around us was the idea that inspired Frank Lloyd Wright's homes.

Sources:
1. http://designcrave.com/2009-04-02/famous-architects-homes/
2. http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&biw=1024&bih=538&tbm=isch&tbnid=V3MZ_mmuClEscM:&imgrefurl=http://www.wright-house.com/frank-lloyd-wright/fallingwater-pictures/photos-of-fallingwater.html&docid=aglbqDzeuVO1LM&imgurl=http://www.wright-house.com/frank-lloyd-wright/fallingwater-pictures/large-fallingwater-photos/high-resolution/26SW-falling-water-path3-L.jpg&w=1024&h=1536&ei=opZ8T7y6CsOSgQf7_eneCw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=794&vpy=108&dur=93&hovh=275&hovw=183&tx=138&ty=289&sig=1
14243870751919130850&page=7&tbnh=171&tbnw=136&start=70&ndsp=12&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:70,i:351
3. http://www.gowright.org/

Monday, March 26, 2012

BP8: The Evolution of the Telelphone

The phone was truly established as a necessity in the late 20th century, used only for communication, but a lot has changed since then. The first models were completely stationary and usually located in the most social areas of the home like the kitchen or living room. Since the telephone was not such an essential to everyday life at the time it's stationary form was perfect and a step up from the former communication methods they used. As time progressed the telephone transitioned from a stationary position to a more communication friendly position. Moving from the stationary wall to a movable corded phone was a step up and later the phone became cordless and also recorded messages. As the telephone became less of a stationary object so did the communication for everyday life. There was no longer a gap in the communication of family, friends, and businesses because the telephone lacked distance. You could have a visit anywhere with just a punch of a few numbers. As time has progressed the phone has became a second skin. There are very few home phones anymore, because cell phones have taken over the communication world. We now have the full function of a computer in a phone that can fit in the palms of our hands and the technological advances will only continue to manifest.

Sources:
1. http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=old+phones&view=detail&id=42D848A77B8362725C2E00970FC1C071BEDB8287&first=31&FORM=IDFRIR
2. http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=house+phones&view=detail&id=DDE66B290B990036D806B1F6157786EF8355EAF4&first=0&FORM=IDFRIR
3. http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=newest+cell+phones&view=detail&id=4BC49AD83CAEB0B033CC1425FBB3108A525795A7&first=0&FORM=IDFRIR

Sunday, March 18, 2012

RR 9 Etienne-Louis Boullee: A Postrevolution Visionary

Boullee's cenotaph for Sir Isaac Newton. (1784)

Boullee's opera house. (1781)

Boullee's entrance to the Bibliotheque Nationale. (1788)

Etienne-Louis Boullee's architecture flourished during a time where France was in a state of chaos. The French Revolution brought about a numerous amount of controversial political topics and with this change so did the peoples perception of architecture. However, Boullee's sketches created a vision of a post-revolution world. His sketches are extremely large in scale that is usually the central concept or focus of the building or space. Etienne-Louis Boullee was not known for his physical architecture, but his sketches were widespread for his imaginitive way of seeing the world.

1. http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&gbv=2&biw=1014&bih=530&tbm=isch&tbnid=WlsDIPfqWq31PM:&imgrefurl=http://www.worldofbuildings.com/aec_profile.php%3Faec_id%3D165&docid=KkzVn01WaAvbjM&imgurl=http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5110/5620956925_30bb1c5fd3.jpg&w=500&h=285&ei=sGtmT4rwFY71sQLUoZi3Dw&zoom=1

2. http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&gbv=2&biw=1014&bih=530&tbm=isch&tbnid=Hz3TmAeWaqqgmM:&imgrefurl=http://mini-site.louvre.fr/saison18e/en/le_louvre_au_temps_des_lumieres/tl03.html&docid=GHMhpl3zf40aqM&imgurl=http://mini-site.louvre.fr/saison18e/_commun/le_louvre_au_temps_des_lumieres/zoom_jpg/tl03.jpgei=sGtmT4rwFY71sQLUoZi3Dw&zoom=1

3. https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEdW9VKBGNxHiUy1GYsJGMmo34SayLUWVlYeS9_9jwWkl064d_LKoINIKced-CzOrFHLmPdUSLBglIiaJeCcmYIJMZTSUQvlNeHlMU2dYkGO0iocY1Zzrc6k5ifs0q8nVbJVUAAiXsy_k/s1600-h/boullee.jpg

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Light Box Project

As an inspiration for my light box project I decided to explore the light

changing of a pine cone. The usage of color in contrast with the brown outer walls gives

off the edge that the pine cone possesses.

Monday, March 12, 2012

RR 8: St. Paul's Cathedral, a Vision of the Church

The exterior of St. Paul's Cathedral mimics a modern style.

There were a vast amount of plans submitted for the manufacture of the cathedral.

The interior domes consist of a vault and a Corinthian style column.

After the Great Fire of London destroyed the original St. Paul's Cathedral a very ambitious architect, Christopher Wren sought out to rebuild it. There were numerous submissions for the plan of the cathedral, but the church decided to stray away from original ideas and instead they chose a medieval-style for the interior. The building's plan is in the shape of a cross with a vast dome placed on top of it. The plan and overall essence of the interior space inside the cathedral takes you to a different place, a heavenly place. The dome of the cathedral is extremely large, but the church insisted that the medieval influence of low side aisles and a tall nave be incorporated. The low side aisles made it almost impossible to hold the dome so a hidden second story was created to cover the buttresses that the held up the vaults. The supporting columns are leaned inward to give off the facade that the height of the inside is taller than it is in reality. The facade of the interior columns is a factor that would be considered appealing to the church, because it gives off a heavenly essence. Although the exterior of St. Paul's Cathedral is modern, the inside is phenomenal, like a surprise in a box. In contrast, the cathedral's exterior is not so different from the buildings we see today in our capital and even on UNCG's campus. The dome like structure and strong vertical qualities that come from the columns shows that the modern style of it's exterior can be identified as a secular building, the difference is on the interior of the buildings.

1. http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&biw=1016&bih=530&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=6P6xP03TUG9FfM:&imgrefurl=http://www.theculturedtraveler.com/Picks/Archives/St_Pauls_Cathedral.htm&docid=dDPrZGAsQ-W9nM&imgurl=http://www.theculturedtraveler.com/uploads/st-pauls-ventilation-hire.jpg&w=400&h=324&ei=sYJeT9S7JobzggfVw9HnBw&zoom=1

2. http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&sa=X&gbv=2&biw=1016&bih=530&tbm=isch&tbnid=nnqW1tO3Ri2cNM:&imgrefurl=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/5672783/St-Pauls-Cathedral-sketches-show-how-Sir-Christopher-Wren-changed-architecture.html&docid=XwZmDzux8afyHM&imgurl=http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01432/st-pauls460_1432530c.jpg&w=460&h=288&ei=RoNeT-S7M4nrgQenovH5Bw&zoom=1

3. http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&sa=X&gbv=2&biw=1016&bih=530&tbm=isch&tbnid=QvXg74dEdflRpM:&imgrefurl=http://www.bestourism.com/items/di/771%3Ftitle%3DSt-Paul-s-Cathedral&docid=nm1rBiJcfBWqIM&imgurl=http://www.bestourism.com/img/items/big/771/St-Paul-s-Cathedral_Interior-view_3040.jpg&w=500&h=334&ei=RoNeT-S7M4nrgQenovH5Bw&zoom=1