Evaluation of Architecture

1. Evaluation of Architecture Interior Design II

2. Things to consider….. • Technology - what was available and used – machinery, tools etc… Did society use available technology or develop new? • Economy - Monetary systems of people – wealthy and poor have different resources available for building – ornate or plain • Aesthetics - apparent visual beauty – concept of beauty varies form person to person • Culture - traditions, religion, art, music all influence design • Habitat - elements, topography, available resources (wood, clay, metal…) what elements was the structure sheltering from?

3. 4 Basic Shapes used… • Square • Rectangle • Circle • Triangle

4. 3–D Shapes used… in order to enclose space • Cube • Rectangular Prism • Cylinder or Column • Pyramid or Cone

5. Ancient Architecture….what can you see? • Observe ancient architecture. It has always existed!!! • Consider the TEACH theory. • Remember it evolves from basic shapes to • 3 dimensional shapes.

6. British Isles… • Rectangular Prisms • prehistoric

7. Egyptian • Pyramids • Funerary Buildings • Created for Monarchs & Nobles • Stepped Design • Granite, limestone, and sandstone - Both sun-dried and kiln-dried bricks were used extensively • Hieroglyphics were decoration as well as records of historic events.

8. Egyptian • Cylinderor Column • First stone capital = papyrus flower & lotus • Nile floods deposit fine clay, allowing ceramic arts to develop early • Sandstone, limestone, & granite available for obelisks, sculpture, and decorative uses.  • Ramps – build on the way up, decorate as it’s taken down

9. Mesopotamia – Babylon, Assyria, Persia • Cube • Planned city building, cobblestone streets, and architecture itself have their beginnings here • Mud brick on a raised plinth (platform base) • Walls are ornamented on the outside with alternating pilasters and recesses • Flat roofs, supported on palm trunks, (assumed) Ziggurat

10. Greek • Prisms & Columns • The temple is the best known form of Greek architecture. • reflect the importance of religion. • The political purpose - to celebrate civic power • Beauty lies in ratios & proportions = The Golden Mean • made from limestone which was cut into large blocks. Marble was readily available. It was used mainly for sculptural decoration.

11. Roman • Columns & Circles • One architectural technique that came into use by experimentation was the arch • Romans perfected it using a keystone in the center of the arch and allowing gravity to work.

12. Ancient America - Mayan • Pyramid • Monumental construction • Buildings erected on platforms • Upper walls decorated • Lime stucco painted vivid colors • Every day dwellings were rectangular

13. Architecture Evolves….. • See that all architecture evolves from basic shapes to complexshapes. Architectural detail evolves with the growth of technology, economics and education. • Notice …architecture repeats trends and moves in a cycle through history. • See that people travel the world carrying their knowledge of what buildings in different places look like. This evolution changes architecture.