Defining Architecture...
Stories
Stories have been a great source to record past events and even present events. Everyday we are sharing stories about experiences or things that happened to us in a particular moment. Those stories carry along and some change and some not. In Greek history, for example, everything has been told like a story. Some are drawn and some written. But almost all the history that we know about greece is because its been told as a story.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Aias_body_Akhilleus_Staatliche_Antikensammlungen_1884.jpg
Artifacts
During the first week of class, in my Desing Perspective class, the teacher has come across the different perceptions one single artifact can have. To some group of people a carpet can be just a beautiful carpet, for others can mean something more. Every carpet has a different desing and that is because every carpet has its own style of beauty and interpretation.
http://www.visitkillybegs.com/images/carpets_3.jpg
http://www.jozan.net/2007/images/Classical-carpets/Classical-Carpets-Lotto.JPG
Multi-views
The meaning of style has multiple messages. Also, the meaning of what the world is about has multiple messages. Everything has multiple messages for varius people. In the case of David Brown, the perception of what the world is about fits in three words; description, deduction, speculation. But for Ronald Bathes he thinks that is best to clysify them as semiotics, ideologies and signs. Overall, Brown or Bathes have different views, but none of them are wrong.
http://www.fractalism.com/images/large/Jay_Jacobson_fractal_paint_tree.jpg
Cycle
The desing cycle is a very uneasy one. In our history and desing class we learned that in the design cycle things are very unpredictable. Some designs last longer than others; others last for a very short time but then come up again sometime. It is a constant change; sometimes there is continuity sometimes not. For example, the teapots, they change but they continue serving for the same purpose, so basically there is continuity with practical use of the teapot, but the sign, shape or colors can change during time.
http://www.glorianceramics.com/images/5sizes-teapots-1000x377.jpg
Translation
To change or conversion to another form, is what translation means. During this first week of class, I come to a conclusion that almost all that surrounds us has changed to another form at some point. Architecture itself is build by constant change of theory and desings. All this constant change is because people have different views of things. Therefore, things can change in multiple ways departing from one same theory. And I believe that because of the ability of moving forward intellectually, we can enjoy of so many different translations and expect always new theories.
http://a.abcnews.com/images/Technology/ht_homer_070725_mn.jpg
http://www.filmcatcher.com/uploads/img/product/Lost_in_Translation_.jpg
Reflection
In my History and Theory of Desing class we learn the basic principles of Architecture. "That architecture is the unavoidable art" says Roth. After this week of class and working on the Opus Project, with the first week prompts, I realized that these words are used everywhere and in every class I had during the week. The words like Stories, Artifact, Multiviews, Translation, Cycle are always around and they are in our history. That is why I introduce the "shell" theory Mr Lucas talked about, that is, when the shell grows it leaves its history behind, and when a new shell grows its just another reflection or translation of the shell before. That is what these words and architecture are about, a set of theories that change with time and continue changing, creating always new and incredible things, leaving behind a long history.
Labels: Opus Project
