Opus Project/2nd Week Prompts
From Caves to Cities...
“Architecture is shelter, but it is also a symbol and form of communication.”( Roth 159) During this second week of class we have discussed the Beginnings of Architecture and its evolution. I believe that Architecture is not only a roof or a building that provides you shelter but it also provides history, technology, believes, values, etc. That is why I strongly agree with Roth’s quote, when he says that architecture is shelter, but is also a form of different types of representation. I agree with him after coming across with Stonehenge, one can realize that there is something more that an intent for shelter.
Stonehenge is a group of gigantic stones put together in a specific pattern. Still today we do not understand why the specific pattern, and how were these massive stones, also known as megaliths, were carried. I believe that the only way to respond to these questions is to rewind to the early Hominids and their caves. These Hominids learned to create and control fire, to establish a social bond, respect for the dead, have a symbolic thought, and to fashion symbolic images and objects. Thanks to these developments these human ancestors were, in a way, indirectly tented to build shelters and huts considering how many people were going to live there, what was it going to mean symbolically, what material where they going to use. “ In using fire and building artificial shelters, these human ancestors took control of their environment, shaping it to their own convenience and requirements. The first steps toward architecture - the deliberate shaping of the living environment – had been taken.(Roth162) Therefore, I believe that Stonehenge is something that we appreciate and learn from it in today’s world because it integrates a significant amount of history and that at the end we all play a role in it.
Furthermore, with these human ancestors, we have seen how the materials have advanced towards history according to the Commodity, firmness and delight of the person itself. In the past, our human ancestors used to migrate to different places starting form South Africa. Some of them left to China, Europe and other places to look for better living and to improve their commodity. Some groups were forced to use materials that protect them from the cold weather in Europe. Others instead, had to adjust to one specific material that they could use, such as stone. Parallel to the materials there is firmness that plays a big role when it comes to building, that is, what materials were they going so that the shelter or building could stand firm and not collapse at anytime. Furthermore, delight kicks in the same category. In the case of our ancestors, they had also developed a kind of believe of the after life. They even had their burials with specific indications of how should the person be buried. Therefore, that sense of believing in something and living up to it, made them create and draw on their shelters and sculptures giving them a extreme satisfaction. That is what delight means, the feeling of obtaining complete satisfaction.
The satisfaction of feeling something for a thing or a building is because there is some kind of language involve in the object. In this case, The Statue of Liberty or Stonehenge can have its own Idiom. A building normally speaks for itself, for example, the Statue of Liberty in NY, build in 1886, is an inspiration for many Americans and it will always be. Also, the Stonehenge, probably build around 373, really speaks for many people in different ways, some people think is an astronomical observatory; others believe it is a symbol of communal purpose.
Illuminate also is a big component. For the human ancestors, they left a small hole on their tombs so that the light could come in so that there were a “ ‘channel of communication’ between the living outside and the living within”(Roth 171) in this case, illuminating the building in a specific way gave the building its own meaning and its channel of communication.
Reflection:
So as we come along in the second week of class, I realize how much influence we are exposed to, and how much meaning does everything has around us. I can conclude that Stonehenge and many other old antique constructions shows us that architecture has been around since the beginnings of human kind, and it will always change depending on the materials, Commodity, firmness and delight of the person.
Citations:
http://imagecache2.allposters.com/IMAGES/SHD/S1742.jpg
http://www.kalipedia.com/kalipediamedia/historia/media/200707/12/hisespana/20070712klphishes_7.Ies.SCO.jpg
http://www.momorialcards.com/images/rays_of_light2.jpg
http://www.theicemage.com/maps/stonehenge.jpg
Labels: Opus Project
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