October 31

From what we discussed in class about the world's fair and the materials that were used for those buildings steel seemed to be the modern building material of that time. Before those fairs wood and brick were commonly used building materials. Steel gave the impression of something futuristic, it also had that smooth and somewhat shiny component as well. This helped transform buildings not only horizontally but vertically. With stronger building materials it is easier to build upwards and have that structure stay over time. With designers building upwards in steel this portrayed a new territory to the people which gives off a modern ideal. I still believe today that any building built in steel looks futuristic simply because of the composition of steel.

October 29

http://www.homeplans.com/dutch-colonial-home-plans

 

 

This house is a house similar to the one in the ads we seen in class but it also reminds me of the majority of homes back where I live. This is a great example of a modern home in the early twentieth century as well as today. I think to be modern is using materials that are newer and more common among the builders. Also many builders are using eco friendly materials which seems to be popular or modern these days. Also buildings that are abstract tend to be considered more modern. The layouts of the houses, such as open floor plans is considered modern compared to older houses which have an entry way and maybe a living room on one side and a kitchen on the other. Having natural light being able to enter the house is very modern today and in the past. Many of the characteristics that characterized houses of the twentieth century are the same ones that make houses modern in todays society.



October 24

From the magazine adds that we reviewed in class the majority of the houses were quite large. The adds emphasized the large porches that they had as well as the many and spacious rooms. People communicated that they were family orientated which was shown in the many rooms. It also was shown in the layout of the house were dinning and living rooms were considered an open layout. Also having porches the people communicated that their houses were more inviting and family orientated. People also communicated that they were environmentally friendly since many houses were built with natural products. The also communicated  sense of individuality because everyone had an individual bedroom.

October 22

Joanna Merwood- Salisbury shed slight on how the designers perceived their ideas and how their buildings represented them but also the city they were built in and America at the time. She mentioned that the sky scraper buildings in Chicago were very vernacular in appearance which at the time reflected how the designer were perceiving America at the time and as well as the future. The designers saw a dynamic, fertile, and positive outlook about the city and that reflect in the skyscraper's that were designed by them. In a sense they were building for a better society. Other perceived the buildings as a sense of capitalism but that wasn't the objective of the designers. They wanted to show the growth that America was going through.

October 17

Chicago seemed to flourish and expand before the fire torn it down and forced the city to start over. In the article it describes how Chicago built more of their suburbs towards the west of the city. The city was also very big because  of the seven railroads that intersected the city. This made it more accessible to people outside of Chicago. In class we looked at the population of Chicago over the years and at one point in time Chicago had more people than New York. The fire in Chicago destroyed much of the city if forced them to rebuild. I do believe that this freed Chicago because after the fire they didn't limit themselves to just building to certain locations but they expanded their region. They used more of their resources and it is shown in the map provide don the website.

Unit Two Summary

Unit Two started off learning and understanding Proportioning and scale which was explained by Ching. In this proportioning system one concept or idea was the golden ratio which a lot of the cathedrals were based on. Using the golden ratio it helps makes buildings symmetrical and in many buildings built during that time the golden ratio was used. In class we also learned and discussed the impact that Palladio made. The houses that he built called the villa rotunda which featured a rotunda in the center floor plan, was a building block to future building plans. Also all of his work and drawings were used to teach future architects. Looking at the three types of house styles early, Georgian and federal they were all built differently because they were all located in different locations in the US. The south still had a strong connection to England so many of the styles represented houses of England. Compared to the houses up in the north they were drastically different. The houses up north had a monochromatic scheme , very steep roofs, huge chimneys, and were usually made of wood. The building materials in the south consisted mostly of brick. The reason the materials were drastically different is because of the weather conditions. Learning how the design cycle works and what it consists of helped to understand the changes that occurred in design after the American war. The furniture before the war looked more richer and wealthier than the furniture after the war. The furniture after the war was made to represent the working class which Montgomery thought was the case as well. Next we covered how the first national style of America was Greek/Grecian revival. Revival meaning coming again into activity, most buildings built contained a rotunda. Had columns, and also was white or a cream color. The idea that we had at the time was to build another Athens. America wanted to recreate Athens and they tried to achieve that goal by reviving the Greek design and buildings. During this time America was figuring out if they were going to be a factory or agricultural producer. In the end they realized that both was possible. With factories being created so was new ways to produce products. Many other countries didn’t like the idea of factories making products because it was no longer handmade. With these factories bigger sheets of glasses were able to be produced along with cast iron. These were used as new design materials. Last topic covered in class was the art movements between the late 1800’s to 1900’s. during this time period artist such as Picasso, Seurat, and Van Gogh created artwork which reflected the time they were living in. During the depression art worked was very different compared to the artwork made in the later 1900’s. The idea was that as we moved forward into time people set their ideas and goals toward the future to new ideas instead of looking to the past for ideas and designs.

Prompt Eleven

The difference between revival and reform  is that revival is coming into activity and reform is a change for the better. In the readings that we have read so far the text describes that the there was a reform that occurred. The reform was to improve the mass production. In particular the conditions that the workers worked in. By reforming the way production is the goods being produced were be better quality. So in a indirect way the goods were being reformed as well.

Prompt Ten

I feel like to have a national style is to have a style that is similar and consistent across the nation. This type of house is just one example and I believe it could be a national style because it is a house form that is seen everywhere. The square and boxy structure seems to be more prominent now and I believe is a major part of our style. We still continue to use column like structures so in a sense this style never died or faded away. Brick and stone are very popular and are used on many house structures. The national style includes more sleek lines and strays away from curvy lines which I believe makes it seem more modern.