US #3

    During Unit 3, we further discussed modernism and the changes in architecture and technology. We became better associated with the innovations of the modern time period, as well as, the challenges and reactions to modernism.
    Architectural ideas began to spread throughout the world by way of the World’s Fairs. The first one was introduced in 1851 and really impacted design; many new inventions were first introduced at World’s Fairs. These fairs were sponsored by governments and big businesses and were presented for commemorative, commercial, collaborative and celebratory purposes. People came from all over to visit the World’s Fairs; they were a way for people to see the world and experience the evolution of architecture and technology without actually having to travel across the country. Because of the industrial revolution and being able to mass produce products the World’s Fairs were easy to assemble and set up each time. One example, the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, named “The Ivory City” was presented in order to show off and make their city known. It was a way to prove that the were bigger and better than Chicago’s “White City”. During this time architecture became a race to se who could design and create the best and biggest building.
    The The Arts and Crafts Movement brought about the question of hand-crafted versus machine. William Morris, a supporter of hand-crafted believed in “good design for all” was the responsibility of a designer. Morris however, did not reject the idea of using machinery to create products as long as the product showed mastery of the machine. People then desired change and designers then began to reform. During this time designers began searching for MODERN; designs of the past were changed, updated and improved. One designer, Antonio Gaudi created very modernist works, but still incorporated Baroque qualities throughout, this can be seen in his work the Casa Batllo. The Art Movements led to a more expressionist outlook on design; Art Nouveau and Art Deco was prevalent from the 1880s through the 1920s. The Art Nouveau movement emphasized fluid, curving lines similar to that of the baroque style while the Art Deco period focused on platonic forms and circle motifs. In addition, post-impressionism (1890-1938) brought about artists such as, Georges Seurat, Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Cezanne, and Piet Mondrian. They all broke the rules of painting and made their work an expression of themselves just as the designer were doing. Also, many designers were incorporating nature into their designs; flower stems and stalks were showing up as decorating elements throughout the walls of buildings. Art Nouveau can be seen particularly in the Paris Metro Stations, and the quote “it is no the flower to take as a decorative element, but it is them stem” reenforces this thought. The Miami Beach Hotels on the other-hand really expressed what Art Deco was all about.
    Next, with the way that technology was influencing architecture and design skyscrapers leaped into popularity. The tall, upward design really made it better because the structures contained all of the space as a more horizontal building, however they did not take up near as much land space. This way of building also had problems in the beginning; the zoning codes presented many challenges for the designers having to abide by the fire codes and light requirements. Many designers such as Charles Le Corbusier and Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe began experimenting and created their own visions of what modernism was. Corbusier’s Notre Dame du Haut, 1955, was an attempt at post-modernism and incorporated a Baroque-style featuring dramatic lighting, and the molding of concrete. And Mies van der Rohe’s Seagram Building, 1958, limited the use of metal to make it seem more like a glass box in appearance. It also included a revolving door and had the mechanical systems at the very top. It was the first of its kind. Designers became so wrapped up in the idea of being different and creating unique spaces that architectural buildings started to be seen as an art form instead of a functional living/working space. Phillip Johnson stated, “comfort is not a function of beauty” and “purpose is not necessary to make a building beautiful”. In other words architects all over lost interest in designing for functionality and became somewhat obsessed with designing for beauty and pleasure. Also because of this many buildings like the Guggenheim Museum by Frank Lloyd Wright was not efficient as a museum; for one, the walls were curved and made it nearly impossible to hang flat, rectilinear artwork. Edward Loewenstein was a well-known and local designer to Greensboro. He is noted for being the first to employ African-Americans as well as women. Loewenstein really integrates other designers into his work. Interior decorating took to the scene as upper class housewives occupied their time by decorating their own homes. Elsie de Wolfe was known on the interior decorating stage and was acclaimed for fixing up Victorian style spaces by getting rid of bulky embellishments. Later, in the second generation, males picked up on interior decorating, Billy Baldwin was the most famous of this time. Brutalism was a style introduced as a solution to weather and climate control conditions in large buildings, and offered a finish that was less vulnerable to vandalism. This style was seen in the Yale Art and Architecture Building designed by Paul Rudolph in 1963. In the 1950s and 1960s geodesic domes were popularized since they were infinitely expandable. Another branch of modernism, scandinavian design, was quite the opposite of the period before; it was really all about function. The attention was now turned to things such as affordability, functionality and materiality. Because of its simplicity and low cost scandinavian design was much easier to mass produce. Alvar Aalto was a sort of figure head for this era of modernism. Aalto focused more on creating products that showed craft and taste instead of the client's. The Paimio Chair, the best-known piece designed by Aalto; it uses cheap easily accessible materials (wood) and really pushes the boundaries of shaping the plywood. And to aid in the purposefulness of the design the angle of the back of the Paimio Chair was specially designed to help one breathe easier. Alvar Aalto had much influence on designers Charles and Ray Eames and also Eero Saarinen, all of whom are well-known for Scandinavian modernist furniture.

The White City, Casa Batllo, The Paimio Chair & Notre Dame du Haut

BP # 14

Object -
My most prized possession and favorite object is my MacBook Pro. I really love everything about this laptop. The design is very satisfying and aesthetically pleasing. The anti-glare screen is amazing when working outside on a beautiful day (which I like to do quite often). The graphics are awesome; very vivid and sharp. And since I'm attending school for graphic design, I feel this computer is the best option for me to use and to get the most quality out of my work. I also find it pleasing to know of all of the things that can be done on this computer and it holds pretty much all of the work that I have done thus far. 

Space -
My favorite space has come to be the large tree with the tree swing inside. I find it to be a cool and refreshing space; it's really nice to go to just to get away from the "stresses" of college and catch up on quality alone time on a nice day. It's quiet, so if you wanted to read a book or just enjoy a nice, quiet afternoon by yourself (surrounded by nature) it's the perfect space for it. Also, I enjoy going there to "chill" and talk to friends while escaping the hot weather. I share a lot of great UNCG memories with this space

Building -
One of my favorite building during the course of this class is the Robie House by Frank Lloyd Wright. The design is very asymmetrically balanced and eye-appealing. I was inspired by the  fact that Wright did the design his way and wasn't afraid to go against the norms of the time. The structure is quite unique in many aspects and I appreciate that; for example,  the hip roofs have been flattened the fireplace is located in the center making it the main visual aspect of the building. Another feature that I really admire in this building in the simple geometry used and linearity and stacking of it.

Place - 
My favorite place to visit is Savannah, GA. I attended SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) in Savannah before transferring here. I absolutely love this city! The weather is always nice, and sunny; although, the humidity can be a bit unbearable at times. The location of the my school was the perfect distance from the beach and the gusts of wind we got felt wonderful on a hot day. All of the old fashioned candy sold on River Street really makes me feel somewhat of how the candy was when my parents were little and the city buildings and lights are beautiful in the night time. I really enjoy walking up and down the streets of Savannah and just taking a break to sit in one of the park squares and soak up all the beauty and nature the city has to offer. The architecture and history that lies within this city is phenomenal. And all of the memories I share in this city with my friends and uncle are priceless.

SCAD Theater

Forsyth Park

Extra Credit

    Education plays and important role in interior design today; it expands one’s horizons and gives them more ideas and ways of approaching design that one may have not thought of on their own. Also, most companies today, in this era, are more interested in degrees and how one has proved themselves through education. It’s more about what one has to show through paper instead of your “god-given” talent, so to speak. However, there are still some that believe that with an education one’s creativity is limited because everyone experiences the same things and hears the same lectures on design in school. This leaves them feeling as if they are being hindered on what is allowed for them to do based on guidelines that they must follow in each given setting. Shows such as Design Star  gives the audience the vibe that each individual was born with the talent needed to become a great designer and education is treated as a bonus, instead of a basic need or requirement. I feel that it is an a great achievement to reach success in the field without an education, but education is the best way to go as it thoroughly prepares you for the design field.
    Credentials and experience are everything in design. In order for one to began their career as a designer they must first prove that they have what it takes. Judging is  based on the education and experience that one possess or lack thereof. Without experience there’s not a company out there that will hire someone and experience is how one learns and develops their talent.
    Creating a good design is a process that takes time. One has to be inspired with an idea then take the necessary steps to fully produce that idea. There are multiple steps involved; first one sketches out the idea onto paper. Once that is done you create many versions of the same idea each with slight changes to reach the best possible outcome. Design is a cycle and sometimes steps are reached and repeated before the design can achieve its full potential and is considered complete.
    Although, media’s portrayal of certain aspects of design can be deceiving it is essential to design. It serves as a way for designers to get their work and ideas across to the public. Television is great for designers to help get them established in the field and gain clients from all across the world, but it is also, a means of entertainment for the audience so views and information is always being slightly changed and even simplified.   Design Star on HGTV really skews the viewer into believing that anyone can design on a budget. It gives many a false belief that they can redesign their own home with little money or effort and that’s so far from the truth. Even though wonderful designs can be created with little money, it still takes much effort and time that the average person is not  prepared to spend. Not everyone is built to be a designer, one must have the talent as well as passion for what they are doing in order to reach their full potential as a designer in the field.

RR # 13

BP # 13

Scandinavian modern art is important to design today because of its simplicity, functionality, and its low cost made it much easier to mass produce. Scandinavian design incorporates such features as: tradition, hand-crafted, curvature, modesty and purposefulness. The exhibition of decorative arts and design attempts to address both these unifying qualities and the distinct differences. Alvar Aalto really made the Scandinavian modernism scene big and focused more on creating products that showed their craft and taste instead of the client's. Initially Aalto went in search of a solution to providing affordable, comfortable furniture that could be easily mass produced. The Paimio Chair, the best-known piece designed by Aalto, uses cheap easily accessible materials (wood) and really pushes the boundaries of shaping the plywood; the chair contains a thin sheet of plywood that had been tightly bent at both the top and bottom into scroll-like shapes, giving it much more resiliency. Aalto decided to use native birch because it gave a more natural feel and developed a more organic form. The angle of the back of the Paimio Chair was specially designed to help one breathe easier.  Alvar Aalto had much influence on designers Charles and Ray Eames and also Eero Saarinen, all of whom are well-known for Scandinavian modernist furniture. In 1935, the Artek company was established, in Finland, to mass-produce and distribute all the wood furniture designed by Aalto.

The Paimio Chair

RR # 12

BP # 12

An object that represents good design for all is the Brita water pitcher. It gets high marks in firmness, quality and delight. Brita water pitchers filters tap water to remove harmful contaminates; such as, mercury, lead, chlorine and copper. Water is vital for all forms of life and many people and animals die yearly due to drinking unsafe, non purified water. But thanks to Brita water pitchers it has become cheap and easy for people to have safe, clean water to drink daily and not have to worry about getting sick from harmful substances that settle in city and well water. The Brita pitcher is very sustainable since it removes the need to buy bottled water, which decreases the amount of litter and the waste that goes into landfills. Also, the pitcher itself does not need to be replaced; however, the filter does about every 2-4 months which is pretty inexpensive (about $17.00 for a 3-pack). The overall quality of the water is great! Being big on drinking water I've noticed that here at UNCG the water from fountains and such tend to taste like dirt, but filtering it through my Brita pitcher transforms it into clean, fresh tasting water. This end result is also the biggest delight and what's more is the fact that the Brita filter comes in a multitude of shapes, sizes and colors to fit into any space and decor. The Brita family even includes a filtering water bottle, which aids in good design because of its portability. And a faucet filtration system which attaches to the faucet easily without the use of any tools and eliminates the time and labor of having to refill the pitcher each time it becomes empty. And for added convenience some Brita products feature an LED display that tells you when a replacement filter is needed.

Examples of Brita products

US #2

    The unit was entitled Reverberations; throughout history design in architecture has been reflected upon, reused, copied, and enhanced. The unit opened up with expressions of faith in stone and glass. Throughout time many structures have been constructed for the purpose of serving and celebrating one’s faith; for instance, the Parthenon was created to be a universe on Earth. It showed the Greek’s faith by incorporating the “golden section” into the basic layout. Also, the Pantheon built in Rome, Italy to show the Roman cosmos. It features a perfect sphere and contains the whole universe inscribed inside. The sphere contained an opening that allowed light to shine into the building, as well as, enabling one to see out towards the sky; this was the Roman’s way of making it easier for people to become closer to the heavens and the God(s). Both of these structures was constructed using stone sculptures that depicted certain religious events and glass as much as possible to let light shine through. Light was very important to the people because it was cheap & efficient and seen as way of experiencing the divine. Each building was specifically designed to cause one’s eyes to dance/move across the surface without rest; the purpose of this was to keep your mind active and experience the world in a whole new light. The idea of architecture being “frozen music” was also introduced. Basically saying that architecture is like music in space. David Bryne spoke on how architecture helped music evolve, and that music did not influence the evolution of architecture. Meaning music can be added to a specific place and it seem as if that piece was meant to go with it, as if it evolved from that place.
    As the first millennium ends, the modern world map unfolds. The cognitive/mind map comes into play, which is, a mental processing by which and individual can acquire, code, store, recall, and decode information about the relative locations and attributes. The Eastern and Western maps contain different outlooks on the perceived world. Mappa mundi drawn by Ebstorf is an example of a medieval Europe map. Created in the 13th century CE, it features the face of Christ at the top, hands on the sides and feet at the bottom, resembling a compass, symbolizing that God is at the top of the country and his presence is all around. Many churches of this time accentuate a similar idea in their basic blueprint labeled as the “golden section”. The Amiens Cathedral was designed in the measure of man and Heaven, composed of the “golden section” with the main space in the cruciform shape. Heaven was encoded in the central space by making it 50 feet based off the dimensions of Noah’s ark. 
    Upon entering into the Renaissance period, we notice the making of new rules to break with Gothic ideas and re-link to the ancients of the western world. We also observe continuities with the past in the east. The view of the globe begins to shift due to explorations and the western people meet up with the eastern people, which causes their views and ideas to clash. This occurrence lead to the Great Eastern and Western rulebook, v. 1.0. From this came the ten ideas of architecture: 1) Revive the past using classical language ---> e.g. Santa Maria del fori, noted for having a double dome, one that looks correct from the inside and one that looks correct from the outside. Says that the church is more important that the city and that the people are smart and rich due to size and ornamentation. Reflects the past in that the Pantheon’s dome was used as a model. 2) Strive for harmony and order in all things. 3) Layer groves and stacks when possible ---> e.g. Palazzo Medici, emphasized the family’s wealth with its three layers of different textures and designs, shows separation. 4) Emphasize surface through materiality ---> Samaria Novella, only the front of the building is decorated to show the significance of the entrance and where the money was spent. 5) Follow the rules ---> e.g. Palazzo Farnese, used diagonals in the layout to figure out where the windows would be located; things were also written down to help perfect the structure. 6) Place man at the center. 7) Strive for position through patronage ---> e.g. Pazzi Chapel. 8) Move forward the secular [not just religious] agenda. 9) Get some perspective [in representation] ---> perspective drawing was invented. 10) Expand your physical world ---> Explore!
    As the western rules were made and written down, designers began work to bend and break them. Andrea Palladio is introduced to the scene. Palladio wrote everything down and as a result of the printing press it was all printed into books. He soon becomes the most influential architect from this time period for his books, specifically his rulebook of architecture, modeled after Vitruvius, which is composed of measurements of the ancient buildings taken by Palladio himself. Palladio's most famous building the Villa Rotunda was borrowed directly from the Pantheon, but he designed a porch on all four sides. Proved to be a problem ---> the sunlight did heat all four sides the same therefore sustainability was not used very well. In the Palazzo del te by Gulio Romano, many of Palladio's ideas can be seen, including the Palladian windows. It also features exaggeration in the keystone design which is the beginning of breaking the rules. Furthermore, rules continued to be broken in the Chateau Fountainbleu fluidity was incorporated into the stairs. And in the Laurentian Library Vestibule when the steps were divided into three pathways and the columns were pushed backed into the walls, giving it a feel of movement. The Baroque period was about theatricality and dramatic lighting, round and livid forms, engagement with all the senses, and standing as a player in the scene. The Giardino di Boboli hit all the main points; it encompasses art, planting material, and water; as well as, embracing the belief of eating and drinking as much as you want, just having a good time. Eastern designers, on maintained a continuous approach in their work.
    Colonial expansion brought forth new ideas and people around the world. With the Panthéon created by Ange-Jacques Gabriel the French shaped and changed architecture in four ways: 1) Sequential understanding of history. 2) Engineering mentality = scientific approach. 3) Notion of rational and logical system of thinking (different way of thinking other than the church). 4) Notion of changing practices, due to the Industrial Revolution. People began to become more focused on thinking and writing things down and less about actually building a structure. As a result, we enter into the Enlightenment period. The works of Christopher Wren really emerged at this time; such as, the Greenwich Observatory and St. Paul’s Cathedral. In addition, Christ Church, Spitalfields by Nicholas Hawksmoor began to break rules with its proportions. Architects and designers argue between the designs and rules; everyone decides to do their own thing and incorporate whatever styles they desired.
   Architecture and design start to experience significant change in the political, social, and cultural sense on account of the Industrial Revolution and inventions throughout the world. Bricks are presented as a building material in Carter’s Grove Plantation in 1751. Also, the design cycle begins: cycle, rotation, revival, renaissance, reform; each time the end of one design is reached another one is begun. Because of this Greek ideas were brought back and seen throughout the South in porticos and columns, one example is Drayton Hall in Charleston, South Carolina. th The Great Exhibition of 1851 in Hyde Park, the first in a series of World’s Fair exhibitions, was put together as a celebration of modern industrial technology and design. It was here that many inventions were first introduced publicly. These events were a big hit during this time as they brought about new products and ideas that influence everyday life, people bring back new ways of seeing, new transportation modes, impacts on cities and new foods. Wrigley’s gum, Cracker Jacks, the Ferris Wheel and Aunt Jemima syrup, all still popular today, were announced at World’s Fairs.

RR # 11

BP # 11

During the 20th century the idea of modernism and striving to become "modern" began rising and expanding a great deal. The reason for this it that they felt their "old" or "traditional" ideas were becoming outdated in the world. With the growth of the economy and the industrial revolution coming into play the countries needed to "upgrade" their architectural designs. The Industrial Revolution brought along iron, a new material, and civil engineers began to compete with architects; by incorporating engineering concepts with the work of architects and masons modernizing the world was made easily possible. People and countries plunged into competition with each other and started reforming things from the past trying to outdo one another which expanded the aim of modernism rather quickly. Simply put, the world began to modernize to keep up with the growing social population and their want of something new & better than the past & one another.

One designer that really fed off of the whole modernism theme was Frank Lloyd Wright. "...unlike other architects who changed style slowly or at the behest of a client, Wright's break with tradition was driven by personal stylistic development in search of a greater abstraction" (Ching, 694). Modernism was all about throwing out the rules of the past and just "doing your own thing" and that's just what Wright did; when constructing a house or building he added in his own tastes and preferences in the ornamentation and space of each work he created. An example of his work where this can be seen is the Robie House, (1909) located in Chicago, Illinois. The Robie House is considered to be a forerunner of modernism in architecture. This structure is a prairie style house and quite unique in that the hip roofs have been flattened so that they seem to disappear; also, the fireplace (hearth of the home) is located in the center, making it the spatial and main visual aspect of the building. In the past, symmetry was idolized, but in modernism asymmetrical (but balanced) and eye-appealing designs were the new thing and the Robie House is the perfect archetype to demonstrate this. Furthermore, the Robie House stands apart from the rest because it is elongated laterally as well as, horizontally stacked, which emphasizes the linearity of the streets. Not to mention this house comes equipped with a balcony, which stretched along the whole southern exposure.

Robie House