We spent four weeks learning about FOUNDATIONS in Unit 1.
In week one we looked inward and outward at how humans materially encountered the cosmos and constructed inhabitable signs and symbols as objects, spaces, buildings, and places. We visited Stonehenge in England, the most well known sacred circle out there. It’s a perfect circle and its stones align with the equinox and solstice. If you were to move one piece it would structurally weaken the circle, emphasizing its strength and greatness. We talked about how circles stand for many things including sacred spots and equality. We also visited the Pyramid of Giza and learned about how the Egyptians encountered the cosmos. They focused on large, powerful pyramids to show their power and to house their bodies after they died for their transition into the afterlife. Size mattered to them and the bigger the pyramid, the more powerful the ruler. It also meant that the taller the pyramid, the closer to the sun (and their all-important sun god) they were.
In week two we talked about how circles, groves, and stacks were the first basic building elements and principles of design. Circles mark sacred spots, groves reach vertically and show strength, and stacks show stratification and order as well as strength. We took a tour around UNCG’s campus and looked for examples of these in modern day and found many, many examples. We stopped at the circle in the middle of College Ave, which used to be the center of campus-a meeting point between the school of education, the home economics building (an important place at a former all-women’s college back in the day), the dorms, and the library/cafeteria. We also looked at how the columns on the buildings around campus stood tall and supported the buildings structurally. The stacks we found came from bricks on buildings and stairs in front of them. We also talked about types in week two: prototypes, archetypes, and hybrids. We talked about how columns can be looked at as examples of types. While the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian columns are considered to be archetypes, or prime examples, the Tuscan column that came before them is considered a prototype, or an experiment or early example. Many hybrids, or mixtures of types, came after.
In week three we focused on the buildings atop the Athens Acropolis and how they serve as archetypes for western architecture and design. We also focused on how humans were developing groves and stacks. During the time of the ancient Greeks idealism was key. It was all about taking something and making it LOOK perfect…even if it really wasn’t. The Parthenon is a perfect example. The columns are at an angle with the outer ones a little wider in reality. This is so the eye perceives them as all perfectly straight and the same size. We discussed how the Megaron was a prototype for architecture with its porch, court, and hearth. Humans developed groves and stacks by putting them together to make palaces and temples, just as they did in Greece and Rome. We learned about commodity, firmness, and delight and how the development of arches and domes furthered the development of architecture. Again, we went on a campus tour looking for examples of commodity (function), firmness (stability & structure), and delight (aesthetics) around UNCG’s campus. In the MHRA building, for example, commodity is found in the hallways, classrooms, and the writing and speaking centers located in the building. Firmness can be seen in the metal and stone building materials as well as the columns on the outside of the building. Delight can be found from all of the natural light let in by the front window-walls as well as in the mixture of materials found in the building.
Week four was all about trade routes bringing people and ideas together as well as empires standing strong and diverse buildings abounding in the west. Buddhism was spread to China, Korea, and Japan along the silk trade route. Many fire temples came about in the Sassanian Empire. They were open buildings that incorporated arches into their structures but had pointed roofs. Domes and arches are still seen in much of the architecture today thanks to Rome and its massive empire.
