Unit Foundation Point

A foundation is the most important aspect of anything that requires continual process and growth. Without one, whatever is coming next will crumble. I believe this with all my heart, which is why I tried my best to learn as much as I could with this unit, so that I could get the most out of the ensuing ones. I appreciated that we began with the definition of stacking and how that presents itself many times throughout this unit. The pyramid is full of the stacking concept. The whole structure is stacking stone upon stone. Along with that, the physical exertion of climbing to the top represents the difficulty of rising up the social ladder, a near impossibility during this time. These pyramids established the axes; horizontal and vertical. The horizontal illustrates the life cycle here on earth and the vertical axis relates to the relationship between earth and gods. During this time the Egyptians believed the earth had four corners. The gold that adorned the top of the pyramid threw the light down each of the four corners, traveling to the ends of the earth. I thought of this concept again with my Eiffel Tower project in studio. The structure is actually positioned so that the points are at each North, South, West, and East. I wonder if Gustave Eiffel pulled from this same idea (concept?) when designing the placement of the Tower. I really saw how male and female concepts were attributed to architecture this early in history. I felt that this idea was apparent wherever you turned beginning in Egypt, continuing with the Grecians and then the Romans (the wu-wu!). I am excited to learn if this is incorporated within the next centuries. We learned as well that there were three ingredients that are always included within architecture; these are a porch, court, and hearth. I have seriously debated these over the course of the last few weeks and it is true! They really are an integral part of architecture! What really astounded me when we traveled to Greece was their sense of detail. In everything they did, nothing was forgotten. Every jot and tittle were thought about and made important. Where this made an impact for me was at Athens. The Parthenon is such a significant feat. The columns here were not placed exactly the same distance apart. They had slight variations between them so that the distance looked the same when seen from the entrance into Athens. Also they were not perfectly plumb either. If they were extended above the framework of the structure, they would all meet at a point 1.5 miles above the temple stylobate. I cannot believe someone actually thought about these things and then proceeded to carry them out. Absolutely amazing. Hall states why such care exercised for this building: “…arête, for the home of the goddess required the most excellent materials and most exacting workmanship. It was done because the Greeks could do it.” He goes on to say that yes, the structure is now in ruins, but not by fault of construction. It was all to do with human calamity. Of the ten structures presented to us, included in the cities around Rome, I realized that I could not choose just one I appreciated the most because they are all integral parts of this time period. I look forward to seeing many more of the themes we learned in the following segments: stacking, male and female, elements and principles of design, three ingredients of architecture, and sense of detail.

http://www.planetware.com/i/photo/pyramids-of-giza-gzgrtpy.jpg

I feel that the Pyramids of Giza are a great representation of this unit. They are at the very beginning, first of all, and have many relations to the afore mentioned main themes within this unit.