FOUNDATION.creating the precedents
 
 

                              27th August 2001 - First Class

Nino's Presentation

Question and Answer

General Overview of Course

Basic Assumption: Believe that architecture is changing in status because of information technology.
Research oriented course to understand how these things happen.
Requirements: 1. to keep class notes,

                        2. follow the readings and class discussion,

                        3. develop a specific research issue on the topic with instructor assistance and guidance
Final Submission: presentation of research in a public review

                                Class Definition:

                                        1. A multi-factor driving force.
 

                                 Conventional Definition of Modernity:
 

In order to understand the impact and evolution created by information revolution in architecture, the course compares with a "revolution" that already happened. And the industrial revolution is chosen since it is the last and major event that occurs which is closest to the discuss time frame. Through the comparison of the industrial and renaissance paradigm model, it creates a base and strategy to break down and define the information architecture paradigm.

The steam engine. It has the capability to artificially produce energy and through the harnessing of this kinetic force, lots of things could be powered which gradually changed man's social life, and  eventually becomes an essential part of human environment.

The architecture that was present before the industrial revolution started was still mainly based on the Renaissance model. A phenomena that exist in the 14th Century, literally meaning "rebirth" which based on the idea of "man being the centre". The main characteristic is that it is governed by perspectival views, tools of proportioning like golden sections, and classical order.

 
"Mechanization, Science, Steam"

 
Keywords to describe the phenomena leading to the industrial revolution. The ability of using steam to create energy artificially, has opened up possibilities in operating machines. This in fact changes the life-style of man, because the incorporation of machine brought about a new outlook and attitude of life.

Forming a time line, to trace the events of architecture discourse from the industrial revolution, 1801 to 1925.

 
6th September 2001- Fourth Class

 
Continuing in forming the event time line.

In France, the French Revolution occur at the political arena. In the arts, the Beaux Arts becomes one of the forerunners in academic institution with theorists like Ledoux and Boulee as the extreme avant-grade. On top of that, theorists like Durand began to approach architecture from its typology. The latter began to classify buildings by its type, architecture could be seen as been summarized into prototypes where which the form and building envelope could be classified under different uses.

 
"Construction"

 
The engineers were actually heading the construction industry. This is because when industrial revolution occurs, machine has created a lot of design problem which never exist before. For instance, bridges for motor vehicles, railway stations, infrastructure  and others that evolved as a consequences of mechanization. Hence, there was no precedents which the architect could get to tackle this crisis, and thus engineers with the aid of science provides the answer.

 
"Art and Craft Movement" - losing quality, recreating quality.

Morris and Ruskin developed a new global attitude as an anti-model of the industrial revolution. They felt that architecture has lost its aesthetic to mechanization, and suggest a return to the medieval or past to create a relationship between social and architecture.

 "Art Noveau"

 One style. It creates a premise for the concept of unification, where craft and new material could be expressed as one style.

11th September 2001-Class Cancelled

day which shocked the world, a kindle to war.

13th September 2001-Fifth Class

 "Railway Station as the highest symbol of industrial revolution"

The railway is a manifesto of the steam engine. It creates a network of railroad which return forms the catalyst of the revolution. On the other hand, there wasn't any prototype or precedent of the railway station, hence the station building becomes significantly a type that evolved from mechanization.

"from the perspective of Arts, to see how the world is perceived"

Critically around the period, the industrial city has become the new subject of painting for the impressionist. In arts, the impressionist like Manet, Monet, Renoir began to "foul" the rules of the Salon. (the academy which conventionally still holds onto classical viewpoints to commission paintings) The latter style of painting are anti-perspectival, (a rule that is enforced in all classical painting from the renaissance), they wanted to capture the second where light becomes an important issue. At the same time new technique of drawing are invented.

"VIBRATION"

 "ANALYTICAL APPROACH" vs SYNTHETIC APPROACH"

Paul Cezanne pioneered the analytical means of painting. In this method, things are taken apart for study and then put together under a particular organization. The idea of "taking apart" is analogous to the industrial revolution.  Under this rational discipline, everything is brought back to a cube, cylinder, pyramid, sphere or are broken down to elementary elements.

                    18 September 2001 - sixth class

                        "the comparison of the Renaissance and Industrial Revolution
                          Paradigm"

under 6 categories

1. Program

2. City Concept

3. Communication

4. Vision

5. Construction

6. Design Concepts

                         City Concepts

                    Renaissance: Closed System, walls, idea of closeness.

 
                              Industrial: Open system. "Constant conquer of the outside space", Zoning, grid, functional

                         Program

                    Renaissance: narrow program. (type of uses deal mainly with power, education and religion only)

                               Industrial: wide range, housing problem and emerging needs.

                        "exsistens minimum" - German, work to find the minimum.

                         Vision

 

                    Renaissance: Perspective and visuals, man-orientated, rule of symmetry, proportion, golden section, classical

                                                   orders.

                               Industrial: vision based on analytical process, anti-perspective, simultaneity, fragmentation, dynamism, centre

                                                of vision changes from man to object creating its own rule, analogous to a machine.

                                20 September 2001 - Lecture

                                Jaron Lanier, The "Father of Virtual Reality"
                                2001 Wats:on? Award Recipient

                                Inspiring Phrases

                                "modernity swallow the soul"

                                "spiritual crisis effects of modernity"

                                "purpose of art to seduce people away from the masses"
 

 
                                25 September 2001 - Seventh Class

                         Construction

 

                      Renaissance: Continuity (key building concept), material like stone has its own rule bringing force down.

 

                                 Industrial: Steel, reinforced concrete, horizontal to vertical interface. Corbusier 5 point of architecture.

                                  1. Free Plan, 2. Pilotis, 3. Free Facade, 4. Ribbon Window, 5. Green Roof (roof garden)

                                  Elements like ribbon window is an anti-perspectival device. Its horizontal frame creates a loss in perspective
                                  vision.

                          Communication

 
                                Renaissance: Type conveying idea of power, religion.

 
                             Industrial: No more about communication, an abstract of machine doing things well and complete. Symbol,
                                                 iconic way of communication.

 
                          Design Concept

 
                                 typology vs morphology

 
                            don't start on form, but function first. Understanding how each basic function have to connect before

                                generating a form.

                                 27 September 2001 - Seventh Class

                                 The Bauhaus as an hypothesis to test the paradigm chart.

                                 http://www.geocities.com/kvtang77/bauhaus.htm
 

20 Nov 2001

Architecture and the diffculty of change
(3rd Column) Architecture to meet change of information technology
architecture shape differently due to impact of technology
"revolution" (washing machine analogy)

- the problem of value
- "direction which you put your effort"
- object, comprehensible vs in-comprehensible
- blue vs white collar

City Concept

- "anti-zoning"
- pie|clock (zone, code regulation)

27 Nov 2001

- moving assembly line (industrialize)
-sub-urbia (vehicles and highway)
City modify : "what is city proposaling?"

information technology: cars, radio, television

"how to locate oneself in the scence."

Kandisky (Abstract|Narrative)

Construction and technology
" the memory of technology exist everywhere"

4th Dec 2001

real substance of computer
(using excel worksheet as an analogy)

- essence of computer, atoms of information
- easily change, stored

1. atom-manipulation
2. inter-connection
3. dynamic
4. interface
5. "what-if"

power of CAAD as thinking process

3 point of interactivity

1. physical interactivity
eg. Edaurdo Kae

2. projected interactivity

invisible space
describe a portion of space using sensors.
 

(1st Draft)
 

	Renaissance	Industrial	Information
City Concept	Closed	Open	Anti-Zoning|Rule Based
Program	Narrow	Wide	Wider
Construction	Continuity	Discontinuity	CAM|Beyond Human
Vision	Perspectival	Objective	Subjective
Communication	Power	Function	Narrative
Design Concepts	Types|function	Function|machine	Multi-Factors
7th Factor	Perspective	Transparency	Virtual

 
 

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