Omar Khan Kings Croass St Pancreas University Arts London Royal Institue of British Arcchitect
WORK BOOK HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE
OMAR KHAN
CONTENTS
WORK BOOK HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE
Lecture – Prehistoric House Architecture concepts of origins are integral in architecture however these constructs often contain fiction, and this should not be “empirical facts”. Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, was a Roman Architect, engineer in the 1st Century BC, and wrote one of the oldest remaining treaties on architecture known as the ’10 books of architecture dedicated to the emperor Augautus. “The Prehistoric Human Beings” a tale found in Virtruvius’ second book the ‘The origins of the dwelling house’ Virtruvius suggests the prehistoric humans were born like “wild beast”, who lived wilds and uncultivated lifestyles alone, consequently there is no need of language.
“The Prehistoric Human Beings” a tale found in Virtruvius’ second book the ‘The origins of the dwelling house’ Virtruvius suggests the prehistoric humans were born like “wild beast”, who lived wilds and uncultivated lifestyles alone, consequently there is no need of language. A fire in their homeland, concluded with the men of old assembling together and settling in the clearing left by the forest fire after their initial interactions. The development of communication allowed them to practice elementary acts of building leading to hut building, house building, and ultimately architecture.
A fire in their homeland, concluded with the men of old assembling together and settling in the clearing left by the forest fire after their initial interactions. The development of communication allowed them to practice elementary acts of building leading to hut building, house building, and ultimately architecture.
The Homeric epics – The Illyad and Odyssey Alternative construct of origins of Architecture The Homeric epics connects the Greeks to there remote ancestors the Mycenaean’s, Mycenaean culture flourished around the Aegean sea between 1700 and 1100 BC, a temporal gap of several centuries seperates the mycenean world and the beginning of the Ancient Greek culture. Both texts are rich with scenes acted out with architeural settings which are matched up w In book 9 of the Odyssey featuring the Cyclopes. Odysseus values - Cultivation of Land - Communal Society - Worship of God Cyclopean society was organised on different principles on that of the Mycenaean's Formed of two spaces court and cave Achilles house refererd to in book 24 if illyad is a temperoray structure described as a lofty hut, made of two parts
Diagram of cyclopean house 2 distinct parts . The Court & The Cave
Diagram of Achilles House 2 distinct parts . Lofty Hut and Great Court
Diagram of Megaron and Court At Tyrins
1
Lecture 2 – Temple – British Museum
2
Lecture 2 - Temple “The most sublime labour of poetry is to give sense and passion to insensate things; and it is characteristic of children to take inanimate things in their hands and talk to them in play as if they were living” ― Giambattista Vico, New Science Diagram of Temple Classical Greek Temples, symbolically represented the idea of ‘God’ and the “primitive humans” believed that these temples were God’s house on earth. The Temple figure expresses absolute force of authority, immortal perhaps ? And this figure looms overs society assuring its people of its laws and justice. This symbolical essence in this spatial principle is implemented through the idea of something which can not be seen visually, however it still has a powerful influence over people. This powerful influence is made to appear through indirect means, which in my perspective come primarily from the scale of the temples, which is immense in representation of the power and sheer size of the Gods which they worship. 18th Century Philosopher Giambaisa Vico suggests in his book the ‘New Science’ primiative humans are passionate and incapable of thinking rationally and tend to express the feelings and emotions through poetic utterances or fables. Vico’s ideas advocate the architectural principle of Greek Temples being made in response to personification of natural forces as a result of the irrational and passion of primitive humans.
The Parthelon – constructed around 430 BC, was designed by architects considering the act of Tekne. In this instance the Temple acts as the presence of a God, or Godess.
More than a Bramante (144 establishing th and the 'gramm The small chu Pietro in Mon him in 1502 o High Renaissan of antiquity tha has become an rigorous pr characteristics particularly Tempietto.
The Parthelon is made primarily from marble, involving the cutting and carving of stone. Two registers of stone work, first operated at a lrge scale provdiding primary building elements such as blocls for walling, cylindrical shafts for coloumns and lentils to span between coloumns Fluting carved through bare cylindrical blocks which were then piled up to form columns Scale is diggerent
During the renaisccence era many architectrs attempted to revive the principles of the Temple, however only on architect managed to do so, Architect The Spatial Principal of the Termple returned in the late 1th Century because of a “depressing cultural need
Creating something which is present but invisible appear in a sensuously perceptive form. Was known as the act of Tekne, this can be asserted as the spatial Principle of the Temple. The spatial principle of the “Temple is an inner room encapsulated within a surrounding ambulatory” along with “A psychodynamic principle of making an invisible power in a sensually apprehensible form.
Sketch of The Parthelon - constructed around 430 BC
2
Workshop – The uses of History What is Architectural History My response to this question is that Architectural History, is a term which can be applied to several different aspects which are or were involved throughout time with the design and development of structures & buildings. Historical events such as political movements, global dilemmas, environmental concerns, stylistic movements or trends and traditions could have had an involvement in the ideas we have of architecture today and currently established buildings and structures. Architectural history often refers back certain periods in time, eras such as; Greek, Roman, Victorian.
Architectural History matters because I partially agree to the idea that “Architectural History matters because I feel that it is evidence of what successful and unsuccessful architecture is, modern day society can take advantage of what we have learnt from the past and consider how to either avoid or emulate successful architecture of the past. Architectural Professor Bill Hiller has said
“Architecture is the most lasting evidence of human culture” I certainly agree that architecture holds evidence of human culture as it is a representation of the expressions of our ancestors and this could perhaps stimulate ideas for the architecture of today. However I believe it is also important not to dwell on the events in history and be ambiguous with the possibilities with architecture in the modern day.
What is a building and what is Architecture
Architectural history abstract Jannette Kim – Ideal-city.tumblr.com
“A bicycle shed is a building; Lincoln Cathedral is a piece of architecture. Nearly everything that encloses space on a scale sufficient for a human being to move in is a building; the term architecture applies only to buildings designed with a view to aesthetic appeal.”
Nikolaus Pevsner, „An Outline of European Architecture‟, 1943
Unsurprisingly the question of whether Architectural History matters can call for various opinions, It could be suggested that the is interest in history of architects of modern day are decreasing, English Heritages Simon Thurley proposes this question;
'Have architects fallen out of love with history? Thurley suggests that modern day architects are more concerned with just the design of buildings and are “too obsessed with creatong new „icons’.” John Tehan, director at London and Stamfordbased Smallwood Architects, agreed Thurley and says “Most in the profession now leave engagement with the historical context with increasingly myopic and partisan specialists from other spheres. In return, most attempt to design in a vacuum of the limits of their own imaginings, where the thousands of years of trial, error and refinement are ignored and the basic workings of a machine are fanatically admired.” Tehans response to what he believes is the ideology of modern day architects suggests that the abandonment of architectural history during the design and development of modern day buildings and structures is perhaps foolish and could inevitably be unsuccessful..
Architecture is very much a form of art, when I hear the word architecture I immediately mentally associate it with aesthetically appealing structures, I also feel that there is a stark contrast between a bicycle shed and Lincoln Cathedral and this contrast perhaps comes in the for of a one being a building and the other being a form of art – architecture. I feel the the term building can be used to depict regular structures such as a bicycle shed however the term architecture should be used when depicting such structures as the Lincoln Cathedral.
3
Lecture - Atrium What is the Spatial Principle of The Atrium ? The Atrium is a spatial device that draws down the sky and encapsulates it within in an interior, the space can be understood as a court which is an enclosed space separated from its surroundings, yet open to the sky. When this court is placed within an interior, containing a portion of untamed nature within an artificial enclosure it can be known as an Atrium. The primitive belief in the gods as personifications of natural forces would suggest, the idea of bringing nature inside a link is created between the supreme nature represented by the gods and everyday nature which humans work with in order to survive, the atrium formalises the two relationships kinds of nature.. The atrium space is often used for domestic purposes in a house or a palace, this is to separate a space of a house as special and leave the rest to develop around.
An atrium space could also be perceived as a space which gives a burial sense, this perception could feel quite daunting with one feeling as if they have been hollowed into the ground within a chamber. This idea suggest that the Atrium principle correlates with the Cave and Court mode of the prehistoric house. In my own perspective, I feel a very oppositional view, in that I feel the principle in which the element of nature is encapsulated within a space, presents it to be rather open and offers enlightenment within the structure which could be depicted as a sense of hope, promise which the primitive humans could seek from the gods which they worshiped.
Image Source – Lecture 3
4
Lecture – Atrium - Notes
Along with the Bath House, Ancient Romans used the Atrium Principal in another non-domestic way; The Pantheon is an example of this. The Pantheon is a large cylindrical hall, the hall features a dome which is pierced with a wide spread circle at the top known as the oculus, this provides a ray of sunlight, which moves thought the walls and floors in the interior at various times of the day. Roman Historian – Cassius Dio suggests that this vaulted roof resembles the heavens, The Atrium Principle can be found in early basila churches, the churches featured octagonal or circular forms often sat behind the great basilica, these spaces were often opened upto the sky with opening in the roof of the domes, these spaces can percieved a signifcant spaces which symbolise or memorialise structures in tribute to a person. The Atrium principle can also be found in a public bath, The Caracalla Bath house which I have sketched above shows the use of the Atrium principal. In comparison to the use of this principal for domestic purposes, the Atrium principal is utilised with a different psychodynamic in a Bath house; the Atrium of Bath house express a distinction between nature as cultivation and nature as pleasure where as the domestic environment sets up a distinction between nature as cultivation and nature as supreme. In my opinion this principle used in the Bath house is very much uses nature for the enjoyment of man, rather than the worship of god as a natural force.
4
Workshop – Merits of dust
4
Lecture - Stoa
WORK BOOK HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE
4
Workshop – Location Location Location
WORK BOOK HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE
4
Walk – UAL Central St Martins
Omar Khan
4
Lecture - Theatre
4
Lecture – Marriage of Lumen and Lux
4
Walk – RIBA
Omar Khan
4
Lecture – Foraml Models
4
Walk – RIBA
Omar Khan
4