Road Trip

Road Trip

Roots

            To me roots mean the basic origin of something or its source. In our readings in Roth we learned that in the nineteenth century, pertaining to architectural development, while there were periodic changes in the creation of new building types that benefitted new building materials, historical precedent determined the architectural building forms. He quickly went on the defense by saying that it wasn’t because nineteenth century architects lacked imagination, it was simply because that the detailed and accurate knowledge of architectural past was so new and growing very rapidly. Eventually this led to eclecticism in which the architects would barrow certain building forms and details combining them to make a magnificent structure. We also saw to great examples of this on our trip to Falling water and Monticello. We saw Frank Lloyd Wright’s innovation of opening up space and rejection traditional forms and building methods. We also saw this at Monticello, in the fact that Thomas Jefferson wanted to have a plantation house but on the other hand he wanted it to differ from the traditional plantation. In the two previous examples we saw how both architects knew the traditional style but wanted to throw it out the window and expand their imagination.

Compression/Release

            Compression means to make something denser to simplify it if you will. Release to me means to liberate something or to set free. And in the early steps of modernism the era of machines made architecture slightly easier and done at a more rapid pace. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe said “I see industrialization the central problem of building in our time. If we succeed in carrying out this industrialization, the social, economic, technical, and also artistic problems will be readily solved (Roth, 527).” Louis H. Sullivan discovered that his skyscrapers have twice the amount of vertical piers, thus he can reduce the size of the window planes, which also gave the illusion that the structure was much taller than it actually was.

Congruence

            Congruence to me means to be in agreement or harmony with someone or something. In our reading in Massey we learned that the Art Deco style was characterized by geometric motifs. We also learned about Orphism in which Sonia and Robert Delaunay decorated their apartment with square armchairs covered in geometric textiles and matching rugs, and walls hung with beige patterned linen. The designers thought all of the aspects of the interior should come together to create a complete work of art.

Materiality

            When I hear materiality I think of two words: quality and character. The Art Deco style also applies to this term as well in the fact that most of the designers used only the rarest materials, giving their work a very high quality. The Art Deco style almost never incorporated paintings in the design, as the decorations were more than enough, although the one exception to this was the use of the mural painting, which formed a luxurious interior for the Art Deco Style.

Concept

            Concept means an abstract idea or a general notion. One concept that seems vaguely familiar from our reading is that of the Modern Movement architects believed in a universal style for all interiors, public or private. The Art Deco designers greatly disapproved of the Modern Movement because it neglected individuality. Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe invented ahistorical modernism in which he rejected past references.

Summary

            I believe that these opus words were truly meaningful and related to the reading very well and I think all of these terms are very well related and can be intertwined within one another. Because anything can be simplified by simply looking back at where you came from. And congruence is very simplistic because it has been used by many civilizations over the years. All of the materials in your design should go together and create harmony. Lastly concept shows a great deal of character or materiality.