Architecture Commons^™

Reflections On The Red Sea Style: Beyond The Surface Of Coastal Architecture, Nancy Um

Nancy Um

In 1953, a British architect named Derek H. Matthews introduced the idea of “The Red Sea Style” in print, with a modest article of that title. Although brief and focused on a single site, this article proposed that the architecture around the rim of the Red Sea could be conceived of as a coherent and unified building category. Since then, those who have written about Red Sea port cities have generally accepted his suggestion of a shared architectural culture. Indeed, the houses of the region’s major ports, such as Suakin in modern-day Sudan, Massawa in Eritrea, Jidda and YanbuΚ al-BaΉr …

Spatial Negotiations In A Commercial City: The Red Sea Port Of Mocha, Yemen During The First Half Of The Eighteenth Century, Nancy Um

Nancy Um

The city of Mocha in Yemen was one of the most important Red Sea ports of the early modern Arab world, handling the trade of spices, textiles, metals, local aromatics and coffee beans. This essay examines the urban structures that governed the needs and practices of merchants in the city during the first half of the eighteenth century. Drawing on contemporary Arabic chronicles, archival European trade documents, historical photographs, and field work in the city, it documents the conspicuous absence of a network of public trade structures, like the urban khan, the expected locus for trade in an Arab city …

“Mocha: Maritime Architecture On Yemen’S Red Sea Coast.” In ‘Architecture That Fills My Eye’: The Building Heritage Of Yemen. Exh. Cat. Ed. Trevor H.J. Marchand, 60-69. London: Gingko Library, 2017., Nancy Um

Nancy Um

No abstract provided.

From The Port Of Mocha To The Eighteenth-Century Tomb Of Imam Al-Mahdi Muhammad In Al-Mawahib: Locating Architectural Icons And Migratory Craftsmen, Nancy Um

Nancy Um

This article introduces and analyzes the tomb of the Qāsimī Imām al-Mahdī Muhammad (r. 1686-1718) in the village of al-Mawāhib, northeast of Dhamār. Unlike many of the mosques and tombs associated with the other Zaydī imams of Yemen, al-Mahdī’s mausoleum has never been published, but merits close examination. While most historians consider his imamate to have been an era of both religious and political decline, this period was marked by increased cross-cultural interaction and artistic production. In particular, the tomb of al-Mahdī features unique decoration above its mihrāb and a remarkable wooden cenotaph. In order to explain the meaning and …

Greenlaw’S Suakin: The Limits Of Architectural Representation And The Continuing Lives Of Buildings In Coastal Sudan, Nancy Um

Nancy Um

Despite its ruined modern state, the coral-built architecture of the island city of Suakin on Sudan's Red Sea coast is well known to scholars of vernacular architecture. Its enduring reputation may be attributed to the copious documentation of its houses, mosques, and public buildings that appeared in the 1976 publication The Coral Buildings of Suakin by the artist Jean-Pierre Greenlaw. This paper considers the visual project of Greenlaw and its legacy, with a focus on the intertwined relationship between the processes of architectural documentation, the writing of architectural history, and the directives of preservation during the last years of British …

A Period Examination Through Contemporary Energy Analysis Of Kevin Roche’S Fine Arts Center At University Of Massachusetts-Amherst, L Carl Fiocchi Jr

L. Carl Fiocchi

Studies of buildings belonging to a subset of Modernist architecture, Brutalism, have included discussions pertaining to social and architectural history, critical reception, tectonic form and geometry inspirations, material property selections, period technology limitations, and migration of public perceptions. Evaluations of Brutalist buildings’ energy related performances have been restricted to anecdotal observations with particular focus on the building type’s poor thermal performance, a result of the preferred construction method, i.e. monolithic reinforced concrete used as structure, interior finish and exterior finish. A valid criticism, but one that served to dismiss discussion that the possibility of other positive design strategies limiting energy …

Architecture That Bows.Pdf, Andreas Luescher

Andreas Luescher

Stained Glass Windows Of Trinity Cathedral, Cleveland, Ohio, Produced By Wilbur H. Burnham Studios, Michael Tevesz

Michael J. Tevesz

Trinity Episcopal Cathedral has over forty large stained glass windows that range in age from the 15 to the 20th Century. The medieval windows were produced in England and Germany, while the more contemporary windows were produced by such prominent studios as those directed by Willet, Connick, Tiffany, Heaton, Young, and Burnham. The more contemporary windows are of considerable artistic and historical interest, but there is very little information available about them. This monograph specifically focuses on the windows of Trinity Cathedral produced by the Wilbur H. Burnham Studios. The Burnham Studios windows are the most accessible windows within the …

City Of Felt And Concrete: Negotiating Cultural Hybridity In Mongolia's Capital Of Ulaanbaatar, Joshua Hagen, Alexander Diener

Joshua Hagen

Capital cities play an integral role in the construction of national identity. This is particularly true when the capital is the country's only major urban center. Over the course of its history, Mongolia's capital of Ulaanbaatar has been periodically reshaped to reflect competing trajectories of national culture. This article examines the evolving symbolism of architecture, urban design, and public space in Ulaanbaatar as a means of exploring Mongolia's complex negotiation between its traditional culture (mobile pastoralism and Shamanism/Buddhism), its socialist legacy, and globalization. Amidst the rampant social change of the last two decades, rather ambiguous national narratives have emerged in …

From Socialist To Post-Socialist Cities: Narrating The Nation Through Urban Space, Joshua Hagen, Alexander Diener

Joshua Hagen

The development of post-socialist cities has emerged as a major field of study among critical theorists from across the social sciences. Originally constructed under the dictates of central planners and designed to serve the demands of command economies, post-socialist urban centers currently develop at the nexus of varied and often competing economic, cultural, and political forces. Among these, nationalist aspirations, previously simmering beneath the official rhetoric of communist fraternity and veneer of architectural conformity, have emerged as dominant factors shaping the urban landscape. This article examines patterns, processes, and practices concerning the cultural politics of architecture, urban planning, and identity …

Of Earth, Fire, And Faith: Architectural Practice In The Fernandino Missions Of Alta California, 1769-1821, Rubén G. Mendoza, Jennifer Lucido

Jennifer Lucido

No abstract provided.

Of Earth, Fire, And Faith: Architectural Practice In The Fernandino Missions Of Alta California, 1769-1821, Rubén G. Mendoza, Jennifer A. Lucido

Rubén Mendoza

No abstract provided.

Rebuilding The Middle Ages After The Second World War: The Cultural Politics Of Reconstruction In Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber, Germany, Joshua Hagen

Joshua Hagen

Rothenburg ob der Tauber is one of Germany's most popular tourist destinations attracting over two and a half million visitors annually. Yet, many visitors do not realize that nearly half of Rothenburg's medieval architectural heritage was destroyed in 1945. Its reconstruction was characterized by complex negotiations and compromises as Rothenburgers attempted to balance contemporary preservation philosophies with the town's image as a national symbol and economic interests in a revived tourist trade. These diverse factors were generally complementary and resulted in a remarkably consistent and consensual effort, but the project was not without controversies and contradictions. This article examines the …

Unearthing St. Augustine's Colonial Heritage: An Interactive Digital Collection For The Nation's Oldest City, Thomas R. Caswell

Thomas Caswell

Art-Itecture: Exploding The Boundaries Between Art And Architecture, Lauren Gallow

Lauren L. Gallow

In his 1970 book Experimental Architecture, Archigram co-founder Peter Cook writes, “In this century there have been several occasions when science, technology and human emancipation have coincided in a way that has caused architecture to explode.” This image of an exploding architecture can be read in several ways: as a challenging of architecture’s disciplinary boundaries, as a new idea of architecture altogether, or as a building literally exploding into fragmented pieces because of its perceived obsolescence. No matter the specific interpretation, Cook’s statement captures a widespread yet often overlooked trend of the twentieth century wherein architects and artists attempted to …

Staging Nationalism At The Crystal Palace: Prince Albert's "Model Dwelling House", Lauren L. Gallow

Lauren L. Gallow

At the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London, British nationalism was staged both inside and outside the walls of the Crystal Palace. Inside, industrial products from around the world were put on display to celebrate the wonders of modern industry. Perhaps a more important purpose of the exhibition, however, was to establish British national pride through comparison to other nations. Britishness inside the Crystal Palace was defined by the nation’s primacy in industry—an identity that hinged on the exhibition of the commodity. Outside the Crystal Palace, a subset of this British identity was also being demonstrated. Near the southeast corner …

Artículo Político Campaña Electoral 2011, Pablo Rosser

pablo rosser

Artículo de opinión del autor, como miembro del PSOE en Alicante.

Owen Jones And The Conventionalization Of Ornament, John Kresten Jespersen Ph.D.

Kresten Jespersen

Owen Jones, an architect and theorist of ornament, is best remembered as an ornamenter of distinction. His theory and practice of conventional ornament, his powerful color, and his original forms which had their origins in the ornament of the Alhambra substantiate the claim that he was the greatest ornamenter of his age. The book analyzes the theory of conventionalization as it applies to ornament, color, architecture and interior design. In particular, the book explores repose as the psychological and spiritual outcome of his ornament.

Revealing Iberian Woodcraft: Conserved Wooden Artefacts From South-East Spain, Pablo Rosser

pablo rosser

Yolanda Carrion & Pablo Rosser Six wells at Tossal de les Basses in Spain captured a large assemblage of Iberian woodworking debris. The authors’ analysis distinguishes a wide variety of boxes, handles, staves, pegs and joinery made in different and appropriate types of wood, some – like cypress – imported from some distance away. We have here a glimpse of a sophisticated and little known industry of the fourth century BC.

From Stoves To Juice Squeezers: Technology In The Modern Home, 1869-1999, Lauren Gallow

Lauren L. Gallow

“The factory and the household have only one factor in common, but a crucial one. Both must improve organization and curtail waste labor.” So Siegfried Giedion opens the chapter ‘Mechanization Encounters the Household’ in his 1948 seminal text, Mechanization Takes Command. Likening the household to the factory in its ever-present quest for organization and labor efficiency, Giedion places technological advancements at the center of this domestic mechanization, a progression that he identifies as beginning in the 1860s. Technology has played a central role in how writers from the late nineteenth century onwards have envisioned the home. Beginning with Catharine Beecher …

Centum Homines: The Prototype Of The Alexander Mosaic And The Military Museum In The Hellenistic World, Peter Nulton

Peter E. Nulton Ph.D.

Although it is generally accepted that the Alexander Mosaic copies a painting of the 4th Century BCE, the attribution of this prototype has never been settled. Numerous attempts have been made to associate it with painters recorded in Pliny's Natural History, notably Philoxenos of Eretria, and Alexander's court painter, Apelles.

If the painting were the work of any artist whose name survives, as strong a case can be made for Aristeides of Thebes as for Apelles or Philoxenos. Since Pliny's comment that Aristeides painted a battle against the Persians follows his treatment of the works of Apelles, he is likely …

The Sanctuary Of Apollo Hypoakraios And Imperial Athens, Peter Nulton

Peter E. Nulton Ph.D.

The Cave Sanctuary of Apollo on the North Slope of the Acropolis at Athens was investigated in 1896-97 and produced a rich collection of inscriptions relating to the cult. These inscriptions are published in full for the first time in this work. The author discusses the history of the cult. Far from being of great antiquity as readers of Euripides' "Ion" have long assumed, the cult was instituted in the time of Augustus when "The Athenians thought it fitting that their archons swear an oath that upheld tradition in connection to Apollo Patroos, but simultaneously honored their 'new Apollo'", the …

The Mosque: History, Architectural Development & Regional Diversity, Ed. By Martin Frishman And Hasan-Uddin Khan (Review), Roberta Dougherty

Roberta L. Dougherty

Owen Jones' The Grammar Of Ornament: Field Theory In The Post-Modern Studio, Kresten Jespersen

Kresten Jespersen

A suggested use of Owen Jones's great encyclopedia of ornament for the contemporary architectural studio. the article is the outcome of a course given for the students in the Undergraduate Architecture Program by Prof. Kent Bloomer and myself in 1984.

Form And Meaning: The Conventionalization Of The Leaf Ornament, Kresten Jespersen

Kresten Jespersen

As did Owen Jones, Bloomer argues for a modern style of ornament to decorate a modern architecture. Based on formal laws rather than theories of classical or naturalistic imitation, conventionalization can be seen as being explicitly modern. Moreover, deriving from the work of ornament, these laws are dependent on intrinsic rather than extrinsic principles.