Architectural History and Criticism Commons^™

Buildings With Brain Power: Library Architecture In Neural Terms., Hannah Bennett

Hannah Bennett

The connection between neuroscience and the built environment is a fairly new interdisciplinary field and one in which both fields, in their respective pursuits, have worked to understand the relationship between design choices, human behavior, and biological processes. Taken together and applied in tandem, these two activities have potential to vastly improve the effectiveness of buildings designed with the healthcare facilities, laboratories, or elementary schools, all of which share objectives of healing and intellectual cultivation. This paper will extend the dialogue to library design, perhaps the most representationally loaded expression of “mental space.” The library has seen profound changes in …

Unit Of Luminous Flux: Mario Botta's Centre Dürrenmatt Neuchâtel, Andreas Luescher

Andreas Luescher

This paper examines the Centre Dürrenmatt Neuchâtel (CDN), which opened in 2000, as the site of a “dialogue” between the ideas and practice of Switzerland’s best-known Italian-speaking architect and designer, Mario Botta, and the country’s best-known German-speaking playwright, Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921-1990). The CDN becomes a double portrait of two Swiss artists, separated by parole but not Sprache. Both felt peripheral to Swiss society, yet each was a product of the cantonal principle of strong regionalism aerated by the Federation’s facilitation of cosmopolitanism aligned in an environmental ecology that literally and figuratively mixed their respective media: the concrete for the ephemeral …

Embodying Law In The Garden: An Autoethnographic Account Of An Office Of Law, Matilda Arvidsson

Dr Matilda Arvidsson

Based on an autoethnographical study of the office of the tingsnotarie this article questions the relation between the ethical self and the act of taking up a judicial office, employing the question of how I can live with (my) law. While the office and the ethical self are kept apart, often by recourse to persona, I make a case for the attendance to the self in examinations of ethical responsibility when pursuing an office of law. I propose that the garden, and in particular the practices and notions of (en)closure, (loss of) direction, cultivation, (dis)order, authorship and care-for-the-other which are …

One Illustration In Ralph Hawkins, How Israel Became A People: The Early Israelite Settlement In Canaan, Rhonda Root

Rhonda Root

No abstract provided.

"Temple Pro Tempore": The Salt Lake City Endowment House, Lisle G. Brown

Lisle G Brown

The Salt Lake City Endowment House, built of adobe, was located on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah. It served as a temporary temple during the construction of the Salt Lake Temple. It was completed in 1855 and razed in 1889. Using original floor plans, photographs, maps, and descriptions by persons who participated in its sacretodal activities, the author recreates its exterior and interior appearance. Floor plans and elevations of the building, prepared especially for the paper, are also included. The events leading to is destruction are chronicled. Finally, the author discusses the building’s influence on subsequent Mormon temple …

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 …

Concepts Of Space In Urban Design, Architecture And Art, Nicholas N. Patricios

Nicholas Patricios

The contributions that have been made by psychologists, anthropologists and others to the revision of our traditional concepts of space demand, in the author's view, a new approach to urban design, architecture and art. These contributions suggest that two basic categories of space must be distinguished: the physical and the mental. Mental space is shown not to have a one-to-one correspondence with the space that is part of the physical world, due to the mediation of various psychological and cultural factors. A concept of space may be said to originate in an observer's mind and is a structure that is …

Baltimore After The War Of 1812: Where Robert Mills Met His Waterloo And When James A. Buchanan Broke The Bank, Garrett Power

Garrett Power

In 1815 Baltimore City was boom town. Its militiamen had repulsed the British sea invasion and presaged an end to the War of 1812. Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo in 1815 signaled an end to European wars. Freedom of the seas had been restored. The Baltimore “Clipper” was the best sailing ship on the ocean. Baltimore looked to become the country’s leading exporter of grain, flour, and tobacco. Merchant James A. Buchanan, a partner in one of the country’s greatest shipping firms, had been named President of the Baltimore Branch of the Second National Bank of the United States. Civic leaders …

Social Architecture And The Law, Lorin Geitner

Lorin C. Geitner

The reputation of attorneys has steadily declined over the last 50 years. How can we determine why this has occurred? Given the relatively high reputation of British Barristers, a comparison of US and British court room arrangement and practice may provide some clues, and the heuristic of "critical spatial studies" provides a methodology.

Colonial Architecture And Urbanism In Africa: Intertwined And Contested Histories, Fassil Demissie

Fassil Demissie

No abstract provided.

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

Thomas Caswell

Future Of The Library? Turning Conflicting Pressures Into Compelling Opportunities, Ludmilla D. Pavlova-Gillham, Jay Schafer, Shirley Dugdale

Ludmilla D Pavlova

Many institutions are scrutinizing library space as a potential space bank in times of tight capital resources, while librarians are seeking ways to shift lesser-used collections into storage, create more user space, and improve services. Accomplishing these tasks at University of Massachusetts Amherst's Du Bois Library, a 26-story tower, posed a particular challenge. The library's master plan needed to explore compatible uses, partners for integrated services, and identify opportunities to repurpose space for university needs as well as the library's future vision. Learning Outcomes: 1.Recognize functions compatible with future libraries and their mission. 2.Identify forces prompting change in research libraries …

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.

How Research Blogging Improves Urban History, Adam Arenson

Adam Arenson

This article explains why researchers should maintain a research blog for a project in development, especially if it is an urban-history or preservation issue.

Owen Jones' The Grammar Of Ornament, John Jespersen

Kresten Jespersen

No abstract provided.

Form And Meaning, John Jespersen

Kresten Jespersen

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

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.

British Civic Architecture In The United States Of The Ionian Islands, Nicholas Patricios

Nicholas Patricios

On 5th November 1815 the United States of the Ionian Islands was established under British protection through signature of the Treaty of Paris. British Residents were subsequently stationed on each of the seven Ionian Islands off the west coast of Greece as governors of each Island. During the Protectorate period, 1815-1864, the Residents carried out numerous public works from public buildings and structures to roads and harbors. The most prolific Resident was Charles Napier in Kefalonia. The civic architectural style of the public buildings and structures designed by British architects and engineers was inevitably Neo-Classical, ironically a new style for …

Jonson London And Urban Space.Pdf, Adam Zucker

Adam Zucker

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.

Reinventing Airspace: Spectatorship, Fluidity, Intimacy At Pek T3., Alberto Pepe

Alberto Pepe

In this article, I explore the contemporary practice of air travel conceptualizing airports as socio-technical mobilities. Drawing both from the notion of “space” posited by Michel de Certeau and that of “non-place” by Marc Augé, I argue that the supermodern nature of air travel has generated forms of crisis that have embedded themselves in the architecture and the modus operandi of contemporary airports. Airports are necessarily located in a physical and tangible sense, yet their function is so tightly coupled with transience, mobility and spectatorship, that they bring anthropological accounts of “place” to unprecedented extremes. In this article, I analyze …

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 …

Aftermath: Alpha Chi Omega Sorority: Progress Materializes From Adversity, M. Monica Gillen

M. Monica Gillen

The role of an architect on any project is some combination of design, coordination and consultation. Every project is different as are the circumstances which surround them. In the case of the Alpha Chi Omega sorority, on the campus of the University of Iowa, Iowa City, the house was destroyed by a tornado that tore through town on Aprill3, 2006. Razing and rebuilding in the aftermath would require close coordination with the architect, builders, local building authorities and the Sigma Chapter members in effort to satisfy the various recovery criteria specific to the locale, including budget constraints, current building safety …

The Application Of British Neoclassical Design Principles: The Greek Island Of Kefalonia, Nicholas Patricios

Nicholas Patricios

A fascinating example of taking available designs and then engaging in the act of designing new designs is the application of the British Neoclassical architectural style to new buildings in the Ionian Islands off the west coast of Greece. This occurred when Britain occupied these Islands in 1809 which then received independent status in 1815 under the British crown. It is ironical that the country that created classical architecture had neoclassical architecture introduced from the outside. The largest of the Ionian Islands, Kefalonia, provides an insightful case of the application of British neoclassical design principles to new civic buildings and …

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 …

A Culture Served: A Neighborhood Evolves And The Economy Revitalizes, M. Monica Gillen

M. Monica Gillen

The La Plaza on Grand Avenue in Des Moines seeks to generate retail stability for Hispanic and Latino residents and economic movement in the area.

Iowa Architect: Promoting The Noteworthy Design Of Yesterday, Today And Tomorrow, M. Monica Gillen

M. Monica Gillen

To create, fashion and construct is to design. Ideas begin in the mind and are brought out through various acts of creativity, including but not limited to drawings and writings. An underlying theme governs the process and the plan becomes the means for articulating its execution.

The Re-Emergence Of Traditional Architecture In Greece: Kefalonia And Ithaka, Nicholas Patricios

Nicholas Patricios

The interest in antiquities in Greece began after the conclusion of the revolution that led to independence of the country in 1832. A brief history of the legislation to protect the country’s architectural heritage is traced up to the historic landmark law of 2002 that defined the concept of cultural heritage and the re-organization of government departments to achieve the law’s objectives. Beginning in the 1920s and parallel with the protection of antiquities a movement to preserve Greek vernacular architecture was undertaken that was recognized in the landmark law of 1978. The application of the laws of protection and preservation …