Cuban Architecture Essay

For a great many years, architecture has been a breaking point for different artisticeras in history. Some of the most famous “works of art” have been chapels, temples, and tombs. Among the most dominant and influential eras of great architecture are the sophisticated, stoic Greeco-Roman periods and the more mystical, elemental Japanese eras. These two very distinct and very different eras have more in common than you may realize.

Architecture should not be separated from the political and social life of human-beings. On the contrary, “throughout the history, architects have always been involved to some extent in politics, and have a nearly always sought positions of power and influence’’. Communist ideology in the Soviet Union had a huge impact on the architectural development of many modern nations: Russia, Ukraine, Belorussia, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Uzbekistan, Tadzhikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Bulgaria, Romania, Georgia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Moldova and Azerbaijan. The amount of affected countries makes the topic of my analysis relevant and worth-discussing. My essay will be structured in a following way. I argue that communist ideology had an

The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "Baroque Architecture." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 23 Nov. 2015. Web. 25 Apr.

The history of Architecture started long time ago. The nomadic were groups of people whom move from one place to another in order find shelter and food to survive. As they progress, their techniques to survive evolve. The need for a permanent shelter became vital for a better stability of the group. This is the time when the first structures that provided protection appeared. Post and lintel were the first forms of Architecture, that satisficed the basic needs. Architecture evolved to be more sophisticated and fulfill the people’s needs. Consequently, Architecture evolved throughout different periods such as: Ancient architecture, Romanesque, The medieval, Renaissance, Early modern, and the industrial age, Modernism and Contemporary

When we think of Cuba, we think revolution, yet we will zoom in on a different revolution that has been happening in Cuba and this is a food revolution. This crucial movement was in response to crisis, hitherto it resulted in the most innovative act of sustainability. After Fidel Castro seized power in 1959, the US placed an embargo on the country. They were maintained by the Soviet Union, yet they would face a downfall that would propel innovation. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, deemed the Special Period, the country suffered a tremendous loss in the supply of food, medicine, and fuel, and so had to find a way to feed the people. Action to grow in vacant lots began and resulted in what is now called organoponicos. In Micky Ellinger’s “Urban Agriculture in Cuba,” he cites that there are over 7,000 organoponicos and growing. In the city of Havana there are close to 2.1 million people, it houses more that 200 gardens and thousands of backyards and rooftops where people are practicing the sustainable food growing practice of urban agriculture. (Worldatlas.com)

Modern Cuba has been shaped by the U.S.'s abhorrence for the communist government. Today there are many problems in Cuba such as its waning economy, its health care issues, even its pollution, but almost all of them stem from the U.S. unwillingness to cooperate with the Cuban government, and ultimately, the U.S.'s goal to spread "freedom and liberty" to Cuba's "oppressive communist regime"

Assuming that we understand Cuba as a communist country, they obtain the government type known as a Communist State. A Communist State consist of a classless society, in which the state plans and controls the economy and a single -- often authoritarian -- party holds power; state controls are imposed with the elimination of private ownership of property or capital while claiming to make progress toward a higher social order in which all goods are equally shared by the people (cite2). An important piece of this brief description you should acquire is that states hold most to all property ownership and rarely handed to the private sector. Therefore, property rights are at a bare minimum for the casual citizens of Cuba; although, reforms from the government are beginning to change these norms.

Cuba is a one celebration state, so variations in governmental ideas and principles cannot be freely indicated. Govt authorization is required for almost everything apart from free-thinking (just don't freely show those thoughts)! Permission is required for even the tiniest things such as the wish to color your home a particular shade, or building an extra space in your home. The whole nation is incredibly bureaucratic and the solutions to these concerns can sometimes take YEARS! (When I frequented, a lady had been patiently waiting 16 decades for a reaction from the government as to whether or not she could have her ceiling repaired due to it dripping when it rained)!!!

An influential figure in architecture of the twentieth century, Luis Barragán made his mark by inciting an architecture of modern simplification of form and imbuing it with the warmth and vibrance of his native Mexico. He is celebrated for his mastery of space and light and use of vivid colors and textural contrasts in his works. Aside from his architectural design, he is noted for his distinct approach to landscape design, which sought to accentuate natural surroundings and enhance the local foliage and terrain of Mexico. Though his formal education is in engineering, his ever growing fascination with architecture impelled his desire to develop his own take on modernism and led him to modernize Mexican architecture.

Architecture history is always suspicious when an idea sits by itself (Seligmann, 2005:56). Ideas, culture and people have always been analysed against time frames (fig.1). Taking a look at the modern age, especially the effervescent culture of the industrial period, it seems that Wright choose to be closer in the way of thinking to the Renaissance artists, “ than to any of his contemporaries” (McCarter, 2005:16). Although in his 91 years life he encountered many historical changes, he remained loyal to his vision of America and democracy. For him, architecture was never about progression, but about timelessness.

This book was written by Juhani Pallasmaa with regard to ‘Polemics’, on issues that were part of the architecture discourse of the time, i.e. 1995. It is also an extending of ideas expressed in an essay entitled “Architecture of the seven senses” published in 1994.

This essay look into the natural symbols of inside and outside of frank Lloyd wright's falling water and Alvaro Aalto's Vila Marirea. This two house has similarities in their intention and design such as both houses were planned and

The term ‘Church Architecture’ refers to the architectural buildings of the Christian churches and cathedrals, which evolved over two thousand years. The churches have witnessed varied styles of architectural buildings from the early period of the birth of Christianity till today. Some of the most significant church architectural buildings are from the church architectural designs of Byzantium, Romanesque Abbey churches, Gothic Cathedrals, and Renaissance Basilicas. Till today, the architectural building styles of the early church

Havana: Two faces of the Antillean Metropolis explores the fascinating city of Havana throughout the turbulent history of Cuba, from Spanish colonization, through the American era and the revolution of 1959 to the early 2000’s. It is one of a limited number of novels on Havana written in English and part of a series exploring cities around the world (foreword). One of the most striking features of the book is the varied backgrounds of the three authors; Scarpaci, a professor of urban affairs from the United States, Segre a professor of architecture and urbanism from Brazil and Coyula, the only Cuban of the group, an architect and planner from Havana (foreword). Contrary

Different architects have different styles because they are trying to get at different things. Architecture is not just about making something beautiful anymore, it is about trying to get across a set of ideas about how we inhabit space. Two of the most famous architects of the twentieth century, one from each side, the early part and the later part up until today each designed a museum with money donated by the Guggenheim foundation. One of these is in New York City, it was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The other is in bilbao, Spain, and it was designed by Frank Geary. My purpose of this paper is to interrogate each of these buildings, glorious for different reasons, to show how each architect was expressing their own style.