One of the primary forces guiding me throughout my life has been a desire to create. As a child I

Question 1. Choose an architect or practice whose work is covered by or relevant to this course and discuss critically one or more of their design projects or drawings or urban proposals as precedent case-studies. Selectively situate this work in relation to their body of work, and against the practices and concerns of the period. Focus on the architectural qualities of a specific key aspect of the design of the projects. Selectively consider how they might relate to the historical situation, cultural values, theoretical concerns and design practices of the time. This may involve a selective analysis of compositional design practices, material fabrication production and the experiential reception of built outcomes of the projects.

Charleston, South Carolina boasts a rich history. The city was founded in 1670 by English colonists and grew from a small to a prosperous seaport (Charleston, n.d.). The Civil War’s beginning was at Charleston’s Fort Sumter as Confederate soldiers fired upon Union soldiers in April of 1861 (Charleston, n.d.). The Civil War was difficult to recover from for Charleston, and in its rebuilding it focused on trade and industry (Charleston, n.d.). As time went by, Charleston was challenged with a “dying downtown and a crumbling urban housing stock” (Jackson & Sinclair, 2011, p. 80). In 1976, Mayor Joseph “Joe” Riley took office and was the catalyst in the rehabilitation of the city, making it one of the most beautiful American cities today (Jackson & Sinclair, 2011). This paper will summarize the case study of Charleston, South Carolina, which is segmented into four sections, the Symptoms, the Diagnosis, the Cure, and the Prevention.

A city that is known for its diverse culture, up and coming neighborhoods, and eye-catching building designs, should believe to have everything. In the city of Key Biscayne, a place that caters to the public that incorporates physical activities into their lives, and has a way to enjoy doing it at the same time is nonexistent. If inspirations that come from past designers, one specifically who has unique design characteristics, architectural landmarks, built to give visual opinions, and surrounding elements, that may be viewed various ways, is combined, it should transform into a design that can capture the traits and ideas of each aspect. By adapting to existing structure, and reinventing its design, it will allow recreating a vision and

West Des Moines holds a wide range of structural appearances that possess different purposes and stand for different ideas. Variation sets buildings and its surrounding areas that are privately owned apart from those that are open to the public. Although, the significance behind structures may go into deeper meanings. Some hold specific purposes that involve religion while others stand to serve on more secular grounds. If we take the time to look around, we can discover how interior and exterior design conveys distinct meaning. By entering into these buildings, we may discover the diverse functions they serve in relation to structural engineering and unique aesthetics. The framework for centralized control within different societal environments

“The good building is not one that hurts the landscape, but one which makes the landscape more beautiful than it was before the building was built” (Frank Lloyd Wright). Throughout the centuries, architecture has fascinated everyone. History is inscribed in buildings and they can express the political and economic power of a nation. Although time has gone by, buildings have not. You can still idolize ancient Egyptian and Greek architecture and see how the events that occurred at that time influenced them.

When thinking of buildings that were ahead of their time two come to mind the Chrysler Building and the Seagram Building. Both of these structures were built to withstand the elements of time and are still beautiful to this day. These buildings have been featured on the cover of magazines, tv shows and are modern marvels in today's society. Between the two buildings, one can not help but look at the similarities as well as the differences between the two. Today I want to discuss these differences as well as the similarities and go into greater detail on why these buildings are significant.

A deep understanding of architectural heritage and aesthetics allows Tom to maintain a balance between existing traditional architecture and the new contemporary additions. He has some prestigious and

Architecture should be nurturing, responsive and alive, dynamically shifting spatial balances, organically expressive forms, subtly luminous colors and biologically healthy. To achieve such life-enhancing architecture, it has to address all the body senses simultaneously and fuse our image of self with experience of the world. By strengthening our sense of self and reality, architecture serves its all-important function of accommodation and

Before the end of my second year at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute School of Architecture, I began to ponder on the possibility of quitting architecture. It was a convoluted time of uncertainty; I wasn’t sure whether I was prepared to become an architect and take on the responsibility and commitment to better the built environment. Nevertheless, I decided to give myself one last shot at architecture before giving up – I accepted the internship offer from MAD Architects in Beijing, China. There, I got to meet many young architects

Today technology allows us to construct structures that we would never have been able to make in the past. Some of the creations are impressive based on what they accomplish but others are masterpieces in themselves. Man’s capability to build such tall buildings, as the skyscrapers we are familiar with covering our cities today, is a major expression of the advancements we have made as a culture. The power necessary to build such tall structures inspired competition between architects to see who could build the tallest one. One skyscraper that has inspired many and served as a model, for high rise buildings that were created after, is the Chrysler Building. The Chrysler Building serves as an identifying mark to anyone that

Perhaps the most definitive example of New Urbanism has been DPZ's project, Kentlands, a 352-acre community in Gaithersburg, Maryland begun in 1990. An oasis of good planning in a sea of suburbia, it is not only a model of Traditional Neighborhood Design (TND) but also the predecessor to many other such neighborhoods developed within CSD areas. In Kentlands, much like Seaside, the Citizens' Assembly runs a recreation center and provides for common maintenance of public areas. Civic buildings and shopping in mixed-use buildings are within walking distance of the development's six architecturally distinct neighborhoods. This compact design reduces auto traffic significantly, allows children to go about their daily business without requiring a mother chauffeur and puts workplaces near their employees.5

In order to create innovative public architecture, considered to be the most civic, costly, time intensive and physical of the arts, the project holds a degree of risk, strife, and negotiation . Overcoming these tasks and creating worthy public architecture is a challenge designers try to accomplish, but are rarely successful. The people involved in a potential public building, can be larger than the building itself. Public

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.

Louis Henry Sullivan's design theory that “form ever follows function” leads the dialogue towards a new world of design where the buildings effect on its surroundings is considered. Inspired by his mentor Frank Lloyd Wright expands on the design

Architecture can be viewed with two different types of properties. Properties that can be seen like shapes, their composition, the spaces they create and, the colours and textures that make up their appearance. These properties are considered to be visual while other properties are considered to be abstract. These properties can only be described using words; the meanings behind the architecture and the stories that can be told about it. The context, its cultural background and its function also affects how we view architecture. The question is, what