West Des Moines Structural Architecture

In A Home Is Not a House, Reyner Banham starts by arguing that the main function of the typic American house is to cover its mechanical structure. In fact, he states that the use of mechanical services in architectural practice varies constantly because mechanical services are considered to be new in the profession, as well as, a cultural threat to the architect’s position in the world. To show his argument, Banham states that American houses are basically large single spaces divided by partitions inside that give a relative importance to the use of internal mechanical services, causing a threat to the need of architectural design. Similarly, American cultural characteristics, like cleanliness and hygiene, also foster the use and need of mechanical

When designing and building structures, the social and political pressures influence the way they appear.

Rd 145 soon became an integral part of everyday life in Birdseye, Indiana. Home to multiple general stores, a variety of hometown restaurants,and a hall for the Modern Woodmen of America (Huff 1), this edifice served as a gathering place for all residents, past and present, throughout its 123 year lifetime. Now nearing the end of its lifecycle once again, this unique building awaits the chance to undergo an extensive restoration to reveal its former grandeur, because as Helmut Jahn once said, “Every building is a prototype. No two are alike,” (Demakis 12). Preserving this crumbling Italianate gem will not only provide a cultural hotspot for the town of Birdseye; it will give residents the opportunity to learn about the structure’s illustrious past and the history of the town itself while also telling the stories of many past residents and the challenges they

In the capital of financial services, two insurance buildings dominate Boston’s skyline. The Hancock Tower and the Prudential Center are structures that display the uneven change and the urban development that has occurred in this city over the course 19th century. Located in back bay these edifices work with the directionalities of their adjacent streets and the cultural history of the structures that surround them. Boston’s foundation was composed in a manner that designated and organized space. This creates the tension and contrast present in that between the two structures. The iconography that these structures have over the city is important. It represents a sense of the past as well as the purpose that the built environment has

To start off I am somewhat confused on exactly what we are trying to accomplish, although I understand the basics in what we are doing in this paper. I would like to talk about and look up information on building large structures such as skyscrapers as well as complex buildings like the Darla Moore School of Business. How I plan to go about doing this is by showing you first what I already know about building structures that I have learned in previous building construction classes. I then plan on finding more information inside of The Carolina Rhetoric in order to better understand how you can come about constructing such a complex structure. There can be many problems that you face when trying to construct these buildings such as making sure

From the beginning of my architectural education I have been inspired and influenced by political realities and issues throughout Canada and the wider world. Discussions relating to how architecture participates in political change, conflict, movements, and other events have refined, shaped and sustained my interest in the field. Growing up in suburban Winnipeg I have been continuously struck by the lack of architectural authenticity, consideration and intention found on the fringes of the city. These monotonous architectural landscapes promote and enable political inactivity. Among and in-between the many strip malls, condominiums and stucco-clad houses, there is no space for political activism or protest. In a reality where consumerism

Interior design and architecture are essential, and often overlooked, aspects of everyday life. In modern society people rely on function, durability, and visual appeal when selecting designs for their homes, businesses, and places of leisure. The way that a space is designed influences such things as mood, which, in the case of a business, can impact the productivity of employees and either draw or repel customers. In residential design, the design becomes very personal and, to be considered a successful design, must properly reflect the home owner while at the same time offering some practicality that makes the space livable. An effective design, for any space, must solve some problem, be it function, flexibility, or some other criteria. Simply solving a problem would not please the customer, however, unless it offered some visual appeal. Creating function with style is the real job of any interior designer, and is essential in a content society.

Throughout American history, people have been categorized based on what gender they are, and what their race is. In order to explore these ideas and come to terms with their importances many musicians, film makers, and authors have described the inner-workings of this societal construct. Indeed, both racial and female identities have been at the epicenter of many works of art throughout American culture as can be seen in: Maggie: A Girl of the Streets by Stephen Crane, film “Modern Times,” Bessie Smith’s “T’ain’t Nobody’s Bizness If I Do,” and James Weldon Johnson’s Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man.

I was recently in Washington D.C. where I visited a number of public buildings. I immediately thought of Washington D.C. when I saw this discussion assignment. There are an abundance of buildings there designed in the classical order. However, I will focus on the U.S. Supreme Court building – which is one of the three above.

We can learn about the personal beliefs of these people through the excavation of buildings erected on the site. As noted earlier, astronomy was a clear influence on architecture. Religion and community dynamics were brough fourth following the discovery that not all buildings were for residential use. Rather for spiritual and communal use (Munson, Bates and Nordby, 45).

According to Winner, artifacts that have a technical arrangement as form of social order have a range of flexibility in the dimensions of their material form. It is precisely because they are flexible that their consequences for society must be understood with reference to the social actors able to influence which designs and arrangements are chosen (Winner, 1980). In order to argue for this statement, Winner uses the examples of the low hanging overpass on Long Island, also known as Moses’ bridges, and McCormick’s molding machines.

In the United States, public buildings, such as libraries, banks, or government buildings, tie into the towns and cities they are helping in the community. The aesthetic for many of these public buildings follow a similar pattern based on neoclassicism elements. A great example to the start of this trend in public building aesthetic is the Redwood Library in Newport, RI designed by Peter Harrison. I picked this building because of its aesthetic and architecture. The Redwood Library was the start of the use of neoclassicism elements that began to influence future public buildings and properties of its time.

Everyday we live and move through spaces without realizing the influence they can have on our daily lives. Built environments are designed to directly affect behaviour and attitudes in a specific and intended way; this can be referred to as architectural determinism (Marmot 2002). Almost all architectural patterns use the physical arrangement of elements, and materials to influence behavior. This can range from placing design elements in specific places to encourage or discourage people’s interaction with them, placing them to prevent access to a specific area, or placing them to direct or

The entryways of the building come from four different sides and meet in the middle. The overall shape of the building creates different views and facades. The building was not created just on the looks of it; it is made up of a three dimensional, stimulating, tactile human thing.

“ Architecture organizes and structures space for us, and its interiors and the objects enclosing and inhabiting its rooms can facilitate or inhibit our activities by the way they use this language”(Lawson pg.6).