Blog Post 13

Scandinavian Design Influencing Chairs Of Today!

I think that the importance of the legacy of Scandinavian modern to design that is present today is that of it's inspiration on chairs of today.  This is because the Scandinavian design was mainly focused on being modern but simple at the same time.  The chair that I think it is important in for influencing is the Polyprop chair designed by Robin Day.  The chair has a very simple design, it consists of just a basic seat attached the the back all molded into one piece.  This part is made of injection-moulded polyproplene which is a very basic material.  The legs are were easily made and attached to the other part.  They legs were made of tublar steel.  The scandinavian design was also know for it's functionality.  This chair is definitely very functional and serves a distinct purpose.  All throughout my years of school, I remember it being in most of my classes and in other places throughout the school.  It does a great job at serving the purpose of a place for students to sit long enough for them to be comfortable enough to last through a class.  The chair is also very inexpensive and nearly anyone could purchase it if they wanted to.  This is very similar to the Scandinavian design.  Therefor, I think that this influence was a very strong one and will continue over time. 

Blog Post 12

The Cell Phone

The object that I selected that I think represents "good design for all" is a cell phone.  This is because there are so many different kinds ranging from free to hundreds of dollars.  The reason a cell phone is designed for all types of people is because anyone can use it and is able to use it if they try.  Although, this may be harder for some people than others.  They have made phones today that are very user friendly, with all of the basic features very straight forward.  They also have phones known as smart phones, such as a blackberry, droid, or iPhone.  All of these are much more complex and have many more features than your basic phone.  These are designed for people who need there phone for many purposes.  These are able to do almost anything that a computer can do, such as going on the internet, typing documents, networking, and keeping up with tasks.  There are also phones designed for people who work outdoors or somewhere where they could get their phone damaged very easily.  These phones are very indestructible, they can be dropped many times and never break and even be dropped in water.  There are also phones that someone might would buy specifically for texting, based on the fact that they feature a full keyboard.  No matter what you may do or what you may want to buy a phone for, they all make calls and send text messages.  But beyond that there are numerous amounts of other features and perks to consider.  

Blog Post 11

When I first read the prompt for this blog post the first thing that instantly came to my mind was Falling Water.  Having just visited this house on a field trip, I knew it would be the best thing to write this blog post about while it is fresh in my mind.  I think this house is such a great example of modernism in architecture and design because of all of the features the house has.  Because it was built in 1935, during that time no houses anywhere looked like this one.  They were all similar looking and had very old fashioned and non modern features.  This falling water house however was quite the opposite.  It was made entirely of stone like materials, making it look much different from other houses at this time.  It was also built literally on top of a river, where most houses would just be built next to a river.  On the inside there was not the traditional style layout of a house, all of the rooms were scattered everywhere.  I feel as though if I lived in this house I would get lost in it.  There are so many rooms in so many different places, along with tons of balconies everywhere.  The rooms all seemed so modern to me because of all the little details that they possessed.  The windows and doors were all very slender and the lines in them were not the same as that of a traditional pane window.  The furniture inside was very simple compared to the styles popular at this time.  This is similar to furniture today, it is much more simple with just basic elements and not much decoration involved on it.  The most modern room in this entire house to me was the bathrooms.  If I just saw a picture of them online I would assume they were from a new house from today.  They just seemed so up to date with how things are now.  The modern aspects of this house truly show how great of a designer Frank Lloyd Wright was.  He was thinking way ahead of him time, it's almost as if he knew that this type of house would be in style almost a hundred years later.  He worked so hard to be modern so that all of his work would stand out and be thought of as different and brilliant.

*all of the above pictures are ones that I took myself while visiting Falling Water for the field trip*

Blog Post 10

MUSIC

For my designed object I selected music and all of the objects used to listen to it and to play it.  It have advanced tremendously from the time that it was invented until now.  I  believe that because of all of these changes it carries a message of revolution.  This is revolutionary because it has been around for such a long time and it is something that whether we like it or not it is a part of people's daily lives.  It has a great impact on the world and the history.  Just like everything else it changes gradually over time to fit in with how the world is advancing.  It began by being something you play music with could only be played from a room in a house or other buildings, then portable devices were invented but you still had to carry the "cds" for example with you.  But now everything is all on one device already loaded onto it, making it very convenient to listen to music from where ever you may be.

Blog Post 9

Colonial Expansion

What came to my mind when thinking of a building that represents colonial expansion to the United States is that of cathedrals.  This is cathedrals in general of all kinds.  In the United States there are many old churches that resemble the same general structure as that of the cathedrals in England.  They used to the same tall pointed like structure giving it a great sense of height.  In my opinion they both have a very dark and distinguished feel to them.  Also they were used for the same religious purposes.  I think that the US may of copied this type of cathedrals because when our country was first getting started we had nothing else to go off of, there for we did what had already been done because that is safe.

This is a cathedral in England.

This is a cathedral in the United States.

For the colonial expansion from the United States to many other countries is that of the sky scrappers that we have in our country.  They were first started to be able to accommodate lots of things in one building without taking up a large portion of the landscape.  Therefor, instead of making buildings so wide in these large cities, they decided to build upward making the buildings go toward the sky more and more, calling them "skyscrapers".  They are used in large cities where land is very valuable.  Other countries began using this same idea when constructing a new building.  It is still used in America today as well as in every other large city around the world.  It is also said that the taller the building the more powerful and more prominent it is.

These are skyscrapers around the world.

Blog Post 8: Nautilus Shell

Baroque

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Gothic

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Renaissance

The three time periods that I selected as being similar to each other and using many of the same design traits and characteristics are the Renaissance, the Gothic, and the Baroque.  The most common and noticeable trait that all three of these buildings in three different time periods possess is that they all have pointed like structures near the roofs of them.  They all are very tall in size emphasizing that they wanted people to see and notice them making the particular building the most important and dominant.  Each of these buildings use the stacking method, making one clearly be able to see and point out the various layers of the building.  They all seem to copy the other by using the same color scheme, each have very dull and brown or tan colors. 

Sources:

- http://www.capital-calling.com/london-areas/london/westminster.htm

-http://www.kidspast.com/world-history/0293-rome.php

-http://www.igougo.com/journal-j29623-Fulda-Baroque_Fulda_on_a_winters_day.html

Blog Post 7

In my opinion to have an architecture of happiness that means to be in a place, space, or structure where you feel happy and comfortable.  It many cases it is different for each individual.  Where one person may feel happy another may feel the complete opposite so it all depends.

The happy place on campus that I explored was the meditation room located in the Elliot University Center.  As you enter the room before the actual room there is a piece of artwork on the wall that is blue with lots of holes all in it.  This piece makes you begin to have a sense of calmness and it prepares you for the room.  Inside the room there is a large circle in the room made of wood.  Since the rest of the floor is made of tan carpet this circle is really emphasized and stands out in contrast with the other floor areas.  Although the circle is technically not in the center of the room but it is in the middle of the four windows along one wall.  The next thing that I noticed in this room was the several walls on the right side by the windows.  These are made of glass like structure with a see through like appearance.  I think these are rather appealing in appearance and add to the room.  They allow light to pass through them to still light the rest of the room.  There is a beach like area with sand, rocks, and other nature like items.  This ultimately made me feel as though I was in a calm and peaceful area much like that of the beach.  This is a great feature to have in the room to add to the sense it is trying to give off.  The room is very clutter free making it feel very nice and not chaotic.  The light in the room is very dim but the sunlight coming from the windows mixed with that creates a great feel.  

The space that I chose as my happy space was the garden/ sitting area behind the EUC.  This has always been my favorite space on campus ever since the first time I came to it before I even was a student at UNCG.  My favorite aspect of it is the fountain that is somewhat in the middle of the space.  It gives me a real calm feeling and I love to hear the sound of water that it creates.  The area is guarded with the three surrounding walls making it feel as though you are somewhere more secluded than you actually are.  Each table with chairs is sitting on a square with various color stones and divided by grass.  This shows that each one is separate from the rest.  On the surrounding walls there are nothing but lots of doors and windows.  I also noticed how there is several trees around but there is one large tree that over powers them all.  

Blog Post 5

The texture that you imply

is of such greatness in the color that it shows

repetition is your dominant trait

its beauty can not be replaced

Blog Post: Campus Circles + Axes

After walking around campus and viewing the many spaces around I think that the place where commodity, firmness, and delight are at their highest achievement is at the Elliot University Center.  As you enter this building you see a large circle creating the shape on the interior floor space and the ceiling above.  The next thing that I happened to notice was the wall enclosing the space.  The wall is made of dark and light colored wood and a cream colored material as well.  Each band of these materials and colors created a continuing pattern of circles that go all the way around the space, despite the intersecting elements.  There are windows in the space that create columns along the walls.  This is a space where almost everyone on campus probably travels through on a daily basis.  There are lines on the walkway outside coming from several directions that direct people where to go to enter the EUC.  After you exit this entrance space you see similar lines at the opening on the floor telling you to follow that path to go to your next destination.  You then see another large circle around the stairs, creating a boundary for that particular space as well.  It is a multifunctional place that serves many purposes to many students.  People go here to eat, shop, buy books, hang out, study, and to attend meetings, along with many other things.  I think that this space/moment that I selected does achieve this approach to design.  The EUC marks something of significance or value in my understanding of the campus and who we are as a university.  This is because it is a very central location on campus, much like the library.  It is a place that in a way connects all other places on campus together.  A place that each and every student can enjoy and take advantage of no matter how different they may be.