Bora Malko

     In the first chapter of this book, "Architecture and the question of Technology", we are introduced with an observation of the nature of art and technology in time which in the end are synthesized in relation to architecture. Throughout the first chapter of the book, there is expressed a sense of the philosophical movement of Phenomenology (which focus on the physical individual experience). Alberto Perez-Gomez, one of the authors of this book, is himself an architectural theorist who supports the above mentioned philosophy and manages to convey it in his writing on art and technology.      At the beginning of his argument, the author aims to clarify the main knowledge misgivings, which he shall later explain in detail, regarding the nature of technology as well as the universality of instrumental thinking. It is exactly this mode of thinking which tends to generally oversimplify terms during discussions, thus reducing a complex matter of issues regar...

Here is a process work of my modified topographical model. The design was derived as a by product of two main variables: 1. the relation to the initial topography of the lake site (preserving the original values) 2. the geometrical harmony  The concept of the design was to create a most efficient area in terms of human circulation, taking advantage of the sloppy terrain, thus creating two main circulation areas:  1. The underground (Which is in constant contact with the upper part, allowing for easy access all along the area, and provides a perfect opportunity for activities as well) 2. The ground level ( It is the main circulation means in the Lake site, bringing a much more accessible terrain while never losing focus of the bigger picture; the original topography as well as the one surrounding our site.) The creation of my topographical model was thoroughly assessed so that it fit perfectly to the terrain and didn't come out as a simply pretty design whi...

     Giulio Camillo, born in 1480, was an Italian philosopher best known for his Memory Theatre in the sixteenth century. His fame knew many ups and downs after his death but was reestablished during the 1900s by the British historian Frances Yates in her book on The Art of Memory which opened up new research possibilities in these areas.       The way in which Yates approaches Camillio's Memory Theatre in her book is through his own quotations or through the words of Viglius Zuichemus, a friend of Erasmus. Such a dualism of representation makes reading the book quite interesting, as we are first hand observers of two different schools of thought which divided the Renaissance thought at the time, trying to decipher the byproduct of occult philosophy; The Memory Theatre. On the one hand we have Giulio Camillo, a Hermetist, who tries to construct a physical representation of   the sort of mental memory palaces that had been crucial to ora...

     In this essay I will be discussing the first book out of a group of ten written by Leon Battista Alberti.  Alberti (1404-1472) was in fact no architect but rather  a schooled humanist educated in the arts of rhetoric, poetic and philosophy. It was however an interest and high consideration of architecture which led him to pursue it further and transform himself from a writer to a practicing architect.      In his first book entitled "Plans", Alberti examines the parts that make up every building. It is from a utility point of view that he explores such components which must therefore be considered at the very beginning of any consideration of architecture. As he also mentions in the opening of his book, the whole art of building consists in a balanced interconnection between design and structure. And it is exactly this unity which will dictate to the Edifice and all its parts their proper places with factors such as the surroundings, the gro...

In this assignment we were required to study the structure of an umbrella and identify how its forces worked. Than we had to remove the fabric of the umbrella and manipulate its metallic structure without letting it break in order to create an abstract model while making use of the compression and tension forces of the umbrella's mechanism. It was not allowed to use any kind of glue.

     Considering how we have previously discussed on what defines an Architect, the argument naturally reaches a point where one might question: How does an Architect do things? What unique skills does he posses that set him apart from other designers? According to Geoffrey Broadbent, there are four distinguishable skills for generating three dimensional forms. They include pragmatic, iconic, anagogic and canonic.      The Pragmatic design operates on a trial and error platform which is also the earliest way of building. Such kind of construction can be witnessed  as early as 40000 years ago where the early men would use raw materials found in nature, such as mammoth skin and bones, to shield from the wild nature surrounding them. However this method has also been used later on in history, with examples such as the Indian Tepee, the black tents of the Arabs as well as the Eskimo's Igloo. Even now days architecture has found use for such a building wa...

“Seeing” comes through as a two-sided process of picture forming and detailed observation, according to Rasmussen in his “Experiencing Architecture” book. Such a method resembles the principles of re-creation, especially when compared with painting, thus the spectator is not just taking the role of an observer but rather daring to interpret susceptibly. Of course when it comes to subjective observation people are more inclined to the familiar and comprehensible information, in this case expressed visually. Rasmussen compares this phenomenon to the activity of an actor on stage positioning himself closer to the role he is playing. He believes the same reaction can be witnessed with people trying to identify and relate to the piece of art they are observing or even to a commercial good. Architecture has its own way of making use of these visual observatory characteristics. The Classical architecture for instance is often associated with supporting and supported members, giving the imp...