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While walking among skyscrapers in Hong Kong, I am always astonished by the city’s unique creative structures and spaces. Just imagining myself engaging with space and culture to design a piece of art to set amongst these great masterpieces thrills me. These innovations are what genuinely cause me to crave a deeper understanding of the field and inspire me to learn more about the intricacies of architecture. Advanced Mathematics, Physics, and Art and Design are the subjects that I find most fascinating. Through mechanical studies in Physics and thematic experimentations in Fine Arts, I have strengthened my intellectual and visual communication skills immensely. Last year while working on a coursework unit about obscurity and conformity in crowds, I was exposed to new methods of design, such as observing crowds and the social behaviors of people and applying the raw expressions and emotions to bolster the design of my drafts and ultimately, the final piece. In addition, I have enhanced my analytical skills by writing formal analyses of art pieces in which I interpret many elements such as culture and history and address them to the theme of the art piece. Architects use these methods in their designing process as well to make tremendous designs and buildings. Studying Advanced Mathematics, I have developed problem-solving skills and become skilled at tackling mechanics problems which are crucial to architectural engineering, where calculating factors like the force needed to support a structure are part of daily practice. This past summer, I took a course called “Career Discovery in Architecture” in Hong Kong because I yearned to broaden my perspective of this field. Through workshops and lectures conducted by professors, I have ... ... middle of paper ... ...to learn more about visual representation techniques and most importantly, how to convey my ideas through visual media. Through this, I have developed the habit of keeping visual diaries in order to record some of my ideas, which aids in sparking creativity. Besides that, I enjoy listening to music and swimming regularly for stress relief. I am a dedicated, self-motivated and conscientious individual. I firmly believe that choosing Architecture as my field of study will fulfill my commitment to improving local environments and helping people within the community. As I look ahead to the future, I am excited to begin an education that will further advance my understanding of architecture and build upon my foundation to fully realize my potential. One day I would like to design structures that may inspire someone else, as the buildings of Hong Kong have inspired me.
Gehry draws his inspiration from famous paintings such as the Madonna and Child which he qualifies as a “strategy for architecture” (Friedman M. , 2003, p. 42) and which he used as an inspiration for a project in Mexico . Through his interpretation of the paintings and artwork, Gehry looked for a new kind of architecture. His search for a new type of architecture culminated in 1978 with his own house in Santa Monica. What was once a traditional Californian house would be redesigned to become one of the most important and revolutionary designs of the 20th century, giving Gehry international prestige and fame. Frank Gehry’s “Own House” uses a mixture of corrugated metal, plywood, chain link and asphalt to construct a new envelope for an existing typical Californian house. This house has been inspired by Joseph Cornell, Ed Moses and Bob Rauschenberg. Gehry comments on his house by saying that there was something “magical” (Friedman M. , 2003, p. 54) about it. He admits having “followed the end of his [my] nose” (Friedman M. , 2003, p. 54) when it came to constructing the “new” house, which led Arthur Drexler, former Director...
...several artistic techniques. These pieces of art are showcased in an environment where they can be enjoyed by amateurs and expert art lovers alike. All of the architects mentioned joined together not only the modern architectural techniques of their time, as well as the famous styles of the past to create Museum buildings that became their own pieces of art.
He suggests that the use of “electronic imaging prevents imagining and promotes thinking about architecture rather than bring architects, contractors, clients and critics to think within architecture” (275). Inspired by Frascari, the strategy of technography is encouraged (278). This is a “different way of thinking about the relationship between a [working] drawing and a future building. Rather than “simply Cartesian, technical lines showing edges, corners and joints these technographic drawings reveal both the symbolic and instrumental representations of the future building.. it is to make visible what is invisible”. Ridgway remarks, “The fact that any of this could be considered contentious indicates that extent to which architects have become alienated from the heart of their profession” (279). He asserts, “Part of any technography must be an acknowledgement of the historical context of construction knowledge. This is not only so we can better understand our rich architectural ancestry, but because it re-establishes a connection with the origins of our profession in building” (279). Rather than a “miniature projected representation of an imagined building, details are drawn as poetic constructions themselves, following the logic of drawing and not building and representing the “built detail symbolically, in addition to instrumentally. The symbolic and practical are one and the same thing” (280). “What are the symbolic qualities we are trying to embody in our buildings and how would we represent them in drawings?” becomes the question (278). These drawing “may not be easy or straightforward to understand or interpret.
It is somewhat by accident that I find myself drawn towards the field of Construction Science. I have always enjoyed building with an incorporation of moving parts. When I was young, I started building toy cars, airplanes, dinosaurs, and everything an eight-year-old boy would imagine. It was like striking gold! I could build tracks, and cars with wheels to go on the tracks. I could even build towers with moving parts that reached the living room ceiling. Needless to say this unassuming box of used gadgets fostered a growing excitement towards construction and architecture. As my knowledge of the field grew, so did my curiosity about the assembly and preparation it takes to build useful assets like houses, hotels, even parking garages. I am pursuing a degree in Construction Science, which encompasses not only creating new spheres of urban development, but also a supporting a structure that helps a community grow. After attending Blinn College, I feel the need to expand my knowledge in the field of architecture by attending the highly credited University of Texas A&M.
The Chinese-American architect Ieoh Ming Pei (I.M) is known as one of the greatest architects of the Twentieth Century. His long, brilliant career was highlighted by several internationally famous structures. While many of Pei’s buildings were generally accepted by the public, some of them precipitated fair amounts of controversy. The most notable of these controversial structures is his Glass Pyramid at the entrance of the Louvre in Paris. For these reasons, I.M. Pei seems to be an architect who exhibits interest in the avant-garde through both the creative design and aestheticism of his architecture.
Gowan, James ed. (1975) A Continuing Experiment: Learning and Teaching at the Architectural Association London: Architectural Press
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 architecture tries to please all, even the doubters and critics, but because of the all these factors, a building is closer to failing than succeeding.
Over the last four years of studying architecture, I have seen the power that it has to shape communities, shape lives, and to create new ways that people interact with each other. The way architecture can help enhance living and allow for creation of new interactions of people is one of the reasons I find the subject so interesting. The way architecture can shape a whole culture and the way that the culture then in turn shapes the architecture is fascinating to me. Architecture is also not a static subject, it is constantly evolving and adapting with time to take on new forms, create new spaces, and to provide commentary on the history of our time on Earth. The depth that architecture has, and the evolution of the subject is something I have fallen in love with through my study of it. However, when I first started out studying architecture, I had no idea of the depth that the subject had, and it was an incredibly daunting realization; however, it was as equally exciting. I have always had a love for learning and architecture has just fueled that fire. Even after completing my bachelors degree, the learning has not stopped. I get to learn something new about architecture daily, and getting to say that is an opportunity I am thankful to have. It is not just about the learning however, its
The essence of modern architecture lays in a remarkable strives to reconcile the core principles of architectural design with rapid technological advancement and the modernization of society. However, it took “the form of numerous movements, schools of design, and architectural styles, some in tension with one another, and often equally defying such classification, to establish modernism as a distinctive architectural movement” (Robinson and Foell). Although, the narrower concept of modernism in architecture is broadly characterized by simplification of form and subtraction of ornament from the structure and theme of the building, meaning that the result of design should derive directly from its purpose; the visual expression of the structure, particularly the visual importance of the horizontal and vertical lines typical for the International Style modernism, the use of industrially-produced materials and adaptation of the machine aesthetic, as well as the truth to materials concept, meaning that the true nat...
In the process of development of human society, architecture and culture are inseparable. Cuthbert (1985) indicates that architecture, with its unique art form, expresses the level of human culture in different historical stages, as well as the yearning towards the future. According to his article, it can be said that architecture has become one of the physical means for human to change the world and to conquer the nature. Consequently, architecture has been an important component of human civilization. Since 1980s when China started the opening and reforming policy, a variety of architectural ideas, schools and styles have sprung up. Accompanying with a momentum of...
Wide stone stairways and a diagonal slicing wall disappear beneath the surrounding rocks, creating a dramatic path to the rooftop terrace in the Naoshima Contemporary Art Museum. Ando defines architecture as “the box that provokes.” He says, “I do not believe architecture should speak too much. It should remain silent and let nature in the guise of sunlight and wind speak.” His gift is to create spaces that respond to human needs and spirit, juxtaposing powerful concrete walls with light and nature to create a deep sense of peace. Using simple materials and geometry, Ando has produced a volume of exquisite
architecture to just the designing of buildings. He feels that architecture involves more than just
Meijenfeldt, E. V., and Geluk, M. 2003. Below ground level: creating new spaces for contemporary architecture. Birkhauser
Here I sit five years later, at the age of seventeen dreaming of becoming an architect. If it wasn’t for that specific day I don’t know if I would ever have realized one of the reasons I hoped to become an architect. I want to be an architect for many reasons, but I am very driven to in order to break that gender stereotype of boys being architects. I wish that when I was sitting in that chair next to seven boys, listening to a male architect tell me about his job that I would have remembered that society does not tell me what I can and can’t do. If you have a passion for something and you put your mind to it, you can achieve it. I will always remember this lesson throughout my future. I don’t want my children to have to be scared to be who they are because of what society believes is
There are 25 major specialties in engineering that are recognized by professional societies. In any one of those 25 specialties, the goal of the engineer is the same. The goal is to be able to come up with a cost effective design that aids people in the tasks they face each day. Whether it be the coffee machine in the morning or the roads and highways we travel, or even the cars we travel in, it was all an idea that started with an engineer. Someone engineered each idea to make it the best solution to a problem. Even though engineer’s goals are similar, there are many different things that engineers do within their selected field of engineering. This paper will focus on the architectural field of engineering.