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Analysis of research article
Influence of a life
Analysis of research article
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After reading Juhani Pallasmaa's essay, "The Geometry of Feeling," and having watched "The Art of Making Ruins," I have grasped a better understanding of how architecture shapes someone's life physically, mentally and even spiritually. Florian Borchmeyer and company strategically obtains a couple of Cuban citizens' outlook on their environment and how it impacted them for the rest of their lives. Fidel Castro, during Cuba's revolution decided to detour from the maintenance of these structures due to the fear of the invasion of the United States. Unfortunately, that prediction was miscalculated and has caused Cuba to be viewed as a ruin and has begun to collapse, erode and frighten the occupants or residents around the structure. For example, an elderly woman was injured and three other people in the collapse of an interior section of a building in Havana. A portion of the structure above a room gave way in the mass populated neighborhood. Two families lived in the building. A girl was among the injured, all of which were hospitalized and listed in stable condition. Living shortages and the poor establishment of buildings are along the main social and economic problems in Cuba. Havana is a city of two million, but it needs about twentyeight thousand housing units to withhold those searching for housing and people living in buildings that are in poor conditions. This is one incident of the factors of disturbing conditions that are still being inhabited and at many times appreciated.
Can buildings have memories? Buildings inhabit occupants and from that perspective, you could make the speculation that we as human beings have moments that we hold onto, memories. Nevertheless, if we have those moments inside of a building, t...
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...ide that sense of shelter so without Totico keeping that building functional; the occupants would be homeless and on the streets. His spouse even mentions the building is nothing without Totico and when he is gone, she doubts anybody will replace him. Consequently, this will cause the demolition of the building. Nicanor de Campo's little bit of land left he occupies with his wife has changed his life and his outlook on his country's government. He once was an optimistic of the Castro regime until he first handedly witnessed the chaos that what caused by Castro's reign, for example, the "ruins" of Cuba. As mentioned earlier, Nicanor's land was seized and government agents occupied most of it. The agents even went as far as claiming the fruit in the tree as theirs. What has occurred on that land has changed Nicanor and his family's life for the rest of their lives.
Tobar uses description of buildings to reinforce Antonio's economic and social position in life. He informs the reader about the squat apartment buildings when the protagonist is on the way to a homeless camp, which have a significant contrast with the skyscrapers where Antonio observes later. Everyone can see the skyscrapers, but not many people know the existence of the short apartments. Tobar uses the invisibility of these apartments to reflect the inferiority of the protagonist in Los Angeles. Antonio's existence is the least significant as an illegal immigrant. He is seen as a parasite that is not accepted by the city. The apartment owner, Hwang, even forces him to leave with a call to the police (9). On the other hand, the auth...
The Carrillo Adobe is in a dire situation. It has not only fallen into disrepair from the many years of weather and use by so many individuals, but by visitors and citizens have been less that kind and considerate of its age and the prominence that it deserves. After Carrillo’s death her house was given to three of her daughters, Marta, Juana, and Felicidad. Then her belongings were distributed between all of her children. In the first decade after her death her different children each occupied the house at different times. One of her daughters, Juana and her husband ran the home as a tavern. They then converted the adobe into the first post office in the town of Santa Rosa. After her daughters no longer had a need for the adobe it was turned into a trading post where numerous individuals...
A growing affluent class called upon the Diaz regime and imported architects to construct buildings in the Zocalo to reflect a “proper” image that drew on influences from Europe and the United States. Johns recognizes the architectural dependence of the influential Mexicans constructing Mexico City when he states, “Mexican architecture, on the other hand, was an expression of a city run by a people who were looking to create their own culture while entirely dependent on the industry and ideas of Europe and America” (22). The same construction that the elite felt was a celebration of a newfound dignity in the Mexican people was criticized, by visitors and locals alike, as grandiose and a futile effort to shield the native roots of a circle of imposters. Johns’s argues that the “Mexicans knew little of their adopted European tradition, had acquired even less of its taste, and enjoyed none of its tranquility” (23). While the influence on the Westside led to development, the squalor and lack of authority of the peasants on the Eastside created mesones, or as Johns described them, “…a little more than ‘a bare spot to lie down in, a grass mat, company with (the) vermin that squalor breeds…’” (48). Politics on the Westside of the Zocalo were concerned little with the living conditions of the majority. No one would undertake the unglamorous task of assisting the poor, but rather they attempted to veil the masses in the shadow of their refined buildings and recent assumption of culture.
The history of Architecture started long time ago. The nomadic were groups of people whom move from one place to another in order find shelter and food to survive. As they progress, their techniques to survive evolve. The need for a permanent shelter became vital for a better stability of the group. This is the time when the first structures that provided protection appeared. Post and lintel were the first forms of Architecture, that satisficed the basic needs. Architecture evolved to be more sophisticated and fulfill the people’s needs. Consequently, Architecture evolved throughout different periods such as: Ancient architecture, Romanesque, The medieval, Renaissance, Early modern, and the industrial age, Modernism and Contemporary architecture. During the Medieval period a style of Architecture named Gothic Architecture was very notorious. The concept of this type of Architecture still continuous now days, in the city of Los Angeles many building have taken this concept of Gothic Architectural Style and have developed to a new level of experience and expression. Some of them have recreated in a modern way the features of the physical aspects of this style. Other structures have taken this concept beyond the physical features and used the emotional concept behind Gothic Style to connect people feelings with magnificent elements of the Cathedrals.
At the same time, Miami tends to be a more multicultural city, with the majority of Spanish-speaking population and a vast part of Cubans who came there in search of refuge. Besides, the Miami city and its metropolis have been rapidly and instantly growing due to the arrival of people to the terrains. The immense growth of the population delivered the nickname of the “Magic City” to the area. Respectively, with the flow of investments and people, Miami city has managed to develop better infrastructure, better conditions for education as well as better life opportunities for its inhabitants, with a wide range of festivals and . In contrast, being a capital of the socialistic state, Havana can be characterized in terms of fewer instances of inequality, and the city creates a vivid representation of its culture, with music playing almost on every step and a number of sights enlisted in the UNESCO World Heritage.
Dell Upton is a historian and renowned professor of architecture and Urbanism at the University of California. He has published several books on architecture; one of them is “Architecture in the United States”, published in 1998. In this book, Upton analyzes the architecture of the United States in different aspects, such as nature, money and art, thus depicting the great variety in architectural forms, and how throughout the decades, different interests have lead communities to different ways of building, different purposes and materials, thus reflecting their way of thinking and their relationship with the environment. By exploring so many different architectural styles, Upton reveals the great diversity and richness that has always, and continues to characterize American architecture.
It is not difficult to identify Cuba as a “developing” nation: a quick glance around at the grimy, graffiti-filled streets, rampant propagandist billboards and the cars, clanking along with broken fenders in tow and a volatility and tint that suggest that their primes passed 50 years hence are enough of an indication. Indeed, those sepia-toned prosperous days under communist rule having come and gone, there has been little to no influx of money to replace and refurbish aging buildings, automobiles, schools, roads and above all, aging policies. When asked what they thought ab...
Memory is often described as a process in which information is stored and can later be retrieved. It is considered nothing more than a chemical and sometimes physical catalyst for the mind. However, not all see memory as simply a scientific and robotic process. Some argue that memory is in fact more than just a “storage place.” One such person is John Russon. In his book, entitled The Human Experience, Russon presents new ideas and opinions about memory. Russon talks about how memory is a very personal experience. He also describes memory as being much deeper than what is simply found in one’s head. Yet, out of all his theories on memory one stood out above the rest. And that is his theory of memory. Russon’s theory of memory is the belief
The floors are masked with a red, green, and black tile pattern that ties in the washed orange walls with intricately carved yellow space dividers. The orange paint is removed in large chunks from the walls, revealing a charcoal grey color beneath it. The center of the photograph is focused on a portrait of Jesus Christ that is suspended above a bouquet of crimson flowers. To its right is a sliver of the house’s lived-in area, revealing a scraped-up refrigerator reminiscent of the 1960s and a black pipe chair shoved before a covered table. It is clear that the house is decaying. Its old appliances, crippled walls, and old-fashioned preferences reveal a hopelessness in moving forward and in fixing what remained. However, the colors among this decomposition convey a contrasting story, one of vibrancy and enrichment. The yellow, orange, and red in the room announce the unerasable sense of Cuban culture integrated into the architecture and furnishing of many homes. The choice of photography to convey this message is important in capturing the space as it is. It doesn’t romanticize or exaggerate the narrative the photograph tells. A photograph captures a moment in time that is unable to change or be reinterpreted, just as the House of Maria remains a time capsule that reminds the world of Cuba’s
Knows remembers believes a corridor in a big long garbled cold echoing building of dark red brick sootbleakened by more chimneys than its own, set in a grassless cinderstrewnpacked compound surrounded by smoking factory purlieus and enclosed by a ten foot steel-and-wire fence like a penitentiary or a zoo, where in random erratic surges, with sparrowlike childtrebling, orphans in identical and uniform blue denim in and out of remembering but in knowing constant as the bleak walls, the bleak windows where in rain soot from the yearly adjacenting chimneys streaked like blacktears.
Home is experienced in a multitude of ways using our senses. Impressions of our past and present homes materialize from a familiar smell, sight, feeling, taste or sound. We all live in a multi-sensory environment, where we can use one or more of our senses on a daily basis to absorb our surroundings. However, it is easily arguable that although each sense can conjure up a memory, or imprint a grasp of where we live or lived, certain senses are stronger with the recollection or the feelings we have of our home. If we live in the same home as other people, some of us will associate a certain smell to the home, while others will not; or a sound, etc., that I would not associate with that home. I will be pursuing the reasons why we absorb our environments
One World Trade Center (WTC) is the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere measuring up at 1776 feet tall. The built output sets new standards of design, construction, and prestige. Its beauty in New York City’s magical skyline makes it an icon. It is the most recognised and desirable office address in the world. In this essay I plan to argue that the social, political and economic status of society has affected the built output of this building considerably, for the good. Making the building one of the best skyscrapers in the world.
The author explains architecture as an identification of place. Architecture starts with establishing a place. We define ‘place’ as a layout of architectural elements that seem to accommodate, or offer the possibility of accommodation to, a person, an activity, a mood, etc. We identify a sofa as a place to sit and relax, and a kitchen as a place to cook food. Architecture is about identifying and organizing ‘places’ for human use.
Remarkably, unlike in the description of art or music, the notion of atmosphere remains largely unaddressed in architecture. Atmosphere, can be argued, is the very initial and immediate experience of space and can be understood as a notion that addresses architectural quality, but the discussion of atmosphere in architecture will always entail, by definition, a certain ambiguity. After all, atmosphere is something personal, vague, ephemeral and difficult to capture in text or design, impossible to define or analyse. Atmosphere, Mark Wigley says, “evades analysis, it’s not easily defined, constructed or controlled”.
Constantly judged and evolving, the practice of architecture is forever plagued by the future. The future of people, of culture, technology and its resulting implications on the built environment that more often than not, outlives their creators. Much of the conversation surrounding this future architecture currently hinges itself on the creation of new experiences, forms and spatial relationships brought about by technological innovation.