Essays on Edifice

Philosophy

Compare Views: Obligations of the Citizen

In his ‘letter from Birmingham Jail”, Martin Luther King wrote to eight white clergymen, addressing their disapproval over his nonviolent protests against racial inequality. Martin Luther King answered the charges of him being an outsider, by claiming that anything that happened anywhere in the United States affected everyone else, and that no one was an ‘outsider in the United States. King further addresses the clergymen’s opposition to the black demonstrations. King’s central idea regarding the obligations of the citizen is that it is the duty of the citizen to oppose all ...

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Bauhaudin, Elias, and Saifudin define the green building as an edifice that has the capacity to “reduce the undesirable human impacts on the natural surroundings, building materials, building assets, and enhances human health and the natural environment” (Bauhaudin et al. 2). In other words, a green or sustainable building is designed with the intention of allowing human beings to co-exist harmoniously with the environment by creating an edifice that is environmentally friendly. However, it should be noted that “the perception of what is a sustainable building is changing over time and depending on the location” ( ...

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According to John Arend, Mike Benkert, Audrey deFilippis and Saretta Tillmaand, when the Commerzbank building opened its doors in 1997, the “53-story” edifice became the one of the “tallest” buildings located in Europe (1). Nevertheless, the edifice’s distinctiveness did not come from its height, but, rather, it came from the way in which it combined “form, inventiveness, and technical expertise” (Arend, Benkert, deFilippis, & Tillmaand 1). The design and construction of the Commerzbank saw the “[b]reaking away from the American model of deep-planned, air-conditioned structures” that have a “central service core” (Arend, Benkert, deFilippis, & ...

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Norman Foster, who clearly designed the HSBC Bank in Hong Kong and the Commerzbank in Frankfurt for the financial industry, employed two different approaches when designing each of these buildings. Foster when designing the HSBC Bank ensured that the building was created to facilitate and mirror the ways in which technology is used in today’s world. However, the Commerzbank edifice was designed by Foster to ensure the efficient use of energy while integrating green spaces into the architecture. It can be argued that Foster in designing the HSBC Bank the architect focused on technological ...

The architecture of the early 20th century relied heavily on the introduction of new materials which led to the existence of new styles that rejected the notion of social hierarchy and religious affiliation. During this period, the buildings created within the early phase of modernization became so diverse and eccentric yet it was due to this nature that allowed architects to apply all the scientific knowledge in creating functional structures rather than buildings based on the designer's viewpoint. What separates the style of the 20th century from its predecessors was their openness in terms of exploring new materials especially ...

The ancient was once a thriving civilization and their great achievements were recorded in the history and thus became a legend. Yet, many historians and archaeologists still try to study the ruins on their previous locations. Here are the following architectures that had been considered as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The first edifice from the list was the handsome marble temple dedicated to Artemis also known as Diana in the Roman mythology. Artemis was the Greek and Roman goddess of hunting and the moon. Both the Romans and the Greeks worship her as their ...

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According to Jacques Derrida, “language is a way and so always had a certain connection with habitability and with architecture” (Derrida 320). Therefore, it can be assumed, based on the quote above, that architecture can be seen as a form of language. In fact, some scholars argue that architecture can be considered as a type of written language. Furthermore, some academics note that Derrida’s philosophy questions the “one-to-one relationship between signifiers and signified” (Eisenman 111). Hence, it is the duty of the observer to recognize the meanings of symbols that are present within a ...

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Peter Eisenman explains that modernism “‘changed the relationship between man and object away from an object whose primary purpose was to speak about man to one which was concerned with its own objecthood’” (qtd. in Eisenman 234). In addition, Eisenman indicates that the building, influenced by the principles of architecture, is able to communicate about its “‘objecthood’” through a system of symbols (qtd. in Eisenman 234). Hence, based on a critical assessment of the writings of Eisenman and Mario Gandelsonas it can be said that the idea of perceiving edifices as being similar to textual ...

In architecture, representation plays an important role in the overall design construction because it is the process wherein the architects combine the visual, memory, and the knowledge in order to create something that meant to ‘represent’ any object, culture, or people. Therefore, the notion of architectural representation has been greatly affected by the cultural exchanges of the people all over the world from different centuries. As Graves (1982) pointed out the discourse regarding architectural representation needs to be fully studied and understood in order to understand its premises. Yet, despite the uncertainties, architecture without representation is like a building ...

(Archnet: Bayt Nassif).

Introduction

The Nassif House is located in Al-Balad, Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. As of 2009, it has been declared as a cultural center and a museum. The house has 106 rooms in total, is composed of four floors, and was built between 1872 and 1881 by Sheikh Umar Effendi Al-Nassif, a wealthy merchant of the city (Saudi Caves: Discovering Old Jeddah). This short essay will discuss the sustainable features of this edifice against the climactic conditions where it is situated.

Discussion

Nassif House is situated in the Al-Balad section of Jeddah, which is considered to be the “old ...

Comparison Essay on Architectural History of a Building

Introduction The Dome of the Rock (Qubbat as‐Sakhrah) is a religious edifice structure built in the7th century that is located in Jerusalem. It was built by Caliph Abd al‐Malik, the Umayyad. This edifice is not a mosque, but may be described as a Muslim shrine. Like the Mecca Ka'ba, the Dome of the Rock is built on a sacred stone. It is widely believed to be the place from which Muhammad the prophet ascended into heaven in the process of his night journey into heaven. The sacred stone over which this edifice is built was long considered ...

A good design refers to a style in architecture which allows liberation of movement while ensuring safety, functional, yet memorable, and lastly, designs should at least have a beneficial effect to the people. Design is often neglected and with the arrival of modernity, sometimes, designs are both corrupted and simplified according to the designer's tastes. For instance, good design invokes memories. It should be significant and noteworthy for it to be remembered by the majority. Adults often remember their important memories especially if they were tied to "special places." Children due to their lack of ability to understand the ...

What is Modernism? How and why this style gained popularity amongst the nations around the world? What does Modernism emphasized that other art movements lacked? One of the pioneers of the Modernist movement was the French architect Le Corbusier when he designed buildings that mimic the simplistic classical Greco-Roman architecture whose colors were limited to monochrome pigments (Goldhagen 145). In his book, Towards New Architecture, he argued that structures such as buildings and houses were meant to shelter as well as to protect the people living inside. Using this fundamental principle, Le Corbusier attacked the lavish and non-functional designs ...

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In Gilles Deleuze’s “The Diagramme” and Michel Foucault’s “Panopticism,” organization is connected in some manner to the creative process. In Foucault’s article, spatial organization is interpreted as extending one’s power rather than representing it. On the other hand, Deleuze’s argument reveals that the diagram, which is removed from “optical organization,” is used by the artist to suggest to him how he should create his work (Deleuze 1). Therefore, it can be argued that although both readings focus on the importance of organization both authors have different approaches in dealing with ...

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Aldo Rossi argues that architecture should be seen as having “profound value as a human thing that shapes reality and adapts material according to an aesthetic conception” (394). This proposal may appear to be simply when studying the subject of architecture, but, throughout the years, architecture has not always presented itself in such clear and direct terms. In fact, Charles Jencks’s definition of the “Post-Modern building” underscores the point that architects can take multiple positions in their very design of a building (306). Whether this is done consciously or subconsciously is unknown. Nevertheless, it ...

Poetry is the kind of verbal art that allows to express all the profundity of the genuine ache of the heart within a very little amount of space. Very often, even having seen nothing but the title, the reader feels that this particular poem will resonate with his or her feelings and bring about sublime aesthetic and moral experience. In my reader's experience, this was the case of the poem Mother to Son by Langston Hughes published in 1922. Even without reading the body of the poem, I became aware of the intense emotions it carried. My initial impression ...

A critical re-examination of Plato's Phaedo argument reveals that learning involves a recollection of prenatal knowledge. Plato`s thoughts on the knowledge that rests upon recollection is brought out through Socrates, his speaker. Socrates gives too much attention to the case of equal stones and sticks which are in most of the occasions viewed as existing without complete success that resembles a Form. Plato takes two different approaches in handling the theory of knowledge. In both the Phaedo and Meno, he presents this theory of knowledge as a recollection (Sedley, 1992, p 312). Plato presents his theory as a more or less incidental part ...

HISTORIES OF IMMIGRANT AUSTRALIA

- Summary Subsequent to on site study in Williamstown (9 August 2013) and analysis of primary and secondary historical sources, this report imply that most of the existing nineteenth century edifices of Williamstown correlate to an era following the mass migration of the Gold Rush period. Nevertheless, whilst subjective buildings may not expound or reinforce attributes of the immigrant, when taken jointly and measured in connection to the general waterfront landscape they do give some obvious understanding of the immigrants’ experiences. They also display the need of colonial Victoria to hastily structure community and social life so ...

Introduction p. 3 – 4

Skyscrapers in the City p. 4 – 8 List of Figures Fig. 1 (Burj Khalifa) p. 5 Fig. 2 (Table of Skyscrapers in the World) p. 6

References p. 8

Introduction Tall buildings have captured the imagination of people throughout history. In the Old Testament, the Tower of Babel builders admonished the people to build a city and a tower “with its top in the heavens And let us make a name for ourselves” (Glaeser, 2011). The height of the tower signified success and power. It showed recognition. Tall structures also date back to the obelisks of ancient Egypt. Western city builders ...