design on paper [and] in history

SCALE – [scale]
a. a certain relative or proportionate size or extent
b. a standard of measurement or estimation; point or reference by which to gauge or rate [1]
When I hear or see the word ‘scale’, I immediately think of size and try to think of an example of how different sized objects relate to one another. In our drawing class with Susan, we’re really focusing on the importance of scale figures and how to use them on paper to show the relation of our design to a human figure.

With all of our discussions last week about Egyptian pyramids and Greek temples this week, its hard to steer away from using these massive structures as examples scale. We talked about how these buildings’ uses of huge proportions empowers them and commands one to worship. Visual scale is very vulnerable and tricky - “For the most part, there are many clues in a building as to its size – windows, doors, steps – but even all these may be enlarged so that our sense of scale is distorted.” [2]. When designing the Parthenon, everything was measured by the diameter of the columns. In history class, we talked about how this made sense on paper, but that the architects knew better and moved columns along the edges closer together to enhance converging lines so that when the building was viewed from far away, it wouldn’t look like it was falling apart. 

Not only is there a physical scale found in buildings like the pyramids of Giza and the Parthenon, but they also house a social scale. Blakemore notices this too and writes that, “At the top of the hierarchal scale was the pharaoh, or king…”[3]. In Egypt, the scale jumps from a bunch of smaller structures for citizens’ everyday life to these enormous pyramids for the king. But in Greece, I find this social scale to be more gradual – on the Akropolis, there sits the most important and perfect temple of Athena, the Parthenon, in plain view from all over the country; to it’s left sits the Erechtheion with the famous Porch of the Maidens whose concrete gazes direct the viewer back to the Parthenon. Next on this scale is the Propylaia, which was very important for big processions of everyday life, and finally, still on the Akropolis, sits the temple of Athena Nike who was like a messenger figure to Athena. You can still see that the Parthenon is the most important temple, but the importance of these other three structures is also very clear, and this gradation of scale continues out to the theaters and buildings surrounding the acropolis and so 

on.

UNITY – [un-i-ty]
a. the state of being one
b. oneness of mind, feeling…as among a number of persons, etc; concord, harmony, or agreement

c. absence of diversity; unvaried or uniform character
Deriving from its definition, unity equals sameness, or continuity. So far, we’re able to list many instances of unity in ancient architecture, from the repeated patterns of concentric circles at Stonehenge, Carnac, and Avebury, to the undulating Great Wall of China and Ohio Valley, the use of limestone and illuminating effects on the pyramids, the Egyptians’ static culture, the post and lintel system in found Egypt and Greece, and columns themselves as they are repeated around a Greek temple. Blakemore notes that the ancient Greeks had their own unity that pretty much arose and remained in Greece for a while: “The unity which characterized many other cultures was hindered in Greece came from the difficulty of communication between areas of settlement, since the landscape was dominated by mountains, small valleys, and islands”[3]. She also talks about four categories of continuity that could be found in everything from furniture to the scale of a city. These four continuities are social hierarchy, geography, religion, and technology. For example, at the Temple of Amon, the social hierarchy is obvious as, being a temple, it illuminates the highest figure in society; it reveals its geography because of its local building materials; religion is apparent in the god-like sculptures, and its structure alone shows a level of technology. 

Also, there is great unity among all buildings in ancient Greece that can also be found in almost every building ever since…the citadel. This uniform arranges buildings in three basic areas: the porch, the court, and the hearth. With the porch as the gateway, the court as the social space near the hearth, and the hearth as the focal point, this arrangement is easy to point out in all kinds of buildings.

SECTION – [sec-tion]
a. one of a number of parts that can be fitted together to make a whole
b. a representation of any object as it would appear if cut by a plane, showing its internal structure
In architecture, ‘section’ can relate to several ideas. The citadel’s porch, court and hearth that I just discussed are merely sections of a building. And the Akropolis is the most important ‘section’ of the city of Athens.

Not only can a section divide a space, but it can also reveal crucial information. In drafting, section views are drawn to show the internal structure of a piece of furniture or building. A cut line is drawn on the plan of that object to show where the section is taken from, then another drawing depicts what the object would look like if it were cut by a plane at that cut line. If you were cut a red pepper down it’s center, you would be able to see its skin layers, cavities, core, and possible the fibers and structure of its stem. Or if you cracked open a peanut, you would be able to draw the thickness of the shell, and the fibers and nuts inside. These views are section views. Last week, we worked on section views of Pat’s Chair for drafting class. I drew two sections from cut lines running east to west and north to south across my model of Pat’s Chair.

BOUNDARIES – [bound-ar-ies]
a. something that indicates bounds or limits
A simple example of a boundary could be a wall or fence, determinations of space. In ancient Egypt, the Nile was the boundary between community and temples, between society and pharaohs, between present life and the after life. The Egyptians placed the Pyramids on the west side of the Nile where the sun sets and the pharaoh’s spirit can fly to the gods. And inside the pyramids were winding, mazes of halls to chambers along with booby traps to keep out civilians, to limit their access to the pharaohs grave. The ancient Egyptians had to figure out a way to deal with their natural boundaries: “Every year, the new soil deposited by the inundation swept away the landmarks that established field boundaries, so very early, the Egyptians perfected a system of geometry and mathematics to redefine the boundaries the river obliterated”[2]. The land of ancient Greece was nothing but boundary after boundary as it was made up of and surrounded by mountains, islands, valleys, and water. These were all natural boundaries, which made trade and communication difficult and became a good reason for founding city states. In Greek architecture, many different elements provide boundaries. Blakemore talks about, “…drapery used decoratively and functionally to define space…columns used structurally to define space…sections of mosaics to define floor areas…” [3], and also how, “Pilasters occasionally marked the boundary of windows and, alternatively, were used to separate windows”[3]. In drafting, when we draw a plan, we are drawing the boundaries of that building, but we are also exploring boundaries in drawing class too with vignettes. In contrast to setting limits and making boundaries clear in architecture and landscape, vignettes are about the lack of a boundary as the images and colors sort of fade away at their edges rather than connecting to a border or the edge of a page…



VIGNETTES – [vig-nettes]
a. a small, graceful literary sketch
b. a decorative design or small illustration used on the title page of a book or at the beginning or end of a chapter
c. an engraving, drawing, photograph, or the like that is shaded off gradually at the edges so as to leave no definite line at the border

As a small, graceful drawing, vignettes capture a moment and its surroundings. We’re working on vignettes of people and public spaces for Susan. These little drawings capture the activity, mood, and scale of a person in the environment it’s currently in. Typically, the lines, shading, and color tend to fade out as if inviting the viewer’s eyes to continue the image. 

As a small, graceful drawing, vignettes capture a moment and its surroundings. We’re working on vignettes of people and public spaces for Susan. These little drawings capture the activity, mood, and scale of a person in the environment it’s currently in. Typically, the lines, shading, and color tend to fade out as if inviting the viewer’s eyes to continue the image. An interior wall could create a physical vignette with the way furniture and artifacts are arranged on and around it. Vignettes can also be literary. In Leland M. Roth’s “Understanding Architecture”, she introduces each chapter with a descriptive quote that creates a mental image of what topic that chapter’s about to discuss. A strong example would be in Roth's Understanding Architecture on page 25 by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe: “Architecture…is the crystallization of its inner structure, the slow, unfolding of form…”[2]. Now, before I begin to read chapter two, I can already imagine a building literally unfolding and revealing its inner structure and even refer back to that image as I read on about firmness and what holds that building up.

In SUMMARY, scale, unity, section, and boundaries are all important aspects within the “commodity, firmness, and delight” of architecture. Scale is important in the physical aspect as well as social in determining the type, size, and placement of a building, as well as satisfying commodity, firmness, and delight; Unity requires study and history of the past as well as craft in attaining it, and also satisfies commodity, firmness, and delight; sections and boundaries are crucial for laying out a building or space and determine the purposes for those spaces, while also fulfilling the three key elements; and vignettes help document on paper and in our minds the real and ideal views of a space and reflect the amount of scale, unity, section, boundaries, [commodity, firmness, and delight] that space has.

citations

[1] www.dictionary.com/

[2] Roth, Leland, M. (2007). Understanding Architecture: Its Elements, History, and Meaning. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press.

[3] Blakemore, R.G. (2006). History of Interior Design & Furniture, From Ancient Egypt to

      Nineteenth Century Europe, Second Edition. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons

      Inc.