September 8, 2010

Point: theories

“Design... deserves attention not only as a professional practice but as a subject of social, cultural, and philosophic investigation.” is what Richard Buchanan and Victor Morgan believed backed the creation of a structure and I believe this quote has numerous points that supported the first unit. Actual structures built and ideas lifted from the purpose of objects, all form from the environment, the people, the culture, and the function in which it will be located. Without the history and tradition of the area, a structure will hold no significance. Numerous builders, architects and theorists have created manifestations that explain why and how a structure should be created but reoccurring within all of them is “commodity, firmness, and delight” in some form or another.

Structures like Stonehenge and Avebury are ancient locations that contain stones placed in lines or circles that have relevance to one another. The civilizations are gone now but people still have the ability to understand why the stones may have been placed where they are and can understand that, for example, Stonehenge was possibly a place for ceremonies or worship with levels of importance between the different stone circles or a place of studying the stars (a place of the Gods). In the earliest years, BC, theories were centered around understanding the idea of the different layers of circles with the stones and how the people were able to place the monstrous boulders in a pattern, as well as, have some mounted atop others. All the many ideas behind the purpose for the site and the actual creation of Stonehenge are supported by the cultural influence and the environment, which is still a place of beauty due to the mystery of not understanding the exact purpose.

Besides the mystery, beauty, and possible reasoning for Stonehenge, the monument itself was constructed well. Several construction phases have been recorded and evidence has shown assembly expands as far back as 6500 years ago. Even with many stones missing, the main appearance and final idea of the structure is still visible today. Not knowing the original builder or creator, present day people are still able to experience Stonehenge as a complete monument. The stone placement and stability of the natural materials used have increased the lasting preservation of the site.


4 comments:

  1. I think this is a great beginning to the Point assignment. However, it isn't the the correct length. I think that by evolving the aspects of the Stonehenge in comparison with buildings that were created after the Stonehenge that you could lengthen the essay and also bring about a clearer understanding of the unit to readers who aren't in the class.
    I also really like the quote from class at the beginning of the essay and how you used it as your starting point.

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  2. I like that you used a quote, however I think your essay could have been a little longer. I like how you talk about design and the fact that it has been thought about since stonehenge.

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  3. -I LIKE HOW YOU POINTED OUT HOW NUMEROUS ARCHITECTS HAVE DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES ABOUT HOW BUILDINGS SHOULB BE BUILT, BUT ABOVE ALL, A VERY WELL DESIGNED STRUCTURE SHOULD HAVE THESE THREE MAIN ELEMENTS, " COMMODITY, FIRMNESS AND DELIGHT"
    -VERY GOOD POINT ON CHOOSING STONEHENGE AS YOUR IMAGE BECAUSE THIS IS A VERY GOOD EXAMPLE OF PREHISTORIC ARCHITECTURE.
    - WORD COUNT IS NOT CORRECT, 379 WORDS APPROXIMATELY

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  4. Like some of your classmates have said the essay is not the correct length. Make sure you are meeting the basic requirements of the project and not losing points for minor details. However, your analysis that you do have was nicely written. We talked about a plethora of theories in class and it would have been nice if you brought up a few more. You show how theories relate to design well, but try to show how everything will relate to your own design work.

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