As Peter F. Drucker once said, “The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn’t being said.” Most people may think Drucker is referring to people, which is most likely correct, however, what if it worked the same way with buildings and structures? As Strange and Banning argue in Educating by Design, this “non-verbal communication” (4) is especially important on a college campus as the way a college is presented can be symbolic of the values that the institution upholds. On the Lehigh University campus, the layout is all on the side of a mountain, and therefore walking on pathways can be difficult, especially in inclement weather. The “functional and symbolic” (Strange and Banning, 4) non-verbal communication of the Lehigh University …show more content…
The first way that the University nonverbally communicates it’s pro individualism and simultaneous lack of regard for the handicapped is through the dauntingly steep staircase of the Rauch Business Center. Upon arrival at the bottom of the Rauch Business Center staircase, we are forced to take a deep breath before climbing the very steep stairs. Since the steps are carved into a steep hill typical of Lehigh’s campus, the precipitous stairs show no mercy as they are unnaturally very close together (See Exhibit A). Additionally, the slope of the staircase makes it difficult for students to walk at a normal rate as either students walk extremely fast or extremely slow down the stairs. It also encourages small conversation in groups as there is only enough space for three or four students to walk side by side and discourages large groups like an elevator would encourage. Through the functional nonverbal communication of the steep staircase and the symbolical non-verbal communication of promoting individualistic qualities since we are repelled from traveling in large groups like paths and elevators might otherwise inspire, Lehigh is trying to dissuade students from following a herd-mentality through the physical design and layout of
On June 9, 2003, my life took an interesting turn. It was a sunny day. Blue skies, humidity insanely high, and I found myself at 4th Street and Constitution in Washington, D.C. I stood before an angled architectural masterpiece by famed architect I.M. Pei; its pointed corners jutted out towards the grassy Mall and Capitol Hill as if it were some sort of Picasso-esque compass pointing simultaneously towards all the tourist hot spots. (The one corner, purportedly the sharpest building corner in the world, wore a dark gray spot about eye level where thousands if not millions of tourists had touched it just to see how sharp it really was). I found myself standing before it, not as tourist . . . but as an employee on my first day of work.
“Form follows function.” Every great Modern architect thought, designed by and breathed these very words. Or at least, their design principles evolved from them. Modern architects Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe, Frank Lloyd Wright, Pierre Chareau, and Rudolf Schindler to name a few believed that the function determined the space whether the space was solely for a particular purpose or they overlapped to allow for multiple uses. Form didn’t just follow function, function defined the space. By focusing on the relationship between the architecture and the interior elements, Chareau’s Maison de Verre expanded the idea of functionalism to include not only the architecture but also the space it creates and how people function within that space.
She begins to build a strong effective argument by using her own personal stories which include a strong emotional appeal,and she also uses statistics from other college campuses to explore the injustice and unfairness towards disabled students. Throughout the article, Adams effectively gives a strong argument by using her personal stories and statistics to demonstrate the unfairness of how disabled students and also examines how they should be treated. Instead of just tolerating disabled students, we should welcome them as people and not undermine their values as human beings and give them proper treatment and give them the justice and intellectual freedom they deserve. The acts of injustice and unfairness towards these disabled students done so by professors and campus is utterly disgraceful and Adams effectively informs other college campus,govts,us or anyone other readers and persu be something done to help these students especially since they are dealing with enough problems in college,but this is something can control and improve as a society.
James F. O'Gorman, Dennis E. McGrath. ABC of Architecture. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1998. Document. October 2013.
In the book, The Short Bus, Jonathan Mooney’s thesis is that there is more to people than their disabilities, it is not restricting nor is it shameful but infact it is beautiful in its own way. With a plan to travel the United States, Mooney decides to travel in a Short bus with intentions of collecting experiences from people who have overcome--or not overcome--being labeled disabled or abnormal. In this Mooney reinvents this concept that normal people suck; that a simple small message of “you’re not normal” could have a destructive and deteriorating effect. With an idea of what disabilities are, Mooney’s trip gives light to disabilities even he was not prepared to face, that he feared.
Over time the use of buildings changes and so do their users requirements. Despite still sharing the same key functions with certain rooms, over time the layout of these spaces changes. There are many factors which can determine the form of buildings and in this essay I will be exploring the difference between two educational institutions, built in different centuries under very different socio-cultural, political and technological contexts. The two buildings which I will be analysing are Shepley Fist School (1896) and Shelley College (Originally Shelley Secondary Comprehensive then Shelley High School (1974)). The two buildings are very different in their forms and through this essay I will be discussing the factors which contributed to the
our professor gave us an assignment that is really easy, but also difficult to do because we have to break a norm in from of people. Not following the social norms of society, individuals might think you deviant. Clarice and I decided that we were going to do our assignment on Hialeah campus on a Friday morning. The building on the Hialeah campus has four floors and it gets really busy when students get out of class to go to their next class. First, when we went to the elevator and practiced when it was not busy, we analyzed where we were going to stand when people came to the elevator, one of us was going to be in the corner and the other one in front of the door facing the people.
Disconnection between design, construction, and operation phase leads to the build environment that do not always perform as it is intended. Higher education buildings has received insignificant attention in regard to building performance appraisal despite the recognition of physical learning environment as prominent criteria in the creation of knowledge and learning. This research addresses the effectiveness of a physical learning environment in terms of supporting pedagogical practices- learning activities- such as teamwork, concentration, and communication. This study is evolved around a case study of the relocation of Construction Science Department within the campus of Texas A&M. The mixed methodology of quantitative and qualitative research
Palmer’s third chapter speaks about paradox in teaching and learning. He describes paradox, overall, as the inner tension experienced in the heart of every teacher, competing and pulling between laughter and pain, joy and sadness, engagement and apathy. He embraces the soul of the teacher pungently: “teaching...can only be expressed as paradoxes”. Push them yet coddle them, inspire them yet give them thinking time, challenge them yet celebrate their established riches. Parker’s description brings into light the true tension in the hearts of teachers, balancing forces of emotion, identity, intellect, and truth.
in structures that did not focus on form, but on the narrative of the building. Daniel
Correspondingly, Katie Llyod Thomas shares similar views on how modernity has increasingly concealed tectonics. She conceptualizes how materiality is secondary to form with hylomorphism in her Architecture and Material Practice. “Hylomorphism, which understands materials as a subset of matter, does not provide a way of positively distinguishing materials, and underscore the architectural tendency to use materials as mere finishes,” says Katie.6 Modernity has instigated materiality and tectonics to become inferior to the architectural form; therefore, concepts and spaces are given more importance and further worked on more attentively, leaving materiality till the end. As Katie mentions, materiality in the design process of a student is in fact consider in the later stages, where it is discussed as a technical issue rather than a conceptual one.6 Materiality and tectonics is a conceptual joint, it is the structure that forms an architectural expression, represents an emotion, and it is what creates a space. Considering all factors, materiality shall not be left to discuss at the end, but worked on as the design is developing, therefore working on form alongside materiality and
To understand the role of place in architecture, the author compares architecture to language. Language has patterns and arrangements, architecture relates directly to what humans do. It changes or evolves as
...ry back of the classroom everyday because of the obstacle that the stairs present, making it difficult to even hear the teacher. It is amazing just how different a situation can seem when it is looked at from a completely different perspective, and I believe it is this striking realization that both Berger and Mills are trying to get their readers to discover.
However, architecture is not just the future, after all, buildings are intended to be viewed, traversed and lived by us, people. Despite this, many architects today rarely think deeply about human nature, disregarding their main subject matter in favour for efficiency and an architecture of spectacle. In this there seems to be a misconception that underlies much of architecture, that is, human’s relationship with the city, the building and nature. In much of today’s architecture, people are treated with as much concern much as we treat cars, purely mechanically. The post-modern search for the ‘new’ and ‘novel’ has come to disregard the profound affect design has on our lives, impacting our senses, shaping our psyche and disposition.
It was about 11:15 AM on a Thursday, and I was on my way to the Hecht-Stanford Dining Hall at the University of Miami. It was a beautiful September morning filled with sun, and although early for lunch, there were a fair share of people entering the hall. One must wait in line to swipe his or her cane-card, but the line to enter the dining hall was fairly short. While waiting on line, I could see two different types of people standing together; people who came in groups as well as several people who came to the hall by themselves. While most people who came to the dining hall did so in groups for that sense of community, the people of most interest were hence those who came by themselves. There are countless reasons why a person is at the dining hall alone: their schedule conflicts with their friends, they want some quiet or personal time, or they just do not have anyone to eat with besides themselves. No matter the reason for coming to the dining hall alone, those who were alone were lacking that sense of community, and were likely looking for a togetherness in another type of way.