The subject of architecture is sometimes thought to be boring. Many building that we see are simple in structure and design. There is nothing particularly special about the way a simple house or government building looks. In fact many of us may believe that anybody could be an architect. We are ignorant to the rich history of architecture. We are also largely unaware of the amount of education, planning, or intelligence needed to be an architect or design a building. Many also do not take into account that architects are not only responsible for simple structures, such as houses and libraries, but also excessive structures, such as the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Eiffel Tower, and the Sydney Opera House. These, and many other structures, are breathtaking visions, designed by supposedly boring architects. Not to mention architects make a sizeable living for themselves. Although on the surface architecture may appear to be boring or listless, it is actually very interesting.
Many elements of history came together to create society. The Sumerians contributed math, a calendar system, and the written language. Mesopotamians invented irrigation. Greeks gave the world democracy. Architects, of no particular origin, gave all of these brilliant people a place to live. While the other contributions are important, shelter arguably trumps them all because, depending upon climate, without shelter everybody would die. The need for buildings evolved out of a need for survival; humans were not made to consistently survive outdoors. As society grew and became more formal in nature, buildings, and the craft to create them, became more of an art form. This is how we came to know architecture. What was once strictly a means of survival became a way ...
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...often very difficult and interesting. Architecture is important because we all require shelter; it is a basic human need. Architects also need a lot of education in order to design even the simplest of domiciles. It is not something that just anybody could do. There are many architects throughout history who have designed monuments and buildings who will be remembered forever for their efforts, proving that architecture is anything but mundane. If the complication surrounding it, education needed, and occasional accolades received for their work are not enough to convince an individual that architecture is important, they need look no further than an architect’s salary.
Works Cited
Kelly Wilson, Travis. The Aspiring Architect. Bloomington: Trafford Publishing, 2013.
Lewis, Roger K. Architect?: A Candid Guide to the Profession. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2013. Print.
By giving the biographies of architects Richard Neutra and Robert Alexander, Hines does nothing to remedy his aimless writing. He writes that Neutra had a variety of experience as an archi...
“The architect’s role and their intellectual responsibility is to fight to maintain their vision and little bits get chopped off all the time, but if they’re only little bits, it’s not too bad.’’
Architecture is a very interesting subject. The designs shape the way we interact with different aspects of everyday life. There have been many great architects through out the years such as Andrea Polladio, Louis Sullivan, and Frank Lloyd Wright. One architect how ever is particularly significant. Not only because of his designs, but because he was also a president; Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson was a very successful architect and was able to design a numerous amount of structures in his life time. Some of his most famous buildings were The University of Virginia in Charlottesville, the Farmington Country Club and Monticello. Monticello is specifically interesting in the fact that Monticello was Thomas Jeffersons home. In terms of the
When an architect is influenced they create. They make what they see in their mind. But people could always improve what they’ve already created. Homes at one point were only one story houses. But suddenly to someone’s mind they thought homes should be two stories or even three. Back in High School, most of my classmates wanted to become architects and they’d be asked how they were influenced to draw a blueprint like the one they had. Some would respond with “I saw this house that had this this and this and I really liked it so I put it into my home.” Meaning they would be inspired by a home that was already
The success of architects is defined not so much by the problems they face as the act of their creative and practical responses.
Architecture, the practice of building design and its resulting products, customary usage refers only to those designs and structures that are culturally significant. Today the architecture must satisfy its intended uses, must be technically sound, and must convey beautiful meaning. But the best buildings are often so well constructed that they outlast their original use. They then survive not only as beautiful objects, but as documents of history of cultures, achievements in architecture that testify to the nature of the society that produced them. These achievements are never wholly the work of individuals. Architecture is a social art, yet Frank Lloyd Wright single handily changed the history of architecture. How did Frank Lloyd Wright change architecture?
where people are mostly spectators to be entertained. Architecture is an art that we see and use
With the interaction between the development of computational approaches in architecture and the contemporary forms of spatial design intelligence, some new architectural design theories emerged to make differences between architects and control designing processes. These theories are almost employed in all designing realms, from architecture to urban design to provide fields of ideas and solutions that privilege by complexity. Most of these theories are oriented to relay on understanding and using computational methods to generate exotic and complex geometries. In this respect, three of these theories will discussed and tested against three buildings. The theories are: parametric design, genetic architecture and emergence, which characterize some of the contemporary architectural design approaches.
Being an architect is a very important thing, you have a large amount of responsibility. You control a large aspect of someone’s life whether it is where they walk in a shopping centre or where they sleep and eat, and that is why it is very important to design for yourself and your client. You have to imagine the space as if you were there, you need it to be
Buildings reflect the values and ideas of society within periods. The role of architecture in shaping society and vice versa largely depends on the period in question and who or what affects first. The Enlightenment, and the subsequent period the Post-Enlightenment, reflect the biggest change for current ideas regarding architecture and society and current theories. At the same time, individual identities and understanding of society, progress and truth all follow a similar evolving path. It is during this dramatic shift in thinking that the role of architecture to society and the idea of progress and truth becomes a more complex relationship. How this relationship works and its implications is based on the theory that there is a direct link between the two. One cannot develop without the other. Who leads whom and to what extent they influence each other is evident in architectural trends and pioneering works by architects such as Robert Venturi, Frank Gehry amongst others.
Architectural engineering is a challenging yet rewarding career. Architectural engineers design buildings that not only look appealing, but also suit the needs of people and ensure the safety of those people that occupy them. The four to five years spent getting an architectural engineering degree is well worth it because it opens up opportunities. The opportunities are endless in the field of architectural engineering.
The role of the architect is a question that evokes a spectrum of answers from Norman Foster’s definition; ‘Architect is an expression of values… the way we build is a reflection of the way we live.’ [Foster, cited in Tholl, 2014: Online] This debate of who and what an architect should be and do is not a recent one to emerge but has lead many architects and designers as far back as Vitruvius [15BC] to produce documentation on what they believed to be the make-up of an architect. In Vitruvius’ ‘The Ten Books On Architecture’ he quickly establishes two fragments that make an architect, the manual skill and the theory and scholarship.
Every person with a job, no matter what occupation, makes an impact on society in some way, shape, or form. Some people leave their legacy by defending people in court, some saving lives in a hospital, and others planning and building works of construction. These planners have a large-scale effect on everybody in society and have an eye for detail, as well as enjoy using mathematics to ensure proper construction. That is why I have chosen architecture to be my career. An architect is a person who designs buildings and supervises their construction. A broader view of an architect is a person who is responsible for inventing or realizing a particular idea or project. Architecture varies from the pillars of the Greek Parthenon, to peoples’ homes. I often find myself marveling over the design of large-scale building projects such as the skyscrapers of New York City. Most of these buildings belong to a myriad of well-known companies such as Chase and Toshiba. That is why I have particularly chosen to become a commercial architect.
Over the last four years of studying architecture, I have seen the power that it has to shape communities, shape lives, and to create new ways that people interact with each other. The way architecture can help enhance living and allow for creation of new interactions of people is one of the reasons I find the subject so interesting. The way architecture can shape a whole culture and the way that the culture then in turn shapes the architecture is fascinating to me. Architecture is also not a static subject, it is constantly evolving and adapting with time to take on new forms, create new spaces, and to provide commentary on the history of our time on Earth. The depth that architecture has, and the evolution of the subject is something I have fallen in love with through my study of it. However, when I first started out studying architecture, I had no idea of the depth that the subject had, and it was an incredibly daunting realization; however, it was as equally exciting. I have always had a love for learning and architecture has just fueled that fire. Even after completing my bachelors degree, the learning has not stopped. I get to learn something new about architecture daily, and getting to say that is an opportunity I am thankful to have. It is not just about the learning however, its
The profession of architecture, the possible career as an architect, taking steps to gain a position and education as well as the set growth and prospects of this profession. According to Lee W. Waldrep (2010), author of the book Becoming a Architect “A Guide to Careers in Design, an architect is an imaginative person who designs a wide range of structures for buildings”(p. 2). These structures not only have to be aesthetically pleasing, but must also meet the safety requirements. Architects have to compete with other architects to attract customers by presenting designs. This process is generally based on building a reputation as an architect. Due to the nature and the amount of time devoted to designing, architects