Gothic Design Responses

I reviewed Flor's blog post on Gothic designs. I really liked the fact that discussed the furniture pieces from this time period. The current applications that she shares are really cool takes on the Gothic style. I also really enjoyed the video that she shared. The second blog post on Gothic design I reviewed was Justine's, where she discusses the architectural structures of this period. She also shared a video that distinguished the difference between the Romanesque style and the Gothic style.

Gothic Design

The cathedral design and layout is one of the major attributes the Gothic design period gave to architecture. The typical cathedral layout was the Latin cross plan.  The walls were tall with stained glass windows everywhere. The stained glass windows typically had a tracery, or an outline, surrounding the glass. The pointed arch and ribbed vault were both introduced in the design of the cathedral. another architectural feature utilized in Gothic design is the fly buttress.

INTERIOR VIEW OF WELLS CATHEDRAL

The Wells cathedral is a great example of the pointed arches, as well as the ribbed vaults. 

EXTERIOR VIEW OF NOTRE DAME DE PARIS

The Notre Dame de Paris is another good example of the use of the pointed arches. the use of stained glass windows can also be found in this cathedral. 

CURRENT APPLICATION OF STAINED GLASS WINDOWS

CURRENT APPLICATION OF THE POINTED ARCH

Islamic Design Responses

I reviewed Sammy's blog, where she discussed some of the key Mosques covered in class. She also posted a really neat video that further discusses the mosque designs of that time. The second blog I viewed was Rachael's blog. She discuss the features of the Taj Mahal. I also really liked her current application examples. She had examples of the color schemes, the geometric patterns, and the use of arches.

Islamic Design

Islamic design introduced the design of the Mosques. the features of the mosque include a perimeter wall, a covered hall with columns, and a courtyard. The Mosques provided a gathering place for people to worship and pray. The Great Mosque of Kairouan, located in Tunisia, North Africa, is a famous ancient mosque. The interior features is the horseshoe arch, as well as the classic capitols with the Islamic arch.

EXTERIOR VIEW OF THE GREAT MOSQUE OF KAIROUAN.

INTERIOR VIEW OF THE GREAT MOSQUE OF KAIROUAN.

The interiors of the Mosque of Sultan Ahmed featured a geometric design. 200 stained glass windows are featured in this mosque. 20,000 hand made tiles were also used in the interiors.

EXTERIOR VIEW OF MOSQUE OF SULTAN AHMED

INTERIOR VIEW OF MOSQUE OF SULTAN AHEMD

CURRENT APPLICATION OF ISLAMIC DESIGN.

CURRENT APPLICATION OF ISLAMIC DESIGN.

Romanesque Responses

I reviewed Jessica's blog. she shared great pictures of the church designs from the Romanesque period. I also liked her examples of the current applications. They gave examples of all the important architectural elements. I also reviewed Hannah's blog. She covered all aspects of the Romanesque design period, such as the background of the culture, the architecture, and art work.

Romanesque

The Romanesque period is best known for their church designs. Similar to the early christian basilica plan, the Romanesque churches modified the nave, transept, and apse making it more spacious. Chapels were also added to the transepts. Another architectural feature added to the Romanesque churches was the semicircular arches and vaults. The churches were larger than previous churches and contained multiple aisles and a choir area. More natural lighting was added to help make the churches appear bigger. The interiors were full of rich tapestries and colors, such as purple, blue, green, and gold. gilded sculptures also filled the churches interiors.

FLOOR PLAN OF ROMANESQUE CHURCH 

CLUNY ABBEY

CURRENT APPLICATION OF THE SEMICIRCULAR ARCHES

CURRENT COMMERCIAL APPLICATION OF THE SEMICIRCULAR ARCHES

Byzantine Responses

Lindsay's post on Byzantine was one of the blogs I read. She posted about the Hagia Sophia, explaining how the Hagia Sophia best displays the Byzantine style. She also gave three different examples of current applications of the Byzantine style. The second post on Byzantine that I reviewed was Hannah's post. She had a lot of good examples of the byzantine style; early, middle, and late, as well as a video that was interesting.

Byzantine

My favorite attribute Byzantine had on design was the interior style. The flooring was typically composed of marble tiles. The walls were highly ornamented. Either mosaic or fresco detailing covered the walls. The interiors were full of textures because of the use of mosaic tiling. Gold was a very popular color during this time as well. The interior spaces contained rounded arches as well as domes. They used pendentive construction to create the domes on a square base. The Hagia Sophia is one Byzantine structure that uses the pendentive construction.

An example of the mosaic tiling on the floor from Byzantine.

Exterior view of the Hagia Sophia. 

A current application of the Byzantine style.

current application of the round arches 

A 2013 Byzantine inspired dress designed by Dolce & Gabbana.

Early Christianity Response

The first blog post on Early Christianity I read was Margaret's. She did a great job of explaining each attribute early Christianity had on design. She discusses the background of the Christian religion first, then continues to discuss the architectural elements, as well as design motifs and furniture. The second post on early Christianity was Natalie's blog. I really liked her furniture examples of current applications of early Christianity design . She also discusses the architectural attributes of early Christianity. The pictures she used are great examples of a typical cathedral layout of that time.

Early Christianity

In the beginning, Christianity was more of a underground religion in Rome, and those who followed Christianity was punished. In 313 C.E., Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity, recognizing it as an official religion. At first Christianity was practiced out of homes in small groups. Once legalized, the number of people coming to services grew causing a need for a bigger space. One attribute Christianity brought to architecture is their version of the Roman Basilica, where they added transepts to each side of the north/front apse. Overall, the churches had a central building plan with the entrance opposite of the apse. They also had separate rooms for baptisteries. Many of the churches also utilized clerestory windows, which are windows aligned in a row along the top of the wall. these windows allowed direct light to pass through onto the Nave. One of the most famous churches of this time was the old St. Peter's Cathedral. The exterior was very plain, but the interior was very elaborate; containing biblical frescoes on the walls.

Old St. Peter's Cathedral 330 C.E. 

painting of interior view of Old St. Peter's Cathedral

An example of Clerestory Windows used in a Cathedral.

An example of a contemporary use of clerestory windows in a home.

Pompeii Response

I viewed Desiree's blog post on Pompeii. she posted a video that gave a lot of history on Pompeii. She discusses specifically about the artifacts that were found. many bronze statues and ancient scrolls were found. I am interested in finding out what the scrolls contain after they had been deciphered. I also viewed Emily N's blog post on Pompeii. She discuss some history of Pompeii as well. she also shared examples of the different styles of frescoes used in Pompeii. The current application pictures she provided are great examples of the Pompeii style with a more modern twist.  

Pompeii

Highly decorated homes in Pompeii, Italy during the ancient Roman period were filled with paintings. The paintings were typically done on wet plaster.  The paintings style was divided up into four different styles. The first style describes the style of the paintings around 300 to 100 B.C. Many wall paintings mimicked other materials/finishes, like marble. 

First Style 

 The Second Style emerged within the time period of 100 B.C.E. to 20 B.C.E. This style portrays architectural elements, like columns and archways. decorative elements such as moldings were also copied during this style. The use of color, especially red, is displayed during this style.

Second Style

The third style contained more architectural elements and some pictorials. A lot of the architectural elements copied were very detailed and could never be physically built. The pictorials were typically of landscapes. The colors red, white, and black were primarily used in the paintings. Green was also used, but not as much since it was a more expensive pigment. This style flourished between 20 C.E. and 50 C.E.

Third Style

The Fourth style was popular during the reign of Claudius; 40 to 79 C.E. This style contained a lot of ornamentation and movement. Many paintings of this style contained hanging picture within the paintings. The style had luxurious details and resembles theatre sets 

Fourth Style

Classical Civilization: Rome Responses

I view Kristina P's and Megan's blogs. Kristina gave a great overview of the ancient Rome design period. She discusses the culture of the time and how it impacted architecture. One of her strongest points of this was the Colosseum, and how it was the home of gladiator fights. She also discusses the Domus, which was a typical home for the wealthy Romans. She discusses the lifestyle of the homeowners and shared that the man ran the home. Megan discusses how the ancient Rome design has an influence on modern design. She shared examples of both ancient Roman and modern Insulas, which is the use of dwellings built on top of commerical building (i.e. a store at ground level with apartments/condos above.). I would highly recommend checking out her blog for more ways on how Ancient Rome inspired modern designs.

Classical Civilization: Rome

The Roman Empire culture had a huge influence on design during this time. With the creation of roadways, the Roman Empire used the grid layout for the city. The civilians had more time to engage in recreational activities, politics, religion, and commerce. these daily activities had a huge impact on the architecture of that time. Buildings were created with the purpose to house gathering places for these activities. One of the most famous recreational buildings built during this time is the Colosseum. It was the home for cultural activities like gladiator fights, and could seat up to 5,000 people. The Roman Empire was one of the first to use concrete in architecture, which was used to build the Colosseum. The Colosseum also incorporated another important Roman architectural feature; the arch and vault. The Colosseum was also the prototype for sports arenas.

The Colosseum, 80 A.D.

Current application of the Arch

Current application of the use of arches in a sports arena. 

Ancient Greece Response

I reviewed Ali's and Chanel's blogs. Ali gave great information on what influenced ancient Greek designs and how they incorporated the designs and concepts into their furniture and architecture. What I liked about Chanel's blog is that she discussed the many materials used when making furniture during this time period. She also discuss the how the designer gave furniture multiple purposes; making everything functional.