Assyrian architecture
The ancient region of Mesopotamia is often called ‘the Cradle of Civilization.’ It is here that we see the earliest form of writing developed along with beautiful art and architecture.
Palace of Sargon // Restoration
Archives For November 30, 1999
In the format of a selective dictionary of cross-referenced terms, Metapolis identifies a new architectural will within the contemporary social and cultural panorama. It contributes to a global vision of the emerging new architectural action that participates in “advanced culture” and visual art disciplines and technology.
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Rendering is a drawing, specifically a perspective, of a building or interior space, artistically delineating materials, shades and shadows: usually done for the purposes of presentation and persuasion.
James Akers // traditional architectural rendering by hand
In a Classical order, abacus is the flat, sometimes moulded, section between the top of the capital and bottom of the architrave.
Analytical drawing relates to the drawing of lines to represent the three-dimensional structure and geometry of a form, proceeding generally from the whole to the constituent parts.
Analytic Figure Drawing // Vivi Wang
Technique is a method or practise for the accomplishment of a desired task that is often employed by an artist, exhibiting a high degree of skill of its fundamentals.
Deconstructivist is the appearance characterized by vehemently non-rectilinear forms, and the juxtaposition of divergent and often angular components.
Daniel Libeskind // Jewish Museum, Berlin
In architecture, the digitally generated walkthrough and fly-by of a virtual building design have become so established that they are now commonplace. Indeed, there is even evidence of a hardening resistance to their apparent ease and slickness.
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Simply put, abstract exists in thought or as an idea that does not bear a physical or concrete existence. Traditionally relates to art that does not attempt to represent external reality, but rather seeks to achieve its effect using shapes, colours, and textures.
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When speaking of the fold, it is the echoes of Deleuze and Guattari that spring to mind – highly suggestive by some of their book titles. In essence, at its core lays the implication of space and how we relate to it. Spaces pass from inside to outside, raising an argument on the concept of boundary and motion.
The composition – organising each part in its place – creates patterns, and establishes the union of different programs seamlessly. This leads to a discovery of spaces of relation and interchange at the level of new organisations and social interchange.
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As a practicing architect, student, and instructor, I believe that speaking architecture is as important as drawing architecture.
This distinctive lingo with the recurrent use of particular terms has evolved into a language of building design, which has moved from architectural literature and journalism and is now commonly encountered in every student project review. While, at times insular and disconcerting, the reality is that architects relish engaging with these terms, playing, modifying and adding to this unique form of expression.
On the other hand, the emergence of this subculture also echoes the necessity to translate architectural design concepts into spoken commentary. By exploring the vocabulary of this language, we gain some insight to what does it really mean. More importantly, it will expose first-year students to the nuances of a language that may improve the quality of their design commentaries.
This is the core purpose of this blog entitled Archispeaking.
ARCHISPEAKING 