Arch 3210 Survey of World Architecture 1 Michael
Rybin
Professor: Shundana Yusaf
Fall
2012
Monday 10 Sept 2012
A Global History of the Pre-Dawn of Architecture
From the beginning
of time or the period of enlightenment, humans have lived on the earth. This time is also known as the age of
certainty or the age of reason versus belief.
Around the eighteenth century, the German philosopher Immanuel Kant wrote
about the period of enlightenment with ideas like every man is capable of reason
so common man should challenge intellectual ideas of speculation that are not
based on experience.
Around
or between the renaissance and baroque periods, Swiss art critic Heinrich
Wolfflin wrote three very influential books that continue to be used by
architects today, the Renaissance und Barock (1888), Die Klassische
Kunst (1898, "Classic Art"), and Kunstgeschichtliche
Grundbegriffe (1915, "Principles of Art History"). Heinrich capture the zeitgeist or culture and
time by looking at form and appearance and geometry in art paintings to produce
empathy with prior civilizations and architecture.
How do local
historians imagine the world of architecture historically? How do they read buildings around the world,
both past and present?
Many
scientist and people believe human evolution began with pre-human primates
followed by Homo Erectus in Africa from 150,000 BP who walk on two feet, had fire,
and stone tools, but no language or ability to speak or communicate because we
have no recorded evidence like pictures or books on stone or metal, or other
materials. Perhaps Homo erectus people
had communication and prodigious intelligence or photographic memories of
knowledge they passed from father and mother to children and neighbors which
required no dependences on recording devices like books or Google.
Home erectus: range ca. 150,000 BP
Later Home Sapiens
are a different species believed by some scientist to have unique genes, language,
tools, and ochre, symbolic expression through geometrical drawings and
etchings. The original meaning of these
and other archaeological findings like necklaces and dwellings are unknown
but interpreted as a more intelligent
civilization with language, kingship, abstract thinking, and ritual practices
including status, marriage, and hunting and dance ceremony and organized
architecture. In addition, it is believe
these people had an understanding about the relationship between nature and
man, animals and humans and the dead and living. Some of these interpretations are based on
the lives of people living in Africa today.
Cave drawings in Africa from 25,000
BC help us learn about the first plan city that seemed to be dominated or
synchronized with nature and hunting and agriculture near rivers. Historically oral storytellers shared or
transferred their ideas about life and experience. What did one culture know
about past cultures was sometimes lost in translation.
Chauvet Cave Drawings 30,000 BCE
The modern city
with the latest technology is based on previous knowledge and solves prior
problems of function and representation.
In the last twenty years, the global approach or conscience of
architecture has evolved from a connection of many ideas around the world. Economics, trade, tools, philosophy, travel
instantaneously bridged what one builder knows about architecture in a faraway
country with another engineer on the other side of the world.
Buildings have also evolved from basic
shelters to encompass commerce, culture, landmarks, symbolic and religion. Specific buildings have connections to past
civilizations are now used as tourist sites which is completely different from
their originally intended function. Knowledge
of precedence and presence, multi-cultured universal values including common
rights from all cultures drives us forward while looking at the past in our
rear-view mirror.
- Personal notes taken from Professor Shundana Yusaf lecture-one August 20, and lecture-two Aug 22, 2012.
- Photos from professor’s Shundana Yusaf lecture slides.
---
Michael Rybin~۩~
Architecture is a wonderful life ™
Copyright© 2013 Michael Rybin All Rights Reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment