Week Two : The Opus Project

It is said that for a building to be considered a true piece of architecture, it must process three qualities: Commodity, Firmness, and Delight. A building must be commodious, in that, it must serve a function. The building must also be firm, meaning it must withstand the elements and stay sturdy and strong. Finally a true piece of architecture must be delightful to the eye, it needs to be welcoming and inviting. ""The tension we may feel when looking at a modern structure so delicate, it seems to break, is the difference between physical and perceptual structure" (Roth 25). "[Delight] is the most complex and diverse of all components of architecture...it engages all of our senses" (Roth 67).

Above is a picture of the Weatherspoon Art Museum. I find that it represents all qualities of commodity, firmness, and delight. Though it is a solid white wall, it is apparent that space is firm. It houses the work of many artists and the circular window in the space engages your eyes to want more.

Illuminate is a word which here means to lighten or bring light. This past week in drawing, we were assigned a series of vignettes. A vignette is a picture that does not reach the edges of a piece of paper. We were then told to illuminate our drawings with water color. Suzanne also mentioned that the best way to show light in a picture is to let the white of the paper shine through. Above is an example. "Perhaps the most powerful element in our perception of architecture is light. Louis I. Kahn insisted that there was no true architecture without natural light" (Roth 85).

An idiom is “an expression whose meaning is not predictable from the usual meanings of its constituent elements, as kick the bucket or hang one's head.” http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/idiom. Idioms, I find, were a major part of our fairy tale week. In my story, The Owl, I thought that the owl was more of a representation of unknown knowledge. An owl is a symbol for knowledge, which the townspeople feared.

Materials are found everywhere. Materials are the pieces that make up the whole. They are the pieces of bristol board that make up a chair for Pat, the colors of water paint that fill our books, the feathers that create hats. Materials are the pieces that make up everything.

In our second week of studio we were given four new words that relate to our classes. They were: Commodity, Firmness, and Delight [One phrase], Idiom, Illuminate, and Materials. I found that all of these words are woven together to describe architecture. An idiom means known by a majority, what is beautiful, what is right. To illuminate is to bring beauty, style and delight. Materials work to produce firm structures, commodious spaces, and create additive pieces that engage our senses.