MASTER ARCHITECTS ON THE ROLE

Hmm… What have we learn so far in class? well, for one thing, we definitely know that from all the master architects we've studied in class, they've all strive to use history as a tool. In last week's lecture, we went backwards from modernism to early renaissance. The most significant building within this era would be, of course, the Brunelleschi Dome, by Filippo Brunelleschi. So how did Mr. Brunelleschi use history as a tool? After his visit to Rome, he bought back the impression he had on ancient ruins as well as ancient Roman architects' inspiration- Vitruvius' Principle of commodity, firmness, and delight. What was interesting about the dome is that it would not have been built this way if it wasn't for the rule that you can not built buttresses in Italy due to its lack of aesthetic qualities. So he ended up building this incredible dome with his mathematical and physics skills. *applause*

So we're going to talk about another architect who have used history as a tool, Robert Venturi. He's the guy who wrote 'Complexity and Contradictions in Architecture'. So how did he use history as an advantage? He studied architects before him such as Orthodox Modern Architects (Le Corbusier, Bauhaus) and he says they're too focused on starting new. He goes on to saying that these architects ignore complications and are very selective at what problems to solve. In conclusion, they try to hard. So what he did was the exact opposite of them. He knew their intention and their ideas, so he could easily do the exact opposite. Instead of being precise and clear all the time, he aimed for ambiguity. He wanted to have a 'double-functioning' element and the 'both-and' element in his designs.

The next master architect who have used history as a tool is Le Corbusier. What Corbu did was he made up his own manifesto and designed by following this rules. Then he studied Vitruvius' man and made his own man, the human proportion. His definition of beauty lies in symmetry, rhythm, and proportion- similar to ancient architects.

So what can we learn from the lesson taught today? If you want to be a great architect…one must know its history and can choose whether you want to use it, apply it, or do whatever is opposite to it! yay!