Blog Introduction

Architecture 

architecture(n)- the profession of designing buildings, open areas, communities, and other artificial constructions and environments, usually with some regard to aesthetic effect.

Architects are people who design buildings, houses, and many other things. Architecture involves creativity, knowledge of math, and engineering. The average salary for architects in was $73,090 in 2012.


Architecture has been important to people all over the world since ancient times and still is today. I hope you like my blog and learn about some of an architects tools, ancient architecture, and famous architects, as I learn on my journey to become one. Enjoy!

Famous Architects

Famous Architects

Architecture has been important to people since the ancient times and

still is very important today. Here are a few well-known architects from the

middle-ages, recent history, and today.

Christopher Wren

Christopher Wren was an English architect who is famous for designing the Saint Paul's Cathedral. He also designed many more important buildings in England, such as the Kensington Palace, the Hampton Court, and the Wren Library at Trinity College. He was born in 1632 and died in 1723, at the age of 91. Wren was knighted on November 14, 1673 for helping rebuild London after the Great Fire.

Saint Paul's Cathedral

Saint Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral that is at the top of the Ludgate Hill in London. This cathedral is probably Christopher Wren's greatest accomplishments. Wren was going to repair the old cathedral, and had just developed a design when the Great Fire of London occurred and left the cathedral in ruins. He came up with many models and designs of the future cathedral, and finally chose one that he called the "Warrant Design." The cathedral is not exactly like Wren's design, and at the first service held there was still no dome. Eventually, in 1711, the cathedral was complete, and it attracts many tourists today.

Hampton Court

The Hampton Court Palace is a palace in London for the kings and queens of England. William of Orange and Queen Mary II wanted to rebuild the Hampton Court in a more modern Baroque style. They hired Wren to design the new palace, and the plan was to have a huge palace built around two courtyards. The pink brick and Portland stone added dimension and the courtyards were beautiful. The palace is still a tourist attraction today. 

Frank Lloyd Wright

Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect from Wisconsin. He designed many houses, apartment buildings, museums, commercial buildings, and more. He lived from 1867 to 1959, dying at the age of 91. Wright was named greatest American architect of all time by the American Institute of Architects in 1991.


Fallingwater

Fallingwater is a house in the mountains south of Pittsburgh. Wright designed it for his clients, the Kaufmann family as a mountain vacation home. What is special about this house is that it was built over a thirty-foot waterfall! Construction took place between 1936 and 1939. It became a National Historic Landmark and was featured on the front of the Times magazine in 1938. The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy has preserved Fallingwater, and it has attracted more than 4 million people over the years.

Taliesin

Taliesin is a house Wright built for himself in Spring Green, Wisconsin, his home state. The word "Taliesin" means "shining brow" in Welsh. On the Taliesin estate there are other buildings, such as the Romeo and Juliet Windmill and Midway Farms. Wright was constantly adding to his home as his style and skill developed over seventy years, and it has become another large attraction for tourists.

I. M. Pei

Ieoh Ming Pei was born in 1917 in China, but he moved to the United States when he was just 17 to study architecture. He has been awarded many professional honors, including the Medal of Freedom, the Medal of Arts, and the Lifetime Achievement  Award. He designed many buildings, such as the John Fitzgerald Kennedy Library, the Grand Louvre, and the Bank of China Tower, and is alive today.

Grand Louvre

The Grand Louvre is a museum in Paris, France that used to be a royal palace. In order to make it into a museum, it needed to be redesigned. Pei made the museum into a compact U-shape and added a beautiful glass pyramid as the main entrance, which also serves as a skylight. The project was completed in 1993, aong with the help of Leonard Jacobson, Yann Weymouth, and C.C. Pei. The Grand Louvre has won many awards and attracted many tourists.

Bank of China Tower

The Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong is one if the many skyscrapers Pei has designed. This amazing tower is covered in triangular pieces of reflective glass  and inside has offices, apartment suites, and an underground garage!  Outside of the tower at ground level there are water fountains that muffle the busy noises of Hong Kong. The structural system supports the tower and helps it stand against strong winds. The Bank of China Tower has also won many awards and is a huge accomplishment of I. M. Pei's.

These are just a few of many famous architects from the 
past and the present, and hopefully there will be many 
more to come in the future.

Citations

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Wren

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Paul%27s_Cathedral
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hampton_Court_Palace

http://www.franklloydwright.org/about/FLLWBio.html

http://www.fallingwater.org/37/what-is-fallingwaterhttp://www.wrightinwisconsin.org/wrightsites/taliesinspringgreen.aspx 
http://www.pcf-p.com/a/p/8315/s.html
http://www.pcf-p.com/a/p/8220/s.html
http://www.pcf-p.com/a/f/fme/imp/b/b.html

Ancient Architecture

Ancient Architecture

Architecture has been important to man since the beginning. Most of the impressive structures of our world today were built by ancient civilizations, such as the Ancient Greeks, the Ancient Romans, and the Ancient Egyptians.

Ancient Greece

Architecture in Ancient Greece is mostly known for the great temples the Greeks built to worship their gods. Most of the temples are in ruins, but some are still intact, such as the Parthenon and the Acropolis of Athens.

The Parthenon is a temple dedicated to Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom. It is located in Athens on high ground, like most Greek temples are. The Parthenon was built to replace an older temple of Athena that was destroyed in the Persian Invasion, but some of the newer Parthenon is still in ruins.

The Acropolis of Athens is an ancient citadel in Athens, and it is located near the Parthenon. Acropolis means "edge city" in Greek. The city was once inhabited, but is now mostly in ruins. Acropolis has been damaged by war and pollution, but a project had begun to restore it in 1975 and is almost finished.

Another great architectural wonder is the Epidaurus Theater. It was built in a canyon and is very well preserved. An institution, Epidaurus Festival S.A., is trying to revive the theater, and it has been used recently for performances.

Ancient Rome

Ancient Roman architecture was mostly adopted from the Greeks, but the Romans put their own little designs on them. They built temples and theaters, but they also built basilicas and arches. 

The Colosseum is a well known structure in Rome. The huge arena was used for celebrations, sports, and even battles. Today, most of the Colosseum has been destroyed, but it still remains a large tourist attraction and an iconic symbol of Rome.

Basilicas were originally public buildings used for meeting places, courts, and marketplaces. After Rome became officially Christian, most basilicas became churches. The Saint John Lateran's Basilica is the official seat of the Pope.

Arches are structures the Romans used in many other buildings, or just by themselves. Arches are in ampitheaters, temples, bridges, and doorways. The arches have held up over time and people still build more today, but with modern materials.

Ancient Egypt

As we all should know, the Ancient Egyptians most famous architectural structure is the pyramids. But the Ancient Egyptians, just like many other ancient civilizations, also built temples for their gods and palaces for their pharaohs. 

Each temple in Ancient Egypt was dedicated to a different god. There, the people and pharaoh would worship, as they thought the temple was the god's home. Temples were built out of stone and had elaborate paintings of the specific god on the walls. Many of them are still standing today.

Ancient Egyptian palaces were the home of the pharaoh and his family. They were also used as a gathering place where the pharaoh and his advisors made important decisions. Malkata is the site of Amenhotep III's palace, and only the bottom of the mud walls and fragments of tile and murals remain.

Ancient Egyptian pyramids have rectangular bases with triangular walls sloping to a point at the top, as you hove probably seen a picture of one. Many people cannot accept the pyramids are manmade and believe they were made by aliens. Pyramids were used as tombs for the pharaohs, and most had many mazes inside used to confuse grave robbers. One of the most well known pyramids is the Great Pyramid of Giza, tomb of Khufu.

Ancient architecture are not only beautiful sites that attract tourists, but great structures that inspire architects today all over the world.

Citations

http://www.arthistoryarchive.com/arthistory/architecture/Ancient-Architecture.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek_architecture

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acropolis_of_Athens

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthenon

http://www.epidavros.gr/en/odimos/taytotita-tis-epidavroy/to-theatro-tis-epidavrou.html

http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/colosseum
http://www.ancient.eu/article/24/
http://www.technologystudent.com/struct1/roman1.htm
http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/temples/home.html
http://www.ancientegyptonline.co.uk/malkatapalace.html

An Architect's Toolbox

An Architect's Toolbox

There are a few things an architect needs to do their job, are here are some of them:

A desk

I know this is obvious, but every architect needs a flat surface to work on. The bigger the better!

Tracing Paper

Used for sketching out ideas, this paper is light and translucent. 

Scales

Architectural and engineering scales are used to measure drawings, because our drawings need to be to scale.

A compass and triangles

Compasses are used to draw perfect circles. Triangles are used to draw straight lines and angles.

Pens
Sharpies, pencils, or markers, they all work!

Sketchbook
Every architect should have a sketchbook at all times. That way, you can sketch out ideas whenever they come!

Computer or laptop
Used to make designs 3D and life-like, a computer is pretty much an architect's most important tool!











Citations

http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/3306856/list/an-architects-tool-kit