Week 10: More Than Visuals

"You can't hold architecture like a book in your lap" (14) -Hal Box, Think Like an Architect.

This is in regards to "Dreaming and Seeing" (chapter name, pun intended!).

Architecture, if not viewed as an abstraction... is the art of physical space. In his book, Hal Box describes ten ways to view and appreciate a building. I will elaborate on a few, and list the others:

1. Find it's purpose/function for the community -- This is basically the background check on a building. Finding maybe any historical significance, and the building's relations to its surrounding community. 
2. See beyond 'structures' -- light, shadow, texture, form, proportion...etc.
3. Gauge space itself -- how the space is interacting with sound, light, and other spaces.
4. Marvel at the physics and structure
5. Find and recognize materials used and their relations with each other
6. Find the base structure of the building (foundation)
7. What is (if there is) the historical inspiration? 
8. Find the relation between art elements
9. Gauge whether the building 'fits in' with its community
10. Why is this building special? 

This list is hefty. I don't think I would actually run through this list when casually looking at a building. However, this list is truly a look into the work of an architect. This would truly be trying understand and interpret the architect's work. Crediting the little details an architect designed for the space. 

"...the most important learning comes from seeing" (19). 

It is true. Architecture in itself is an experience. A 3-dimensional space can be viewed in a 2-dimensional format, but we would then be lacking a dimension in space as we experience the building. Actually, I would personally argue that architecture is 4-dimensional. Why? Because it has history, a story, a vibe... something that is known, but can't be expressed in 3D form---- it has to be experienced.