ALt3RnaTiV3s...

[Design is like a cartwheel. Starting at one point, then turning, 

stretching, shifting, reshaping and fixing back into place 

after your whole view on the world has been turned upside down]

An Alternative is a choice between mutually exclusive possibilities. It can be defined as espousing or reflecting values that are different from those which have already been established, or something which becomes existent outside of traditional forms or foundations.  


We move forward through time in the form of architecture and design. The stylized Gothic Period was a time of reformation... stuck between two worlds, bringing the divided society back to one center and uplifting it towards divinity. These skeletal like structures focus on an atmosphere of airy lightness created by their verticality and their intense slender proportions, stretching upward creating a closeness to God and reminding man of how small we actually are.
This design period adapted carcass like designs in the forms of pointed arches, pendentives, flying buttresses and ribbed vaults, almost as a reminder that death is the door way to God and religion is the light which will lead you there. 
The people of the Gothic Era learned how to manipulate material, creating and forming spaces through and with light. 
This time period was an alternative to the previous design foundations such as Greece and a new chapter in the story book of design, telling a story on both the inside and out. 


As for the Renaissance we begin to look at design in a whole new light, introducing enlightenment and education in the forms of ornamentation + design motifs. 
The Renaissance expressed an importance in harmony + unity through the form of repetition using geometric shapes and lavish ornamentation.  The separation of spaces in the form of public and private shows their evolution in design as an alternative that speaks in a whole new intellectual spectrum. They wanted to show that they knew the rules of design and that they were not afraid to bend and break them, initially forming their own in result. The Renaissance was caught between the two design worlds of Classical and Gothic yet they managed to reshape and design in a way that was a huge turning point in architecture and design. The need of comfort and functionality were morphed together and can be seen in the structural forms of Palazzo's + Villa's. Their structures and buildings spilled forth knowledge in a way where it was reflecting their tastes, wealth and education through their architecture and design.   


Alternatives are different ideas and concepts initiated by the act of rebellion or revolutions. In the world of design Baroque is another word for rebellion. It was a design period designed to capture your attention through emotion and the senses using architectural theatrics. Baroque encompassed the idea of testing boundaries and breaking the rules by exploring the use of patterns and motifs. The repetition and use of these delicate shapes formed interior spaces itself. 
The interior spaces were design to capture one's attention through the concepts of light and dark manipulating the chaos, creating a sense harmonic unity. Baroque architecture reflects a way of life and speaks a new design language which breaks the rules and expresses a theatricality which sets architecture on a whole new stage. 


In this unit I have observed that architecture is started on the foundations but is built upward by alternatives. Exploring boundaries + breaking rules are clearly shown on the interiors as well as exteriors of these stylized periods. And without rebellion and the option of other alternatives,architecture would not have evolved into what it is today.