P()int [final]

Architecture is often known as the unavoidable art but I'd like to consider it as the ultimate story book. The buildings stand tall and proud revealing all the secrets of their time... of their previous times, allowing us to understand the life of those who came before us. 

To understand the nature of architecture we must break it down into elements and principles which form several theories.

 Design is built up through the building blocks of foundations, alternatives, reflections, and explorations. 

Foundations are important to the world of design. Not only in the aspect that the foundation of a building must be sound and secure but in the metaphorical sense that we as designers are continuously looking back to past foundations and the pioneers of design. In order to move forward we must learn to look back. 

We take these first styles of design and we reflect what we seen in an alternative way. Telling our stories of the present... of what is considered modern at the time.

Architecture is used in many ways and as we look back I began to categorize these uses. In the foundations unit architecture was design in ways for worship, power and longevity. It was important to the people of these times to be remembered. It was important to remember and to be remembered. 

And I must admit that they succeeded in exactly what they were trying to achieve.

In the alternatives unit their focus was on stability… uniting the community as one and uplifting them on high to the ultimate creator… God. In these times their world had been in chaos and they were using architecture to literally and metaphorically build and stabilize a new order for life. The buildings of this time tell their stories through the materials used to build it, their colossal size and the architectural plan view as most buildings were built in the image of a crucifix… solidifying the fact that I believe that they achieved what they were reaching high and upwards to.  

When something is reflected it is seen in a whole new spectrum, and that is exactly what this specific unit showed us. In the reflections unit we become aware of the cycle of revolutions and revivals. This unit teaches us that new designs are simply revivals or ideas which have been inspired by our design foundations which we are constantly looking back to. 

Design is something that takes what has already been done, alters it, and completely changes the meaning from where it originated. 

Which brings us to explorations... which can also be known as the present day. We are continuously looking back, reflecting, alternating, exploring and changing the ideas and look of design to the point where many designers believe that we have made a mess. By trying to change design I feel that we have lost it in transition. 

We are morphing styles together of several different centuries and as a result we have created suburbia. 

This class has opened my eyes to the importance of the ultimate revival... the revival of design it self.