Antonio da Sangallo

Antonio da Sangallo, born in Florence in 1485, was the nephew of two da Sangallo architects, Giuliano and Antonio the Elder. He trained under their tutelage before arriving in Rome in approximately 1503. Although obviously influenced by his uncles, his architecture proved to adhere to the classicism of the High Renaissance. da Sangallo designed numerous architectural projects throughout his life, such as the interior of
Capella Paolina in the Vatican, Palazzo Palma-Baldassini, Rome, in 1520, Palazzo Sacchetti, Rome, begun in 1542, and Palazzo Baldassini, which evokes the architecture of ancient Rome with its massive masonry. After a period as Raphael’s assistant, in 1539 he became the chief architect for St. Peter’s and supplied designs for the alteration of Bramante’s plan (Musgrove, 1987). Although not executed, his plan advocated altering the Greek plan into a more traditional cathedral plan, considering liturgical requirements. For many years he was employed as a military engineer working on fortifications around Rome. Antonio da Sangallo died in 1546 in Rome, having spent much of his life working on St. Peter’s.

With this page of sketches (Figure 1.4) da Sangallo appears to have been employing diagrams to calculate visually. The diagrams may have worked to serve his memory for difficult items such as numerous dimensions and proportions, or as simple outlines to frame his concentration of a specific subject. They may not have acted as an imitation, but instead were used to convey basic spatial relationships.Diagrams may be defined in mathematical terms as assisting to present a definition or ‘to aid in the proof of a proposition.’ Additionally, they can be outlines or abstractions that provide the basic scheme of something to reveal ‘the shape and relations of its various parts’ (OED, 1985). Similar to a definition of sketches, diagrams may help to isolate the essence of a concept or proposition.

On the right side of the page stands a column, giving just enough information to recognize it as such. A simple outline, the column has been overlaid with a grid and is accompanied by a series of numbers, possibly  escribing dimensions or calculations pertaining to the construction of the column. The left side of this page reveals an inverted column where the capital and base have been dimensioned but the shaft, having been foreshortened, reveals its relative unimportance. Around the periphery, as partial musings, are pen testing marks, capital carvings, small column elevations, and unfinished details of moldings and stairs. It is possible to view two tones of the brown ink used for this sketch, conveying a sense of the passage of time. This is especially visible where he crosses out particular numbers. It might be assumed that either the sketch was drawn at one time and altered later with a different mix of ink, or that da Sangallo freshly dipped his pen before crossing out the inappropriate numbers after reconsideration.

The ‘look’ of the column was obviously unimportant, as he avoided shadows or details. Slightly skewed to the right, vertical fluting extends beyond the capital top, suggesting that he began calculating the sections from the base. The section numbers can be equated with the long list of numbers viewed horizontally while they vary in individual dimensions. The horizontal section markings may represent the pieces intended for assembly in construction of the column or a key for the changes in the diameter or entasis. Most importantly, it was unnecessary for da Sangallo to carefully render the column because the brief outline acted to visually reference the spatial relationships. The left column also has been dimensioned, and here the details are small parts of the planned carving. These limited suggestions of ornament were enough for him to remember what had been  lanned for each portion.

Baldassare Peruzzi

A prominent architect of the high Renaissance in Rome, Baldassare Peruzzi’s approach was influenced by the work of Bramante and Raphael. His peers respected him for his revival of the art of stage

design, and for his expertise in the art of perspective drawing. Peruzzi arrived in Rome in 1503 from Siena. He began as a painter under Pinturicchio, and was commissioned in 1509 by the Sienese banker Agostino Chigi to design the Palace Farnesina. The palazzo reflects his strong sense of proportion and his interest in the principles of mathematics as set down by Alberti. Different in plan than other Roman palaces of the time, Villa Farnesina has two wings flanking a central loggia, containing frescos by Raphael.

Much of Peruzzi’s experience was obtained in the Vatican Workshop assisting Donato Bramante, and, later, collaborating with Raphael until 1527 when he fled to Siena precipitated by the Sack of Rome. Bramante had envisioned a rebuilding of St. Peter’s based on a Greek cross plan, and Peruzzi’s plan suggested a variation (Allsopp, 1959). Other projects designed by Peruzzi individually or in collaboration, in addition to St. Peter’s, include: fortifications near Porta Laterina and Porta S. Viene, Palazzo Pollini, San Nicolò in Carpi, and the Palazzo Massimo alle Colonne in Rome. He died in Rome in 1536, and Serlio, who included Peruzzi’s  rawings prominently in his treatise, heralded his influence on architecture.

This ink and wash sketch demonstrates a three-dimensional study of what seems to be a sepulcher, or tomb chest, with an apsidiole form. This small projecting chapel structure consists of a self-contained entity, possibly planned for an interior wall of a cathedral side aisle. Drawn freehand in perspective, or a version of an elevation oblique, the sketch appears somewhat distorted, obviously not calculated or measured. Because this view employs washes for shadows and a completed composition, Peruzzi was able to interpret and evaluate the proposed solution. The sketch, then, suggests the importance for Peruzzi to quickly comprehend three-dimensional relationships. The sketch acted as a method of evaluation to represent either an image from his mind’s eye or an emerging design solution. Although the ink techniques are minimal and scratchy, the sketch contains enough information to visualize the form as a whole.

Peruzzi must have understood the sketch as part of a process. Although showing the aedicule as a whole, the technique of the lines are quick and loosely constructed, suggesting not a solution, but a momentary snapshot of a thought in the process. The columns are straightened by additional lines in a method of ‘making and matching,’ numbers are sprinkled over the top and other façades, and pentesting lines appear in the background (Gombrich, 1969, p. 29). These elements, which appear on and around the sketch, suggest the little value given the image by Peruzzi after the information was conveyed in a dialogue of the design process. Even though the columns are not straight and the distances between the columns are irregular, the sketch conveys a compositional whole, displaying proportions, relationships and symmetry. The ink wash provides depth that enhances the three-dimensional illusion, helping to judge the final effects of the whole. Being both a definitive view and a design in process, the sarcophagus/tomb-chest stand has been drawn and redrawn in a search for its relationship to the columns and figures. This reveals how the design was still fluid and could be reevaluated when seen in conjunction with other elements.

This sketch gave a quick proportional and compositional view to Peruzzi, allowing him to see the whole at a decision point in his thinking.

Leonardo da Vinci

It is impossible to discuss a history of architectural sketches without an example from Leonardo da Vinci, whose numerous sketchbooks reveal the genius of an architect, painter, sculptor, and inventor.
Although he built or finished very little architectural work, he proposed designs for domed, centrally planned churches, fortifications, numerous mechanical inventions, and buildings in various scales from chapels to palaces to cities. At an early age he started in the workshop of painter Andrea del Verrochio. Throughout his career, Leonardo worked as a military engineer in Milan, in his own studio in Florence, and later in his life, on projects for King Louis XII in France. It was in Amboise, France, where he died in 1519. His works that remain include extensive sketchbooks, some sculpture, and paintings such as the Mona Lisa, Virgin of the Rocks and the fresco The Last Supper in San Maria delle Grazie, Milan.

A consummate observer, Leonardo took an empirical approach to satisfy his curiosity about the nature of the world, giving him the ability of ‘sight and insight’ ( Janson, 1970). He felt that experience is acquired by the senses and, subsequently, that seeing involved an active process. Feeling a need to represent nature as he viewed it, his approach was opposed to that of universal beauty as discussed by Alberti. He viewed vision as the source of scientific truth (Barasch, 1999).
In 1487 Leonardo produced a model for the design of the dome of the Milan Cathedral. This page from his ketchbook, Codex Atlanticus (Figure 1.2), presents some of the design process for the tiburio of this cathedral. It shows the stacking of bricks or blocks to structure the light arches and buttresses. Typical of Leonardo’s sketches, it is possible to view details of construction and connection, as the blocks are rendered with interlocking notches. As a design study, the sketch also displays
rough beginnings and alterations, showing a centerline and horizontals to guide proportions. Only half of the construction has been detailed; Leonardo understood enough to move on to another drawing or a model. Perhaps he rejected how the proposal was progressing, or the sketch had simply served its purpose and  ould be set aside.
This page has numerous identical stippling marks as the  recto. These marks were  resumably used as guidelines and also acted as identical templates to explore multiple variations for assembly and construction. The marks are in fact pinpricks that resemble the pounced guidelines of a cartoon used to transfer a design onto a fresco. Leonardo was well aware of the transfer techniques of cartoons using bilateral symmetry. It is evident that on other sheets from the Codex Atlanticus, he folded the paper to prick guidelines through both sides of the paper to perceive a symmetrical whole (Bambach, 1999). Evidence of a similar technique can be viewed on this page; a prominent crease down the center. The irregular spacing of the marks coincides exactly, strongly suggesting that at least part of each sketch was pricked simultaneously, or possibly, the pages were first folded and then pricked through all layers.1 This points to an economy, in that Leonardo would not need to recalculate the tiburio, but make minor alterations to the structural form or the stacking of the blocks on identical sheets. In this way, one can view the architect/builder concerned with the solidity of the structure as well as the artist, utilizing known transfer techniques.

Donato Bramante (1444–1514)

Bramante was one of the first of the great High Renaissance architects, influencing numerous
prominent architects of Rome such as Peruzzi and Sangallo. He is best known for reviving the architecture
of classical antiquity, which had begun with the works of Alberti (Allsopp, 1959). Vasari
reported that Bramante spent much of his time studying and sketching the buildings in Rome (Vasari, 1907).

Born Donato di Angelo di Anthonio da Urbino/Pascuccio, it is speculated that he studied with
Piero della Francesca and/or Andrea Mantegna. His first notable building was S. Maria Presso S.
Satiro in Milan. In Rome, some of Bramante’s most celebrated and influential projects were for
Pope Julius at the Vatican, where he designed the Cortile di S. Damaso and the Cortile del
Belvedere. With an interest in centrally planned churches similar to Leonardo, he also designed a
Greek cross plan for St. Peter’s with a vast central dome. His expressive building of the classical tradition
was the Tempietto of S. Pietro in Montorio, 1502.

Bramante’s design for the Tempietto was sited in the courtyard of the Church and Monastery of
San Pietro in Montorio. It constitutes a diminutive temple acting as a Martyria, standing on the place
presumed to be St. Peter’s Martyrdom. Small and circular, it revisits antique forms appealing to contemporary Christians’ preferences, crowned with a hemispherical dome resembling the Pantheon.
This small monument displays simple proportions where the width of the dome is equal to the height
of the interior cylinder (Allsopp, 1959).

The sketch above exhibits a small shrine-like structure, representing an example of a centrally planned building. The sketch reads as an elevation of an octagon-shaped dome on a raised foundation. In plan, the building presented appears to be shaped in the form of a cross with small projections containing porches; it is vaguely reminiscent of Palladio’s Villa Rotunda.

Bramante’s concern with the reference to a shrine led him to draw this sketch demonstrating its volume
from the exterior, rather than interior space. Here, he used the porch to accent the central
domed space, stressing the qualities of a monument, a temple from antiquity.
The building’s organization describes an octagon within a Greek cross imposed within a square,
but the sketch presents an image somewhere between a perspective and an elevation, as the face of
the porch has been drawn slightly taller than the side porches. To stress the central altar and promote
a three-dimensional effect, Bramante employs shading on the side of the octagon, further confusing
the flat façade of the elevation. The sculptural figures on the roof have been drawn with the same lack
of complexity as the scale figures standing on the stairs. Although the sketch does not appear to be
hurried, Bramante describes the stairs with minimal detail. The set on the left display some definition,
while the other set of stairs have been represented simply by double diagonal lines. This technique
concentrates the focus to the center, and emphasizes the fact that the building was designed to
be viewed equally well from all angles.

The sketch suggests a self-reflexivity, as it refers to the many centrally planned structures designed
by Bramante. It also recalls the three-dimensional/volumetric qualities of Bramante’s concern for a
building’s mass. The architectural historian James Ackerman wrote about the volume of Bramante’s
walls: ‘[W]e sense that where the earlier architect drew buildings, Bramante modelled them’ (1961,
p. 27). Although this design for a small building may not be directly related to the Tempietto, it is representative of a theme, one that Bram ante explored throughout his career.

Honeycomb in a Garden

This is  a wooden pavilion in a botanical garden in Medellin , Colombia .
South America takes inspiration from nature itselt .
'Plan B' Architects and JPRCR Architects created an organically expanding wooden meshwork structure to house orchid exhibition units , butterfly reserves and event halls.

Each modular 'Flower Tree' form is composed of a steel -reinforced trunk and six hexagonal petals that form an intricatly laticed patio.

Symbol of Fatimid Architecture : Raudat Tahera , Mumbai.

Raudat Tahera is a mausoleum dedicated to Holiness Dr. Syedna Taher Saifuddin (AQ), 51st Dai-al-
Mutlaq.This magnificent marble structure is situated in the very heart of the Mumbai  City ,in Bhendi Bazaar.
It is constructed by His Holiness Dr. Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin TUS, 52nd Dai-al-Mutlaq in
memory of his father.

Beautiful scandelier inside Raudat Tahera

Raudat Tahera From Outside

Gold motifs on cornices and turrets

Design of the door using Fatimid design elements.

Huge rossete on the Dome. It has dia around 12'.

Well maintained garden in front of RaudatTahera.

Typical Fatimid Architecture

Golden Inscriptions from Quran on all the four walls 

close up of scandelier .

Design Clinic Scheme

The Office of the development commissioner ( MSME),ministry of Micro ,small and medium enterprises ,Government of India ,and National Institute of Design recently launched the Design Clinic Scheme for design expertise to Micro ,small and medium enterprises (MSME)
The objective of the scheme is to enhance industry understanding and application of design and innovation to promote design as a value add and integrate it into the mainstream and the industrial processes of MSMEs . The goal is to help MSME manufacturing industries move up the value chain,by switching the production mode,the emphasis will be on enriching design and marketing the end products ,besides giving importance to technology.
The scheme is divided in two major parts -design awareness and Design Project funding .Awareness and sensitization will be created about the value and power of design for businesses ,through seminars ,talks ,workshops and other interactive methods.
The MSMes will receive financial help ,should they require assistance ,from design consultants and professionals.The scheme will be implemented through NID .
Ahmedabad,who will act as a single co-ordination body .there will be regional centres set up ,as well.
Tie-ups with engineering ,management and design institutes of the country will help felicitate the scheme.

MODERN ARCHITECTURE

“The basics of modern architecture were derived from pathbreaking revolutions,
Inspiring minds to evolve techniques & materials to ensure different solutions.”

INTRODUCTION
The period from late 1800’s to the present has been described as one of the most creative & productive times in the history of architecture. Architects have used new materials & new building methods to develop the first completely new styles in centuries.
The remarkable changes in architecture since the late 1800’s have emerged from the theories & works of some great architects.
Many masterpieces of modern architecture were designed or influenced by some major architects. These include Frank Lloyd Wright of the U.S.A, Walter Gropius & Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe of Germany, Le Corbusier of France, Charles R Mackintosh of Great Britain, Louis-i-Kahn of U.S.A.

ORIGIN & SOURCES OF MODERN ARCHITECTURE
The various sources & factors that are responsible for the development of completely distinct & creative architectural styles are:-
1.A need among the architects of the mid & late 1800’s to develop an architectural style that would reflect their time.
2.Architects wanted to break free from the ornamentation & highly decorative revival structures & instead stressed on building’s simple & spare designs.
3.Industrial revolution was also a major factor that led to the idea of modern architecture. It generated new problems, supplied new materials & suggested new forms.
4.Industrialization proved that architecture was more than just ornamentation, grandness & decoration. It had to cater to the basic requirements of the masses.
5.Industrialization transformed lifestyle in cities, led to the fulfillment of new building tasks- railway stations, suburban houses, skyscrapers.
6.With new building materials like R.C.C., steel & glass the construction became faster & was ideal for the buildings to be constructed.
7.Industrialization also triggered collapse of vernacular buildings. It also created new centre of economy & power.
8.It also implied the rejection of superficial imitations of past forms, & a more direct & honest portrayal of the contemporary world.
Architecture was purely based on practical utilities & the technical, structural & creative advances of modern era.

THE PHILOSOPHIES & DEVELOPMENTS OF MODERN ARCHITECTURE
There were many developments in modern architecture with the passage of time. These were based on various philosophies promoted by the leading architects from time to time.
One of the first major architects to work the modern philosophy were Hedrick Petrus Berlage used an unusual red brick masterpiece, the Amsterdam Stock Exchange (1903). Otto Wagner founded modern arch. In Austria in 1890’s. He designed structures with little ornamentation, flat roofs that projected beyond the walls. Josef Hoffmann designed a house called Palais Stoclet(1911) in Brussels, Belgium. The plain white walls, cubelike geometric outlines of the house made it one of the most advanced architectural works of the early 1900’s.

The major philosophies that define modern architecture are:
1)Arts & Crafts movement.
2)Skyscraper as symbol.
3)Futurism.
4)Cubism.
5)Expressionism.
6)Idealism.
7)Functionalism.
8)Transformation.
9) Rationalism.

ARTS & CRAFTS MOVEMENT

*Founded in mid-1860 in England by William Morris.
*Creation of high quality designs for furniture, stained glass, textiles, & wall paper.
*Movement encouraged a new artistic freedom & spirit experimentation that played an important role in modern arch. In Europe.
*Indigenous materials & usages were to be translated to good use by the modern practitioner.
*Fusion of houses with gardens, use of pergolas, pathways, sunken gardens were main features of houses of this period.
*There was sharp interplay of wall planes & openings, silhouettes & surfaces as well as direct use of functional elements like chimneys, etc.
*Frank Lloyd Wright was the most influential architect of this period.
*Arts & Crafts movement had an important function by stressing the values of simplicity, honesty & necessity.

SKY SCRAPPERS AS SYMBOLS
*Skyscraper was a part of a system which included railroads, & the closer suburbs.
*Chicago of the late 19th century demonstrated the fundamental forces & the typical components of the capitalist city in the age of steel & steam.
* A shift from the notion of mechanism to the idea of a tall building as a living organism whose weight, pressure, tension, resistance could be experienced physically.
*It was a white-collar building type, a direct expression of the division of labour between management & manufacturing.
*kyscrapers were derived out of the need of private buildings for trade & business such as warehouses, factories, & stock buildings etc.
*Due to the revolution & modernization American cities were divided into rectangular grids & blocks. This led to the structures that would relate to the geometry of the city as well as solve the residential problems.

RATIONALISM

*Ideas that required a practical justification for formal effects.
*Opened up a new language of abstraction & implied new ways in which nature’s lessons could be incorporated in architecture.
*Rationalism & R.C.C were two elements that triggered the heroic period of modern architecture.
*Main focus was on structure & function.
*Concrete was widely used as it was cheap, standard, fire proof, flexible, could be moulded to any shape.
*Grid plans & simple rectangular elevations of pleasing proportions were main features.
*There were repetition of elements & forms, rectangular cubic forms were greatly used.
*Le Corbusier evolved his idea of “Dom-ino” system that led the basis for future architectural & urban systems.

FUTURISM
*Stressed on the design of “type forms” that included industrial design, building elements, or components of urban structure.
*In this ideology an artist had to function as a mediator between invention & standardization.
*The main features included recessing of wall piers, glazing, brick mouldings, etc.
*Walter Groupius was one of the chief architects. He accomadated the symbols of the mod. World .
*Futurism was a poetic movement that attacked traditionalism, championed an expression nourished by contemporary forces released by new industrial developments.
*It was in the favour of revolutionary change, dynamism, speed of all sorts and the exploitation of the machine.
*It pulled together a collection of progressivist attitudes, anti-traditional positions, & tendencies towards an abstract form.



CUBISM
*Visual & philosophical concerns with mechanization, moral yearnings for honesty, integrity, & simplicity; interpretations of new institutions & building types in industrial cities.
*It stressed on the fusion of the entire 3-d structure with a geometrical & spatial character discovered on the picture plane.
*Blending abstraction with fragments of observed reality, allowing space & form to merge with each other.
*Le Corbusier was the chief architect to work in this style.
*Main features were flat-roofed, simple rectangular structures made of R.C.C.
*Geometrical forms, rectilinear grids, & intersecting planes were also the part of this style.
*This style seemed to have a universal application from painting to typography.
*Cantilevered conc. Construction was effectively blended with shimmering & transparent effects of glazing.
*Schroder House a very good example pf this movement.

EXPRESSIONISM
**Germany between 1910 & 1925.
*It includes works that are complex, jagged, & have a free flowing form.
*It also includes qualities like simplicity, rectangularity, & stasis.
*The chief architects of this movement were Michel de Klerk & Walter Groupius.
*The properties of steel & concrete were exploited effectively.
*The sharp forms, romantic silhouettes, a rich play of reflecting & transparent surfaces define this movement.
*Interlocking, interplay between density, weight & shadow, etc also define this period.
*Le Corbusier developed his “Five Points in New Architecture”.



FUNCTIONALISM

*It consisted of buildings in which function was given priority & importance.
*It includes strip windows, flat roofs, grids of supports, cantilevered horizontal projections, metal railings & curved partitions.
*Le Corbusier’s “Five Points in New Architecture “ helped in the production of some masterpieces like Villa Savoye, Poisse.
*The functions could only be translated into the forms & spaces of arch. through the screen of the style.
*This was a style of symbolic forms that referred to the notions of functionalism.
*White plaster walls, plane surfaces were employed to convey a non-material quality, to suggest the abstraction of machine.
*This style provides a set of conventions, which in the compelling & profound work of art, come together in such a way that the conventionality is forgotten.
*The cruciform chrome columns, supply vertical accents of light, the polished marble & onyx surfaces, the glass planes etc also define this style.


Besides these philosophies, the leading architects like Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, Walter Groupius, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Louis Sullivan, Alvar Aalto, Michel de Klerk etc. produced some of the finest works that have remained as symbols of Modernism.

Blog rebirth

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I can login to my blogger account now..
I was enable to log in due to some reasons but now I can post !!!
hurrey...!!!!
thanks google...