Finally!!! I worked so hard I'm about to cry! I am out of school, and in the end, I had a great year as a 7th grader. My post about final exams called, "Final Exams and No ARCHITECTURE" talked about my finals and how I wouldn't be posting for another week. Well, it happened. I completed my exams and got out of school alive. You know what that means? MORE Architecture for everyone. Just as a reminder, I am going on that summer vacation to the East coast in about a month, and it is going to be the best. More, more, and more architecture is coming. MORE fun, MORE creativity, and MORE blowing your mind away. All of this summer craziness is coming very soon to The Art of Architecture. (So stay tuned!)
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Minecraft Architecture
This is an outdated post. If you want to see bigger and better structures in my Minecraft architecture series, click here.*
Yes, Minecraft architecture. Weird isn't it. I never would of thought when I first saw this game that I would ever like it at all. But with the gameplay and almost limitless amount of fun and creativity, it is love at first sight. Check it out at Minecraft.net if you want. Anyway, I got some time in to do a post or two for the day until I have to go back and study for the finals this week.
So here it is. On Minecraft I have been designing and making an amazing creation with my friend this weekend. It is the most breathtaking structure I have created on the game, and you are about to be blown out of your mind. (literally!) Take a look at my Minecraft Space Needle.
Well, that was the Minecraft Space Needle. I feel like I am going to die looking down from this high up! But as you look into the Minecraft universe, you will find things that are more amazing than this. It is crazy how games allow people to show their "creative" side easily and have fun with it!
I am very happy that I can share this with everyone else, and show this amazing game to people around the globe! So stay tuned...and enjoy the ARCHITECTURE!
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Final Exams and No ARCHITECTURE
The reason why I haven't been posting and won't post for the next couple of weeks is because of my final exams. This week I am studying for them and making sure that I am ready for the big "finals" as they call them. I am going to get out of school on May 26. (then SUMMER BREAK!) After that I can start posting a bunch more, but sadly, architecture has nothing to do with final exams.
Problem!
I had a little problem with Blogger last Thursday where it deleted all of my posts that day. They just weren't there on Friday. It was really weird, but it just so happens that they came back as drafts just a couple of minutes ago. So I just re-posted them on my blog now. That is why they might seem all at once and the Today's ArchiPic will be a little messed up.
What Happens When You Don't Hire One...
These, I think orginally from bxlprojects, are a group of pictures that were created by pomsinoz. You can create them from this site.
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These made me almost laugh my head off! Yes, you really should have hired one. (great example) More information and pictures can be found at pomsinoz.blogspot.com. And all credit goes to that site for these pictures.
Today's ArchiPic #49
Hagia Sophia in Instanbul, Turkey from Wikimedia Commons.
Book Favorites #4
I will continue the Book Favorites series even though I finished the book on Frank Lloyd Wright. (There still is a lot to talk about.) Here is a section that talks about his education:
"At eighteen Frank Lloyd Wright (he had changed his middle name to reflect his part in the Welsh clan)" (By the way, his name was first Frank Lincoln Wright, which was a common name in the late 1800s.) "dropped out of high school for the last time, without graduating. His record of grades and attendance was a ruin. He had decided, however, that he was going to become an architect. Ignoring the guidelines and requirements for students at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, he entered as a "special student." Without discipline or study skills, it was predictable that he would bomb.
In his autobiography, Wright suggests that he attended the University of Wisconsin in engineering studies for over three years, dropping out just before graduation because the degree simply wasn't important to him.
What wasn't important to him was the education itself. He dropped out after three semesters, little more than a year, failing in most of his classes. The only degrees Frank Lloyd Wright ever recieved were honorary doctorates, many years later. He entered the profession of architecture without a thimbleful of architectural education. As strange as it seems to us, his ignorance may have been a lucky break."
- Up Close: Frank Lloyd Wright by Jan Adkins
This shows how Wright, con-man and trickster, actually got into the profession. But how could he of? It is all about how he played the game.
"At eighteen Frank Lloyd Wright (he had changed his middle name to reflect his part in the Welsh clan)" (By the way, his name was first Frank Lincoln Wright, which was a common name in the late 1800s.) "dropped out of high school for the last time, without graduating. His record of grades and attendance was a ruin. He had decided, however, that he was going to become an architect. Ignoring the guidelines and requirements for students at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, he entered as a "special student." Without discipline or study skills, it was predictable that he would bomb.
In his autobiography, Wright suggests that he attended the University of Wisconsin in engineering studies for over three years, dropping out just before graduation because the degree simply wasn't important to him.
What wasn't important to him was the education itself. He dropped out after three semesters, little more than a year, failing in most of his classes. The only degrees Frank Lloyd Wright ever recieved were honorary doctorates, many years later. He entered the profession of architecture without a thimbleful of architectural education. As strange as it seems to us, his ignorance may have been a lucky break."
- Up Close: Frank Lloyd Wright by Jan Adkins
This shows how Wright, con-man and trickster, actually got into the profession. But how could he of? It is all about how he played the game.
Today's ArchiPic #48
Note: This post is for Wednesday's Today's ArchiPic because I couldn't get it finished.
Pula Arena in Pula, Croatia from Wikimedia Commons.
My Biography Book Report | Finished!
I finished my biography book report on Frank Lloyd Wright in my English class last Thursday. I was only allowed two paragraphs, but I could of written a bunch more! The minimum was seven sentences per paragraph, and I had like 12 each! But overall, I thought it went very well. There is just so much stuff about Wright in the book that I couldn't talk about. So I'm thinking about doing a report on my blog, but the amount of information is so great that it will probably be a LONG post! If I need to I could seperate it out into parts. We'll see. (still thinking about it)
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
I Finished the Book
I finally finished my biography book report on Frank Lloyd Wright today! It was a long book, and it's good I finished it because it is due tomorrow! The book was amazing, and to learn about the most famous architect in the 20th century is awesome! His life was a constant roller coaster, which also contained debt, tragedies, and a hard childhood. Here is the last part of the book,
"Frank Lloyd Wright's most brilliant creation and most colorful
creation was Frank Lloyd Wright. He was not entirely truthful,
not always pleasant, seldom easy, but he was an orginial chararcter.
The old fox was a dandy, wit, loudmouth, trickster, and the greatest
con man we've ever had. He was also a desciplined engineer
and a heavyweight creator whose heroic career went on for
seventy-three productive years. He was what he was.
If we don't like it, we can lump it."
- Up Close: Frank Lloyd Wright by Jan Adkins, pg. 287
Frank Lloyd Wright died on April 9, 1959. He died near Taliesin West from an intestinal obstruction and passed unexpectadly. In the spring, before Wright's death, his first wife Catherine "Kitty" Wright died quietly right before her eighty-eighth birthday.
I will be showing more parts of this book even after my report. There still is a bunch to talk about on Frank Lloyd Wright!
"Frank Lloyd Wright's most brilliant creation and most colorful
creation was Frank Lloyd Wright. He was not entirely truthful,
not always pleasant, seldom easy, but he was an orginial chararcter.
The old fox was a dandy, wit, loudmouth, trickster, and the greatest
con man we've ever had. He was also a desciplined engineer
and a heavyweight creator whose heroic career went on for
seventy-three productive years. He was what he was.
If we don't like it, we can lump it."
- Up Close: Frank Lloyd Wright by Jan Adkins, pg. 287
Frank Lloyd Wright died on April 9, 1959. He died near Taliesin West from an intestinal obstruction and passed unexpectadly. In the spring, before Wright's death, his first wife Catherine "Kitty" Wright died quietly right before her eighty-eighth birthday.
I will be showing more parts of this book even after my report. There still is a bunch to talk about on Frank Lloyd Wright!
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
A Summer Vacation (with Architecture)
Well, it is set. My family and I are going back to the East coast this summer! Our main goal is to go to West Greenwich, Rhode Island, and spend a bunch of time at Watch Hill Beach. To get there, we will drive through Tennessee, (Dolly Parton land, haha) then all the way to D.C., and then to West Greenwich. At the end, we will go to Atlantic City, New Jersey, and on the way there, we are going to Hoboken. (Carlo's Bakery from Cake Boss!) How does this trip tie in to my blog? Well, I'm going to take tons of pictures of the beautiful and diverse New England architecture. I will bring my laptop so that I can post, and it will be like a three-week special edition! I am looking forward to it! Until then, enjoy the architecture, and keep on bloggin'!
Dazzling Designs | Taliesin West
Taliesin West was Frank Lloyd Wright's winter home in Scottsdale, Arizona. It also served as a school! (School of Architecture that is) It was built in 1937 and is now open to the public. Taliesin East, Wright's summer home in Spring Green, Wisconsin, was the first Taliesin.
Taliesin West is one of, in my opinion, Wright's most beautiful designs. And about the design...Wright said, "Arizona needs its own architecture… Arizona’s long, low, sweeping lines, uptilting planes. Surface patterned after such abstraction in line and color as find “realism” in the patterns of the rattlesnake, the Gila monster, the chameleon, and the saguaro, cholla or staghorn – or is it the other way around—are inspiration enough.” It's amazing how Wright adapts to his surroundings for his architectural creations. He paid $3.50 an acre for project. This is much like an oasis. Later he added a dining room, the cabaret theater, and a music pavilion. Well, if you're an architect I guess you can design anything you want. (Just not when you don't have enough money to build it!) This is exactly what Wright does: he spends when there is no more money to spend. Wright was constantly living in debt.
Did you know that the walls are made of local desert rocks? That is pretty cool, and Wright had the skills to incorporate the land with his design. The home contains his personal touch, and when he returned every winter, he grabbed a hammer and made changes or shouted orders to his apprentices. And let me tell you, that is exactly how he was: always wanting perfection!
(All images and information courtesy of Wikipedia.)
Taliesin West is one of, in my opinion, Wright's most beautiful designs. And about the design...Wright said, "Arizona needs its own architecture… Arizona’s long, low, sweeping lines, uptilting planes. Surface patterned after such abstraction in line and color as find “realism” in the patterns of the rattlesnake, the Gila monster, the chameleon, and the saguaro, cholla or staghorn – or is it the other way around—are inspiration enough.” It's amazing how Wright adapts to his surroundings for his architectural creations. He paid $3.50 an acre for project. This is much like an oasis. Later he added a dining room, the cabaret theater, and a music pavilion. Well, if you're an architect I guess you can design anything you want. (Just not when you don't have enough money to build it!) This is exactly what Wright does: he spends when there is no more money to spend. Wright was constantly living in debt.
Did you know that the walls are made of local desert rocks? That is pretty cool, and Wright had the skills to incorporate the land with his design. The home contains his personal touch, and when he returned every winter, he grabbed a hammer and made changes or shouted orders to his apprentices. And let me tell you, that is exactly how he was: always wanting perfection!
(All images and information courtesy of Wikipedia.)
Monday, May 9, 2011
Today's ArchiPic #47
Frank Lloyd Wright's Pope-Leighy House - Alexandria, Virginia by prairiemod
Wright's work, again, I have decided to post because I am reading about him for my biography book report. This house is the Pope-Leighy House in Alexandria, Virginia. It was built in 1941, and it is part of
Wright's beautiful collection of Usonian homes!
Friday, May 6, 2011
HOUSES 101 | Fallingwater
I'm going to show off another amazing Frank Lloyd Wright house in this special HOUSES 101 post! The home is called Fallingwater. It was designed with the terrain. With the landscape and falling water, (hint the name) the house looks beautiful. 1930s houses are not usually designed this way. Let's just say that a lot of the houses in that time period (not designed by Wright) were boring. But Fallingwater is exactly the opposite. It is in Bear Run, Pennsylvania, and was designed for Edgar J. Kaufmann, Jr. He wanted the budget to be between $20,000 and $30,000, but obviously Wright made it cost a lot more than that. (His architectural creations were always way over budget.)
From the book Up Close: Frank Lloyd Wright, I read, "Kaufmann, himself, had a few reservations. He had requested that the home have a view of the waterfall. As designed, the house was over the waterfall. Wright brushed this aside, saying that he didn't want the family to merely look at the waterfall but to live in it." (typical Wright)
The entire house, when it was done, costed $155,000. Also, you need to remember that this was way back in the 1900s. The house now would cost about $2.4 million! You see how Wright can raise the budget! (raise being an understatement) Wright had a passion for Japanese architecture, and he was strongly influenced by it through Fallingwater. The flowing waterfall and springs add another beautiful element to the house.
Kaufmann Jr. donated the house and property to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy in 1963. Currently, the house hosts over 120,000 visitors each year!
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Usonian Homes | The Wright Way
Frank Lloyd Wright is famous for a lot of his amazing residential and architectural work. Today I will be showing you one of his most famous styles: Usonia. "Usonia" as he called it, is a word he used to refer to his vision of landscapes used in architecture, which also includes plans for cities and architecture from buildings. The actual word "Usonian" is a term referring to sixty of Wright's middle-income family homes that he designed. They were usually small, single story, and didn't even have a garage or a way of storage.
The interior of the Rosenbaum House.
These houses were very cheap with very little space. Also, homes were designed with flat roofs, a word Wright used called "carport",which is a type of overhang for a car, and a natural cooling and solar heating system. Maybe the earliest use of the word "Usonia" by Wright was in 1927:
These houses were very cheap with very little space. Also, homes were designed with flat roofs, a word Wright used called "carport",which is a type of overhang for a car, and a natural cooling and solar heating system. Maybe the earliest use of the word "Usonia" by Wright was in 1927:
"But why this term "America" has become representative as the name of these United States at home and abroad is past recall. Samuel Butler fitted us with a good name. He called us Usonians, and our Nation of combined States, Usonia."
- –Frank Lloyd Wright on Architecture: Selected Writings 1894–1940, p. 100.
This is the outside of the Gordon House by Frank Lloyd Wright.
These houses were very cozy. (just like all of Wright's residential work) He used nature with a house in a way that no other architect has. He changed the way we create architecture forever. And I'm glad I am doing a biography report on him!
(All information and images courtesy of Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons.)
References:
Today's ArchiPic #46
Today's ArchiPic is a crazy wooden tree house near Hyde Park, Cincinnati. The architect is part of a group that is all about organic architecture. His students even helped him build it as part of their grade! That is crazy.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Book Favorites #3
In my third book favorites post, I will be showing a part of the book where Wright creates Taliesin West, which is his winter home in Scottsdale, Arizona. He was around 70 when he designed it. The first Taliesin, Taliesin East, is in Wisconsin near Spring Creek. This was Wright's summer home. Here is a passage from the book about Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West.
"The new Taliesin was a long, low prism. Angular vertical walls
were spread out over nine hundred feet, backed by a low, connecting
horizontal wall. Redwood beams covered by natural canvas panels
spanned these verticals. The angles mirrored the angles of the mountain
ridges: low against a rear buttress wall, rising to a shallow peak, falling
more abruptly in a shed roof to the open side. As it rose they began
to call it 'Taliesin West.'"
- Up Close: Frank Lloyd Wright by Jan Adkins
Here is a picture of the beautiful "Taliesin West." (courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
References:
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Quoted | Belonging
"No house should ever be on a hill or on anything. It should be of the hill. Belonging to it. Hill and house should live together each the happier for the other."
- Frank Lloyd Wright
Since I was reading all about Frank Lloyd Wright, I felt like I should put one of his interesting quotes on my blog. I also feel the same way Wright felt about architecture and its landscape. The architecure should belong to it. It shouldn't be seperate from it. This is also shown all the time in his work. The best example of this is a house that he designed called "Fallingwater."
Today's ArchiPic #45
Futuro House by greg.org.
Today's ArchiPic features a UFO house! I couldn't find out where this house is, but it is pretty crazy! I never thought I would see a "Futuro House" as it is called. The structure is said to be created with fiberglass and polyurethane.
HOUSES 101 | D.D. Martin House
Wow! I'm so excited I get to show off the D.D. Martin House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. If you saw my "Book Favorites #2" post, I showed a picture of the house. Today, however, I'm going to go in-depth with the D.D. Martin House. The house is one of the best examples of the Prairie style, and it changed the style forever. Here is my HOUSES 101 exclusive post!
The Darwin D. Martin House or Darwin Martin House State Historical Site is a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright between 1903 and 1905. Wright considered the house to be one of the most important projects in the Prairie style era. Darwin D. Martin lived in the home with his wife Isabelle.
(DD Martin House completed in 1905)
Frank Lloyd Wright's career contains a lot of prairie style projects, which includes some of his most magnificent creations. He said on this house,
The Darwin D. Martin House or Darwin Martin House State Historical Site is a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright between 1903 and 1905. Wright considered the house to be one of the most important projects in the Prairie style era. Darwin D. Martin lived in the home with his wife Isabelle.
Frank Lloyd Wright's career contains a lot of prairie style projects, which includes some of his most magnificent creations. He said on this house,
"The main motives and indications were: First - To reduce the number of necessary parts of the house and the separate rooms to a minimum, and make all come together as an enclosed space--so divided that light, air and vista permeated the whole with a sense of unity."
All of his residential creations contained a real feel of what "home" actually is. Everyone that stepped into a Wright house was flabbergasted!
The house isn't just a regular house. It is huge! It is also known as the Darwin D. Martin Complex because it is so big. There is even a gardener's cottage somewhere else in the house. The actual house is located on the south end of the complex. In 1935, Darwin D. Martin died. He was in a deep depression because he had lost all his fortune from the Great Depression. (That sounded weird.) Anyway, the family abandoned the house in 1937. The Martin House Restoration Corporation was formed in 1992 to restore the house, and the house is now restored because of it.
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