Monday, August 31, 2009
Reading Response
Jose Luis Mateo describes his argument and attempts to break down the process of architectural project into fundamental steps in his “How to Draw Up a Project.” In the beginning, an architectural project must proceed in a vague and abstract manner and Mateo brings the image of a gaseous body which exists in physical world but without a boundary. First, I thought I completely agree with this because when I start a new project, I really don’t have a clue of what the project’s form, material, structure, and skin will be like. But Mateo is not really talking about my clueless part of a project. The gaseous body is for us to go through various ideas and analysis, thus having vague and abstract form gives us more opportunity to explore the project from different angles. The second step is giving hierarchies and systems of order to a project that once used to be a gaseous form. Mateo’s third step is giving “the project material form” which consists of space and the skin which separates the internal world from the outside. Any skin of buildings has two sides, and reading his article reminded me of the fact that skins are doing a huge task for us. Inside the skin is the internal world, but one layer (or more) behind is the outside, the city, and the world….
I just thought of architecture today where we are considering the impacts of architecture on the environment. I think this sustainable movement has somewhat changed Mateo’s process. I took few computer simulation courses here including energy, lighting, and acoustic simulations. My professors would often tell me that we need to use these tools during the conceptual phase of the project. This means that we need to have some concrete form in order to run these simulations. But Mateo thinks having a concrete form in the beginning limits our outcome. Now, I disagree with Mateo’s steps when thinking of sustainable architecture. There are certain forms that functions and suits better in certain climates. For example, a dome is suited in harsh climates because there is less surface facing exterior. Thus, I think we can sometimes have a base form to start off a project.
I just thought of architecture today where we are considering the impacts of architecture on the environment. I think this sustainable movement has somewhat changed Mateo’s process. I took few computer simulation courses here including energy, lighting, and acoustic simulations. My professors would often tell me that we need to use these tools during the conceptual phase of the project. This means that we need to have some concrete form in order to run these simulations. But Mateo thinks having a concrete form in the beginning limits our outcome. Now, I disagree with Mateo’s steps when thinking of sustainable architecture. There are certain forms that functions and suits better in certain climates. For example, a dome is suited in harsh climates because there is less surface facing exterior. Thus, I think we can sometimes have a base form to start off a project.
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