Eiffel Tower: The Landmark of Paris - Essay Example

ACTIVITY 1: Michael Pollan Why does Charlie warn his client that the world of Progressive Architecture is "not the real world"? Charlie warns his client that the world of Progressive Architecture is ‘not the real world’ because the buildings that are acclaimed in the magazine are just models of buildings and not the actual buildings. These buildings have no link with buildings in which we live in and are comfortable. What point is Pollan making when he quotes Lewis Mumford saying that it is "necessary to know how to read before one could truly see a building" (p67)? Pollan is commenting on the need to read about these building before we truly understand them. Each building has a concept behind it that accompanies the picture of the building in text. The buildings seem to make no sense to the viewer unless they take the time to read about the concept (Pollan, 1997). What point is Pollan making when he quotes Robert Venturi arguing that "architecture was not really so much about the articulation of space, as the modernists had believed, but about communication by means of signs and symbols" (p69)?   Pollan is trying to show that post-modernist architecture has changed the perception of people about what architecture really is. Buildings are too much dependent upon the explanation of the concept through text that they become a representation of these texts rather than an expression of space as they used to be. ACTIVITY 2: Barthes Make an outline of the piece using a series of headings to divide the text into clear sections Eiffel Tower- The Landmark of Paris The Meaning behind the Tower The uselessness of the Tower Paris as the Eiffel Tower sees it The Eiffel Tower- A form without an interior Make a 300 word summary of the text The Eiffel Tower is a landmark for Paris. When visiting the city, it is impossible that anyone would miss the tower that stands with pride in the center of the city. The city reminds Parisians that this Tower belongs to them and they own it since they cannot get rid of the tower at any point within the city. The Tower is a symbol of everything within the city. It speaks the language of love to the lovers and due to the apparent uselessness of the tower; meaning can easily be attributed to the tower. Within the course of history there has not come a time when the tower was without any meaning. However, this piece of architecture has no apparent functionality. Even though the architect argued on a number of uses for the tower ranging from aerodynamics to meteorological exploration, the tower is still without any function. However, the tower fulfils the most important function of being a beacon to the Parisians living within the city. The Tower also provides the onlookers with a panorama of the whole city. The observatory of the tower allows for a bird’s eye view of the city, one that allows us to see Paris as it is even if we miss out one of the few major buildings. It also demarcates the city between the poor and the rich neighborhood. While there is no defined functionality of the Tower, the Tower also lacks a definition of form. The Tower stands on a steel structure without any walls or structure that could create a confined space. The tourist, thus, is outside in the environment even when he is inside the tower. The Tower is in itself a paradox, it has no function but the Parisians cannot imagine Paris without the Tower. Added to this the Tower has no form but tourists flock to the Tower to experience what lies inside the tower (Barthes, 1997). Distil your summary down to 50 words The Eiffel Tower is one of the most striking monuments in not just Paris but the whole world. It offers people the possibility of viewing Paris through a bird’s eye perspective but other than that there is no functionality of the tower. Even despite the Tower’s uselessness it represents Paris. Pick out one passage of the text that you found particularly interesting and discuss it in a 300 words piece of your own   One passage that particularly appealed to me was the mention of the lack of an interior enclosed space within the Tower. It is true that whenever we pass a building, we give a purpose to the building that relates with the interior of the building. Any critic that aims to explain any architecture monument spends considerable time in exploring the interior of the building. He would explain the form and the structure of the building only by giving a reference to the interior use of the building. But despite the lack of interior of the Eiffel Tower, there have been many who have discussed the building and its form, when form is the most striking feature that is missing from the building. The structure of the Tower is a paradox in itself in the fact that one can visit the tower without actually going inside the tower. Furthermore, a person can even go inside the tower but in the real sense would still be in the outside world since there are no boundaries that define the structure. Only steel pillars define the insides of the building and even though they clearly demarcate the inside from the outside, one can never truly say that they have visited the building from the inside. There is no meaning of inside where the Tower is considered and we may go all the way to the top of the tower without actually knowing whether we are inside or outside. This adds to the beauty of the Tower as it does not enclose the tourist and confine him within a space. The tourist is free to experience the whole city even when he is inside the tower and this reflects on the feeling of freedom that one gets when one visits a city like Paris. Thus, the Eiffel Tower is a reflection of the city and the true landmark for a city like Paris. ACTIVITY 3- Read the critiques by Davis, Rybczynski and Gulbenkian. a) Note the structure of each piece by writing a list of headings for the main sections Big Blue Building Critique Structure The Modernist Architect- Will Alsop The Disregard of functionality in favor of the form Converting the Irrational into Rational The Marriage of Form and Functionality A National Gallery Structure National Gallery and its Inception The Selection of the Architect The Structure of the National Gallery Safdie’s Classical Approach National Gallery in relation to the external environment b) Make a summary of each critique in about 100 words (each)   Summary of Big Blue Building Critique In this article Colin Davies is holding a critique on a modernist building created by the architect- Will Alsop. When Alsop created the design for the building, he did so with an apparent disregard towards any rationality that may limit the building to its functional use. Instead Alsop focused on the design and the form which was quite similar to other modernist building because of its bold exterior that drew the attention of many. However, the design was modified to suit the purpose of the building as the client inculcated many changes in the design. The final result was pleasing to both the client and the architect despite the contrary views of the architect (Davies, 1996). Summary of ‘A National Gallery’ In this article, the author discusses the construction of the Canadian National Gallery amidst increasing diversions and criticisms. When Jean Boggs was made the project manager, he hired Safdie, a relatively unknown architect. Safdie went against the postmodernist architecture theory, prevalent during the time and created a classical piece which used the concept of skylight to lighten the two story building. Though Safdie’s design had certain issues, he managed to create a design where people would come back to enjoy art as it is meant to be enjoyed. The building stands against other prominent building but does not lose its character in the external environment (Ribczynski, 2002). Summary of ‘The Potential of Technology to support older people’s engagement in society’ In this article, the author is discussing the power of technology in helping older people deal with isolation and social inactivity. Currently, the male population in elderly people is higher than that of the female as they lose partners or wish to live alone. This isolation is further increased as their children and grandchildren become involved in their lives with no time for these elderly. The internet can help this issue by allowing the older people to communicate with other similar people through video chats and community chat rooms. However, these elderly do not have access to computers and therefore television can be used to link them through the internet. Television will be more useful as the elderly are used to this technology. ACTIVITY 4- Comments This activity has created a new whole perception of form and functionality within my mind. Throughout my architecture studies, I have been taught to pay attention to the concept behind the structure and how we as architects, conform the space of the structure to suit its function. But reading and analyzing the four articles for these activities, one is forced to wonder what the purpose of form and function really is in architecture. My perceptions as an architect improved with these readings and have allowed to me imagine architecture without the boundaries of form and functionality. For the three activities, the focus was post modernist architecture that changed that concept of form and functionality. Concept behind grotesque buildings became common as more and more architects defied the norms in architecture to produce something that created more criticism than appraisal among the common people. Since architecture is meant primarily for the common people who occupy these buildings, this kind of architecture is a little difficult to reason with. The common people cannot find any sense in these buildings and often wish for classical building with their respect towards beauty and ornaments. On the other hand, architecture monuments such as the Eiffel Tower become the trademark for their city of origin. It was their uniqueness among the other common buildings that made them historical symbols of a country. They were given meaning according to the current emotion of their people and this meaning was carried on with time. Even though they defied form and functionality, they created their own form and their own functionality which gives credibility to the words of the post modern architects who believe that buildings create their own function and form. These activities have given me the confidence to experiment with form and functionality without having to worry about the rationality of the piece. At least during the conceptual period of the designing, I can take the liberty of believing that all is possible in world where Will Alsop designs buildings that resemble crushed Swiss roll. After all, Alsop’s design was modified to suit the function of the building and even if the form does not suit the function, it may develop its own functionality like the Eiffel Tower. During our student life, most of us are scared or experimenting with form and space but with examples such as these, we can not only take chances but also support our concept with those of other post modernist architects who had the courage to break the monotony within design and come up with unique ideas. Having said this, I still believe that architects are responsible for the people who would later occupy their buildings. Given this fact, architects need to be able to modify the extreme in their designs to allow room for the common people in the space that they create. Critique on post modernist building is easy but it is difficult to understand how they create a space for themselves despite being so blatantly rejected by the majority. References Pollan, M. 1997, A Place of My Own, London: Bloomsbury Davies, C. 1996, The Big Blue, In: Spens, M. 1996. The Recovery of the Modern, Oxford: Butterworth Architecture Ribczynski, W. 2002, Looking Around, London: Scribner Barthes, R. 1997, The Eiffel Tower, In: Leach, N. 1997, Rethinking Architecture, London: Routledge Read More