Questions on Philosophy History - Essay Example

They all emphasize the need for architecture, to portray beauty. Wotton refers to it as “delight" Schinkel urges the use of architecture to make something beautiful, Sullivan contends that form must always follow function, while Vitruvius plumps for work that is in a good state, pleasing, and symmetrical. Saint Exupery shares these values as he compares an architect to a poet, who corrects his poem after writing it until it is beautiful.

Their ideas are still relevant to date and continue to shape architecture. Architectural efforts, calculations, and computations are all meant to culminate in producing structures whose principle is to achieve simplicity and beauty. However, Saint Exupery’s ideals are not easy to translate into architecture because buildings are built only once and cannot be corrected much after building, unlike aeroplanes that have prototypes.

Saint Exupery contends that achievement of perfection comes when there is nought left to take away, not add. The principles he refers to are execution and concept. This involves first attaining the right idea and then getting this idea right. This aids the architect in achieving a desirable and brilliant result.

History is related to the design process because, even in the past, man has been involved in creating objects and buildings that attempt to achieve perfection and simplicity. Objects that follow these principles include aeroplane fuselages that attempt to fuse as one ship’s keels and pieces of furniture.

Saint Exupery’s view of the process involves experimentation carried out by generations of craftsmen to attain an element of purity and perfection. He contends that perfection is attained when nothing can be taken away from the structure, rather than when there is, nothing left to add. Perfection is a deductive process, according to Saint Exupery.

Paul Valery in Eupalinos is true. He claims that, in the city, there are buildings that mute, some that speak, and some that speak. He goes on to claim that this is so because of the builder’s talent. An example of a structure that is mute is the Great Wall of China, which was built in portions by peasants. Buildings that sing include Saint Peter’s Basilica, whose dome was created by the most talented Michelangelo.

All the philosophers concur on architecture’s pursuit of perfection. However, while the architects agree on the importance of the philosopher’s thoughts on modelling and drafting, the architects believe that the most crucial stage is planning, rather than the corrective processes.