Mock, Unit Summary 1, IAR

Foundations—the Building Blocks to Society

            This unit was about starting from the beginning, to some of the earliest known societies around the world and their first ventures into the architecture and design world.

Stonehenge is an important monument that shows early planning
blueprints, it also ties in the cosmos with buildings.

Beginning with Stonehenge, as a monument that shaped creativity, the world has thought about the use of materials of the old civilizations and thought of them as their modern day creations. “At the center of their cosmology was a connection between the smelting of ore and sun” (Ching, 47). Stonehenge was about the universe, light, and alignment. The precision is remarkable, it lines up with certain cosmological points and it had different phases of being built and changed. It is important because there was a model of it found buried in the ground in the city that Stonehenge is near, indicating that this was thoroughly planned and the model was a blueprint.

            Other important features of this unit include the Egyptian pyramids. These represented the Sun God reflecting light and life on the earth, it shined on the point of the pyramid, spreading it’s light down the four corners to the earth. Not only was it a burial chamber, but also it showed the layers of society, the bottom starting with the slaves, going up to the nobility and the Sun God. Yet again, this is another building that reflects the universe.

            Greece was another important society in this unit, it’s building revolved around order, proportion, and perfection. The idea for Greece was real versus ideal in their building structures, they strived for perfection. The Erectheion was their monument that defined them because that is where Poseidon struck at Athena, and Athena created Greece.

            Rome brings us to three major ideas: firmness, commodity, and delight. “Roman cities were more differentiated that Greek cities, which were defined as central agora and temple precedents (Ching, 194). Their cities were strictly designed and had an orderly feel about them. Their plans for their cities included: roads, aqueducts, baths, basilica, temple, arch, column, market, forum, amphitheatre, coliseum, and a dome. The city grid and water were the two most important features of a Roman city; they represented an ideal city and power. The Pantheon was an important Roman structure, it was a temple form on the front, but behind it was a magnificent dome. It was the largest dome of its day, with hollow tiles. It represented the earth and the universe inside of a building. The light that shined through light up the entire building, making the colors glow. The circle and the cross define Rome, the circle being centrality and power, the cross being the perfect structure plan.

            The most important concepts that I got out of this unit are the circles, stacks, and groves tying the entire world together and the tying in the universe into the buildings. It seems that the circles and stacks are the basic building blocks for all civilizations such as the South Americans, Romans, Greeks, Asians, etc. Circles represent a sacred space and enclose a special meaning on the Earth’s surface. Stacks reach up to the heavens, some civilizations reached up the Sun God and others reached up a heavenly God, but regardless, stacks are a universal feature. Everything is in groups; whether it is people, trees, columns, or plants, groups are a universal feature as well. These three ideas create emphasis, unity, and balance through buildings and on earth.

http://eslnotepad.blogspot.com/2010/06/stonehenge-from-voice-of-america.html