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Full Download The Architecture Book Big Ideas Simply Explained DK Ebook Online Full Chapter PDF
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CONTENTS
HOW TO USE THIS eBOOK
INTRODUCTION
The oneness of humans with the land and sky • The pueblo
DIRECTORY
GLOSSARY
QUOTE ATTRIBUTIONS
CONTRIBUTORS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
COPYRIGHT
INTRODUCTION
Expanding concept
The art, science, and act of designing and constructing buildings
emerged where people first settled and formalized government,
religion, and what became civic life, building temples, palaces, and
tombs in honour of their gods and rulers. Gradually, the concept of
architecture was applied to other kinds of buildings.
People used architecture to say something about themselves or
about the society in which they lived. It could convey power and
authority, as Roman architecture did, or reinforce an identity.
Carvings in Hindu temples told origin stories; the rock-built churches
of Lalibela in Ethiopia united Ethiopians in the Christian faith.
Initially, the ambition of those who commissioned, designed, and
built architecture depended to an extent on local climate, geography,
geology, economies, culture, and knowledge. But as societies
developed, in tandem with foreign trade and territorial conquest,
awareness of what might be possible expanded. New ideas
crisscrossed territories, nations, and eventually entire continents.
Over the centuries, theories of architecture began to develop,
along with its codification – rules and principles. In ancient Greece
and Rome, for example, the style and proportions of buildings were
determined by the order (column style) used. In China, architects
were guided by numerology (the meaning of numbers) and feng
shui – the significance of place and positions.
New ideas – and structural daring, as masons, carpenters, and
builders gained a better understanding of the properties of materials
– led to the magnificent buildings of ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome,
and Byzantium; the temples of India, China, Cambodia, and the
Americas; and the cathedrals and civic buildings of medieval Europe.
As the insides of buildings became as important as external
expression, dark cell-like spaces gave way to imaginatively planned
interiors.
It was at the time of the European Renaissance that the specialist
architect emerged, but architecture was not treated as a distinct
profession until the 19th century, when schools of architecture were
widely established. Until then, architectural work had been largely
carried out by stonemasons or other builders who learned their craft
through apprenticeships and experience rather than books and
academies.
Designing buildings became a highly regarded and well-paid
profession in Europe, the US, and their spheres of influence around
the globe. This change marked a decisive division between those
who designed and those who constructed buildings, with engineers
playing a third role as buildings became more complex. Today, with
so many new methods, materials, and demands made on new
buildings, architects work as part of interdependent teams of
specialists.
Shaping influences
The Industrial Revolution brought many advances in architecture,
spurred on by technological developments and the need for new
kinds of building, from factories to trainsheds. Inventions such as
lightweight steel and reinforced concrete enabled architects to span
huge areas and build to great heights. Skyscrapers were first
constructed in the US, but they soon transformed the appearance of
major cities across the world.
In the late 20th century, computer-aided design (CAD) – the use
of algorithms to generate new forms – pushed the boundaries of
architecture even further. Designs previously considered unbuildable
suddenly became feasible, leading to some of the world’s most
thrilling buildings and reigniting an old debate – should form
(aesthetic design) ever be more important than function (the
purpose of a building)? Function had prevailed for large parts of the
20th century.
Architecture is also influenced by wider cultural changes and new
ideas in other art forms, especially art and literature. The
Renaissance produced a flowering of Classically-inspired architecture
across Europe; the Arts and Crafts movement at the end of the 19th
century was part of a wider backlash against the inhumanity of the
industrial age; in the early 20th century, Cubism was an important
influence on Modernist architecture.
On a more fundamental level, buildings are also shaped by the
needs and welfare of the people who live and work in them. In the
early days of the Soviet Union, for example, Constructivist
architecture aimed to raise the living standards of people who had
previously been peasants.
The biggest influence on architecture today is the need to protect
the planet. This has resulted not only in initiatives to reduce the
energy use of buildings, and of construction itself, but also in a
return to architecture shaped by the local environment. In parts of
Africa and Asia, architects are reviving and adapting ingenious
vernacular forms that had been eclipsed by styles imported from the
West. The challenge for all architects is to produce beautiful,
functional buildings that tread lightly on the planet.
New forms
Architecture was the outward expression of a culture’s religious
belief, military prowess, political power, and civic pride. A host of
architectural innovations were developed by the ancient Greeks and
Romans. The Egyptians had invented columns as a means of
supporting the roofs of vast hypostyle halls, a style adopted by the
ancient Minoans on Crete, but the Greeks used three styles of
column (orders) to determine the style of the building as a whole,
including its decoration. Their harmoniously proportioned buildings
established an aesthetic that has influenced architects ever since.
Through a dynamic marriage of practicality and structural daring,
the Romans perfected domes, stone arches, and vaulted ceilings,
producing sophisticated temples, amphitheatres, baths, and civic
buildings on a monumental scale, and facilitating the expansion of
their empire. Their arched stone bridges were strong enough to
carry conquering armies and heavy artillery across great rivers, and
their aqueducts transported fresh water over long distances. The
Roman invention of lightweight concrete led to astonishing
architectural feats, such as the huge dome of the Pantheon temple
in Rome.
The adoption of Christianity in 313 ce and the transfer of the
Roman capital east to Byzantium in 330 ce ushered in another
architecturally innovative period. Under Emperor Justinian (r. 527–
565 ce), the church of Hagia Sophia (Divine Wisdom) in Byzantium’s
capital Constantinople (now Istanbul) was built in only five years, its
domes of unprecedented complexity and beauty, and its walls
covered in mosaics. The building’s influence on Islamic design in
later centuries was profound.
Eastern architecture
Architects in the eastern hemisphere were also building on an epic
scale, demonstrated from 221 bce, by the Great Wall linking a chain
of fortifications along China’s northern border. The first known stupa
(Buddhist shrine) was built in Sanchi, central India, in around 270
bce. Although this was a simple mound, stupas became more
elaborate as the Buddhist religion spread.
In China, where Buddhism became the state religion in the 6th
century ce, the stupa turned into a pagoda, a tiered tower that
became popular in other Asian countries. The pagoda’s style
followed strict rules governing all Chinese architecture, such as
having an uneven number of tiers to reflect the Chinese belief in the
sacred meaning of numbers. First built of wood, then brick or stone,
the towers soared heavenward, long before the Gothic spires of
medieval Europe.
IN CONTEXT
FOCUS
Early settlements
BEFORE
c. 1.8 million years bce Stone tools are used by human ancestors
in Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa, providing evidence of cave-
dwelling.
c. 75,000–70,000 bce At Blombos Cave, near Cape Town in
South Africa, ochre markings are incised on stone, the earliest
known artistic representations made by anatomically modern
humans.
AFTER
c. 4000–3100 bce During the Uruk period – named after the city
of the same name, in modern-day Iraq – urban life emerges in
Mesopotamia.
c. 3100 bce The earliest of the Stonehenge monuments are
established as part of a Neolithic settlement on Salisbury Plain, in
the south of England.
Architecture was born out of one of the necessities for human
survival: shelter. Shelter provides protection, both from the weather
and from predators, and allows people to have some control over
their immediate environment. Anthropologists believe that for at
least 90 per cent of human history, our ancestors used shelter in a
transitory way. They lived in the open, travelling in small groups
within a relatively set territory, and often making camps near springs
or streams. They would have treated certain spots as bases for
hunting and foraging, perhaps returning to them seasonally. Some of
our ancestors may have sheltered in woodland, seeking cover under
dense clumps of leaves.
When possible, people would have taken refuge under cliffs and in
caves. Evidence of this survives in the rock paintings that Palaeolithic
humans left behind, such as those at Chauvet and Lascaux in
southern France, made around 36,500–30,000 and 17,000–15,000
years ago respectively. However, caves are only found in rocky
terrain, so people would have been compelled to develop other
forms of shelter.
“The first gesture of an architect is to separate the microclimate from
the macro space outside.”
Mario Botta
Swiss architect (1943–)
Monumental Mesopotamia
The Mesopotamians are credited with inventing writing, numerals,
astronomy, and the wheel, and were the first people to develop
planned cities. One prominent feature of these cities was the
ziggurat – a type of massive pyramidal stone structure made up of
successively receding storeys. Each ziggurat was part of a temple
complex that included other buildings. Archaeologists have dated the
earliest ziggurats – notably at Tepe Sialk, on the outskirts of Kashan
in Iran – to around 3000 bce.
The mud-brick walls of a ziggurat’s platforms slope inwards, directing the viewer’s
gaze towards the temple peak.
The Ziggurat of Ur
Much as every king during Egypt’s Old Kingdom built a pyramid, all
the major Mesopotamian kings built ziggurats. Nebuchadnezzar’s
ziggurat at Babylon – possibly the inspiration for the biblical story of
the construction of the Tower of Babel – was one of the largest,
although damage and erosion over the centuries reduced it to
nothing but foundations.
The finest surviving example of a ziggurat is the Ziggurat of Ur,
which is near the city of Nasiriyah in modern-day Iraq. Dedicated to
Nanna, the Moon god, it was built in around 2100 bce and then
heavily reconstructed in the sixth century bce. During the 1980s,
Iraqi president Saddam Hussein commissioned the restoration of the
building’s facade and staircases.
Monumental in its scale, the Ziggurat of Ur was 64 m (210 ft) long and 45 m (148 ft)
wide, and is thought to have been more than 30 m (98 ft) high.
“Then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that
reaches to the heavens’.”
Genesis 11:1–7, the Bible
Modern-day ziggurats
The ziggurat remains a popular archetype in modern architecture. A
number of 20th-century buildings drew their inspiration from this
ancient design. The celebrated American architect Frank Lloyd
Wright designed a circular ziggurat for the top of Sugarloaf Mountain
in Maryland in 1925, but it was never built. A spiralling ramp that
featured in the plan later appeared as part of his Guggenheim
Museum in New York City, which was completed in 1959.
section 1.
To Mr. Stuart.
“You are to enter into no political engagements.”
FOOTNOTE:
[1] Note by Editor.—Nevertheless sir John Moore had only
£25,000 in his military chest, and sir David Baird only £8,000
which were given him by sir John Moore.
Admiral De Courcy to Mr. Stuart, October 21, 1808.
“Mr. Frere will have told you that the Semiramis has brought a
million of dollars in order to lie at his disposal, besides £50,000 in
dollars, which are to be presented to the army of the marquis of
Romana.”——“In the meantime the British troops remain in their
transports at Coruna, uncertain whether they shall be invited to
the war, and without a shilling to defray their expences.”
Ditto to Ditto.
(Abstract.)
“August 12.
“The duke of Infantado reached Blake’s quarters, after escaping
from France. Blake gave him his confidence and sent him to Madrid
to form a council of war, and to persuade Cuesta to send two
thousand cavalry to the army of Gallicia. The junta did not approve of
this; they suspected Infantado as a double dealer and in the French
interest.
“After Baylen, the juntas of Seville and Murcia wished to establish
a despotism, differing in nothing from that of Charles III. and Charles
IV. save that Florida Blanca was to be the head of a regency. But in
the north they were all for liberty, and put forward the British
constitution as a model. The army spoke of Infantado as regent, but
the civilians disliked him. All the English guns sent out for Gallicia
went by mistake to the Asturias, the succours were absurdly
distributed and every thing was in confusion.”
section 2.
L O R D W E L L E S L E Y ’ S I N S T R U C T I O N S T O M R . S T U A R T.
(Extracts.)
“January 5, 1810.
“In return for these liberal supplies, his majesty is entitled to claim
from the Portuguese government every assistance which can be
afforded to the British commander and troops, a faithful and judicious
application of the funds granted for the support of so large a portion
of the Portuguese force, which must otherwise be supplied from the
exclusive resources of Portugal.”
“I am commanded to signify to you the expectation that the
extraordinary efforts of his majesty’s government for the aid of
Portugal, and the consequent pressure upon the British resources,
will be met with corresponding exertions on the part of the regency,
and that all local and temporary prejudices will be submitted to the
urgent necessity of placing the finances of the kingdom in that state
which may render them available for its defence in the approaching
danger. You will direct your immediate and vigilant attention to this
most important object, nor will you refrain from offering, or even from
urging, your advice on any occasion which may open the prospect of
effecting any useful reduction in the civil charges, or augmentation in
the revenues or military resources of the country.”
“In addition to these arrangements his majesty will expect to
receive regular monthly accounts of the expenditure of the sums
applicable to the military charges of Portugal, under the orders
issued to lord Wellington, as well as accurate returns of the state and
condition of the several corps receiving British pay.”————“It is
also desirable that his majesty should be acquainted with the state
and condition of that part of the Portuguese force which is to be
maintained from the revenues of Portugal.”————“The crisis
demands the most unreserved confidence and communication
between his majesty’s ministers and the local government of the
prince regent. No jealousy or suspicion should be harboured under
such a pressure of common danger; the great sacrifices which we
have made for the interests of our ally must not be frustrated by any
consideration inferior to the main purpose of our mutual security, nor
must we now hesitate to take the lead in any measures necessary to
enable Portugal to contribute a just share of their own efforts and
resources for the accomplishment of their own safety.”
“The governing-power in Spain does not derive its authority from
the appointment of the sovereign, the disposition of some of its
leading members is at least equivocal, and its conduct has not
satisfied any expectations either of the Spanish nation or of the
allies.”————“In Spain, the assembly of the cortes is the only
remedy to which that country can resort for the purpose of investing
the government with a regular force or a national spirit, nor can any
hope be entertained of a sufficient exertion of the military resources
of Spain, until a governing power shall be so framed as to unite a
due representation of the crown with a just security for the interests
and welfare of all the estates of the realm.”————
section 3.
C O N D U C T O F T H E E N G L I S H G O V E R N M E N T.
Lord Wellington to Mr. Stuart.
“Viseu, March 30, 1810.
“I don’t understand the arrangements which government have
made of the command of the troops there. I have hitherto considered
them as part of this army, and from the arrangements which I made
with the Spanish government they cost us nothing but their pay, and
all the money procured at Cadiz for bills was applicable to the
service in this country. Their instructions to general Graham alter this
entirely, and they have even gone so far as to desire him to take
measures to supply the Spaniards with provisions from the
Mediterranean, whereas I had insisted that they should feed our
troops. The first consequence of this arrangement will be, that we
shall have no more money from Cadiz. I had considered the troops
at Cadiz so much part of my army, that I had written to my brother to
desire to have his opinion whether, if the French withdrew from
Cadiz when they should attack Portugal, he thought I might bring into
Portugal at least the troops which I had sent there. But I consider this
now to be out of the question.”
section 1.
(Extract.)
“Salamanca, Septembre 1, 1811.
“L’armée Espagnol de Galice, honteusement chassée de ses
positions de la Baneza et de Puente de Orvigo et poursuivie par
l’avant-garde au delà de Villa Franca, s’est retirée en grande hâte
sur la Coruñe. Le général-en-chef après avoir nettoyé ces parages,
vient ici sous six jours avec vingt-cinq mille hommes de la garde, et
nous irons tous ensemble voir s’il plait à ces illustres Anglais de
nous attendre, et de nous permettre de rompre quelques lances
avec eux. Le duc de Raguse à qui j’envoie de vos nouvelles est
autour de vous à Baños, Val de Fuentes, Placentia, &c., et nous
agirons de concert avec lui.”