ADAMA SCIENCE AND

TECHNOLOGY
UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING AND
ARCHITECTURE
ARCHITECTURE PROGRAM

Modernization and Specialization

in the field of of Art and
Architecture

13/02/2022
INTRODUCTION
• Art is the expression of creative skill in visual form.
These include paintings, drawings, and sculpture-and
that art is a skill, “The Oxford English Minidictionary
(2003)”.
• Art can be divided into three major classes
• Fine art
• Applied art
• Performing art
• Fine art covers fields like drawing, painting and
sculpture.

The Creation of Adam; by The Dying Gaul, or The Capitoline

Michelangelo; 1508–1512;
Gaul, of the late 3rd century BCE,
fresco;Sistine Chapel
Capitoline Museums, Rome
• Applied art includes ceramics, graphics, photography,
and textile design.Some books categorize architecture
under applied art.

The Parthenon in the Acropolis of

Athens, dedicated to the goddess
Athena
• Performing art involves drama, poetry, and music,
opera, theatre and musical theatre, magic, illusion,
mime, spoken word, puppetry, circus arts, professional
wrestling and performance art.

Charlie Chaplin, famous performers to use

mime in cinema.
• Architecture as “the art and science in theory and
practice of design, erection, commissioning,
maintenance and management and coordination of all
allied professional inputs thereto buildings, “N.I.A
(2009)”.
• N.I.A - The Nigerian Institute of Architects Code of
Professional Conduct and Ethics.

• Architecture is also considered as art because the

creation of beautiful buildings that are visually pleasing
is a creative skill that can only be acquired over time.
• Art can be said to have evolved out of the necessity
for religion and food, and while Architecture out of
the need for shelter and protection from the
elements and the wild.

• Mukasa (2013), observed that architecture, sculpture,

and painting once belonged together. Indeed, they
were admirably intertwined at various points in
history—in the ancient cultures of East and West, and
in the European Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque
periods.
• The independence of art and architecture from each
other gave them an intellectual and artistic parity, and
allowed architects and painters to learn from each
other’s works.

• Architeacher (2012), suggest that architecture is

considered a visual art like painting and sculpture.
“Architects design buildings using a creative process by
which they manipulate art elements to create a unified
and pleasing artistic statement. The difference between
a painting and architecture is that a building has a
function and must be designed with safety in mind”.
• The early artists, especially those of the renaissance
period were also architects. The likes of
Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinvi and Raphael
Sangio, where all painters, sculptors,
mathematicians, architects and much more. They
influenced the study of art, architecture, medicine,
technology and other fields at the time they lived.
 MODERNIZATION AND
SPECIALIZATION
What is Modernization?
• Modernization can be viewed as a process of
individualization, differentiation or specialization, and
abstraction.
• Modernization, in sociology, the transformation from
a traditional, rural, agrarian society to a secular,
urban, industrial society.
• Modernization is not a once-and-for-all-time
achievement.
• Rather it is a continuous and open-ended process.
Cont...

What is Specialization?
• Specialization is an agreement within a community,
organization, or larger group in which each of the
members best suited for a specific activity assumes
responsibility for its successful execution.
• It is the process of concentrating on and becoming
expert in a particular subject or skill.
• Or, a particular area which someone concentrates on
or is an expert in.
Cont...

• During the classical and medieval periods, individual

architects names were not known. The renaissance
period however, celebrated the achievements of
individual architects and buildings were ascribed to
specific architects like Brunelleschi, Alberti,
Bramante, Michelangelo and Palladio.
• Wikipedia 2010, affirms that “there was still no
dividing line between artist, architect and Engineer,
or any of the related vocations. It was still possible
for an artist to design a bridge as the level of
structural calculations involved was within the scope
of the generalist”.
Cont...

• With the emerging knowledge in scientific fields

and the rise of new materials and technology,
architecture and engineering began to separate,
and the architect began to concentrate on
aesthetics and the humanist aspects, often at the
expense of technical aspects of building design.
Cont...

• Movements like modernism and cubism affected

architectural designs at about the same period as
architects began to express the basic forms of their
designs in such manner.
• Architects who promoted and celebrated clear line
aesthetics in their designs include Walter Gropius
and Richard Meier. An example of such a design is
evident in the Secord Medical centre, believed to
have been inspired by Picasso’s work “The Reader”.
Secord Medical The Reader (Picasso’s
center cubist painting)
Cont...
• It is believed among artists and architects that
cubism gave birth to modernism in architecture
As Melhuish (2003), affirms that “the emphatic
equation of modernism with functionalist
dogma since the 60’s has obscured the fact that
modernism in architecture was powerfully
influenced by cubism in painting and its radical
rethinking of two dimensional space and form’.
Cont...
• Architects were becoming uncomfortable with the
overly decorated styles and felt the buildings no
longer met the functions they were designed for.
• Modernist architects started designing buildings
that were beautiful but yet simple.
• Their approach was for buildings to have
pure visual forms devoid of ornamentation with
high taste for functionalism.
 Cont...
• The Bauhaus still
remains one of the
most admired
modernist buildings,
designed by Walter
Gropius.

Bauhaus,Walter Gropius ,Germany

 Cont...
• At the middle of the 20th
Century, the modernist
style had developed into
what is called the
International Style, an
aesthetic epitomized in
many ways by the Twin
Towers of New York's World
Trade Center. Villa Savoye, Le Corbusier,
Pierre Jeanneret, France
Cont...
• As a resistance to the modernist style by many
architects who viewed modernism as being too
critical, the postmodern movement was given birth
to around the late 1970s.

Dancing house, Prague,

Czeck Republic
 Cont...
• The postmodern architects saw modernism as being too
extreme with bare designs, so the combined modernism
with older styles to create a balance. As the complexity
of buildings began to increase (in terms of structural
systems, services, energy and technologies).
 How art enhances
architecture?
• The relationship between art and architecture is one
that has fascinated designers and artists for centuries.
The balance can be hard to get right, and the process
can be a challenging one.
Cont...
• Art needs an appropriate built environment within
which it can be showcased to greatest effect, while
architecture needs art to turn bricks, steel and
concrete into a space in which people want to live, to
learn, to shop and to work.
Art-chitecture

• There has been debate for decades about whether

architecture is art – with some passionately arguing
that architecture is a form of self-expression and
therefore an art form, and others decrying the
notion, viewing it as a form of egotism which leads to
‘starchitect’ designs being parachuted into place
without reference to social and geographic context
or appropriateness.
Cont...
 If architecture is not art, and there’s a good
argument to the contrary when one considers
striking buildings such as the Baku Entertainment
Centre in Azerbaijan or NOI Techpark in Bolzano,
Italy, there is certainly a place for art within the
architectural form.

 For thousands of years, buildings and spaces have

been transformed by the way in which art was
used within them
Cont...
 Baku Entertainment
Centre in Azerbaijan

 NOI Techpark in
Bolzano, Italy
Cont...
 More recently, the 42 Maslak mixed-use
development in Istanbul has made the
incorporation of artworks within the architecture a
signature feature of the scheme, which is themed
as ‘Artful Living’.
Cont...
 At Shopping Promenade Coeur Picardie in Amiens,
France, we made a point of including artwork
throughout the complex, including striking
examples of street art which provide a memorable
signature for the development.
Cont...
 Chapman Taylor’s Mega Silk Way scheme in
Kazakhstan is another project which showcases art
within the building. Leading sculptors created
installations symbolising the Great Silk Road, the
ancient network of trade routes.
Cont...
 Azerbaijan’s Ganjlik Mall features spectacular
handmade crystal chandeliers from Czech artist
Maria Hostinova, whose elegant work graces the
double-height entry spaces and offers a talking
point for visitors.
How is the fusion best
achieved?
 Architects and artists need to have the experience
and creativity to know precisely how and where to
blend art and architecture in a way which turns the
synthesis of both into much more than the sum of
its parts. Places and spaces can be both
commercially successful and aesthetically pleasing,
but it requires good planning.
 History shows that built environments can be made
extraordinary by a well-judged use of beautiful and
interesting art.
Conclusion
 Countless examples throughout history show that
built environments can be made extraordinary by
the well-judged use of beautiful and interesting art,
to popular acclaim. What is most important is that
the resulting combination achieve something
which, in the eyes of most people, makes a place
somewhere they visually enjoy and remember for
its aesthetic elegance. There is no more fitting
legacy for the artist or for the architect.
 Architecture and Engineering
“Architecture Begins Where Engineering Ends”
a quote by Walter Gropius, the founder of the Bauhaus school in
Germany.
 The definition of architecture is the art or science of
designing and creating buildings (Architecture).
 The definition of engineering is the work of designing and
creating large structures (Engineering).
 The science of engineering is creating a large building so it
does not fall down or cave in, the science of architecture is
designing a building so that it is aesthetically pleasing.
 The essential difference between engineers and architects is
that engineers are concerned with controlling forces while
architects control spaces.
 Others separate the two professions differently: engineers,
they suggest, are responsible for the safety of people through
the strength of structures, while architects function in the
realm of social wellbeing – the former always a scientific job,
the latter always arts-connected.

 The early 'engineers' came from other professions: Telford from

architecture, Captain Brown (designer of the beautiful Union
Bridge over the River Tweed) from the Navy, Finley in
Pennsylvania from the judiciary.
Engineering as a separate, 'stand-alone' discipline began to
break away from architecture/building at the end of the
eighteenth century, once the Industrial Revolution had got up
some steam.
An architect at that time would probably have spent most of his
time designing private houses or perhaps religious buildings,
and a sideways look then, at all the developing new
technology, might have seemed rather seductive.
The very essence of the misunderstanding between civil
engineers and architects is revealed in terms of their diverging
attitudes to aesthetics.
 TECHNOLOGY IMPACT ON ARCHITECTURE
AND ENGINEERIGNG
 The great resource in the contemporary architect's armoury
is computer technology. Suddenly there is available the
capacity to draw and navigate a course around shapes with
incredible ease; in the past, we could barely have even
drawn the shapes.
 In the dawn of the new technology the pioneer spirit of
Telford, Brown et al. is re-emerging. And just as architects
can find new ways of doing things, engineers can analyze
them more quickly and, with beautiful symmetry, the same
technology facilitates new – and more economic –
manufacturing methods. 
 Architecture vs. Engineering

Although architects and engineers perform many parallel

functions that contribute to the design and implementation of
buildings and structures, there are also key distinctions
between the two disciplines. Understanding the traits that
complement each role can help students determine which
degree program nurtures their passion.
CHARACTER TRAITS
Architects and engineers often approach projects from
very different perspectives. While architects rely on
creativity and the ability to think theoretically, engineers
use a mathematical mindset. From builder to designer,
there is a relationship between personality traits and
work duties for architects and engineers.

Engineering Architecture
DESIGN
 An architect is focused on designing and constructing the form,
space, and ambiance of buildings and other physical
environments.
 Engineers ensure that the design will work by applying
scientific principles.

Engineering Architecture
COST ESTIMATION

 Architects must work within budgets for material and

construction costs, while engineers will take these factors
into consideration when evaluating the specifications of a
project.

Engineering Architecture
PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Architects and engineers take on project management roles

within their area of focus. In the development of buildings and
other structures, they serve as liaisons between design teams and
clients.
Engineering Architecture
MATH & PHYSICS EXPERT

Engineers are experts when it comes to math and physics. They are
responsible for translating an architectural vision into quantifiable
terms. Architects need to keep scientific methodologies in mind
when preparing drawings and communicating with engineers.

Engineering Architecture
SPECIALIZATIONS

There are other fields in which an architect or an engineer can

study or practice. Architects can focus on commercial, residential
or industrial structures. They can even design whole cities.
Engineers can go into many finds, from electrical engineering to
environmental, channeling their skills in many avenues

Engineering Architecture
MECHANICAL BUILDING DESIGN &
STRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT
ELECTRICAL URBAN DESIGN
INDUSTRIAL LANDSCAPE
ENVIRONMENTAL CITY PLANNING
GRAPHIC DESIGN
INTERIOR DESIGN
ENVIRONMENTAL
Modernization & Specialization
in building materials
 Building materials are backbone of modern architecture.
 Some of the common materials are:
 Concrete,
 Wood,
 Bamboo
 Brick,
 Aluminum,
 Glass and etc...
 Under this topic we will discuss technologically
improved versions of the above materials.
1. Light-generating concrete
What is it?
Light-emitting concrete is a green construction material designed to
illuminate highways, roads, and bicycle lanes without the use of
electricity.

Light-emitting concrete follows the principle of absorbing solar

energy during the day and emitting lights at night.
Light-generating concrete contd...
The light-emitting concrete enjoys durability as long as one
hundred years and possesses strong resistance ability against
ultraviolet rays. Furthermore, it is ecological because the gel is
made out of sand, dust, or clay, and during manufacture, the
only residue is water steam.
Light-generating concrete contd...

Advantages
- The material is sustainable since it is formed by
condensation of silicates usually found in clay, sand, or
dust.
- The process is ecofriendly as the only gas released
during manufacturing is water vapor.
- The cement is said to have a life span of 100 years and
is being fabricated to emit green or blue light.
2. Translucent wood
Transparent wood is produced by treating and compressing
wood strips. In the production process, lignin is replaced by
polymers to make the wood transparent.

- It has the same strength of

lumber whilst being far lighter.

- Preferable in reducing the

need for artificial light which
can consume a lot of power.

- A great alternative to plastic

and glass.
Translucent wood contd...
How to produce?
Place wood blocks in boiled water and sodium hydroxide for two
hours. This would leach out polymer called lignin (gives wood its
color) in the wood.

Then, the wood is soaked with an epoxy which not only

strengthens the wood but also turns it clear.
Translucent wood contd...

Advantages
1. It is biodegradable and environmentally friendly as regular
wood.
2. Transparent wood has all the strength of opaque lumber.
3. It does not shatter on impact and is stronger than glass.
4. It is better when at light distribution and eliminates glare.
5. It helps keep a building at more consistent temperature and
make it easier to reach higher energy efficiency. This is
because wood has low thermal conductivity.
3. Wool brick
Wool bricks are made by adding wool fibers to the regular
clay material used to make bricks, then combined with an
alginate conglomerate, a natural polymer extracted from
the cell walls of seaweed. They are naturally dried (rather
than the energy-intensive and polluting process of firing)
and the result is a brick that is less prone to cracking and
less likely to warp.
Wool brick contd...

Why are they better than regular mud bricks?

- Wool bricks have been developed as part of a move towards more
sustainable construction materials, with the ability for them to be
manufactured without firing their most environmentally friendly
quality.

- Compared to baked earth bricks and concrete blocks, the energy

needed to create them is significantly reduced, creating a greener
alternative to these conventional building materials.

- Mechanical tests also indicate that wool bricks are around 37%
stronger than conventional bricks.
4. Transparent aluminum
Transparent aluminum or Aluminum Oxynitride (ALON) is an
optically transparent aluminum which is a crystalline substance
made of aluminate powder alloys.

ALON or transparent aluminum is used in various applications

like infrared optical windows, sensor components, and the
military defense industry.
Transparent aluminum contd...
Transparent aluminum is optically transparent, i.e., 80%
transparency over the region from near-ultraviolet to
visible and near-infrared wavelengths.
It is three times harder than steel of the same thickness.
It is scratch-resistant and has a high life expectancy.

Applications of Transparent Aluminum

The toughness of transparent aluminum makes it a great choice
for infrared windows.
It is used for making armored windows and optical lenses.
Transparent aluminum is used for manufacturing bulletproof
glasses.
How is transparent aluminum manufactured?
ALON is produced by combining aluminum, oxygen, and
nitrogen.
 5. Self-healing concrete
 Self-healing concrete is mostly defined as the ability of
concrete to repair its cracks autogenously or autonomously.

 It is also called self-repairing concrete.

Cracked concrete can recover 90% of its initial strength.

Self-healing concrete contd...
According to Professor Victor Li at the University of Michigan,
“When we load [the concrete] again after it heals, it behaves
just like new, with practically the same stiffness and strength.

Where can self-healing concrete be used?

Self-healing concrete is used in the construction of bridges
and all road constructions as they often experience small-
sized cracks due to heavy loads and need maintenance.

 self-healing concrete would be ideal for building

underground containers for hazardous waste because “no
humans would have to go near it to repair any
Self-healing concrete contd...

How does self-healing concrete heal itself?

Self-healing concrete has dormant bacteria and a food source
(starch) embedded in the concrete. When a crack appears in
the concrete, water seeps in and reactivates the bacteria.
After they awaken, the bacteria eat their packed lunch and
then conveniently excrete calcite, which heals the crack.
 6. Modular bamboo
 The material consists of three main components from the
inside to the outside, namely BLVL, a layer of foam
insulation, and a bamboo laminated timber decorative
interior-wall layer.
 Modular bamboo contd...
Its advantages
Its compression strength is higher than concrete, its tensile
strength rivals steel, and it's lighter than both materials. And,
bamboo crops create cleaner air, providing 35% more oxygen
and absorbing 40% more carbon dioxide than trees.

Bamboo might just be the perfect natural building material. It's

abundant: The plant can grow up to four feet per day, and,
when harvested, it regrows without having to be replanted.

Not to mention, it's two to three times stronger

than steel.
 7. Pollution absorbing bricks
 Pollution absorbing bricks are designed to generate
electricity from solar energy, recycle waste water, all while
cleaning the air. The objective is that the brick will serve as
a component of the building's ventilation system.
Pollution absorbing bricks contd...

Pollution absorbing brick is a brilliant alternative to

conventionally used bricks, and curtails air pollution caused by
a building.
Its advantages
It is beneficial in areas with the heavy particulate outdoor
matter. It can mostly be used in regions with poor air quality.
Small municipalities and developing regions can use this
solution to curtail air pollution while providing a healthy
environment for the residents
Pollution absorbing bricks contd...
How is pollution Absorbing brick manufactured?
It consists of a cavity wall, which is a double layered
construction with the breathe bricks on the exterior so as to
absorb and filter the pollutants and the internal which provides
insulation and a vent for air movement. The cyclone filter is
cast into the air filtration brick.
• Prepared by:
• MAEDOT BERHANU UGR/17450/11
• MIKIAS TADESSE UGR/17398/11
• RUTH ABEBE UGR/17398/11
• SELAMAWIT ABEJE UGR/17398/11

• Submitted to:
• Mr. SOLOMON MEKONEN
THANK YOU