Of the many building materials of construction, I am one that is crucial, most suitable and perfected, having historical value. The unison of two towns to one in 1909, gave way to my name, Concrete. Before me, my co-building material, Wood was used for the construction of an entire building, but Wood being flammable burnt down due to the fires in the early 1900’s. The humans thus wanted an inflammable material for their buildings, that would also be economical and ample in supply, therefore many Wooden Buildings were replaced by me by 1921. After they found me strong and capable to withstand fires and many other accidents, be it natural, depending on a properly proportioned mixture that gave birth to me every time, the humans soon constructed different structures with me, such as dams and bridges.
Properly Proportioned Mix is what makes me just right, without the ratio of the constituents that unify to make me, I am incapable and worthless. I owe my life to cement and water that bind me together, along with a hard, chemically inert particulate substance, known as aggregate; usually made from different types of sand and gravel.
According to the history of Humans on Cement, the Assyrians and Babylonians used clay as the bonding substance or cement. The Egyptians used lime and gypsum cement. In 1756, a British engineer, John Smeaton made the first hydraulic cement by adding pebbles as a coarse aggregate and mixing powered brick into the cement; this they said was a modern version of me. In 1824, English inventor, Joseph Aspdin invented Portland cement, which has remained a dominant cement type used for my production. Joseph Aspdin created the first true artificial cement by burning ground limestone and clay together. The burning process changed the chemical properties of the materials and Joseph Aspdin created stronger cement than what using plain crushed limestone would produce.
The other major part of me besides cement is the aggregate. Aggregates include sand, crushed stone, gravel, slag, ashes, burned shale, and burned clay. A Fine sized aggregate is used in making slabs and smooth surfaces with me. Coarse (rough,graded in size) aggregate is used for massive structures or sections of cement.
I am one that is weak in tension but strong in compression, tension and compression being terms of physics. Humans, always experimenting and reaching for newer goals, trying to reach for the sky with a desire to make their mark on it, required a material strong in both tension and compression, in order to make buildings as high as the sky and structures with large spans. In 1849, Joseph Monier, a Parisian Gardner, who would make garden pots and tubs from me would also reinforce these pots by an iron mesh.
Once metal, usually steel, is embedded within me, I am known as reinforced concrete of ferroconcrete. Joseph Monier exhibited his invention at the Paris Exposition of 1867. His invention and ideas promoted the reinforced version of me for use in railway ties, pipes, floors, arches, and bridges.
Now that I am reinforced, my compression strength combined with the tensile or bendable and flexible strength of metal, I withstand any and all heavy loads, be it a dam, a bridge or a skyscraper, I stand tall, spanned and strong.
Bibliography:
http://www.concrete-wa.com/history.html
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blconcrete.html
Sunday, January 25, 2009
For an architect, architecture is a kind of memoir.
For an architect, architecture is a kind of memoir.
For an architect, architecture is a memoir, whether on paper or in the form of a building piercing through the sky, it’s a record of events by a person having intimate knowledge of the works based on personal observation.
Architecture begins in an architect’s imagination of what he/she perceives the space to be, and initiating from a single thought it develops step by step taking form, into a particular building type. Architecture has its own language, its own way of communicating its purpose. Functionally and ‘Form’-ally suitable architecture of any building can teach its surroundings a better standard of living, a better way to operate.
It is through the architects knowledge, understanding and vast imagination, that an architect gives shape to his buildings, and in continuation these very buildings shape their surroundings.
Architects and Architecture play a vital role in portraying the culture of any country. The choice of materials, the layout of spaces, and the degree of enclosure reflect the climatic conditions, religious state and political philosophies of the context in which the building is to be placed. The way in which people organize their places is related to their beliefs and their aspirations, their world view. A world varies, so does architecture, may it be at the personal, social and cultural levels, and between different sub cultures within a society.
"Noble life demands a noble architecture for noble uses of noble men. Lack of culture means what it has always meant: ignoble civilization and therefore imminent downfall."- Frank Lloyd Wright
Every man's work, whether it is literature or music or pictures or architecture or anything else, is always a portrait of himself, and this is what makes architecture so dynamic, as every man changes according to the times, developing and evolving his thoughts according to the demands of the world revolving around him. Therefore architecture becomes a canvas of confession with the artist/ architect revealing himself either through his work on paper or his use and delivery of words. Even a building reflects its architect’s way of perceiving the space to be. It is every man’s desire to come across a challenge in their professions, but how well they overcome the challenge can be best seen done by an architect.
“All architects want to live beyond their deaths."- Philip Jhonson
Architecture coming from the Mesopotamians, Greeks and Romans still reflect much of the architecture of today, providing the basis of the elements of architecture. So much has been taken up by us, from the past civilizations, in designing the buildings of today.
The Pyramids of Giza, the fortified defensive walls of citadels, the 3 dimensional orientation of the Parthenon have left an important mark on the face of the earth, not only because of how they appear to the eye but also because of the experiential understanding of the spaces. When a design is taking form, various additional factors come into play, which change with time, enlightening and heightening our actual experience of the spaces.
It is a true architect who considers the 4th dimension while designing a building and is successful in providing his clients with a complete experiential tour of the space designed.
Light plays an important part in redefining spaces.
"Light, God's eldest daughter, is a principal beauty in a building."-Thomas Fuller
Le Corbusier uses a dim religious light to illuminate the side altars with daylight softened by its reflection off white roughcast walls in Notre-Dame du Haut at Ronchamp. Through the absence of interior partitions in Villa Shodhan, Le Corbusier was able to bring natural light into certain spaces as an architectural material. This, along with the free passage of the warm Indian breeze created a tactile and ever-changing environment with a strong connection to the natural site. In effect, the Villa’s openness is its most tangible trait. . The doors of ancient Greek temples faced the morning sun, the red light from the east dramatically illuminating the figure of the God within. In view to all the various architectural building types, light has been used in various ways to give identification to different spaces and in all these buildings a real building is one on which the eye can light and stay lit.
There’s plenty of intelligence in the world, but the courage to do things differently is in short supply, and it is this irresistible urge in a creative architect that characterizes true architecture. How well an architect understands the clients requirements and the context of his building depends on his vastness of imagination An architect does not sleep, as the great thing about being an architect is that they can walk into your dreams.
For every architect each of his designs in sequence of building through time is like an open visual book, to which he can refer to, while designing the next building innovating his designs to the fullest, in accordance to his previous buildings. With help to such a visual reference of his own buildings, an architect can improvise on his designs, and become a part of history, engraved in millions of thought processes altering their life forever.
"When we build, let us think that we build for ever." -John Ruskin
For an architect, architecture is a memoir, whether on paper or in the form of a building piercing through the sky, it’s a record of events by a person having intimate knowledge of the works based on personal observation.
Architecture begins in an architect’s imagination of what he/she perceives the space to be, and initiating from a single thought it develops step by step taking form, into a particular building type. Architecture has its own language, its own way of communicating its purpose. Functionally and ‘Form’-ally suitable architecture of any building can teach its surroundings a better standard of living, a better way to operate.
It is through the architects knowledge, understanding and vast imagination, that an architect gives shape to his buildings, and in continuation these very buildings shape their surroundings.
Architects and Architecture play a vital role in portraying the culture of any country. The choice of materials, the layout of spaces, and the degree of enclosure reflect the climatic conditions, religious state and political philosophies of the context in which the building is to be placed. The way in which people organize their places is related to their beliefs and their aspirations, their world view. A world varies, so does architecture, may it be at the personal, social and cultural levels, and between different sub cultures within a society.
"Noble life demands a noble architecture for noble uses of noble men. Lack of culture means what it has always meant: ignoble civilization and therefore imminent downfall."- Frank Lloyd Wright
Every man's work, whether it is literature or music or pictures or architecture or anything else, is always a portrait of himself, and this is what makes architecture so dynamic, as every man changes according to the times, developing and evolving his thoughts according to the demands of the world revolving around him. Therefore architecture becomes a canvas of confession with the artist/ architect revealing himself either through his work on paper or his use and delivery of words. Even a building reflects its architect’s way of perceiving the space to be. It is every man’s desire to come across a challenge in their professions, but how well they overcome the challenge can be best seen done by an architect.
“All architects want to live beyond their deaths."- Philip Jhonson
Architecture coming from the Mesopotamians, Greeks and Romans still reflect much of the architecture of today, providing the basis of the elements of architecture. So much has been taken up by us, from the past civilizations, in designing the buildings of today.
The Pyramids of Giza, the fortified defensive walls of citadels, the 3 dimensional orientation of the Parthenon have left an important mark on the face of the earth, not only because of how they appear to the eye but also because of the experiential understanding of the spaces. When a design is taking form, various additional factors come into play, which change with time, enlightening and heightening our actual experience of the spaces.
It is a true architect who considers the 4th dimension while designing a building and is successful in providing his clients with a complete experiential tour of the space designed.
Light plays an important part in redefining spaces.
"Light, God's eldest daughter, is a principal beauty in a building."-Thomas Fuller
Le Corbusier uses a dim religious light to illuminate the side altars with daylight softened by its reflection off white roughcast walls in Notre-Dame du Haut at Ronchamp. Through the absence of interior partitions in Villa Shodhan, Le Corbusier was able to bring natural light into certain spaces as an architectural material. This, along with the free passage of the warm Indian breeze created a tactile and ever-changing environment with a strong connection to the natural site. In effect, the Villa’s openness is its most tangible trait. . The doors of ancient Greek temples faced the morning sun, the red light from the east dramatically illuminating the figure of the God within. In view to all the various architectural building types, light has been used in various ways to give identification to different spaces and in all these buildings a real building is one on which the eye can light and stay lit.
There’s plenty of intelligence in the world, but the courage to do things differently is in short supply, and it is this irresistible urge in a creative architect that characterizes true architecture. How well an architect understands the clients requirements and the context of his building depends on his vastness of imagination An architect does not sleep, as the great thing about being an architect is that they can walk into your dreams.
For every architect each of his designs in sequence of building through time is like an open visual book, to which he can refer to, while designing the next building innovating his designs to the fullest, in accordance to his previous buildings. With help to such a visual reference of his own buildings, an architect can improvise on his designs, and become a part of history, engraved in millions of thought processes altering their life forever.
"When we build, let us think that we build for ever." -John Ruskin
Friday, January 2, 2009
How Cities Grow
The wheel of time, the spur of city life, the growing/ multiplying city, spreading- spilling outwards like bacteria. Life for the human becomes a blur. How does one channel or control the growing city?
The increasing population of the world has impacts all over the world, none of us can deny that. How does one form a solution to the problem?
In Le Corbusier's "Towards a New Architecture" the option for building a vertical vity has been discussed. To keep the ratio of solid and coid balanced, he proposes to lift the buildings on pilotis/ columns, in order to achieve open public spaces.
Aldo Rossi in his book " Age of Humanism" proposes to design cities with infrastructure planned for a specific population growth, once the number of people goes beyond that, another city be populated.
Do these proposals justify as solutions? What implications will a "Land of Towers" have on the human? How many cities will be formulated? Will the earth be all land and no water?
The increasing population of the world has impacts all over the world, none of us can deny that. How does one form a solution to the problem?
In Le Corbusier's "Towards a New Architecture" the option for building a vertical vity has been discussed. To keep the ratio of solid and coid balanced, he proposes to lift the buildings on pilotis/ columns, in order to achieve open public spaces.
Aldo Rossi in his book " Age of Humanism" proposes to design cities with infrastructure planned for a specific population growth, once the number of people goes beyond that, another city be populated.
Do these proposals justify as solutions? What implications will a "Land of Towers" have on the human? How many cities will be formulated? Will the earth be all land and no water?
How Cities Grow
The wheel of time, the spur of city life, the growing/ multiplying city, spreading- spilling outwards like bacteria. Life for the human then, becomes a blur. How does one channel/ control the growing city?
The increasing population of the world has its undeniable impacts all over the world. In Le Corbusier's ' Towards a New Architecture', the option for building vertical cities has been discussed.
To keep the ratio of solid and void balanced, he proposes to lift the buildings on pilotis/columns, in order to achieve open public spaces.
In the 'Age of Humanism' by Robert Venturi, it has been proposed that cities be designed with an infrastructure based on a particular population number, and once the population grows beyond that, another city be designed and populated. This will help in having an effectual infrastructural system for each city.
But do these proposals serve as solutions to the problems of growing cities? What will be the impacts of a vertical city on humans. How many cities will be created? What effects will it have on the ecology?
The increasing population of the world has its undeniable impacts all over the world. In Le Corbusier's ' Towards a New Architecture', the option for building vertical cities has been discussed.
To keep the ratio of solid and void balanced, he proposes to lift the buildings on pilotis/columns, in order to achieve open public spaces.
In the 'Age of Humanism' by Robert Venturi, it has been proposed that cities be designed with an infrastructure based on a particular population number, and once the population grows beyond that, another city be designed and populated. This will help in having an effectual infrastructural system for each city.
But do these proposals serve as solutions to the problems of growing cities? What will be the impacts of a vertical city on humans. How many cities will be created? What effects will it have on the ecology?
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Multi Functional Complex Design with Skyscraper.
Response to a much needed multi functional urban amenity in an architecturally rich language (composition) to enhance human experience (scale/ function).
Elements and Considerations of Design:
Didactic expression of function
Compositional juxtaposition (of solid and void)
Climatic consideration (north light, cantilevers on south side)
Human scale (Plazas)
Spaces activated by function (Roof, gym,swimming pool, etc)
On descending the KPT flyover ramp adjacent to the site, one experiences the passage of time by a rhythm of solid and void.
Architecturally, the wheel of time is expressed as a sequence of juxtaposed solids and voids, with a variety of pauses, scales, changes in the quality of light and in the structural expression.
The dynamic relationships of spaces create a dynamic energy among the solids and voids, thebuilt and unbuilt.
One can cross a threshold into another space, another time, and another phase of psychological and spiritual experience. Walls, Columns, Surfaces, Rhythms, Light, etc are architectural elements that can activate the spaces.
The varied sizes, scales and typologies of the open and semi-open courtyards extend the vision from the man-made to the sky.
Other than physical architectural linkages, the visual, emotional and psychological connections have been expressed and can contribute to the popular appeal of this complex.
(Images shall be uploaded soon)
Traditional Architecture of Karachi
The exceptional position, not only in Pakistan but in the world. The silence and the community life. Public architecture demonstrating a capacity to assimilate different faiths and styles in order to create new aesthetic qualities without any precedence. The metropolitan nature of the city, the amalgamation of cultures and beliefs resulting in spaces and buildings based on their needs and styles.
Influences from the world on the living culture of Karachi, come from all parts of the world. The misconceptions of trend or fashion being culture have caused a havoc in defining culture itself. Therefore, a brief understanding on the meaning of culture needs to be out forward, before setting foot in the field of researching the traditional architecture of any place.
Man evolved the form of shelter through the ages, starting from a cave to tent to mud houses to the present concrete jungle. The wants of man have developed through the years, which may have caused some to lose sense of what is 'needed'.
A variety of styles surrounds us in the city of lights, which one describes Karachi?
What is the traditional/ vernacular architecture of Karachi ?
Influences from the world on the living culture of Karachi, come from all parts of the world. The misconceptions of trend or fashion being culture have caused a havoc in defining culture itself. Therefore, a brief understanding on the meaning of culture needs to be out forward, before setting foot in the field of researching the traditional architecture of any place.
Man evolved the form of shelter through the ages, starting from a cave to tent to mud houses to the present concrete jungle. The wants of man have developed through the years, which may have caused some to lose sense of what is 'needed'.
A variety of styles surrounds us in the city of lights, which one describes Karachi?
What is the traditional/ vernacular architecture of Karachi ?
Friday, November 14, 2008
Kite Runner - a review
" Kite Runner" - by Khalid Hosseini
Other Comments:
The elaborate details the author gives around characters, sights and sounds of the events of this boy's life make it an enjoyable read The most interesting thing however, is the local words used in the book which are meant to be Persian but we use these words so commonly in Urdu that it feels you can associate with the happenings described. The story is set two-three decades ago and describes the events in this boy's life, one of which affects him and shakes him up thoroughly.
About the Writer:
A novelist and physician originally from Afghanistan, who is currently a citizen of the United States, writes from his childhood memories, sharing his personal experiences with readers around the globe.
Response:
Unlike the Harry Potter series where you instantly fall in love with the protagonist, no matter how much effort you make to like Amir, the main character, I just cannot forgive him for what he did to his friend.
Comment:
Take this book up as your bed time companion for a couple of days!
Other Comments:
"Awakens curiosity about the world around us"
"The grace of acceptance heals the wounds of brutality, for with forgiveness anything is possible, event he joy of soaring kites against a winter sky"
Reviewer: Zainab"The grace of acceptance heals the wounds of brutality, for with forgiveness anything is possible, event he joy of soaring kites against a winter sky"
The elaborate details the author gives around characters, sights and sounds of the events of this boy's life make it an enjoyable read The most interesting thing however, is the local words used in the book which are meant to be Persian but we use these words so commonly in Urdu that it feels you can associate with the happenings described. The story is set two-three decades ago and describes the events in this boy's life, one of which affects him and shakes him up thoroughly.
About the Writer:
A novelist and physician originally from Afghanistan, who is currently a citizen of the United States, writes from his childhood memories, sharing his personal experiences with readers around the globe.
Response:
Unlike the Harry Potter series where you instantly fall in love with the protagonist, no matter how much effort you make to like Amir, the main character, I just cannot forgive him for what he did to his friend.
Comment:
Take this book up as your bed time companion for a couple of days!
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