Blog #5 - Renaissance and beyond

The Renaissance was remarked by a great mind shift and a whole new approach to achieving perfection in the many developing crafts of the time. This period saw the birth of visionaries that were fostered from early on to become great at transforming the world around them. Two of these remarkable thinkers were Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. They were true Renaissance men, becoming extraordinary architects, painters, sculptors, engineers and mathematicians, to name a few of their professions. While they pursued similar occupations, their achievements can often be differentiated. 

Michelangelo certainly deserves recognition for his exquisitely detailed sculpture work, his representations of Saints and biblical figures illustrate his art of “taking away” to achieve his detailed marble work. While Michelangelo in many ways embodied the embrace of philosophy, science and mathematics that characterized the Renaissance, he was still very much motivated by religious belief when approaching his work. 

Leonardo Da Vinci meanwhile stepped far outside the bounds of faith in his study. His approach was often conceptual, contriving first designs of a helicopter and other flying machines, and engaging in detailed anatomical studies. His visions were thus often constrained to paper as his designs were too radical for their time, and remained theoretical in their construction. Nevertheless he produces impressive architectural sketches, detailing large cathedrals and ambitious dome constructions. 

When considering non-western cultures, ancient Chinese architecture offers a great example of the use of complex carpentry and masonry work to construct structures that would not be seen in the west for many centuries. Although the traditional Chinese approach to construction finds limited application in today architecture, it is often due to urban constraints and a lack of floor space area rather than structural concerns. This form of architecture combined constructional soundness with aesthetic consideration, leading to the early adoption of Feng Shui both to protect the home, and offer a pleasing environment to its inhabitants.

Blog #4 - Islamic Architecture throughout the World

Islamic religious architecture offers a great example of just how advanced civilizations within Northern Africa and parts of Spain where when compared to continental Europe at the time. The exquisite sense of detail, along with a different set of customs altogether led to the creation of structures that to this day leaves visitors brimming with fascination.

Two of the central features to any mosque that remain to this day are the Minbar, and the Mihrab. Both of these features are found inside of a mosque and are essential to conducting five daily prayers. The Mihrab is a semicircular niche found within a wall of the building. It serves those inside by indicating the direction of the Kaaba in the holy city of Mecca. The Mihrab often features elaborate decoration utilizing anything from intarsia inlays to highly detailed Iznik tiling. When visiting a mosque during a prayer ceremony, the visitor’s eye is thus drawn instinctively towards the Mihrab, as all participants will bow and kneel in its direction. The Minbar will generally be found immediately to the side of the Mihrab, as the Iman conducts his service from here. These commonly wooden structures are highly stylized using intarsia and parquetry, and feature a narrow gated entry leading to a short stairway from which the Iman can call to prayer while in an elevated position.

Another core feature of these structures is the use of advanced geometry, which greatly reflected the level of mathematical understanding already being utilized by architects of the time. This meant that complex geometrical floor plans where transformed from two-dimensional concepts into three-dimensional structures with great effectiveness, and present any visitor with countless angles and viewpoints that mesh together beautifully into one multifaceted structure. One of the key ways architects were able to achieve such a powerful symbiosis was through the effective combination of spheres and angles. By using pendentives, architects were able to join angular walls with the domes situated above them, creating fluidity between these otherwise contradicting shapes in a way one only finds from great visionaries like Michelangelo in Europe (Pedro Muchaca’s Palace). 

With respect to decoration, these structures are just as impressive, but have to be considered with respect to customs common to these civilizations. Because Islamic artists were often prohibited from using iconography, interior spaces would have to be decorated much differently. Where the middle ages in Europe required the use of visual representations in order to move the largely illiterate members of church, high literacy rates within Islamic societies allowed for a different approach. Thus one sees calligraphy taking the place of iconography, with artists forming the Arabic script into the very shape they represent. Both the Hagia Sophia and the Selimiye Mosque are great examples of this, relying on massive circular panels with inscriptions as simple as “Allah,” to entire Quran verses being displayed in minute detail along the walls and ceiling.

Islamic architecture to this day remains highly captivating, and visiting structures such as the Cairo citadel leaves today’s adventurer as breathless as one from 800 years ago. It should indeed come as no surprise that the Muslim religion has flourished so remarkably, as the people of Islam have such powerful places of worship to associate with.

Blog #3 - The Middle Ages

The Middle Ages has proven to be a period of scarce record-keeping and often shows less historical clarity when compared to ancient times. Although furniture and common living spaces are no exception to this, the artifacts we are aware of provide a clear idea of what living must have been like during the Middle Ages. 

The first distinction when compared to modern preferences is the lack of comfort, and as one sees across anything from common living arrangements to interior layout and furniture design is that the concept of comfort had simply not been invented. The vast majority of society was too occupied with providing adequate shelter and sufficient sustenance, and thus the idea of comfort was rarely considered. Instead, furniture and storage solutions had to be designed to facilitate functionality and portability, both of which generally required durability. We see this in the common table or “board,” a simple yet solid rectangular slab of wood placed upon rudimentary supports. This was to allow for anyone within a common home to be seated for a meal, while giving the owner of the home (oftentimes a farmer) a clear sight of everyone seated. Storage was much the same, with chests being designed not only to store items in the home, but also to allow for the mobility when one has to move. This meant items had to fit both next to as well as on top of one another, a task a simple box fulfills best. When a storage solution was to withstand weathering instead, the top cover would often times be designed with a curvature to allow for rain water to drain instead of accumulate. 

These various concepts of simplicity further diffused into the layout of the Great Hall, the common living space of the middle ages. These are the oldest living spaces one can find with respect to this period, and the term really finds its meaning in the way life was at the time. People lived very communally within a home, sharing much of the same furniture and generally lacking privacy. This meant one would gather in often the only true room within a home, the Great Hall, to engage in most activities from eating to sleeping. The center of this room is reserved to construct a fire, which at the time was more essential than anything else, as it provided much needed heat and light, along with a way to cook. The idea of light plays a vital role during this time; once night has come, the only light apart from the central fire of the home would be obtained from candles, or “rushlights.” These were made from animal fat, and would burn both faint and smoky, and with obvious odors involved. Nevertheless these could be very expensive, and were thus often scarcely available to the average home. 

When examining the layout of the Great Hall, one can draw similarities with what is valued today, as open and versatile living spaces are often found in today’s architecture. Yet this traditional layout saw a shift during the middle ages, with increasing use of the chimney. This innovation must have been very welcomed at the time, as it greatly reduced the mess associated with maintaining a constant fire. It also meant however, that the Great Hall would need to be partitioned in order to allow for the chimney to stretch up into the now needed second floor of a residence. Today, with the ability of eliminating the need for a chimney we see a return to an interior layout reminiscent to that of the Great Hall, though with a more advanced idea of “central heating.” 

The Byzantine Empire was the direct continuation of the Roman Empire, with its capital city of Constantinople. The roots of roman architecture can thus be found within the Byzantine design, which again places value on regularity and perfection. With respect to Ecclesiastical structures, this can easily be observed in the layout of a traditional basilica. The long central aisle is often lined with roman pillars, and leads to an altar at the front commonly situated beneath a dome and allowing for light to gather at the front of the structure. The large central space would not feature furniture, but instead people would be standing. Wood or Stone would be the employed materials to build these structures. Colder regions favor the use of stone, with its increased heat capacity and resistance to flame, while warmer regions often relied more heavily on wooden structures.

The Romanesque Architecture began somewhere between the 6^th and 10^th century and shows no exact beginning. It is a style common to medieval Europe, and is categorized by repeating semi-circular arches known as “vaults.” This type of architecture can be found all over Europe, thus it is the first pan-European architecture since the Roman Empire. The values of roman architecture are once again observable, with great emphasis on perfection. This is now evident in the heavy use of symmetry along with the reliance on angular groin vaults through the interior structure. The Romanesque architectural style evolved into the Gothic style around the 12^th century. The Gothic style began to utilize pointed arches, along with adding intricate ribbing to the Romanesque vault.

Blog #2 - Ancient Rome

The Romans can be credited with several key inventions. With regard to construction and material, the invention of Brick and Concrete enabled even the people without large amounts of wealth to begin building larger structures. In combination with architectural innovations like the extensive use of arches, large pantheons and basilicas could be erected safely and able to withstand the test of time. 

When considering design innovations with respect to furniture, the “Lectus” or couch as we know it today deserves recognition. This piece of furniture was versatile, and was often decorated with pillows at each end to enable conversation while resting comfortably.

 Remarkable strides in the planning and construction of organized cities where also part of ancient Rome history. The use of a grid system, along with considerations of hemispherical orientation enabled even larger towns to remain easy to navigate and comprehend. Central structures such as the market like Forum Magnum enabled ordered decision-making to take place while Amphitheaters provided entertainment. 

The Romans also paid great attention when constructing and engineering water supplies and drainage systems, innovations that would not be seen again for many centuries. Thus the use of Aqueducts played an important role in supplying these cities with water from surrounding lakes and rivers, and public latrinae would give people the convenient use of restrooms.

Ancient Romans certainly did not lack innovation, and their ability to overcome obstacles in construction enabled them to rapidly modernize their society, leaving us with remarkable amounts of historical artifacts and information.