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Showing posts from August, 2015

Architecture Basics : Arches

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An arch : is a two-dimensional curved beam construction for supporting loads between two points of support over an opening; traditional masonry arches were constructed from wedge-shaped stones locked together by loading from above. -Dictionary of Architecture and Building Construction (2008) An arch : is a pure compression form. It can span a large area by resolving forces into compressive stresses and, in turn eliminating tensile stresses. This is sometimes referred to as arch action. As the forces in the arch are carried to the ground, the arch will push outward at the base, called thrust. -wikipedia Lintel :a beam above a window or door opening. -Dictionary of Architecture and Building Construction (2008) Lintel : is defined as a structural horizontal block that spans the space or opening between two vertical supports. In classical western construction methods, defining lintel by its Merriam-Webster definition, a lintel is a load-bearing member and is placed over an entrance way....

What is : Transparency ?

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Foundation Cartier ©Alain Alele/Flickr Glass House by NAF Architect and Design Physical transparency is an idea made simply possible by making large sheets of plate glass a prominent feature of the building, it is in essence a defining feature of modern architecture . Transparency is a medium to open up closed spaces to Light and air.  Transparency however as stated by an essay by Rowe and Slutzky is not only the visual transparency but also a includes spacial transparency. " Transparency means a simultaneous perception of different spatial locations. Space not only recedes but fluctuates in a continuous activity " - an essay by Rowe & Slutzky. This is depolyed by what they also called "phenomenal transparency", as indicating spatial depth through the layering of planes. There are many ideological meanings for transparency within the rhetoric of  modernity:    ■  Means of promoting health.    ■   Promoting a social and democratic so...