Le Corbusier | Legendary Trendsetter of Modern Architecture
Posted by BenzuJK in Biographies on March 4, 2010
“Architecture is the play of forms under light.”
Le Corbusier - The legend
Charles Edouard Jeanneret was born at La Chaux de Fonds on October 6, 1887 and later adopted the pseudonym Le Corbusier. He came from a family of watch engravers in Switzerland, and his mother was a musician.
He grew to maturity in the intellectually stimulating city of Paris and adopted French nationality. He travelled extensively and learnt many lessons from the classical architecture of Greece and the Europen cities.
He became a powerful thinker of new urban theories and propounded a bold, modern architecture. In 1951, he was appointed Architectural Adviser to the Punjab government for designing the new capital city, Chandigarh. This city represents the expression of his revolutionary ideas and is where his greatest monuments have been erected.
Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright became the pioneers of Modern Architecture….
Slums in Cities | Providing Low-Cost Housing to End Slums
Posted by BenzuJK in Sustainable Design on February 20, 2010
In the last few decades, there had been a tremendous growth in emerging countries like India, Brazil, Mexico and China. This had been mainly due to a rapid expansion in the manufacturing sector.
Thus, there had been a massive immigration of workers to cities and production centers. These new workers cannot afford housing. This is what gives rise to slums, as the homeless make temporary shelters which get transformed rapidly into semi-permanent housing colonies. People migrate to cities because the comparative poverty and hardship involved in their alternatives (ie. subsistence farming) is worse.
Dharavi Slums, Mumbai, India
According to UN-HABITAT, a slum is defined as a run-down area of a city characterized by substandard housing and squalor and lacking in tenure security. It is estimated that one billion humans live in shanty towns. One in every three people in the world will live in slums within 30 years unless governments control unprecedented urban growth, according to a UN report.
Elements of Garden Design | Water
It is difficult to imagine another element so central and so vital both to basic life and to a diverse range of aesthetic and recreational pleasure. The use of water in the built environment is thousands of years old and is interwoven throughout its long history with symbolism and religious rites as well as with sensual delight. Aqua landscapes or Water Gardens, as they are known, have been prominent in English Imperial Gardens, French Baroque Gardens, Chinese Classical Gardens as well as the Moorish Royal Gardens.
Water Gardens typically include the integration of artificial ponds, streams, waterfalls, statues, rocks, aquatic plants, fishes, watercourses and fountains with the natural surroundings and environment in order to create a pleasing atmosphere.
Technical Transformations in Architecture | Impact of Industrial Revolution
Posted by BenzuJK in Architecture on January 31, 2010
Architectural transformations were the main focus since the beginning of industrial revolution.
Three major types of architectural transformations were brought about:
- Cultural transformations that we discussed in the earlier article
- Technical transformations
- Terrotorial transformations
In this article, we will deal with “Technical transformations in Architecture”.
Kew Gardens - Cast iron house at the Botanical garden
Industrial revolution brought about in the development of machines working on steam power which brought about the development of railways.
Rotary steam power and the iron frame came into being at around the same time through the interdependent efforts of three men:
- James Watt
- Abraham Darby
- John Wilkinson
Beautiful French Gardens | Magnifique Baroque Style
The French are practical people. They were the ones who launched the French Revolution, a revolt against the ruling class while the rest of Europe bled under the thumbs of despots. But the French have a deep love for beauty and liberty. They have an open mind for new experiments, and thus French Architecture French Food and French Gardens have no match.
French Gardening Style
There was little chance to apply renaissance principles when the garden was within the fortress as in medieval France. Orchards and kitchen gardens were a part of this garden. By the beginning of the 17th century, royal palace gardens in Paris were largely Italian in plan. But it all began to change. The royal gardener Claude Mollet is credited with the creation of the parterre de broderie and the importance of the avenue.
Another genius garden designer was Le Notre, who worked for Claude Mollet. He was really very impressive and creative. Nicolas Fouquet, Chancellor to the King of France, Louis XIV, met Le Notre and commissioned him to design the gardens at Vaux le Vicomte.