Archive for February, 2014
Alessandra Rao Prof. Maciuika 2/26/14 You would think the Center for Architecture would have decent architecture. Unfortunately, the Center for Architecture did not meet my expectations. I was disappointed by the small size of it, and the way it was curated made it very difficult to step back and have enough room to actually look […]
February 27, 2014 | Comments Off on You Would think the Center for Architecture Would Have Decent Architecture
The Timescapes presentation at the Museum of the City was fantastic. It was the perfect 2014 visual presentation: old photographs, panoramic screens, 3D rendering. Most importantly, it presented the history of the City in a way that a Wikipedia entry couldn’t. My favorite part of the exhibit was the old photographs. Seeing Union Square in […]
February 18, 2014 | Comments Off on Museum of the City of New York
Deyan Sudjic’s The Edifice Complex isn’t awful. It’s thoughtful, well researched and full of interesting examples. It’s also overreaching, authoritative and prone to leaps in logic. Sudjic wants to have the readers believe that he has come up with a fresh theory on why powerful people commission buildings: to stroke their egos and imprint their legacy’s […]
February 18, 2014 | Comments Off on It’s Deeper Then Narcissism
October 29th, 2012 marks the day Hurricane Sandy and struck New York City. Multiply properties across the city were damaged and many lost their lives. The Rising Waters exhibition at Museum of the City of New York clearly depicts a timeline of events that happened during Hurricane Sandy. From the burst of water into residential […]
February 18, 2014 | Comments Off on Destruction and Restoration
What we perceive is the reality that we know of. Oftentimes, architecture forms the way we see the world; each section is designed to cover or reveal something. On the flip side, the structure itself is a symbol, as Sudjic proposes in The Edifice Complex. He gives strong evidence as to the connection between meaning […]
February 18, 2014 | Comments Off on The Fabricated Reality
Architecture tells a story of the elite. The skyscrapers in New York allude to flourishing business and trade. Versailles’ absurd grandeur indicates superfluous resources and wealth. A postmodern mosque in Iraq signifies the strength and power of a ruler. In the “Edifice Complex” Sudjic highlights the power of architecture: the immense power of the destruction […]
February 18, 2014 | Comments Off on The View From Trump Tower Penthouse
From the very beginning of this passage, the idea of duality is present and I believe it is pervasive throughout the rest of the piece. The title, The Edifice Complex, can be interpreted in a few ways. From an architectural standpoint, it can mean a large and imposing building or structure. Moreover, from a psychological […]
February 18, 2014 | Comments Off on Two Sides of The Edifice Complex
The Timescapes video at the Museum of the City of New York was a very dynamic and informative presentation of New York City history. The fast moving, varying images on each of the three panels successfully represented the rapid and changing development of New York City over the last few hundred years. While the video […]
February 18, 2014 | Comments Off on A Call for Peopling of Timescapes
Timescapes, a media presentation digitally projected on three panoramic screens, traces the growth of New York City using animated maps as well as historic photographs, paintings, and prints from the museum’s collection. It is narrated by actor Stanley Tucci and literally turns back the clock to display how the city has changed from a small […]
February 18, 2014 | Comments Off on Life & Times-NYC
Stephen Elliott IDC 4001H A few months ago, I sat down on a train ride home in the early afternoon. The friend with whom I’d been returning to Long Island, was making a joke out of my scratchy beard, insisting I looked homeless. Beside us sat an elegant German woman, maybe thirty years of age, […]
February 18, 2014 | Comments Off on Making Magic out of Marble, and Meaning Too
Jenna Hosier / IDC 4001H Maciuika / February 17, 2014 Sudjic offers every possible answer to the main question of Chapter 1: “Why We Build”. Emotional and psychological purposes, ideological and practical reasons, to project power, and to give shape and form to political and religious impulses, all are the culprits in why buildings are structured. […]
February 18, 2014 | Comments Off on Sudjic’s Power Complex
Rossella Failla While reading the article, The Edifice Complex, I couldn’t help but think, what is the meaning of architecture? Is there even a meaning? Sudjic explained that architecture can equate to power. He specifically referred to Saddam Hussein’s hunger for power in Iraq, and his constant obsession with reflecting himself in architecture. After his […]
February 18, 2014 | Comments Off on Define Architecture
Navtej S. Ahuja Professor Maciuika Shaping the Future of NYC 17 February, 2014 We build to fulfill a need, and that need is what can be seen through what we build. According to Sudjic, there are many reasons why people build. Whether it is to cement personal glory (as Saddam Hussein did during his years […]
February 18, 2014 | Comments Off on Everyone Builds
From what was once mere shelter, architecture has shifted towards a display of one’s hierarchical standings. Throughout history, the victors tore down buildings and structures of the past to create ones that would praise and honor themselves. By using their wealth and power, history and culture are weaved into existence by the architects whom are […]
February 18, 2014 | 1 Comment »
Navtej S. Ahuja Professor Maciuika Shaping the Future of NYC 17 February, 2014 The rise of a city is a complex and lengthy process, and the interesting thing about this process is that it is never truly complete. Constant challenges regarding maintenance, changes in the demographic composition, and other areas keep those in charge […]
February 18, 2014 | Comments Off on A City Built by the World, for the World
There’s nothing I love more than a field trip, so I was very, very excited to Museum of the City of NY. I have to admit, I’m a pretty sorry excuse for a New Yorker, knowing next to nothing about the history of New York City. This short film gave a very enjoyable and succinct […]
February 18, 2014 | 1 Comment »
Psychology, history, and art are all intertwined in Deyan Sudjic’s fascinating read: The Edifice Complex. Sudjic claims that architecture is used as a tool for the rich and powerful to mold the environment to comply with their worldview. While I do agree that it only these few people have the means to hire architects to […]
February 17, 2014 | Comments Off on Built by the Few, Shaped by the Many
Joseph Maugeri, IDC 4001H First, let’s take a look at the island of Manhattan. There are skyscrapers, luxurious apartment buildings, tenement buildings, restaurants etc. But obviously Manhattan wasn’t always like this, there used to be townhouses and buildings no more than 5 stories high. Why the change? Well I’m sure all of us know the […]
February 17, 2014 | Comments Off on Architecture: Killing Humility and Marrying Symbolism
Stephen Elliott IDC 4001H To paraphrase someone much smarter than me, history without context is just a story. It’s easy to crawl through the alcoves and alleyways of New York without giving a moment’s breath to the past you step on. Each cobble, each brick has centuries of stories to tell, and yet we hardly […]
February 17, 2014 | Comments Off on New York City Timescapes: Touching, tepid; too much
Going to school in the one of the most renowned cities in the world, we are surrounded by one marvelous building after another. In his book, “The Edifice Complex,” Deyan Sudjic asserts “architecture is about power” and that the powerful construct buildings for the simple reason that they have the money to do so. Furthermore, […]
February 17, 2014 | Comments Off on Cent-sational Structures: Architectural Visions of the Rich and Powerful
Like many of my peers, I found some faults in Timescapes at the Museum of the City of New York. As I pulled back the curtain to the mini-theater on the 2nd floor of the museum, I found that the size of the room compared to the screens was problematic. Luckily, I found myself seated […]
February 17, 2014 | Comments Off on Timescapes: True to its Purpose
Rossella Failla The twenty-two minute long film was able to capture the essence of New York throughout a time span of over 350 years. It captured the progress that New York City made through the years, in terms of industrializing and modernizing. What I found particularly important was the priority that the film gave to […]
February 17, 2014 | Comments Off on Timescapes: The City of Modern Birth
Alessandra Rao IDC4001H Tuesday 11:10 MTBH The Museum of the City of New York featured a 23 minute screening of a brief history of New York City. Three large screens in a dark room told the story of how the island of “Manhatta” was sold for only 24 coins, and handed over to the Dutch […]
February 17, 2014 | Comments Off on Neue York City: going back to the start
Derick Liu IDC4001H MTBH If I were to judge Timescapes as a film, I wouldn’t be able to give it a passing grade. Don’t get me wrong, the information presented in the short is very interesting and eye-opening. The problem is how it was presented. The first, most obvious problem is in regards to the three […]
February 17, 2014 | Comments Off on Timescapes, a Prerecorded Lecture