ARCH162

Fallingwater is one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s architectural masterpieces that was designed in 1935 for the Edgar Kaufman’s family. The property is located approximately 69 kilometers southeast of Pittsburgh (Wright & Donald 3). Mr. Kaufman commissioned the construction of Fallingwater upon the introduction of Wright to the family by his son. At the time, the son was a student of Wright at his Taliesin Fellowship school. before the commissioning, the family had used Fallingwater as a retreat for about 15 years. When they commissioned its construction, the family had anticipated getting a house that would be detached from the waterfall.  Such an outcome would have ensured that they have the waterfall in their sight. Instead, Wright decided to integrate the house and the waterfall, thereby making the latter a part of the house. Fallingwater’s landscape has been transformed by water and rock. Our mother nature created the stream we know as Bear Run, by moving wate...

In New York, north from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, along Fifth Avenue East, from 82nd Street to 104th Street, more than 20 blocks, all kinds of museums row upon row. This is commonly known as " One Museum Mile." On the northeast corner of the 88th street junction, there is a white building. Measured by Manhattan standards, the size of the building is not large, but surviving in the old-fashioned building community, it is a heterogeneous; inverted spiral body shape, like a circle of well-rounded apple peel, round the diameter of From top to bottom, decrease gradually. The building is best described as an art center, which harbors an ever-expanding collection of impressionists, post-impressionists, as well as contemporary and modern pieces of art. The Guggenheim or the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is an exceptional masterpiece along 1071 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, New York. The museum founded and established in 1939 by Solomon Guggenheim opened under the title “Museum ...

Le Petit Trianon is a historical building within the Versailles palace grounds in France. The palace was commissioned by Louis XV and designed by Ange-Jacques Gabriel between 1762 and 1768. Considered a perfection of architecture, the villa was a neoclassical architecture, which was characterized by the Corinthian order, particularly as exhibited in its window frames, balustrades among other features of the French classical tradition. The chateau is essentially a structure with a square floor plane, four Corinthian-detailed facades, and a flat roof. Gabriel also integrated sun-bleached limestone bricks into the edifice, figuratively and literally indicating a transition from the Rocco style to the neoclassical architecture.  As evident from the chateau, a Corinthian building was made of one detached pillar and another semi-detached support, positioned directly opposite the French garden. The façade adjacent to the former botanical garden was left bare. The entire palace was ...

The exact date of the construction of the temple is not clear although legends hold that it was first put forth in the 27 th AD as the Romulus remembrance site as he had ascended to heaven while standing at the spot (Rolling Rome S.r.l. 3). However, the building as it is known today was renovated by Emperor Hadrian driven by his passion for architecture. The most intriguing part of the building is its massive towering dome with a famous hole at the top. The columns supporting the dome are alsowidely placed making it the world’s largest unsupported dome (Rolling Rome S.r.l. 5). The interior of the dome was constructed with slightly lighter material and with a steeper gradient making it appear flattened from the outside. The hole was strategically left to act as the path way between the gods and the users. It also serves as the only source of lighting around the dome perimeter. Although rain follows through it sometimes, the floors are slanted to drain away the water keeping the su...

Phalanstère A Phalanstère otherwise known as a phalanstery refers to a category of building that was specifically made for a self-contained utopian public. Such a building housed about 500 to 2000 individuals working harmoniously to achieve a mutual goal. The Phalanstère was developed by Charles Fourier in the early 1880s. He merged two French words to form the name Phalanstère. One of the word phalanx meant a basic division of the army, especially the ancient Greece’s. The other word was monastère meaning a monastery.          The Phalanstère’s basic structure was made of three distinct parts. They comprised of two lateral wings and the central part. The latter part was made for all the activities that did not involve noise. It contained meeting rooms, studies, libraries and dining rooms. The lateral wing, on the other hand, was specifically made for labor. Consequently, it was the Phalanstère’s noisy wing that included all the blaring wor...

This opera house in Austria was the first main building on Vienna Ring Road. Its construction began in 1861 all through to 1869 when it was completed. Sicard August and Eduard Null were the architects who drew plans for the opera house. The building was constructed in the Renaissance style (19 th Century German style) by Josef, a Czech contractor. The government then commissioned some reports into the accessibility of some building supplies, which resulted in the use of certain stones that had not been seen in Vienna before for instance the Wollersdorfer which was used for plinths and the Kaisersteinbruch , which was appropriate since its color appeared better for luxuriously decorated parts (Erik 2001). There was a decision made for the use of dimension stone in the exterior parts, with the building’s inner parts adorned with marble. The staircases were built using refined Kaisersstein . During the final stages of World War II, it was bombed by American forces which result...

Constructed on the Aventine in Rome and overlooking the Tiber and the Dome of St. Peters, is Villa del Priorato di Malta. The building is an exterritorial property of the Order of Malta and the more interesting of their two properties in Rome. Interesting to note is that the Roman headquarters of the Sovereign Order of Malta boasts of one of the world's most fascinating views. A look through the villa's green door provides a view of St. Peters Basilica Dome perfectly aligned. Initially, the site was an ancient fortified monastery in the tenth century. Later, the Piazza was reconstructed by a series of architects from the 15 th to the 17 th centuries, in 1765 for instance, part of it was redone by the Grand Prior, Giovan Battista Rezzonico and was named Santa Maria del Priorato. Similarly, the gardens surrounding the villa were rebuilt by Giovanni Battista Piranesi. Piranesi also designed the order’s church Santa Maria del Priorato which offers an inside view into early Rom...

Villa Schwob is a dwelling situated in La Chaux -de -Fonds Switzerland designed by the architect Le Corbusier between 1912 and 1916.The house was built using concrete and wood and is located on a hillside. The design used in the construction of the building is the Regulation line design and make use of the Domino system. The house's stairs and edges are surrounded by several thin Columns holding large concrete slabs. The single structure supporting the building has facilitated the development of plants around the central space. This has also been made possible by the interior columns. The two of the house floors are covered with a vertical window. Despite the fact that the rooms around the living room do not fall under the peripheral design, they appear to be due to the presence of the window which acts as the focal point and makes the room more adaptable (Villa Schwob - Data, Photos & Plans.”). On one side of the living room, there is a game room, and the other side hosts t...