between silence + light

Craft- Craft is a word that is talking about building something or putting things together. In my design class craft is something that is important to consider you always need to make sure that you are making clean cuts and that you are building or making things that are well crafted. Over the weekend we went on a class trip to Monticello and Falling water. The craft of Monticello and Falling Water was very advanced for the time when they were built. We talked about craft when reading Massey especially in relation to the arts and crafts movement “The most important design reform movement to affect the interior in the nineteenth century was that of the Arts and Crafts.” (Massey 7)
Public/Private-This past week with Interior architecture we went to Monticello. This house designed by Thomas Jefferson is a great example of public and private space. The house was specifically divided up into parts Thomas had a whole half of the house just for himself and then he had public areas for guest and other family to use. At falling water Wright put in small and dark halls to the private areas of the home to discourage people from going into them. Massey talks about how Gaudi worked in public and private design “Antoni Gaudi expressed his religious beliefs and fervent nationalism through his design for apartment blocks and churches.” (Massey 46)
Technique- this word can be used in reference to the way that something is made or the way that something is done. While at falling water this weekend we saw the different techniques that were used to build this house the same is true for Monticello. Falling water used glass and concrete and utilized space by putting in built-ins. At Monticello beds were placed in niches to utilize space.Massey talks about techniques that are used “This was a conservative style, inspired by French classical architecture of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and in interior decoration was marked by lavish use of carving, gilding, rich marble and extravagant lighting, well suited to provide an atmosphere of grandeur for large hotels, department stores, opera houses and the ostentatious houses of the wealthy.” (Massey 31) Massey says that lightign was a new technique that was used "Tithe auditorium is noteworthy in the history of interior design because it is here that the electrical was used for the first time as a design-feature.” (Massey 49)
Language- Language in architecture is something that is shown through materials and styles. While we were at Monticello we saw the vocabulary of the time wood glass and stone. The same is true for Falling Water except Massey talks about how certain designs speak hear she talks about how the artistic spoke to having money “The ‘artistic’ interior became a mark of wealth, status and good taste in the 1880’s” (Massey 28)
Virtual-While we were at falling water and at Monticello we experienced virtuality by the windows they were used specifically to bring the outside in. Thomas Jefferson while designing Monticello wanted to bring the outside in and to make the outside spaces more important than the inside the same is true with falling water.
Synopsis- Overall this weeks opus was influenced greatly by our trip to Falling Water and Monticello. Moving on in our new unit in History we are talking more about buildings that are more relevant to our modern day life.