Poetics of Architecture

Chameera Udawatthe

092150f

B.Arch level 2

Poetics of

Architecture

Theory of design

ANTHONY C. ANTHONIADES

BOOK REVIEW BY CHAMEERA UDAWATTHE    

“Literature and classics are an indispensible tool for the intuitively inclined architect and architectural instructor”

The good architecture like a poet it has the rhythm and flow tuned with codes. It must address the aspects of imagination and creativity. The creativity is the cognition of the edifice. The poetics of the architecture represent the evolutions of this poet for the benefits of the good architecture. In this book represent the theory of architecture which is derived from the human thought, a deals with the nature like of the metaphorical thoughts of the humanity.

The whole premise of this book is that architectural contemplation, the architecture contemplation quit good and benefits for the user and  it has the methods of design journeying, and in due course architecture as built nowadays are much wealthier than they were during the earlier part of the century, the period of the Modern movement. The book explains little bit about the development of the contemporary architecture in the world. It explore the original theories of Modernism and Postmodern design and attempts to bring together all that is meaningful in these two movements into a new inclusivity attitude toward architecture. Anthony C Antoniades looks at the many intangible and tangible channels one can yoke in creating architectural design. By opening architecture eyes to full fill the mind and heart in to the goodness of the spirituality is the best climax to the full range of creative influence, he tries to explain the readers manufacture designs that are richer on spatial, sensual, spiritual, and environmental levels. The richness is the key of making classification of good architecture. Classification is very important in the end to identify what is good and what is bad? And also the classification helps to create good architecture. Most of the channels in the book directly address the intangible elusive channels of creativity spirituality of architecture metaphor and what is metaphor, “the ironic consideration of the creative building on the earth”. And the writer deal with historical background of the exotic and multicultural tradition of the architecture should be used in the applications. Among the touchable channels covered in the book are the historical precedents to explain the rhythm of the geometry and development of the metaphorical background of the architecture in the world. The author presented a rich and imaginative discussions of these various channels, explaining which are were favored during the Modern and Postmodern movements and classifying his theoretical analysis through the use of many vivid examples, tables and illustrations. Included among the examples in the volume are many distinguished projects and theories by a wide range of noted architects such as Utzon, Barragin, Asplund, Pietila, Aalto, Legarreta, Predock, and Pikionis, who are latecomers to the attention of the media. It summarizes the findings and transformation in biology and the theory of knowledge and suggests an architectural analogue. It concludes with a suggestion for a transformational attitude via the methodology of simultaneity. In this book poetry and literature are portrayed as two powerful vehicles to architectural design. According to the author a designer should have a “poetic palette” that includes local as well as universal ingredients. He has discussed about the cross-culture fertilization which leads to the birth of the exotica. He addressed both the “physical” and “metaphysical” nature of exotica. Also he discussed about the multicultural nature of recent educational trends that has brought the element of the exotic into the design studio. The categories of exotic design exercises are presented, along with projects from the author’s personal experience. Author says that Architectural history is the qualitative degree of difference that distinguish architects among themselves, that’s the turning point of the changing the creative channels of the architecture in the world. The author made a great conversation to explain what the architecture history is and hat is architecture historicism, and obtainable arguments for the right use of both good and bad architecture. He defined the “brand” admiration of the history as contrasting to the “bias” of architecture historicism. What is important of the history and basic use of the history as architecture? The book says how we should deals with the historical precedent which provide to create creativity or imitate what we had in the past. The author negotiates the concept of the accurate use of architecture history, and made suggestions for selecting the right sort of precedents. Sir Anthony C. Antoniades accomplished that to look upon the style, the needed architecture sense toward the historical background of the concept. And also he converse the indeed response toward the responsibility of architecture with the historical clues of good Architecture. The book covers the source, definitions, and opposing attitudes of scholars and aesthetes on mimicking the goodness of architecture, truthful interpretation deal with the philosophical liberation of architecture science o, and their associated concepts imitation, origination. One should be cautious when creating through this channel, and adopt the attitude of “implement ability” as a way to safeguard against the dangers of misuse while achieving useful ends from both mimesis and literality.

It addresses the supremacy of geometric over analytical depiction, and the reasons for the appeal of geometry over the years. The early emphasis of aesthetes on geometry was partial, with a focus on elevations, proportional systems, and the concept of “symphonic composition”. It also discusses about the relationship of the various building types and their corresponding fit with geometry and the concept of “geometric fields” is viewed through both historical examples and contemporary complex building types. The caution he gave is that geometry can be misused when the emphasis is on form as opposed to the inclusivity concerns.

Author gave extraordinary concentration to the construction materials, selection and their proper use. He talks that the language of the architecture and letters of the architecture is materials we used to create good architecture. The advantage of the advance science of the architecture comes from the goodness of the material science. The development of the material usage is the development of the architecture; the risk all the historical buildings took made the elusive transformation to the development of the architecture to the contemporary architecture. He talks about the tangible things in the architecture, it’s like a body flushness blood and bones of the architecture are the materials which we used to create good architecture on the earth. To him material is everything to create anything. The Modern and Postmodern movements fluctuate with look upon to the criterion of material science. The post modernism is the time when the new materials came to the theater and play big roles in the architecture. In fact the fact between the developments of the architecture lies behind the goodness of the material science. His discussion focuses on the use of materials is the best way of creating god architecture. He says the knowing the material science is the door to the successful architecture. The best example for this is the post modernism. The post modernism shows the rapid development of material science and parallel developments in the architecture. To him successful architects are such as H.H.Richardson, Frank Lloyed Wright, Louis I.Kahn, and Alvar Aalto. Author suggested for the enrichment of design education by extra emphasis on materials through their incorporation into design studio work. The author converse the advantage of knowing the material science for the survival o the good architecture, therefore he says the architecture education should be developed with studio works an material works which are more practical to the construction science . He says studying architecture all about studying how to deal with the materials for the goodness of the architecture of the world.

In the end Antoniades made a great effort to understand the meaning of good architecture and tried to explain the goodness of the architecture to us. His revival of poetics of architecture deepens and sharps our mind and the heart to sense the good architecture in the world. And also the book helps to understand and classify the goodness of the architecture. Therefore he had succeeded to write and converse the all the necessary element of the architecture and historical back ground of the architecture. His negotiation toward the elementary science of the architecture and his understand of each and every element of the architecture is good for us. I believe all the architecture students should read this book to understand the goodness of the architecture and create good grammar in architecture science.

And the best part of this book is he had given wonderful examples to prove what he believe in the architecture and he gave good fight to prove what he believe. Yes, in front of a society you should give fight and say what I believe is right, in the book he had put a lots of photographs of not building but studio models and students works of architecture. He always tried connecting the architecture education and the general works of the architectural functions in the world.

Whatever, the great philosophy he had written and communicated in the book, my conclusion is; he lacks the sense of social aspects in the architecture and connection between the metaphor and the eye of the viewer change from the place to place. He had no explanation on the correlation between the society and architecture; he had understood the architecture as a single source work apart from the society. Even thou he had converse the material science and connection between the materials and the architecture he lacked to make a good conversation to prove the great connection between the architecture and the society. Therefore I believe the poetics of architecture is not an ideal book to understand the architecture science it is a European explanation of the architecture as science which deals with only the materials.  Well the other things are the psychological aspects of designing process. Antonio is not a machine therefore he should have a sense of creativity and the way of singing song according to the patterns of humanity but in the book no idea of psychological aspects  which we should considerably act to create good architecture. But in the other side the architecture is something deals with society and the psychological aspects of the society. If he had explained those things too I believe that the poetics of architecture is a great book to understand the architecture. Highly original base on solid principles of architecture and architectural education, the poetics of architecture help you to understand and widen your own ideas of creative and in the studio works. It will also deepen you mind and souls to taste and sense the good architecture.  And the book help to compromise to appreciate of the creative process and the design process with many influences to develop the architecture. The student orientation of the book is very important for you to understand the architecture education but the other hand you should also try to understand the benefits of the sensing good architecture. This book doesn’t let you understand what is good architecture but it does let you sense what is good architecture.  Therefore as an architecture student you should read this book not only once twice and understand the essence of the architecture and the poetics of architecture. However after all inspire from the book and start sings your own song.