Architecture

Architecture can be considered a science or an art, depending on your way of thinking. Designing and planning a house, a building or even a whole town is a serious business and architects have to study for many years to become properly qualified.

Different styles of architecture are reflected throughout the history of the entire world. Architecture begins with a picture in somebody's mind or imagination, which is then translated into a physical structure which could contain a mixture of functional, useful and perhaps some fun elements too. From one bedroom homes and apartments, to much larger grander structures, every building is a form of architecture.

Styles of architecture tend to be named with it's own era, such as Baroque, Art Deco or Greco-Roman. Bauhaus, Victorian, and Colonial are all examples of architectural eras. The different styles or eras of architecture differ in many ways. From the materials used, to the lines the structures take. Designs and styles can range from elegant to brash and garish, which is what makes architecture such an interesting subject.

Designs from days gone by will be made from natural materials, more than likely taken from the local area - materials which were in plentiful supply at the time. For example, historical architecture in Greece is often created from limestone because that was plentiful at the time. You won't find many architectural structures made from marble, mainly because it was very rare and heavy to transport. For this reason it was mainly used for decoration, and used sparingly at that.

On the contrary, early American houses were often made from wood because it was very cheap, being readily available and building was easy. So the science or art of architecture is a subject which professional architects Orlando have studied and when you're looking to build, whether it's a small one bedroom property or your next luxury home, you can put your faith in their professionalism and love of what they do with complete confidence.

For hundreds of years architectural drawings were drawn up and reproduced by hand with ink on paper. These scale drawings were drawn according to standard conventions and used as building plans, working sketches, and as records. During the twentieth century technical advances changed the way draftsmen performed their job. The introduction of digital technology has caused a switch to computer aided drafting, or CAD.

The origins of the detailed plans of structures common to modern times was in the Renaissance, when artists made detailed sketches of classical buildings and began planning buildings that they imagined. In those days, the renderings did not include measurements and the conventions for detailed plans had not yet been set. Builders were expected to follow the illustration and work out the details.

As building became more complex, the art of drafting the plans advanced so that everything was spelled out in detail. Working up the plans including all the levels of detail became the process for spelling out engineering and construction problems before beginning the actual building. Creating detailed plans helps to avoid construction delays, to make cost estimates and to help the builder decide to commit to a project.

Eventually, the conventions used in modern architecture were adopted by the architects who prepared the plans. Certain views became standard, such as floor plans, which are horizontal views of the floor of a building usually at a height of three feet, showing how all the objects are arranged. This includes the walls, locations of windows and doors, fittings, stairs, and sometimes furniture in solid lines.

Another view is an elevation, which might be the depiction of an exterior or interior wall of a building. A cross section, similar to a floor plan, is a vertical plane section which cuts through a building. All these are drawn as orthogonal views, which means they are depicted with opposite sides parallel, in other words, the sides do not converge as in a perspective view. These are combined to create comprehensive plans for the building, used at stages to solve engineering problems or construction guides.

Copies of plans at first needed to be laboriously redrawn by hand, which was done on special paper such as vellum that could not shrink or stretch. When the blueprint process was developed, making accurate copies was simplified. Another advance was the switch to tracing paper, which allowed for much easier copies to be made of building plans.

Better tools such as adjustable squares and technical pens cut down on the time and labor needed to produce renderings. Technical drafting aides like the parallel motion drafting table and transfer lettering also helped to reduce the labor in producing drawings.

By far the biggest advance for creating architectural drawings came with the application of computer technology to this discipline. CAD software programs have taken over the production of building plans and have increased both the capabilities and speed of completion for planning structures. The choices for rendering details and materials and solving engineering challenges have been simplified. Digital plotters have made reproducing accurate prints an easy matter

Among the basic survival needs, a shelter is of great importance. Not only does it provide a comfortable place to live, but it also offers protection from many things. In ancient times, humans used caves as their shelter. A cave was primarily intended to provide protection from the weather and wild animals. With the passage of time, the residence of man evolved along with everything else. Today, services such as New Hampshire real estate and Vermont real estate assist in finding a perfect home for us.

These days, there is a large variety of choices regarding the style and architecture of houses. Many of these styles are among the most ancient ones. Almost every great civilization in history has introduced a unique style of its own. Many are now rare to see because of the expenses and area they require. Most of the new ones, however, are less costly derivatives of those grand ancient styles. Let us take a look at some of the most significant architectural styles in history.

• The history of a definite architecture starts from the magnificent Egyptian civilization in around 3000 BC. There were several other civilizations with their own unique architecture at the same time, but none was as grand as that of Egyptians. However, one similarity between all the ancient architectural structures was that pleasing the Gods was one of the main functions of their buildings.

Therefore, temples from Egypt, the Indus-Valley and Greece are considered the best structures to show off the architectural beauty of their times. Later, Greeks also introduced their unique architectural style, which was simple yet beautiful. The Pyramid of Giza and the Temple of Athens are the best examples to define the ancient architectural style.

• The Chinese developed a unique style which is still vastly used in China. It also has its great influence on Japanese architecture. The Chinese architectural style was and is heavily based on horizontal axis with a floating roof on the top.

• The Roman architecture started the architectural style of the Middle Ages. Although people speak of its similarities with the Greek style, there is a big difference between the two. The Roman introduced arches while Greeks preferred more block-like structure. Furthermore, Roman styles were not just pleasing; they were engineered to be more practical.

• Byzantine Architecture also got very popular in Europe. Hagia Sofia became a symbol of this beautiful style. The Roman and Byzantine style, however, later evolved into the Romanesque and Gothic style. Concurrently, the Renaissance style became very popular in Europe. It is quite obvious that this style greatly affected the Islamic architectural style during the crusades.

• Islamic architecture was based on geometrical shapes, arches and calligraphic arts. Although this style can be divided into several categories, some elements remain same in all the styles and are easily identifiable as Islamic art.

• The modern day architecture is a very unique blend of all styles, with the very first emphasis on safety and practicality. Architectures and engineers have incorporated different styles inspired from historic buildings to art movements. While some buildings are based on extremely simple block styles, some have broken all the conventions with their unbelievable design.

With so many styles and endless combinations, the future of architecture seems beyond the conventional boundaries.

The life of an Architecture student is not at all easy. You have to sacrifice a great deal of time that should've been spent for sleeping and eating. You have to exert effort more than just mentally. You have to use both your hands and eyes and you have to be so sure of what you are doing. Aside from that, you have to have a constant source of money enough for you to buy tracing papers, tech pens, drafting table, rendering materials, etc.

Personally, there are a few things that I would like to share to whoever gets to read this. These were the realizations I've drawn out based on those experiences I've had as an architecture student. Here they go:

First is that you have to love architecture right from the moment you enter its world. Without passion, you might just fall down somewhere along the way just when you find out that it's too late to go back. College is the most crucial stage of learning because this is when you get to choose your own profession that you would live by for the rest of your life. So when you choose, make sure you love it or that you'll learn to love it because time is short for re-picking another one. By the way, the only motivation I had to pursue the course was to make my parents prouder because I had been living my life with their expectations. So far, I haven't failed them and I was determined enough to make them prouder. I also wanted to graduate on time so I ignored any thoughts of shifting to another course because it would cost me another semester or even a whole year. So there, I really really tried to love my course. I eventually learned to.

Second is that in architecture, you don't have to acquire the best drawing and rendering skills though getting hold of one would be a plus. I started the course with a noob drawing skill. And of course, there will always be some people among your batch that are way better than anybody else but don't let that fact intimidate nor discourage you. At first you might feel like you aren't good enough for Architecture like what I felt, but I found something to fight it. It's actually very easy to fight when you're determined enough. Just make them your models, or your reference points. Maybe you could set a personal goal such as to be as good as them. I had always lived on that. I had always believed, too, that every college student has a skill on everything. So if you think you aren't good in architecture, think again. Even writing is a skill, and drawing a line, too. These can be your starting points. That is why learning architecture is programmed to last five years-because it is a constant honing of skills until you become a pro.

Third, you don't have to be good at everything. OK, you will be required to study almost every field including mathematics, physics, speech, writing, research and a lot more but that's just actually to make you a well-rounded individual. In architecture, you have to know a bit of everything because you will touch every aspect there is in life along with your planning and conceptualizing. Just a bit will do. And then, you'll just have to specialize. I had been exposed to a lot of group work before and based on experience, specialization yields the best result. Usually my task was to plan the entire structure or complex. And my groupmate would draft the necessary drawings. Another would put the labels, and another would render. Aside from the better output, you'll also save time and effort.

Fourth, experimenting in architecture provided that you still follow the set rules (i.e. building code, fire code, etc.) is always a friend. Be it in your design or the way you render, experimenting usually yields newer and better ideas and techniques. What pulled me up maybe was my tendency to experiment on things. Honestly, I am a very lazy and impatient person; I usually try to figure things first before reading the instructions/manuals. So, what I always do is try. If the outcome looks good, then I did it correctly, or at least appropriately. If it's not, then I go look for the manual. Same goes with how I draft and render. Sure we were told how to draft or render the right way but I had always been so forgetful. So I do things by my own. Every time I do that, I would always hope that I was doing the right thing because as soon as I find out that I messed it up and that I could never fix it back no matter what I'd do, I would usually pull off another piece of paper and start doing it all over again (I forgot to tell you that I have a bit of OCD). Sometimes though, I tend to stick on my experiments that I find helpful and safe such as certain strokes or techniques in rendering to make my work neat. Mind you, my professors never said a thing against my works (generally); in fact I had always received nice grades.

Fifth, you have to learn to socialize. OK, this one might just be applicable to people like me. I had always been the reserved one. I might even be the last person in a boarding house who could make friends. Not that I'm not friendly, it's just that it's too hard for me to socialize because I am afraid of rejection because I am not a good talker. And honestly, I'd be contented with a life where I will just be sitting around a corner, doing something by my own, probably reading, while all else are busily chatting and laughing. That was me before high school ended because I promised myself to try to befriend my classmates in college before the first month ends. And yes, I managed to keep that promise. I first made friends with a few classmates, and soon my whole architecture batch became one whole group where we treat everyone like brothers and sisters. Having friends, believe me, will help you more than you know.

Lastly, do not overstress yourself with too much work. Architecture is a course where you have to invest every sense you have from seeing to running (this applies when you're late because you'd slept too late the other night), but you have to balance it off with fun. If you can't find one when you're doing your plates, then it's time to make it such as planning a weekend-ly unwinding moments with your friends (see, it's good to have friends!). Just make sure you do not overdo it.

There are actually still a lot more things in my mind right now. There are a lot of things you have to know about architecture life. But the things I mentioned above probably are the most basic among them. Every architecture student had probably undergone those things, too.