Browsing by Subject "Architectural history"
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Item A prolegomena to a new study of ornament : architecture as embodied ornament in the Great Mosque of Córdoba(2020-05-08) Luber, Diana Winfield; Mulder, Stephennie F.This thesis argues for a new theory of ornament as embodied. The argument for a new theory of embodied ornament responds to and rejects canonical notions of ornament as an applied, decorative skin. Rather, it argues for an embodied ornament that is inextricable from the structure and subjectivity of an object. The thesis engages with the canon of literature around ornament, focusing largely on its interpretation and role in Islamic contexts. Further, it integrates new approaches to understanding Islamic art that emphasize perception, ambiguity, and allusion. The application of these new approaches to a reading of ornament opens new avenues of inquiry and interpretive potential. The case study for this new theory of ornament is the Great Mosque of Córdoba, which was founded in AD 786 in al-Andalus (modern day Spain) by the Umayyad amir ‘Abd al-Rahman I. The horseshoe arch, with its alternating red and white voussoirs, is the elemental form of the embodied architectural program. The combination of the potential for infinite repetition of the arch with the constraint of its own form combine to create an ornamental program that is embodied in the structure of the mosque itself. This theory of a living, ever-evolving ornament tracks the development of the program across developments in the building as the embodied program morphs and mutates over time. The historical breadth of the thesis is extensive, tracking the evolution of the ornamental program from its founding in AD 786 to the insertion of a Gothic cathedral in the mosque by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in the beginning of the 16th century. It considers the continuity of the ornamental program through the Christian afterlife of the building. The discussion of afterlives concludes with a consideration of the continuation of the embodied ornamental program across temporal and geographic boundaries, using the kingdom of Zaragoza as an example. Finally, the thesis concludes with a consideration of the implications of a new theory of ornament for future scholarshipItem The architectural history of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection of Modern Art(2012-08) Sen, Priyanka; Cleary, Richard Louis; Long, ChristopherMarguerite “Peggy” Guggenheim is best known for her legacy of collecting modern art in both Europe and the United States, but scholars have overlooked her importance as a patron of modern architecture, specifically the exhibition spaces that showcased her art collection. This thesis fills the gap of literature by tracing the architectural history of the collection. Guggenheim represented a catalyst for bridging the role of art and architecture by promoting modern art through three different spatial approaches: creating collaborative and didactic gallery workspaces at Galerie Guggenheim Jeune in London (1938-1939), establishing architectural spaces that employed unique display techniques at Art of This Century in New York (1942-1948), and instituting a final home-museum at Palazzo Venier dei Leoni in Venice (1949-present). Through the use of primary sources, such as Guggenheim’s autobiography, archival sources including familial correspondences, original black and white photographs, newspaper articles, and architectural drawings, I resituate Guggenheim as not only an art patron and collector, but also a benefactor of modern architectural spaces.Item The architectural imperative : a dual history of sustainability and informal housing within architectural discourse(2011-05) Taylor, Christine Lynn; Lara, Fernando Luiz; Long, ChristopherThis study is an initial attempt to assemble a dual history of the topics of informal settlements and sustainability within architectural discourse over the past fifty years. During the 1960s and 1970s, architecture adopted a renewed sense of social immediacy, which increased the study into informal and slum settlements, as well as a burgeoning concern of its own ecological impact, which encouraged investigation into sustainable design. While these interests all but disappeared amidst the artistic and political climate of the 1980s, they have again become relevant to architectural discourse, albeit as separate entities. The aim of this study is to unite these two discussions within architecture so that they may together become more potent.Item Battle Hall Historical Research Documents(2011) Various authorsA collection of resources relating to the history of Battle Hall.Item Battle Hall Historical Research Documents--Metadata(2016-07) Frederick-Rothwell, Betsy; Snelling, JadeSpreadsheets containing metadata relating to the Battle Hall Historical Research documents.Item Battle Hall Research Binder(2011) Various authorsA collection of resources relating to the history of Battle Hall.Item Battle Hall Research Binder Metadata(2016-07) Frederick-Rothwell, Betsy; Snelling, JadeSpreadsheets containing metadata relating to the Battle Hall Research Binder.Item The earlier history of the piazza San Lorenzo in Florence and its redesign in the fifteenth century(1990) White, Eileen Carol, 1951-; Not availableItem Preservation professionals : architects and the origins of architectural preservation in the United States, 1876-1926(2020-05-06) Nau, Anna Christine; Holleran, Michael; Cleary, Richard; Hall, Melanie; Long, Christopher; Ibarra-Sevilla, BenjaminThis dissertation re-examines the role of the architecture profession in the early development of historic preservation in the United States. Existing scholarship has defined the emergence of preservation in the US in the second half of the nineteenth century as an amateur, grass roots movement. Unlike their European counterparts, American architects have been understood as peripheral figures until the restoration of Colonial Williamsburg, beginning in 1926. While “amateur” preservationists inarguably led the early movement, this dissertation reveals that architects played a more significant role in defining, documenting, and treating historic buildings between the 1870s and 1920s than previously known. The rise of preservation as a field of inquiry and practice occurred alongside the modern professionalization of architecture. In the last quarter of the nineteenth century, a new popular and scholarly interest in Colonial and Federal era architecture emerged at the same time that American architects were debating the future of their profession. Beginning in the 1870s, they engaged with European preservation ideas and projects through professional architectural journals, which provided a framework to evaluate the value of preservation of their own country’s historic buildings. Three projects for significant civic buildings illustrate the ways in which the profession engaged in preservation leadership between the 1890s and early 1920s. First, the Boston Society of Architects’ mid-1890s campaign to save the “Bulfinch Front” of the Massachusetts State House in Boston. Second, McKim, Mead & White’s 1903 restoration of the White House in Washington, D.C. Third, the Philadelphia AIA’s work at the Independence Hall complex between 1898 and 1924. In each case, prominent architects, including Charles A. Cummings, Charles F. McKim, and Frank Miles Day, treated preservation as a way to distinguish their knowledge of historic buildings from non-professionals. Preservation became a tool for consolidating professional status. As buildings considered of national architectural significance, these projects provided an opportunity for architects to confidently assert expertise and authority. They were also part of a conscious attempt to place the country’s early architectural heritage within the established canon of Western architectural history. This dissertation provides a new perspective on the relationship between preservation and the professionalization of architecture in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries.