Between silence and light

Craft- Craft is how something is made or put together. When discussing craft in studio we discuss how well we made the project. If the lines are clean and then joints are put together correctly then we get complemented on good craft. While visiting Monticello and Falling Water I noticed that the craft and both places was impressive for the time periods in which they were built. Both homes were unlike any other. As the years have progressed Falling Water has had a number of structural problems that have demonstrated somewhat poor craft. De Stijl created the Red/Blue Chair, which was “constructed from sheets of painted plywood simply screwed together.”(Massey 70)

public/private- On the class trip to Monticello and Falling water we discovered that there were certain parts in each home that were public and private. In Monticello the opening hall and the parlor were the most public places of the house. The bedrooms and the personal family space were all meant to be private although the Jefferson’s often had many uninvited guests and the rooms were often made public. In Falling Water it was obvious that this retreat home was simply for the family and their time away from everyday life. It was not easily accessible and was not geared for entertaining guests. In the Tugendhat House by Mies Van Der Rohe “The study is separate from the living area by a Malaga Onyx partition…”(Massey 77) He separated public from private by simply using a partition.


technique-Technique is the way in which something is done. All designers have a technique as to how they put their designs into action. When I think of technique I think of your own personal way of completing something. At Falling Water Frank Lloyd Wright had to have a technique for constructing the home, after all it was built on a waterfall. A technique that was used in Monticello was the façade of the house was made of wood and they used a technique of covering the wood with sand and then painting it to make it look like brick. Brick was a material not available to Thomas Jefferson at the time so he created a technique for imitating brick. Another building in history that uses technique was the Mains Street “In Mains Street Mackintosh created an intimate atmosphere in his dining room with the somber brown of the walls, which were covered with coarse wrapping-paper”(Massey 53) He created a technique for creating an intimate atmosphere.


Language- while attending the trip this weekend I really learned how buildings can speak to you and how the architect speaks to you by the way he designs the building. At Monticello Thomas Jefferson spoke of invention and a new way of life through the way he designed and built Monticello. It was an expression of his life and how he felt he should live. Frank Lloyd Wright on the other hand built falling water for the Kaufman family. His voice speaks through the house in the way he created a retreat for the Kaufman’s and a house that speaks to and about nature completely. Frank Lloyd Wright also built houses “…in and around Chicago, described as ‘prairie houses’ because of their proximity to and sympathy with the huge flat expanses of land in the Mid-West.”(Massey 50) These “prairie houses” spoke to the land that they were associated with creating a dialog.


Virtual- virtual is something that is transferred from somewhere else or another way of seeing something. When we looked at pictures from our trip to Monticello and Falling Water on our computer we are seeing a virtual image. They have been transferred from our camera onto our computer and then into our brains. In 1910 “rather than ignoring mass production “[the members of the] Detscher Werkbund attempted to raise design standards for industry with a campaign [featured] in yearbooks and public propaganda.”(Massey 65) This is a virtual way of getting mass information to the public.

Summary
This week’s words deal with the idea of creating something. When designing there always needs to be a technique for how things will be done. The level of craft should be high and have clean lines to draw then eye across the design. Public and private spaces should be thought about so that traffic flow leads into public spaces and away from private spaces. Creating a language between the design and the person it is for is an amazing way to sell your idea because you give them something to relate to. To spread information about your design you could use a virtual method such as the internet of flyers.