Reference no: EM133760689

Assignment: Architecture for 21st Century

You're going to be an architect for this assignment. You're going to design a building for the 21st Century-an office building, a school, a restaurant, anything you want BUT NOT A HOUSE-and draw a representation of it from the outside. Just a pencil-and-notebook-paper drawing is fine with me. I'm not going to grade you on your artistic ability but on the thought you put into your design.

Before you begin, you'll need to do a little looking into two terms and look around at examples of each:

Vernacular architecture and conceptual architecture

In short, vernacular architecture is locally-based in terms of tradition and materials (think of how houses look in Colonial Williamsburg versus in Cape Coral) while conceptual architecture takes inspiration from ideas outside of architecture (even look at architecture in the new Dune movie). Search the internet for images of each for inspiration.

First, choose either vernacular or conceptual architecture as your starting point. Tell me why you made the choice you did and what your inspiration was. How does it tie into the location (vernacular) or society on a larger scale (conceptual)?

Second, tell me what problem you're trying to address in your design. Think big here. DO NOT DESIGN A HOUSE. Instead consider something like a structure that might help with Florida's water issues (for hundreds of years, buildings in Bermuda have had stepped limestone roofs to catch and save rainwater), climate issues (look at examples of rooftop greenspace), or population concerns (in a dystopian way, look into the new dorm at University of California Santa Barbara).

Third, describe your design. Why did you create this structure in the way you did? How did your design address the problem you identified? You might want to think about the degree to which your structure is sustainable (currently the amount of concrete on earth is thought to outweigh all organic life combined) and the non-monetary cost of constructing it. You will want to talk about who will have access to the design and who will be able to use it or be able to afford to use it.

Imagine you're writing this essay as a contribution to a news website--you'll want to provide concrete details, a clear inspiration, and a specific justification for your design.