A Way of Seeing

"ONE'S VISION IS ONLY AS FAR AS ONE'S HORIZON. ALL ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN BEGINS WITH VISION"

2009-10-30T23:17:00.000-07:00

"CONCIOUSNESS AND ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN ARE SIMILAR. BOTH REFLECT HOW WE SEE OURSELVES IN THE WORLD"

2009-10-30T23:11:00.000-07:00

"TO DESIGN AND ATTEMPT TO CREATE ORDER IN OUR WORLD IS WHAT IT MEANS TO BE HUMAN"

2009-10-30T23:07:00.000-07:00

"ALL ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN SHOULD BEGIN WITH A DECISION ABOUT APPROPRIATE LAND-USE"

2009-10-30T23:05:00.000-07:00

"THE PRIMARY ELEMENT OF ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN IS FUNCTION.

2009-10-30T22:59:00.000-07:00

Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater House in Bear Run, Pennsylvania

Washington, D.C.'s Dulles Airport

U.S. Capitol Building

Sydney Opera House

"ANOTHER ELEMENT OF ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN IS FORM. AN ADAGE OF ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN IS THAT FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION"

2009-10-30T22:54:00.000-07:00

"AFTER FORM AND FUNCTION, THE MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENT OF ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN IS PERSPECTIVE. PERSPECTIVE HAS BOTH A PHYSICAL AND A VALUE COMPONENT"

2009-10-30T22:50:00.000-07:00

"ANOTHER ELEMENT OF ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN IS BALANCE"

2009-10-30T22:43:00.000-07:00

Balanced stones

The Pyramids of Giza in Egypt

"ANOTHER ELEMENT OF ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN IS VARIETY OR VARIATION"

2009-10-30T22:19:00.000-07:00

New Zealand Executive Building

The Kremlin in Moscow, Russia.

Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France

"ANOTHER ELEMENT OF ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN IS REPETITION"

2009-10-30T22:13:00.000-07:00

Columns of Greek Temple

The Rotunda at the University of Virginia Designed by Thomas Jefferson

"ANOTHER ELEMENT OF ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN IS FOCUS OR EMPHASIS"

2009-10-30T22:11:00.000-07:00

"ANOTHER ELEMENT OF ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN IS BUILDING ACCESS OR TRANSPORTATION, WHETHER IT BE PARKING FOR CARS, MASS TRANSIT ETC."

2009-10-30T21:47:00.000-07:00

Office buildings served by Washington, D.C.'s Metro subway

Buillding Complex With Extensive Above Ground Parking for Automobiles

"ANOTHER ELEMENT OF ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN IS THE MANNER THAT A BUILDING OCCUPIES A SPACE OR FITS INTO ITS SURROUNDINGS."

2009-10-30T21:44:00.001-07:00

"ANOTHER ELEMENT OF ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN IS THE EXTERIOR FACADE USED FOR THE BUILDING."

2009-10-30T21:37:00.000-07:00

"ANOTHER ELEMENT OF ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN IS PROPORTION."

2009-10-30T21:33:00.001-07:00

"ANOTHER ELEMENT OF ARCHITECTURE DESIGN IS STYLE."

2009-10-30T21:20:00.000-07:00

"ANOTHER ELEMENT OF ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN IS COLOR."

2009-10-30T21:18:00.000-07:00

"ANOTHER ELEMENT OF ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN IS THE HARMONIZATION OF DIFFERING BUILDING ELEMENTS."

2009-10-30T21:10:00.000-07:00

George Washington's Mount Vernon Home

Thomas Jefferson's Monticello Home

"ANOTHER ELEMENT OF ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN IS BUILDING LIGHTING."

2009-10-30T21:05:00.000-07:00

"ANOTHER ELEMENT OF ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN IS CHANGE - TO REALIZE THAT WE DO NOT LIVE IN A STATIC WORLD."

2009-10-30T21:02:00.000-07:00

"FINALLY, ANOTHER ELEMENT OF ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN IS SUSTAINABILITY"

2009-10-30T20:58:00.000-07:00

"WE BUILD FOR THE FUTURE, NOT THE PAST."

2009-10-30T20:51:00.000-07:00

"ALL DESIGN HAS INTENDED AND UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES."

2009-10-30T20:49:00.000-07:00

"ALL THINGS ARE CONNECTED. ALL THINGS ARE BOUND TOGETHER. ULTIMATELY, WE ARE ALL CO-INHABITANTS OF ONE WORLD."

2009-10-30T20:45:00.000-07:00

ULTIMATELY, ALL ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN OCCURS IN BOTH A NATURAL AND A MAN-MADE ENVIRONMENT

2009-10-30T20:43:00.000-07:00

ULTIMATELY, ALL ARCHITECTURAL DESIGNS ARE INTENDED FOR SOME CLIENT - WHETHER IT BE CAESAR OR SOME MODERN CLIENT

2009-10-30T20:41:00.000-07:00

STONEHENGE IN ENGLAND IS ONE OF THE OLDEST, PREHISTORIC STRUCTURES MADE BY HUMANS

2009-10-30T20:39:00.000-07:00

THE GREEK PARTHENON HAS NO STRAIGHT LINES - STRAIGHT LINES ARE ONLY AN OPTICAL ILLUSION

2009-10-30T20:36:00.000-07:00

SERPENT MOUND IN SOUTHWESTERN, OHIO IS ONE OF THE EFFIGY MOUNDS DATING FROM 2000 B.C. BUILT BY THE MOUNDBUILDER INDIANS FOR CELESTIAL OBSERVATIONS

2009-10-30T20:33:00.000-07:00

THE NATIONAL CATHEDRAL IN WASHINGTON, D.C. IS THE WORLD'S 8TH LARGEST CATHEDRAL

2009-10-30T20:31:00.000-07:00

3D MODELS ALLOWS US TO RECONSTRUCT WHAT BUILDINGS LIKE THE ROMAN PANTHEON LOOKED LIKE

2009-10-30T20:28:00.000-07:00

BECAUSE OF THE THREAT OF EARTHQUAKES, JAPANESE TEMPLES WERE BUILT WITH A CENTER COUNTER-BALANCE WEIGHT

2009-10-30T20:24:00.000-07:00

NO ONE KNOWS HOW OLD THE GREAT SPINIX IN EGYPT IS - BUT ALL AGREE THAT IT IS OLDER THAN THE PYRAMIDS

2009-10-30T20:22:00.000-07:00

THE TAJ MAHAL IN INDIA CAPTURES WHAT EVERYONE AGREES IS THE ESSENCE OF BEAUTY

2009-10-30T20:20:00.000-07:00

THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA IS ONE OF THE FEW MAN-MADE STRUCTURES THAT CAN BE SEEN FROM SPACE

2009-10-30T20:18:00.000-07:00

THE COLOSSEUM IN ROME WAS ONE OF THE FIRST BUILDINGS CONSTRUCTED OF CONCRETE

2009-10-30T20:12:00.000-07:00

ACOMA'S SKY CITY AND OTHER PUEBLO BUILDINGS OF THE ANASAZI IN THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST INCLUDED SOME OF THE FIRST APARTMENT BUILDINGS

2009-10-30T20:09:00.000-07:00

THE GREAT CHANGE IN MODERN ARCHITECTURE WAS THE USE OF STEEL GIRDERS THAT ALLOWED THE CONSTRUCTION OF SKYSCRAPERS

2009-10-30T20:07:00.000-07:00

THE MOST RECENT TREND IN ARCHITECTURE ARE BUILDINGS DESIGNED BY "STARCHITECTS." SOME EXAMPLES INCLUDE:

2009-10-30T20:04:00.000-07:00

The World Trade Center Towers in Bahrain Designed by Shaun Killa

2009-10-30T20:01:00.001-07:00

Hydropolis Underwater Hotel in Dubai Designed by Professor Roland Dieterle

2009-10-30T19:57:00.000-07:00

The Burj Al Arab in Dubai Designed by Tom Mills-Wright

2009-10-30T19:54:00.000-07:00

The Dynamic Tower In Dubai Designed by David Fisher

2009-10-30T19:46:00.000-07:00

The Chicago Spire in Chicago Designed by Santiago Calatrava

2009-10-30T19:44:00.000-07:00

The Blue Condominium In New York City Designed by Bernard Tschumi

2009-10-30T19:37:00.000-07:00

The Westin Hotel in New York City Designed by Arquitectonica

2009-10-30T19:34:00.000-07:00

The American Folk Art Museum in New York City Designed by Todd Williams Billie Tsien and Associates

2009-10-30T19:29:00.000-07:00

Hearst Magazine Building Tower in New York City Designed by Sir Norman Foster

2009-10-30T19:24:00.001-07:00

Time Warner Center in New York City Designed by David Childs

2009-10-30T19:14:00.001-07:00

National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. Designed by Gyo Obata

2009-10-30T19:12:00.001-07:00

National Gallery of Art East Building in Washington, D.C. Designed by I. M. Pei

2009-10-30T19:07:00.000-07:00

The Guggenheim Museum in Balboa, Spain Designed by Frank Gehry

2009-10-30T18:59:00.000-07:00

The Imperial War Museum North in Great Britain Designed by Daniel Libeskind

2009-10-30T18:57:00.000-07:00

The Seattle, Washington Central Library Designed by Rem Koolhaas

2009-10-30T18:55:00.001-07:00

Millenium Dome in London, England Designed by Richard George Rogers

2009-10-30T18:51:00.000-07:00

The "Green Roof" of the New California Academy of Science in San Francisco Designed by Renzo Piano

2009-10-30T18:44:00.000-07:00

"WHERE THERE IS NO VISION, THERE IS NO FUTURE."

2009-10-30T00:32:00.000-07:00

Through culture and rituals, humans in the past have both limited and expanded their perception of their environments. With science and technology, however, we can now truly see beyond the immediate sight of our eyes. With the use of telescopes, microscopes, mathematical modeling, and scientific theories, we can now truly see from the beginning to the edge of the universe - and there is now literally no limit to our vision other than our own imaginations and horizon. There is a lesson here for those engaged in architectural and environmental design. The world involves more functions, shapes and diversity than we ever imagined. As a consequence, architects and designers need to open their eyes to the future and changing nature of both our environment and our own self-definition. (For more information, see my other website at http://sustainableplanningdesign.blogspot.com/)