We Shape Our Buildings and Afterwards, Our Buildings Shape Us
What did you see? What is above the woman’s head? What element is the backdrop? Researchers showed an identical image to people from East Africa, almost all of those took part in the experiment said the lady was balancing a box on her head, in an African culture where there are few angular visual cues, the group of people is seen sitting under a big tree. On the other hand, Westerners are used to corners and rectangular architecture, thus they are more likely to visualize the group of people in an indoor space and to interpret the rectangular shape above the lady’s head as a window opening.
The studies showed the influence of different culture and environment can have an effect on our visual perception, this theory was first explored by Robert Laws, a Scottish missionary working in Malawi, Africa, during the late 1800’s.
Winston Churchill’s epic statement, “We shape our buildings and afterwards, our buildings shape us,” is a fantastic observation of the architectural phenomenon, illuminating the fact that physical architecture is a static artifact and continues to transform us long after construction.
Couple with Churchill’s famous quotes and the illusion above, does a person who comes from a third world has the same creativity in architecture compare to someone whom was brought up in a historically rich city such as Paris?
This reminds me of a conversation I had with my friend (not an architecture student) last year, we were arguing about the use of Roman / Doric columns in most of the houses in Malaysia, a typical Malaysian trend where these columns are an essential element in every houses, an eye sore. Not only the use of these mini Doric columns are ugly, he was defending the overall design as well, saying it is beautiful.
It is hard to convince them that these houses are tasty for the tasteless.
Tags: Houses, Illusion, Malaysia, Malaysian, Optical Illusion, Robert Laws, Terrace House, Winston Churchill
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Moving Houses Companies and Services in London, UK
Image Source: Fogonazos
Peter Green House, at Brown University, America, was moved last summer approximately 450 feet away from the existing location, moving an architecture is not a new far-fetching concept, it has been around for a while. My lecturer did mention in class on the concept of movable houses in New Zealand, he told us that in New Zealand, some houses are sold in a Wal-Mart style – walk into this huge open field and pick your ready made house.
Anyway, I did touched on this topic Moving Architecture in my previous post, the idea on moving an architecture as a strategy is to save it from demolition.
1. Moving your own house: USD 10,000
2. Moving your own house by yourself : USD 1,000
3. Moving your own house by yourself and having the wheel of the trailer come lose, hitting a bridge and found your house stranded in the middle of the 101 Freeway in Los Angeles, California! : Priceless.
Photo: Brian Vander Brug / LAT
That was just the latest bad news for Patrick Richardson, who was trying to save money by moving the house himself from Santa Monica to the Santa Clarita Valley.
Richardson, 45, of Castaic, obtained a permit from Caltrans to transport the oversize load on the freeway. Instead of taking the shortest route — up the 405 Freeway and over the Sepulveda Pass — he took a longer and more level route through downtown L.A. and north on the 101 Freeway.
By the time the 20-foot-wide structure reached the downtown area, wheels were reportedly coming loose from the trailer hauling the house. Richardson made emergency repairs and lumbered onward, only to come to a halt again in Hollywood. – Quote: LA Times
These houses are light enough to be moved, no wonder they get smashed to smithereens in hurricanes and earthquakes. Time to learn from the Japanese on how to built quake proof buildings.
Tags: heritage, house moving companies, Houses, move architecture, moving house, moving house boxes, moving house checklist, moving house insurance, moving house list, moving house london, moving house tips, moving house uk, professional movers
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