Understanding Architecture Chapter 6 The Architect: From High Priest to Professional Daedalus Famous Greek architect, inventor, and craftsman

The Architect/Client Relationship Architecture results ONLY when a client or patron calls it into being The history of architecture is also a history of the relationship between architect and patron

Arkhi “chief” + Tekton “builder” Greek architects were directors of workmen and so possessed theoretical knowledge as well as practical skills, however there are no theoretical treatises nor drawings

Medieval Master Masons Guilds (collegia) Provided training Created a network for the transmission of ideas Supported travel to other sites to see work underway and jot down personal observations Rudimentary tools, parchment [sheepskin] drawings [sketchbook of de Honnecourt] Worked both as designer & contractor/builder

Renaissance Architect Practical wisdom and theoretical study Humanist Artists trained as painters, sculptors Palladio “Four Books on Architecture” Da Vinci Michelangelo Brunellesci Alberti

Renaissance Architect Models were preferred but drawings and sketches were also used A model of the Villa Foscari (La Malcontenta) at the Royal Academy's Andrea Palladio exhibition. Photograph: Nils Jorgensen/Rex Features

École des Beaux-Arts Creation of a royal architecture using the classical idiom led to the formation of a corps of architects and builders: the Royal Building Administration The confusion and mis-starts on the design of the east facade of the Louvre led to the establishment of the Royal Academy of Architecture in 1671 later reorganized as the École des Beaux-Arts The path to success as an architect in France was to study at the École

The Architect’s Dilemma Social Responsibility: Should the architect be an activist and attempt to reform society, to shape environments according to how life ought to be lived [eg. Bauhaus]; or Should the architect reflect prevailing social values and shape environments according to how life actually is lived?

Ritual of Blood Meso-America Aztec God-Quezalcoatl

Two classical Meso-American architectural forms: the pyramid and the ball-court Temple-Pyramid I Tikal, Guatemala

A bloody sacrifice of human heart is offered to the god Huitzoilophochtli Temple Pyramid I,c.687-730 Tikal, Guatemala

Ball Court c.900-1200 Maya Site of Chichén Itzá, Yucatan, Mexico

Carved Stone Ring, Great Ball Court, Chichén Itzá, Mexico

Tezontle A local volcanic red-dull pumice stone used so that the city foundation will not sink into the soft grounds in Mexico

Caracol Observatory, c. 9000 Chichen Itza

Originally supporting the roof of the Temple of Quetzalcoatl, Tula Mexico. C. 700 Warrior Columns with Butterfly Breastplates

Roof Comb, the Cresteria Temple of the Sun, c.700 Palenque, Mexico

Turtle House, c.600-900Uxmal, Yucatan Mexico

Palace of the Governor c.600-900 Uxmal,Yucatan, Mexico

Pyramid of the Niches El Tajin, c.500-600 Mexico

Machu Picchu, c.1500 Peru