Assignment 3

As far as Roman Architecture goes, it is difficult to compare it with that of other nations, because the Romans applied architecture to so many and such varied purposes, and so constructed monuments involving both architectural and engineering skill, as to make it doubtful to what class they belonged. The Romans were the first people to treat architecture as a minister to the numberless needs of a great nation. Before them, except in the Greek theatres, it had served the gods, the royal families, and the dead, alone.

Roman Architecture is our connection with the most advanced civilization of its time. In Rome, ancient history ends and modern history begins; and all her story, both the old and the new, possesses a fascination thus far unequalled in history; and that this fascination should ever be equaled by another nation seems now beyond imagining.

Actor: The Romans
Intention: To lead a better life
Act: Invent and build monuments.
Rules: Geometric, physics laws.
Product: amphitheaters, public amusement, temples, durable roads, aqueduct...
Site: Rome

Pantheon

The Pantheon is one of the great spiritual buildings of the world. It was built as a Roman temple and later consecrated as a Catholic Church. Its monumental porch originally faced a rectangular colonnaded temple courtyard and now enfronts the smaller Piazza della Rotonda. Through great bronze doors, one enters one great circular room. The interior volume is a cylinder above which rises the hemispherical dome. Opposite the door is a recessed semicircular apse, and on each side are three additional recesses, alternately rectangular and semicircular, separated from the space under the dome by paired monolithic columns. The only natural light enters through an unglazed oculus at the center of the dome and through the bronze doors to the portico. As the sun moves, striking patterns of light illuminate the walls and floors of porphyry, granite and yellow marbles.





Roman Colosseum

The Colosseum or Flavian Amphitheater was begun by Vespasian, inaugurated by Titus in 80 A.D. and completed by Domitian. Located on marshy land between the Esquiline and Caelian Hills, it was the first permanent amphitheater to be built in Rome. Its monumental size and grandeur as well as its practical and efficient organization for producing spectacles and controlling the large crowds make it one of the great architectural monuments achieved by the ancient Romans.

The amphitheater is a vast ellipse with tiers of seating for 50,000 spectators around a central elliptical arena. Below the wooden arena floor, there was a complex set of rooms and passageways for wild beasts and other provisions for staging the spectacles. Eighty walls radiate from the arena and support vaults for passageways, stairways and the tiers of seats. At the outer edge circumferential arcades link each level and the stairways between levels.

The three tiers of arcades are faced by three-quarter columns and entablatures, Doric in the first story, Ionic in the second, and Corinthian in the third. Above them is an attic story with Corinthian pilasters and small square window openings in alternate bays. At the top brackets and sockets carry the masts from which the velarium, a canopy for shade, was suspended.

The construction utilized a careful combination of types: concrete for the foundations, travertine for the piers and arcades, tufa infill between piers for the walls of the lower two levels, and brick-faced concrete used for the upper levels and for most of the vaults.





Pont du Gard

"This bridge, over the river Gard, is 275 metres (900 feet) long and 49 metres (160 feet) high. It was part of an aqueduct nearly 50 kilometres (30 miles) long which supplied Nimes with water. On its first level it carries a road and at the top of the third level, a water conduit, which is 1.8 metres (6 feet) high and 1.2 metres (4 feet) wide and has a gradient of 0.4 per cent. The three levels were built in dressed stone without mortar. The projecting blocks supported the scaffolding during construction."

— John Julius Norwich. The World Atlas of Architecture. p154






Influence or Roman Architecture in Modern Architecture

The world of architecture has been greatly influenced and affected by Roman architectural design and development. Their innovative designs and influential developments developed centuries ago have provided a basis for architectural masterpieces found across the planet and, what's more, have remained relevant into the 21st Century. While the Romans borrowed many architectural designs from the Greeks and Etruscans. In additions that they did make to the world of architecture changed that world forever. Their invention of cement, their new use of arches and vaults, the development in aqueducts, and the development of road systems brought about change that affected not only the Roman Empire but also the many peoples that that great culture touched in its many travels and conquests. "With the Roman invention of concrete in the first century BC and their growing understanding of the architectural principles of stress and counter-stress, Roman architects were able to experiment with new and elaborate forms of building, many of which were to pass in to the western architectural tradition. (Cunningham and Reich 156)."

Bolzano, Italy, Courthouse in Piazza del Tribunale

Well, what is the relationship of all this ancient architecture styles with the prediction matter on 21 Dec 2012? All i can think of is the cyclical time-line --> Cycle of Civilization. There sure will be time for this world to be ended and destroyed. However, i do believe that REBIRTH of earth will happen. And if that happens, again, the law of the nature will continue as referring to the Cycle of Civilization.

assignment2 History of Architecture og HBP

colour1 --> disinformation problem

colour2 --> ways to eliminate

colour3 --> datum

History of Architecture of HBP (e-learning)

The School of Housing, Building and Planning, USM, was established in 1972, admitting its first students the following year. It is situated in the main campus of the University at Minden, Penang. The basic framework and thrust of the school is aimed at training personnels skilled in the design and implementation of housing, building and planning needed in Malaysia. Bachelor of Science in Housing, Building and Planning, Bachelor of Architecture, Masters Degree in Planning, Project Management, Building Technology and Higher Degree by Research are offered at present.

In Terms of E-Learning

During the 1970's, the primitive punchcard was used in some computer programming courses offered to undergraduates. By the mid 1980's, some schools (in USM schools are almost analogous to faculties) had initiated remote access to the University mainframe computers. For instance, HBP purchased a Tektroniks Graphics Terminal which was connected by phone line from the school to the University Computer Centre but the technology was primitive. In the late 1980's, PC's began to revolutionise computing on campus with greater flexibility and power to the end users. But it took several rounds of leadership changes - both at university as well as at the schools' levels, before the use of computers in teaching & learning become close to what it looks like today.

The major milestone and turning point was 1998 when a grass root effort was initiated to propel the School into the information age. The Web-based Learning project was initiated with the primary aim of encouraging all lecturers to embrace information technology for teaching and learning. The web technology was adopted because of its universal appeal as well as its ease of use even for the technologically-challenged.

Some how the aim is not achieved totally. Many of the lecturers didn’t update their website. Many are not active in this. Students are told to get information as well as notes through HBP Resource Center rather than lecturer’s website.

Lectures should distribute their notes by locating links for information in their existing website. Updates should be made from time to time.

Every notes and information can be downloaded through the link. Students can always refer to the reading material once they switch on their computer. In fact, we can minimize the usage of papers.

Indicators and Assessment

The following conventional indicators are used as the instruments upon which the effectiveness of eLearning can be gauged :

(i) amount of traffic as reflected in disk usage, number of visitors or files served by the web server

(ii) the number of lecturers who run their own websites;

As mentioned above, many are not doing so.

(iii) the average percentage of course materials available from lecturers' websites per semester;

Course Materials are mostly found in HBP Resource Center.

(iv) the percentage of tests conducted via the websites per semester;

This is not a good indicator. So far no test is conducted through website.

Should give it a try to carry out test via websites at a fixed period following the examination schedule. Time and place consuming is no longer be the issues.

An opened-book test can not be avoided. However there are time limit.

(v) the number of assignments delivered electronically per semester;

(vi) students'/users' feedback analysis;

Since mostly of the e-learning websites are not active, students have nothing much to contribute in the feedback analysis.

Now is the time to carry out survey with the purpose to gather students' opinion on e-learning.

Communication will always be the solution to achieve one aim, one goal.

(vii) students' examination results, as reflected by the average 'Cumulative Grade Point Average' score

Traffic to the HBP website is not limited to students accessing teaching resources. In fact, a significant portion of the traffic comes from general visitors (non-HBP student) indicating the high popularity of the website. On a typical high volume day (based on web log for 5 Feb 2002), some 11,500 files (comprising images and text) are served by the HBP web server. Of this, 7% of the requests come from within the HBP IT Lab local area network (based on local IP), 37% from within USM campus (excluding HBP IT Lab) and 56% of traffic from outside the campus. An informal poll of students indicate that a large number of them access teaching resources from outside the campus through dial-up Internet. Hence, there is no doubt that the web technology has tremendously increased accessibility to teaching and learning resources for our students anytime and from anywhere.

Not all students who stayed in campus’ hostels can access to the internet service all the time. The wireless system only can be detected in certain area.

Improve the wireless system in campus.

The official HBP web server where most of the lecturers publish their materials have accummulated more than 2 gigabytes of lecture notes, papers, courseware, multimedia presentations, etc. Seminar papers and reports which would otherwise be gathering dust in the lecturers’ room are now available on the web. Out of the 56 lecturers, 20 of them (or 35%) are actively and continuously updating and uploading new materials to websites which are managed personally by them.

How true is this statement till now?

Some lecturers maintain several websites for different courses or topics. Our aim is to eventually have all the lecturers actively publish materials on the web but this can only be achieved in collaboration with the University Administration to provide more incentives especially in terms of career promotions. HBP will be working to further strengthen the structure for lecturers’ publications on the web to be reviewed by an independent panel and accorded various levels of recognition.

From the point of view of the students, written responses at the end of the semester have shown that eLearning has tremendously enhanced their learning experience (Lee and Badaruddin, 2001).

How true is this statement in courses like architecture?

All studio works are completed in hard copies. Grading is also based on the submission on paperwork. Architecture students are not exposed to e-learning at all.

Again, a try should be given on submission through website. Grading can be given on the presentation and design on website for each student.

E-learning especially in terms of submission of studio work will actually benefits every parties. Students can save cost for printing or buying colouring material. Besides, lecturers do not need to spare out space for keeping students' work. Everything can be done in the internet space.

In terms of performance, one studio which was conducted for a whole semester with emphasis on the integration of various information technologies into all aspects of their life projects showed very encouraging results. Out of the 28 students, 4 received perfect scores (4.0 CGPA or A) while another 8 students received distinction (A-). Of the rest, most received high Bs. The intensive use of IT was initially a burden to the students because of lack of precious exposure, but later it proved to be both a stimulant and incentive to develop their intellectual capacity.

Even though the achievement at HBP has been remarkable, the road ahead is still long and expected to be riddled with many obstacles. Nevertheless, HBP will be embarking on its next phase to further embrace the eLearning paradigm.