Tag: historians

Subterranean Architecture: Interesting Approach To Design and Construction
Introduction
Subterranean architecture has always existed since the journey of humankind started. It is finding shelter in the underground. This concept was once used to create caves, refuges, and tunnels to answer the most primitive needs.
Architects have long been involved in a contest to build the world’s highest structure, but few architects are using their knowledge to design and construct beneath the earth’s surface. These ingenious underground buildings often integrate natural light from above and this showcases the robust beauty of their subterranean situations with including rock formations and caves, could also help with creating an impact on the site’s design and experience.
Photo by Bjarne Mastenbroek
Whilst the sky-scraping structures are certainly impressive, yet buildings that move down instead of going up make the structures more intriguing. Subterranean Architecture can help to save precious ground space, which is present in a very limited amount.
History of Subterranean Architecture
The earliest inhabitants of underground space were troglodytes or cave-dwellers. Human’s first few architectural endeavors were artificially created caves. Many historians have researched further to understand the evolution of the underground dwelling system.
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Humans and animals alike have used seeking shelter within the earth to take advantage of the protective and insulative characteristics of the soil long before recorded history. Subterranean dwellings were simple yet sophisticated, a means of dealing with harsh climates, and helped to create a hostile environment. Subterranean dwellings offered refuge from arid deserts to polar cold regions, from exposure to the sun, wind, storms, and severe changes in atmospheric temperatures, as well as providing thermal protection during seasonal temperature changes.
A new approach to Design and Construction
Photo by Jeff Kamuda
A broad variety of approaches exists within the concept of underground or subterranean construction. A building can either be raised on the original surface of the ground and then be covered by earth to shelter the building partially or entirely. While the building is constructed on an excavated site.
Subterranean Architecture can be used on a larger scale to create small structures to fitting an entire underground city. It would be a sustainable way to save the land and use fewer construction materials to build something underground because most of the infrastructure is already available.
Subterranean Cliff Houses
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Open Platform for Architecture’s Casa Brutale is a Striking Glass Home and a good example of subterranean architecture. Casa Brutale is not a typical cliff house as it’s built into the ground, and it boasts an all-glass facade that is entirely modern, making it a combination of old and new ways of construction.
Created by the design network Open Platform for Architecture (OPA), Casa Brutale takes living on the edge to a whole other level by turning it from metaphorical to reality. Definitely, with such views of the Aegean Sea, it’s only natural architects who would be inspired to create something truly spectacular as Casa Brutale.
Subterranean School Facilities
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BIG Has Designed an Art Building Underneath the School Field. Located north of Copenhagen, the campus now includes the school’s art facilities underneath a football field that is also linked to the pre-existing underground gym that boasts a courtyard on its roof added by BIG in 2013. Bjarke Ingels and his ground-breaking team at BIG have achieved an impressive addition of many school facilities to the campus of a Danish high school.
Bjarke Ingels, the interesting new school facilities and blend concepts of function that one would not expect to intersect. The unique flexible space is a pleasant and refreshing take on traditional school spaces and the constraints of those standards. This impressive reinterpretation of the connections amongst buildings across a single campus will spur new designs. The renovated school facilities are well-fitted and complement BIG’s initial installation of the buried sports amenities.
Subterranean Theatres
Photo by Tate Harmer
The Rotherhithe Shaft is being incorporated into an underground theater. The Rotherhithe Shaft was initially built by renowned engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel to function as the beginning point for London’s Thames Tunnel. The shaft will be transformed into a spectacular underground theater.
The redevelopment is being carried out by Tate Harmer architects. The new venue has smoke-blackened brick walls from steam trains and provides a raw but atmospheric backdrop. This underground theater with a smoke-blackened underground shaft is certain to provide a spectacular atmosphere for musical performances in bleakly pleasant contrast to the flashy, extravagant venues many musicians perform in these days.
Sunlit Subterranean Parks
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New York’s Lowline Lab will be a prototype of the Real Lowline. The ambitious scheme to transform the deserted Williamsburg Bridge Trolley Terminal on the Lower East Side into the world’s very first underground park. The founders of the Lowline—Dan Barasch and James Ramsey, dreamed about the idea to create the underground park more than a decade ago and as of last year, the $83 million projects were under construction. Read more.
The Lowline is a plan to use solar technology innovatively to brighten a historic trolley terminal on the Lower East Side of New York City. The vision is to create a magnificent underground park, offering a beautiful respite and an artistic attraction in one of the world’s extremely populated, exciting urban environments.
The California Academy of Sciences
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Designed by Renzo Piano in partnership with San Francisco-based Stantec Architecture and was completed in 2008. The California Academy of Sciences is one of the largest museums of natural history in the world. It also houses an aquarium, the planetarium, and the four-story rainforest, as well as being the headquarters for the academy itself.
The California Academy of Sciences is one of the world’s most pioneering museum building programs and sets a record as the sustainable new home for the California Academy of Sciences.
Peter Zumthor’s Therme Vals
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Peter Zumthor designed the spa/baths, which started in 1996 to predate the existing hotel complex. The concept was to build a form inspired by a cave or quarry-like structure. Peter Zumthor works with the natural surroundings the bathrooms lay beneath a grass-roof structure that is partially buried into the hillside. The Therme Vals is constructed from layer upon layer of locally excavated Valser Quarzite used to make slabs. This stone developed the major inspiration for the design and is used with great distinction.
The Tennessee Governor’s Mansion
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An expansion in the form of subterranean architecture on the grounds of the governor’s mansion in Nashville, Tennessee. Designed by the firm archimania, they went for a more contemporary subterranean approach for the expansion. Archimania was particularly chosen for its expertise in sustainable design, the technique to save space on sprawling grounds while conserving the existing ancient architecture.
Subterranean Conservation Hall is a glass-walled atrium under the Governor’s lawn is positioned 25 feet below the lawn, the oval-shaped courtyard is fully glazed. This permits natural light to infiltrate the interior with a lot of plants and trees planted in the interior. The Conservation Hall is slightly reminiscent of the Phipps Observatory in Pittsburgh as a sunken greenhouse.
Pionen – White Mountain, Cascais, Portugal
Photo by Albert France-Lanord Architects
Submerged below the granite bedrock of Stockholm, a former nuclear bunker built in 2008 has been completely transformed into a sleek data center by Albert France-Lanord Architects. The impenetrable complex possesses surging waterfalls and lush greenhouses, the latter of which is made possible by artificial daylight.
Sancaklar Mosque, Turkey
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Religious architecture has been changing over time and has been merging with a modern approach to designing. One of such subterranean architecture is Turkey’s first underground mosque, Sancaklar. The mosque welcomed the worshippers a few years ago and continues to amaze visitors with its unique architecture.
The mosque is partly above ground, yet it gives the sense of being built into the surrounding gradient when viewed from above. The uniqueness of the Sancaklar mosque is that it differs from standard monotonous mosque design to break down architectural taboos and urge worshippers to concentrate on the essence of the religious space.
Post Office, Slovenia’s Postojna Cave
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Hidden inside Slovenia’s Postojna Cave rests the first-ever subterranean post office designed by Studio Stratum. It was miraculously constructed under a weighty constraint by consuming only materials that were small enough to be shipped down on Postojna’s cave train.
The complete construction and fitting of construction elements deliberately focused on protecting nature and its requirements for the slightest impact on the value of nature possible. The concept of sustainability is also displayed in the heating system, ventilation system, and the first underground biological treatment plant in Slovenia.
Städel Museum, Frankfurt, Germany
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The museum houses over 2,900 paintings, 600 sculptures, 500 photographs, and around 100,000 drawings and graphic reproductions dating from the Middle Ages to the present. SEFAR Architecture fabric diffuses natural light softly and gently through unique glass apertures inside a new exhibition area at the Städel Museum in Frankfurt, Germany. The general concept and technological specification make sure this museum building is sustainable in all respects.
These “eyes for art” representing the skylights were specifically developed for the Städel extension and were walked on. Daylight entering the exhibition space Städel under can be modulated, which can either be augmented using the cohesive LED lighting system or mitigated by shading elements constructed into the roof light.
Messner Mountain Museum Corones
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Renowned mountaineer Reinhold Messner recently joined to help of Zaha Hadid to build a concrete museum that is embedded in a mountainside. The mountain climber is well known for climbing Mt. Everest devoid of the use of an oxygen tank and for his work educating the public about mountain culture. Messner Mountain Museum includes a concrete museum that is submerged in the summit of Mount Kronplatz.
The ‘MMM Corones’ is situated 7,000 feet above sea level and extends out dramatically from the side of the mountain. The structure itself is created from glass-reinforced fiber concrete, which mimics the color and texture of the mountain. The museum is partially embedded in the mountain, it features a series of elevated concrete canopies that provide visitors with spectacular views of the surrounding peaks. The idea is that visitors can feel the internal workings of the mountain and the breath-taking panoramic views also offer guests a unique way to experience the mountain culture.
Pros and Cons of Subterranean Architecture
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The advancements in subterranean building techniques and a revitalized focus on eco-friendly housing systems, the possibility of living partially underground, is being considered into the public consciousness. Though linked by a partially or entirely covered construction, there are countless types of subterranean architecture, from artificial cave structures to elevation houses, earth berm properties, and culvert structures.
Pros of Subterranean Architecture
- In regions susceptible to extreme weather, subterranean architecture is safer and more reliable than conventional, flat-surface architecture.
- Subterranean architecture can be constructed in places that traditional architecture merely cannot, like on steep surfaces.
- Subterranean properties merge easily into their natural surroundings, making them an excellent way for conservation areas.
- Earth is a great natural insulator, maintaining the warm temperature during winter and cool during the summer, therefore diminishing the energy consumption of a subterranean dwelling. Use of subterranean architecture cost 80-95% less than a traditional house to heat and cool.
- Subterranean architecture the use of earth helps with the natural soundproofing of the structure and helps to maintain privacy from the outside.
- Subterranean architecture is more likely earthquake resistant.
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Cons of Subterranean Architecture
- The unconventional nature of subterranean or underground architecture requires many planning experts and requires cautious consultation during the construction process.
- Subterranean construction needs significant care taken during and after the construction of the structure, as to moisture and might increase costs.
- The psychological shift required for moving to a subterranean residence can sometimes be uncomfortable.
- Guaranteeing excellent ventilation and lighting can be a little difficult to achieve in subterranean architecture. Complex ventilation methods may require an expert’s involvement.
- Interior designers require special consideration, as many walls will be rounded and meticulous flood resistance planning.
Conclusion
Subterranean architecture is more than producing a natural shelter, but the practice of underground architecture possesses a tremendous heritage that is unfortunately is poorly documented in architectural history manuscripts. Subterranean architecture is rich in spatial range, responding to environmental concerns factors in design solutions tackling with accessibility, ventilation, and light.
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An architectural adobe over the soil can be identified as a product addition that comprises various spatial enclosures with different volumes. The spaces beneath the earth result from positive negative spaces with a difference in the type of structural and construction rules.
The increase in urban cities in the world is immense, urban land is expected to become a limited resource in the future, including the factor major phenomenon of climate change. Subterranean architecture can provide a better living environment by designing underground structures, thus boosting natural open spaces on the land above. If subterranean architecture becomes a new way to create societies as in the history, it would solve creating sustainable devolvement in the future urban cities.
October 29, 2024
Hagia Sophia: An Interesting Identity Through Revolutions
The emergence
Emperor Justinian I (reigned 527–565) erected the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, currently, Istanbul, to replace an older temple that had been destroyed also during the Nika Revolt in 532. When Justinian’s magnificent cathedral was first consecrated in 537, it immediately became a symbol of authority in Constantinople and across the globe. It was cleverly created by designers Anthemios of Tralles and Differentiating of Miletus. Their engineering achievement effectively contrasted a centrally located layout common in martyria, mausolea, baptisteries, and pilgrimage buildings with a longitudinal basilican form typical of Western Christian churches. As a result, Hagia Sophia’s structure includes a narthex, a naos with side aisles, and an oval apse that faces east.
Along with history
Photo by Source from Hole in the donut Cultural travel
The decision was political, an aggressive bid that highlights the country’s aim to play a key strategic role in the Middle East. Turkey has turned east after being denied admission to the European Union for decades. In this light, the restoration of Hagia Sophia first as the Great Holy Mosque of Ayasofya — now after eight years as a national museum — can be seen as a step toward the establishment of a Turkish Islamic hegemony with growing regional influence, as well as a new nationalist unification in the segmented Islamic world.
The negative reaction hasn’t been less troubling. The criticism leveled at Erdogan’s move, notably by Western institutions like UNESCO and the European Union, has shown the deep hypocrisy surrounding a lengthy and often deadly history of mosque conversions. Several mosques in Spain and Greece have been turned into cathedrals or converted for various purposes throughout the ages, a history that has largely remained unnoticed by Western authorities.
When we look at the past of Islamic architecture in a broader context, the renovation of Hagia Sophia into a mosque no longer appears to be a daring deed. Indeed, the heritage of Islamic architecture is abundant with principles that endorse the return, transition, and modification of historical monuments into sacred spaces. These principles apply to structures that multiple religious organizations inhabited at various times, and are thus influenced by the heritage of religious and cultural liberality.
Lots with customs
Photo by Tonygres from iStock
During prayers, people hide the murals with curtains, which I think is acceptable as long as they lift the drapes at other times. We should realize that the Ottomans left the mosaics alone for generations. Several of the murals were later hidden, but not demolished. The Ottomans recognized the aesthetic importance of mosaics. According to Islamic art historians, there was no major iconophobia in early Islamic culture. It is known that there are no clay figures in mosques generally. However, it is also known that the Turks did not care to worship beneath pictures of Jesus and Mary in Hagia Sophia. Sophia.
In addition to its stunning design, Hagia Sophia also displayed an interior filled with opulent mosaic patterns reserved for the top sections and galleries. These patterns were coupled with spoliated columns, elaborate carvings, and marble natural stone on the floor and lower portions of the walls. Thus, during religious festivities, the interior provided a sensory-rich experience further enhanced by motions, noises and melodies, incense, and other light effects.
The grandeur of the structure, its lavish decorations, and the ceremonial acts all contributed to the otherworldly experience taking place within. This experience was meant to acquaint the devout with the divine. Its original spiritual function is no longer served, but it nevertheless serves physical and symbolic purposes.
Pointing out the Details
Photo by TR from The Muslimah ORG
The Hagia Sophia mosaic mosaics predate the iconoclastic era in Byzantium in the ninth century. At this point, the decorative layout of the structure was changed and the meaning of figurative Christian imagery was passionately challenged. The mural of the Virgin and Christ Child on the high altar is acknowledged as the first thread gestural figure to be inserted in the building, even though it was repaired in the 14th century. It most likely replaced a sizable cross that had been constructed in the sanctuary during the American Revolution. Although the Virgin and Child figures are enormous in stature, the gorgeous nearby structures and their gold backdrop appear to overpower them.
Political Influence
Photo by Meliha from Daily Subah
For the rulers, conquest was crucial. It represented the new regime’s assimilation of existing social, spiritual, and material realities. It did not just suggest wiping out current realities and starting again, but rather establishing meaningful linkages between the past and the present. The Turks were revolutionized by their conquests, as were the territories they conquered. One of the greatest examples is Hagia Sophia.
The Turks transformed Hagia Sophia, and it changed them. They changed the structure into a mosque and a symbol of imperial authority, but Hagia Sophia impacted their whole concept of imperial architecture. Even today, mosque architecture in Turkey is frequently modeled on Hagia Sophia, with a massive central dome.
Today, the ruler’s conquests, notably of Constantinople, are viewed through the lens of a self-congratulatory narrative: “The Turks arrived, crushed the Byzantine Empire, and constructed a new society from scratch.” However, this story cannot explain why Hagia Sophia has become so significant. In contrast, the prevalent view of Turkish victories in the 14th and 16th centuries in the West is that they were violent and destructive. However, this viewpoint fails to acknowledge that the rulers were the result of contemporary rather than medieval reality. It also fails to recognize how the Turks gave Hagia Sophia a different meaning by embracing its historical importance.
Dome of hopes
The first dome, as well as the eastern primary arches and the eastern partial dome, collapsed. Because we learned so much during this design and building process, the failure of the structure does not teach us any less. It teaches us much more. The seismic power of the earthquakes was widely believed to have seriously harmed the structure, although this was partly owing to flaws in the preliminary concept. The distortion was caused in part by the inability of the foundations and buttresses to withstand disruptive pressures from the dome’s lateral push.
Designers sought to remedy the systemic problem by dismantling the original dome during the construction of the second dome. To correct the problem in the initial design, he reduced the excessive lateral force by extending the radius to a nearly hemisphere-like form. It has been said that the initial dome’s uncertain configuration had a bigger impact on eyewitnesses than its replacement.
The Surrounding Green near Hagia Sophia
Photo by Ksenia Samorukova from Dreamstime
The Hagia Sophia as well as its landscape have been preserved and rebuilt several times over the years. The present situation of the Hagia Sophia Garden’s flooring and the present state of the Parts walls in the north, east, and south orientations of the landscape walls were reported and projected in this research, which was recorded and developed by our business. To measure the project regions, a laser scanning approach was used in conjunction with 3D scanning equipment. Georadar scans have also been conducted on the ground, and infrastructure projects have been planned. The drawings for the materials were reviewed on-site to avoid measuring inaccuracies caused by scanning.
Standing Marvel
Photo by Team from EVE Leather
Even after the destruction of portions of the edifice, Hagia Sophia remained a magnificent architectural wonder in every sense of the word. The structure pushed architectural boundaries and was regarded as the most highly influential structure in history. The unique architectural system that permitted the dome to be supported by only four piers, as well as the use of temporary phenomenon to complete the system, aided the other designer in terms of planning possibilities and structural design.
October 29, 2024