Saturday, July 6, 2013

Module Seven: Video Review


1a.) The video entitled Prairie Style had several important key concepts.  The video discussed the many contributions of Frank Lloyd Wright.  One important contribution of Frank Lloyd Wright was the fact that he got Americans to start thinking outside of the typical box like home and instead into more horizontal focused architecture.  Frank Lloyd Wright wanted his homes to reflect their time, landscape and area.  He did this by using horizontal bands that came out of the landscape.  He wanted his homes to be one with the land around them, and his contributions are still seen in modern architecture today.

1b.)  The video entitled Architecture: the Science of Design, also had several important ideas.  One of the most important concepts from the video was its analysis of the construction of the modern skyscrapers.  The modern skyscraper is made of two distinctive parts, the superstructure and the substructure.  The substructure is the underground part of the skyscraper that has to support both the dead and living weight of the structure.  This video also pointed out the importance of considering wind and weather conditions that the structure will have to withstand.  The higher the structure, the higher the velocity and force of wind that there will be on the building.  In order to overcome these feats, architects use wind tunnel testing to determine how to create their buildings to withstand these conditions. 

2.)  The first video gave me a much better insight into Frank Lloyd Wright’s contribution to the architectural world.  I had no idea the immense impact that he had on architecture during his time and during modern times as well.  The second video related to the reading in that it gave a analysis of the materials used to build skyscrapers, but it also stressed the importance of other aspects (such as wind velocity), when building these massive buildings.

3.)  The first film was definitely my favorite out of the two, just because I was really interested in learning more about Frank Lloyd Wright.  The second video however really provided me with some shocking and interesting new information. For example, I had no idea that tall skyscrapers actually sway in the wind, and if built improperly, can cause motion sickness!  I think the second film may have been a little out of date as well.  They both helped to add to my knowledge of Frank Lloyd Wright and his contributions to the architectural world, and the method of constructing a skyscraper.

4.)  I chose the first film about Frank Lloyd Wright because I often walk by one of his houses in downtown Buffalo and I’ve always wanted to learn more about them.  I chose the second video because I was interested in learning more about skyscrapers and how they are created and constructed.

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