Human Activities

As Wikipedia mentioned architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing, and construction, usually of buildings and other physical structures. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural symbols and as works of art. Historical civilizations are often identified with their surviving architectural achievements. It is the art of building in which human requirements and construction materials are related so as to furnish practical use as well as an aesthetic solution, thus differing from the pure utility of engineering onstruction.

As an art, architecture is essentially abstract and nonrepresentational and involves the manipulation of the relationships of spaces, volumes, planes, masses, and voids. Time is also an important factor in architecture, since a building is usually comprehended in a succession of experiences rather than all at once. In most architecture there is no one vantage point from which the whole structure can be understood. The use of light and shadow, as well as surface decoration, can greatly enhance a structure (Vikas S. , 2012).

Architecture is an art. Without architecture, we o not have any works of art today. No beautiful buildings, houses, castles. Without architecture, there will be no art, and without art, there will be no life. Our life will then become very simple and dull. Humanity leaves immortal echoes through its history using the media of language, art, knowledge and architecture. These echoes are not simply viewed in retrospect; they are primary to our time and define our civilization at any given moment, Justifying our very sense of being human.

This justification is important. Humanity exists in a near-perpetual war for existence. We are mortal, but we wish to become eternal and culture is our success in this battle. Culture allows us to assert our existence to ourselves to the extent that we are not just „now" but are- in essenceforever (Vikas S. , 2012). Many architects developed their own definition and interpretation of architecture through many ways.

Some architects such as Pevsner explains architecture that "everything encloses space on a scale sufficient for a human being to move in is a building; the term architecture applies only to buildings designed with a view to aesthetic appeal". Definition of architecture has many variations but Pevsner limited himself to that definition. The argument is about what Pevsner finds an appealing building considered as architecture but what if we considered some building appealing and they are not appealing to Pevsner is it not considered as architecture anymore.

The author mentions that architects should get involved and engaged with the construction processes well as the designing process because it is important for the architect to be connected with his building even in the construction process, also he can be onnected by experiencing the building after it is complete to see how people are interacting and experiencing the building in that way we can observe the relationship between humans and architecture.

Sykes mentioned that we can improve our building and improve the architecture by understanding and studying the lifestyle of people and how they live, by doing that we can know their needs and design building that fits their desires. Then the author moves to another point which is architecture and nature and how does nature affects the experience inside the building tor example the way which the building is oriented attects he amount ot natural sunlight that enters it, also it affects the way in which the building is integrated with the landscape or not. Sykes revealed the importance of history and its impact on the present we live in.

We can use history to find what works and what does not work, to get inspiration and we can use the past to involve the adoption of historic stylistic elements in contemporary architecture. The last point the author mentioned is the relationship between architecture and science and architecture and art. In my point of view I found some major points that caught my attention and I will be alking about them in the paper. The first point is about how the architect should be engaged with his own building not only while designing the building but also to be part of the construction process and to see how the building is actually built.

Other than the construction process there is the finishing process the architect should be part of it as well. I think that design of buildings requires the integration of many kinds of information into an elegant, useful, and durable whole. An integrated design process includes the active and continuing participation of users and community members, code fficials, building technologists, contractors, cost consultants, civil engineers, mechanical and electrical engineers, structural engineers, specifications specialists, and consultants from many specialized fields.

The best buildings result from continual, organized collaboration among all players. As the author mentioned that Vitruvius believed that the architect"s education should involve not only the study of drawing and geometry but also history, medicine, astronomy and law. I also believe that the architect should be connected with the building even after it"s done to see ow people react and experience the building in reality.

To improve the architecture more we should study the life style of people and to see, observe and know the way they live so we can understand their needs and build something that can fulfill the needs of wide range of people. The author mentioned the idea that we should design for common people and we don"t have to use expensive materials to do it we can use unconventional material to produce a good design because architecture is about quality not the architecture of expense. Mockbee called it "warm, dry and noble" architecture.

The second point that I will be discussing is the importance of history and its impact on the present we live in. Sykes stated few points why should we use history in our present the first reason because history is a great constraint; we learn what works and what does not work, what building types maybe suitable for certain activities materials fail under certain situations. We can use history to get inspiration to build new buildings that are inspired from the past and fit the needs of the future. Tennyson said "lives of great men all remind us; we can make our lives sublime, eaving behind footprints on the sands of time".

I think history should be studied not only for architecture but for all subjects as we are not living in isolation. The reason is that past influences present and thus future as well. It cannot be eliminated and every action is a sequel to another so without studying past, how can we make the future? It''s imperative that we know our history so we don''t make the same mistakes in the future. Looking at history helps us see what influences caused certain events. How can we do things ditterently or better? How can we prevent same situations arising?

The experiences of the past help us to guide our future to a better place if we use the knowledge wisely. It''s no point trying to go somewhere if you don''t know where you''ve been already. As a conclusion architects should know the relationship between architecture and other aspects of life such as architecture and art, science, nature and history. There is also an important element that affects architecture which is the interaction between humans and the environment and the interaction between each other, also the interaction between architecture"s associations with society, politics, economics and other aspects of life.