Mod 7. Video Review

The first video I chose to watch was the "Architecture: The Science of Design." The main focus of this video was obviously architecture, but also it revolves around how the buildings are designed and built in that they are safe. Something that intrigued me during this video was they talked about how high rises have to be thought out as if the wind is going to be much stronger at the top. At the top of a 100 foot high rise the wind is going to be much stronger and when the wind actually hits the building it forms it's way in swirls and produces these things called vortexes. These whirlwinds are what make the buildings sway at high levels up to a whole meter. The swaying motion is actually absorbed by the building joints, unfortunately if it is poorly designed it can cause nausea, sickness, and can possibly end badly. I also found it interesting that an architect will actually strategically plant trees that would help absorb some of the wind that could impact the high rise. The trees will act as a barrier and block out some of the wind. The second half of the video talks about smart houses and how we have developed into a technology dependent society. You have the ability to set your house to turn on before you wake up things such as: warming up the shower, heating the floor, coffee brewing in the kitchen. These are simple everyday activities that  most people still have to do on their own unless they can afford some type of house like this. But, it is hard to believe that our society will be dependent on things like this in the future.

The second video I watched was the "Architecture is Art" video by Frank Gehry.  The thing that stood out to me in the beginning is that he says the he doesn't plan anything he bases his projects on the place, the people, and the technology that is available to him. He uses the technology to develop a "language" that has changed and developed over time. That really hit me because he talks about how he doesn't like to repeat himself and that he makes the piece based on the surroundings and not one thing is the same to another. Which is interesting when you think about it because buildings are like people, not one building is built the same or designed the same as another. They are like fingerprints and each one has it's own identity. The video also identifies that buildings are created to relate to a human response to the building. We have discussed previously that art and sculptures have a way of creating a human emotional response, but to think that a building is created and designed to create some type of emotional response from people is amazing. I have never really been connected like that with a building but I guess if you imagine places like the Eifle tower for example people have their own emotional appeal.

I chose these two videos because they relate directly to the text and I wanted to stay with the idea of architecture and the idea of art. They related well with each other in the fact that they speak about technology and how it has helped develop art in the world today and influences the designs of artists and architects. The text talks about architecture and structures along with the new technologies and new materials that are available. The one thing that I really enjoyed was the fact that both talked about the use of digital design in architect today. They now have the ability to create a design online and then produce it to become an actual building. But, with this capability they can use electronics to predict the weather the building might face and how it will react to that particular weather based on that specific design.

I liked the two films that I chose or obviously I wouldn't have sat and watched them with the fact that I had other videos to choose from. They both helped me understand the reading and real life examples of how people took technology and didn't just settle for creating a painting or a sculpture and think of creating a building as art. I didn't ever really think of a building as a piece of art until I watched and read these chapters.  The videos helped me develop the message from the text and put it in a real-life perspective for me. That is why I do like these videos because the text is just telling you and is a lot of facts when the videos give you something to pay attention too.