Flying Colours (1. great success; 2. to paint in bright/dark colors)

"The return on a public structure is not merely the task that it facilitates. It is the whole pleasure that it provides the community..." (Roth, 155) Since last year this time when I first heard these three words together (commodity, firmness and delight), I have been forced to analyze architecture and spaces differently and measure them up to each word. The Zigguart in Mesopotamia exemplifies all three words in its mass. The commodity or function was believed to be the connection to heaven on earth. The most important part of the structure was at the very top where the temple was located. The sustainable materials and the method in which they were built exemplify the firmness. There are still remains left today. The delight is evident in the way it stands out from the earth, and gives the eye many different dimensions and aspect to gaze upon. In drafting I have found that in producing different elevations, sections, etc. , and in drawing using different media and techniques, commodity, firmness and delight are the main categories in which I should judge my work. Together, all three aspects of "good design" work together to form the whole which is functionality, strength, and beauty. "A view of the building as a whole means that we see it as part of an extended and undivided continuum ." (Alexander, 80) In working with water colors for the first time in my life (i think), I have found that just a little splash of color adds so much interest and definition to a drawing/sketch. In my opinion, it is a way in which you can help better convey an idea but also add a very classical or abstract look your work. Through experimentation with the water colors, I learned that sometimes alot of color looks nice, but when you want to highlight a certain aspect of the drawing, painting only that specific part can illuminate the picture better. Illumination doesn't just mean adding light or color, but it can also mean adding definition and life to something. "...we must first see how life springs from wholeness, and indeed how life is wholeness. Wholeness exist all around us and life springs from it." (Alexander, 55) The Ziggurat in Mesopotamia is a great example of this. It illuminates the area that it encompasses. It is such a grand, amazing, huge feature and it is also a precedent for the latter pyramids in Egypt. In sense, it is illuminating another era.

They way that the Ziggurat gives the illusion of a mountain is a way to look at idioms. Although we know that it clearly is not a mountain, the way that it is constructed and layered could lead one to believe that it was possibly a mountain or hill, and not a structure. "These artificial hills served as a way of elevating the temples to make a link between the human realm and the heavenly realm of the gods." (Roth, 183) The hieroglyphics that the Egyptians used to tell stories of the Pharaohs lives was their way of communicating then as a people and throughout time to people of the many ages. The way in which we document history and important events now is so much different from the way that it was done then. What color means for one person or culture may not mean the same for the next. For the fairytale artifacts, alot of people tied meaning to good, bad, love, hate, etc. to color. I think that this is interesting because in North America, for most designers the color red for instance in any given room conveys energy. This color in another culture could mean death, hate or negativity.
Taking from the 1st critique of the semester that we had on Friday, the thing I got out of it the most was the importance of utilizing the most effective materials. This I feel is important to designers because materials(color, weight, firmness, bulkiness, etc.) are not only meant to convey meanings and evoke feelings but they also need to be sustainable and work well in the environment they are in. The materials that Charese and Carlos decided to use for their fairytale artifacts in my opinion had a balance of the importance to the story, and the artifacts were "items in which the design was simple and of good proportions." (Massey, 159) They were both artifacts in which could be used in everyday life.
I feel a very strong connection to this weeks key words because all in some form or another are a part of the next. Illumination brings forth beauty, life and experience. Different designers have their own taste/style and artistic language(idiom) which conveys functionality in a particular environment, and materials are the aspect in which one's design is successful and sustainable . All three of these aspects of design come together to create Commodity, Firmness, and Delight.

Title:
http://www.learn4good.com/languages/evrd_idioms/id-c.htm

Hieroglyphic Image:
www.ctlibrarians.org