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Architecture – A Science or an Art
The fate of Architecture being and art or science is arguable with people bringing in credible arguments on either side. From these arguments, it is easier to make a credible conclusion. A safer way of doing this is to keenly look at the tenets of each side and what happens in both.

There is close relationship between Architecture and art. This can be derived from the common doings in art. Arts are mainly concerned with aesthetics, colors and design. You will or you have probably heard the jargon Architectural design. What does this really mean? We know that there are fields that are out rightly science based like Biology, Medicine and Analytical Chemistry. You will hardly hear a doctor telling you that they are looking for the best design to treat a patient or they are choosing the right color of medicine that will go well with the patient. This therefore mean that jargon in art that are heavily borrowed by Architecture prove that architecture is an art.
While Science deals much with facts and research which are also components of art, Architecture borrows from creativity and imagination. Architects will create a design from imagination and go ahead to apply the best of color in paint for the aesthetics of the house.

Drawing and sketching is another form of art that has been embraced by Architects. Others have brought their creativity in defining Architecture by arguing that the word Architecture is derived from Arts only a more serious art.

On the other hand, proponents of Architecture being a science have their facts right. Methodology and approaches in sciences have widely been evident in Architecture. For example an architect has to have the right measurement of a house and the rooms before building it. Again, there has to be planning and dividing of materials in proportions that will best suit a given house. These are methods that are at the center of science, in fact they define science.

It therefore seems that Architecture is a discipline that amalgamates science and art.

Architecture is an interesting field especially when you have a passion, drive and will. It is fallacious and shallow to think that an architect just designs houses. There is more in their plate. Well design is just one of the things that they do. There are many things that determine what an architect will do in a particular day. One of these things is the goals that they want to achieve. Where they work and how they want to do what they want to do. I sat and thought of how to explain what an architect does and the best answer that I could think of is to describe the co – activities that an architect does before building anything:

Initiating a project

An architect has to look for clients. This is done in different ways like advertisement and application for job adverts. Once he/she finds a client, the architect has to get the right and basic information on the need and aspirations of the client. This is a very crucial stage because the budget has to be formulated and the architect has to advice the client on the best possible design of the house.

Designing

This is a very important phase of building and most designers are identified with this part of the job. Designing involves coming up with the best possible style of the house that will please the client and sometime involves identifying the best location for the house. This is where the architect will make sketches and drawings of the house and everything that will be built.

Approvals

This is a legal part of the building procedure. Having cleared with the client on the necessary building designs, the architect has to meet the authorities for approval of the house.
Construction

Here is where the architects come with other group of workers like contractors and builders who do the actual building.

This is the jargon that has developed over time in the field of Architecture and is still used to day. Terminology, just like a new language grows and sometimes dies when it has become out of date and therefore it is no longer used. Technology and vigorous research has contributed to a lot of terminology that have complemented the early jargon these are like:

Architect

This is a person that is qualified to design a house and in some countries, they must be registered with the local Architectural boards for approval and for practicing licenses. An architect has a specialization on a particular field in construction. They work in collaboration with site engineers and project managers for bigger projects.

Building Surveyor

This is a person who has specialized in construction and law. He leads or works with the designing team to come up with final draft or map of the house.

Building Inspector

For quality and safety purposes, the government sets up trained people in construction to go on site ensuring that all the laws and requirements for construction are met.

Clerk of Works

This is a person that works for either the client of the architect to ensure that all the agreement between the client and the architect are followed. His work includes ensuring that the right materials are used by the contractor.

Contractor

This is the person that is handed the responsibility of actual building. The contractor normally comes on site with his team of workers.

Designer

This is the person who designs a building. He advices the client on the kind of house that can fit his plot, issues of landscape and best material to use of their land.

Developer

This is a person, group of people or an organization that does the work of putting up a building with the intention of letting or giving the building to another person’s use for profit.

Every field has its own crafted jargon that only best fits it. Jargon is a collection of words, group of words or phrase used by people in particular field for better and easier communication not to hide from people who are not in that field. Architecture being one of the oldest disciplines since beginning of life, has over time collected and crafted its own jargon. Ancient Greek, Egypt, Rome and France being among the pioneers of modern architecture have contributed greatly in these jargon.
Academie de Beaux Arts, an architectural school in France made sure that every student of architecture learned these terms. It was the first architectural school of its kind in Europe in the 16th century. The jargon should be understood in the context of drawing, sculpture and craft. Architectural jargon include:

Entourage

This includes the aesthetics of a building as it is drawn. Since architects must have a pictorial representation of their intended building on paper first before construction. A complete drawing includes not only a house/ the building but all other thongs that contributes to the buildings presentability and beauty. Entourage includes people, trees, cars and garden.

Collage

This is the representation of a building by using papers glued on a big board so that it becomes like a map.

Esquisse

It is the initial sketchy drawing that gives direction to the final drawing that will be used in construction.
Esquisse – Esquisse

Since these jargon were used in school and students were expected to use them in their stay in school, there was school work that included a lot of drawing. Therefore deadlines were given for a sketch drawing. For example esquisse – esquisse was a sketch that was to be drawn in an hourly limit of 4 to 8.

Materiality

Whenever students used their materials effectively and efficiently and therefore attained their goal, this was called materiality.

The construction of houses is an art which develops and changes after a period of time. The methods used to construct houses and other structures in the colonial period cannot compared be with the methods used in the current times. Architectures has improved their skills in construction and abandoned some ways. The changing of styles is brought about with changes in fashion and preferences, adoption of new ideas and the presence of new technology. With time people change their beliefs and religion which may have influenced their ways of construction and which may have determined the type of structures to live in. this are the major influences to architecture.

Colonization

Styles come and go in architecture. A particular style may be the in thing at a particular period but after some time it fades away. People tend to change to new styles regarding the previous one to be old school or out dated. Architects should therefore learn to adapt to new ideas. A new idea over time goes through a transition period leading to different styles when combined with other styles. A particular style is adapted by different people in other places which make it vulnerable to changes leading to an emergence of a better style. In the past especially during the colonial period people in a particular region adapted to ways brought in by their colonial masters. This made colonialism to be the major way of spreading a particular construction style. A building in Europe could be identical to one in Asia or in Africa.

Movement

The movement of people from their places of residence to different places was also is major influence to styles. People make houses in their new areas of residence. The neighbors tend to copy them in construction and they also get ideas from their neighbors. This leads to adoption of new ideas by both parties and in the process a new way of construction comes up.

Architecture is the art of designing and constructing buildings. The construction of the designed buildings requires materials and some of the materials required are:

Concrete

This is a construction material composed of water, cement, sand and crushed rocks. It is used to make foundations, pavements, footings and other structures. It’s used because it becomes hard and strong when it’s left for a period of time therefore making strong structures.

Asphalt

This is a viscous black liquid used mostly in the construction of roads to bind the crushed rocks making it an asphalt concrete.

Cement

Architectures use cement to bind construction aggregates together; this is due to its hardening independently when hydrolyzed. It is a powder made from volcanic ash, burnt lime and pulverized bricks.

Composite materials

They are made from more than two materials which do not react to make a different material chemically. Some of the common composite materials are like disc brake pads, fiber glasses used in bathtubs and cultured marble sinks. They are mostly used in the decoration of buildings.

Bricks

Bricks are blocks of ceramic materials. They come in different sizes and strengths. Bricks are made from clay, shaped stone and some from concrete. They are stacked together using concrete or sometimes without to make structures that become permanent. Normally they are laid horizontally to make walls.

Together with other materials this materials make structures and buildings that stand out in harsh weather conditions. These materials have been used by architectures for a long period of time due their durability.

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Architecture is almost as old as mankind. To some people architecture is cultural. The idea of construction is also an old one. While architecture has made great steps in advancement, the idea is ideally the same from the beginning of construction. The only difference of architecture of today and the ancient one is in the style of construction of structure.

Science has contributed much in architecture not much in what is constructed but on the method of construction. Because of development of technology, what is constructed has inevitably demanded scientific approach to construction, a development that has lead to debates concerning the identity of architecture the most notable concern being whether architecture is a science or an art.

Different people have had their views but one thing has always remained. The way one views architecture will give you the answer to this question. However, when you look at the origin, style and approach of architecture, you will notice that it is more of an art than a science.

Below are some of the feature of architecture that qualifies it to be an art.

Designs

While architecture may use measurement an aspect of science, construction design compels us to conclude that it is actually an art. Designing demands creativity and imagination which are aspects that are deeply rooted in art. To come up with a design incorporating deferent features is artistic in itself.

Decoration

Science is more concerned with proof and observation while art is concerned with aesthetics. The beauty of a building is artistic with each color chosen specifically to complement the artwork.

Drawing and painting

For the longest time drawing has been an art which is an aspect that is right at the center of architecture. Drawing of houses, map work and painting are compulsory skills in architecture. All these are only combined with other skills to create another art form, otherwise they are in almost all art forms.

Architecture is as old as mankind, what has changed is the features and designs which I am not so sure to call them changes or modification of the original. Ever man moved from living on the tree to caves at least going by the assertions of evolution, architecture has featured prominently as long as building and housing is concerned.

Early civilization in different parts of the world entered with the announcement of different architectural designs that set the foundation for modern designs. Greece, Egypt and Rome considered the stepping block in this discourses, had their names well established in architectural designs, a prove that is seen even today.

Today, architecture has embraced completely new features together with the modification of the early designs while at the same time retaining some of the basics of old architectural designs. Some of which include:

Use of ancient materials

The idea of modern architectural material does not mean that materials have to change completely. Bricks and wood are among the most common material. The only thing that has changed is their use. Wood has been decorated, shaped and panted to give the best of it, the same applies to brick. The use of plaster which makes walls made of bricks smooth is a feature widely accepted in architecture as modern.

Emphasis on Function

Modern architecture has placed close attention to the function and use of buildings and structures. As opposed to ancient architecture where only the rich had a chance to vividly show their architectural prowess through their palaces and national monuments, modern architecture emphasizes on different designs depending on the function of the building. For example administrative buildings like Burj Khalifa of Dubai which can be compared to ancient Greek towers, mosques and churches have their own architectural following based on their different functions.

Use of man made materials

Metal and glass are among the new materials that have been introduced in modern architecture and their success in overwhelmingly embraced.

Engineers make use of the various icons and symbols, each of which covers the architectural design of the characters. This is all about the engineering and architectural drawing. This task is basically works on the use and placement of characters in architectural designs; typically these tasks are done by CAD operators or joinery. It allows you to specify the image properly. Usually plans being used to present architectural features such as windows, doors, walls and so it includes architectural drafting too. Architectural graphic design is not just a mechanical process and is no different from architectural design.
The concept of the architectural design is limited not only to the construction of infrastructure, but also other professions, such as structural funds, plumbing, landscaping or electrical. These designs are therefore an important part of the action plan for the engineers, contractors, architects and many more such people. Architectural Drafting is well-known as project and are used to inform engineers, contractors and design review of a specific architecture.

Moderate architecture must take a variety of topics while using architectural drawing to work design and construction. Application of architecture designs needed to be fully familiar with the spelling of which includes relationship presentation projection views; the view reflects the developed viewpoints. The use of design and pictures of architecture construction method should be known to the designers of architecture. While drawing with these designs, one has to have sufficient knowledge about the history of architecture. It consists of the development practices that have been successful and also those who have failed in the exam successfully.
Architectural drawings are considered as commercial part also. Strong and effective resources are necessary for the provision of a proper building and architectural achievements. Architecture design images have a wide range of applications in industrial architecture for various reasons. Image design is preferred for any professional interest in building an architecture design. These images are especially made for a better understanding of different building design specifications. They are interested in the technical level and created according to guidelines of the International Architecture Building.

The History of Glass in Architecture
When glass was first used in architecture and construction, the limitations of masonry and weaker building materials meant that its prominence was restricted to small windows. With developments in construction, this began to change and by the Medieval Era glass started to be used as more of a decorative feature than simply a way to let light in. The trend for tall, stone Gothic churches facilitated the use of elaborate glass windows made up from fragments of coloured glass and depicting striking biblical scenes. These windows related the stories of the bible to an illiterate populace and spurned the architectural trend of searching for transparency, luminosity and weightlessness through glass.
The concept of teaching is based on putting architecture in the context of other disciplines; previously neglected fields such as landscape design, urbanism, public space development or monument conservation are also taught. ARCHIP intends to make the most of its home city, Prague, and broker a hands-on contact of students with the city’s past and present. The school will also promote the use of architectural models, teamwork, presentation skills, debate and polemics.
The faculty relies on leading Czech architects as well as on equally recognized figures in the field of history and theory or visual arts. International faculty members and Czechs with extensive international experience are well represented. ARCHIP’s ambition is to be a platform for architecture and contact with the professional community and the public at large, and with other local and international institutions in the field.
Architectural drawings – what is the importance in architecture world? Why it is the most favorable options for architects? These are the common questions that are obvious for anyone. Well, architectural drawings of buildings are set of diagrams of building’s architecture. These diagrams are nothing but technical working drawings that follow certain architecture standards. Architectural drawings are created for architect’s help.