Module 7 Video Review

1.   For each video list/discuss the key concepts you learned.

First I watched the Prairie Style (Frank Lloyd Wright) video. A key concept I learned was that Frank Lloyd Wright believed that a house should seem to come organically from its environment. The houses featured horizontal roofs, low ceilings, an open floor plan and very many windows. I also learned that Frank Lloyd Wright would design his houses to follow the sun, often times making the house face north so that the sun rise would start on one side of the house and throughout the day the sun would move to the pack of the house and then set on the opposite side. I also learned that he was the first to use open floor plans. The main design of houses at the time was Victorian Houses where each room was separated from the other rooms, however Wright reorganized that plan and connected his rooms through open walls and hallways.

The next video I watched was Last Call for Planet Earth- Sustainable Development and Architecture. This video studied the work of 12 leading architect, all of whom use green concepts and eco-friendly materials in their buildings. They use these techniques because they are trying to combat climate change, pollution and using up our unrenewable resources. The first key concept this video discusses is that they first step to any sort of climate revolution is awareness. Many companies and governments today are realizing that if they do not clean up their messes and start thinking about sustainability, they are just hurting themselves in the long run. Another key concept I learned is that capitalist countries are far behind the rest of the world in regards to “green energy” this is because in countries where the government regulates business, they are being required to use this green energy, however, in capitalist countries with private ownership, many people are still hesitant to make these changes. Another key concept is in order to save money as well as energy for heating and cooling, it is important to use renewable energy. Solar heating panels can be put on the side of the building with the most sunshine order to utilize such an important recourse. It is also important to start incorporating roof and central gardens in buildings as well in order to ensure fresh air and give back to the environment.

2.   How do the videos relate to the readings in the text?

The videos relate to the readings from the book by visually showing me the concepts from the text. It is one thing to see pictures and read about open floor plans but it is entirely different to see a camera make its way around an open floor plan, weaving in and out of rooms and showing me the complete picture. In the videos I was also able to see basic structures in the houses and buildings that I learned about in the text, such as columns, arches, and domes.

The video about Frank Lloyd Write also related to the text because of the passage about Frank Lloyd Wright as an artist, this passage gives background information about his life that the video did not give, the video expands expands on his contributions to architecture as well. There is also a full section on green architecture in the book that the video I watched expanded on. The book and video both talk about green energy and roof gardens as well as the best materials to build a structure out of in order to remain “green”.

3.   What is your opinion of the films? How do they add depth to understanding of Architecture?

I really liked these two videos. The Frank Lloyd Write video was interesting to me because I know we have an original Frank Lloyd Write house in Buffalo. It was also interesting to learn about the origins of open floor pans, which for me is a very common concept in my home. I thought the video on sustainable architecture was also very interesting. As someone who thinks that climate change is a huge problem facing our world, it was nice to see designers and architects taking steps to reduce that problem.

            Both these videos added depth to my understanding of architecture because I was able to see the origins of famous architect’s ideas and buildings. I was also able to learn about new concepts in architecture that I would otherwise not be made aware of.  

4.   Why did you choose the films that you watched?

I chose the Frank Lloyd Write video because I am familiar with his work in Buffalo and wanted to know more about him. I then chose the sustainable architecture video because I wanted to learn about the ways buildings can be designed to help the environment. So often we think of big buildings being a hindrance to the environment because we have to cut down trees and clear large spaces of earth, I wanted to know if there was a practical way to combat these changes in a beneficial way. I also liked the passages in the book about these topics and wanted to know more about them.