wrapping up week 3

in defining SECTION, many of these students took the most basic understanding of section as a vertical slice through a building to have a look inside. remember that at different SCALES, section cuts yield significant information. for an artifact or a wall, a SECTION might explain how technically materials come together, detailing our understanding of the FIRMNESS of the structure proposed and the fitness of the design opportunity. for a building, a SECTION provides information for the reader of the drawing to understand architectural space and how the various elements within a room come together as an architectural UNITY. in a city, a SECTION might tell us how component neighborhoods and elements within the community begin to shape human experience on a grander SCALE than a single building. in considering this cross SECTION through life, we get a way to compare buildings and spaces…and to understand better some of the thinking by humans to shape the built world. by considering a LONGITUDINAL SECTION of a city, however, we come to understand the impact of time on the landscape and the buildings that populate it. this idea of TIME seems incredibly useful in the history course as we continue to take the LONG VIEW of all of the built world and the objects within it. as we continue to think about all of the various SCALES at which we might consider an object as mundane as, let’s say “pat’s chair,” we recognize the raw power of the designer to transform the world one building or object at a time, as the resonances that echo outward from each design opportunity have ripple effects to the neighbors in immediate CONTEXT but across and through time to the present. by removing the BOUNDARY from SECTION, we unleash a powerful way to understand and talk about the built environment.

PLEASE NOTE : unfortunately, ellie grigg and rebecca pryor did not post this week so they couldn’t add to this dialogue.