Diss.--Medizinische Fakultät--Zürich--Universität Zürich, 1988. / Exemplaire de thèse. Paraît également comme n° 204 des "Zürcher medizingeschichtliche Abhandlungen" [Neue Reihe].

Geometry deals with form, shape, and measurement and is a part of mathematics where visual thought is dominant. Both design and construction in architecture deal with visualization, and architects constantly employ geometry. Today, with the advent of computer software, architects can visualize forms that go beyond our everyday experience. Some architects claim that the complex forms of their works have correlations with non-Euclidean geometry, but the space we experience is still Euclidean. Given this context, I have explored possible correlations that might exist between mathematical concepts of geometry and the employment of geometry in architectural design from a historic perspective. The main focus will be to describe the two phenomena historically, and then investigate any connections that might emerge from the discussion. While discussing the way geometry has been approached in architecture, I have focused on the Renaissance, Modern, and Post-modern phases as they have a distinct style and expression. Andrea Palladio, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Frank Gehry's works will be case studies for the Renaissance, Modern, and Post-modern phases respectively. One of the important conclusions of this study is that architects use geometry in a more subconscious and intuitive manner while designing. Certain approaches to geometry can be determined by the way an architect deals with form and space. From the discussions of the works of Palladio, Wright, and Gehry, it can be concluded that from a two-dimensional simple approach to form and space in architecture, there has been a development of thinking about complex forms three dimensionally. Similarly, in mathematics, geometry has developed from a two-dimensional and abstract description of our surroundings to something that can capture the complex and specific nature of a phenomena. It is also shown that architects rarely come up with new concepts of geometry. Significant developments in geometry have always been in the domain of mathematics. Hence, most correlations between geometry in architecture and geometry in mathematics develop much later than the introduction of those concepts of geometry in mathematics. It is also found that the use of Euclidean geometry persists in architecture and that later concepts like non-Euclidean geometry cannot be used in an instrumental manner in architecture.

In this thesis I am studying the phenomenon of contemporary architecture evolving into art and, similarly, how contemporary art seems to evolve towards architecture. The aim of the study is to examine the blurred line between art and architecture that is significant for our century. Besides overall attempting to explain the relation of art and architecture in past, present and prospective, the particular method in my investigation is a comparative study of two main examples. One of these is in the field of artistic architecture (Frank Gehry’s Fondation Louis Vuitton), followed by one from the field of architectural art (Olafur Eliasson’s Inside the Horizon). By using text- and image-based analysis, I am pointing out both similarities and differences in the examples to determine if and where the fading line still appears. By aiming to understand the phenomenon from several viewpoints, I have been able to conclude that the fusion of art and architecture in most cases is a sign of intrinsic artistic progression. Yet the Art-Architecture Complex as an ongoing event seems to be subject to an infinite debate.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2004. / Advisor: Dr. Lauren Weingarden, Florida State University, School of Visual Arts and Dance, Department of Art History. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Sept. 22, 2004). Includes bibliographical references.

This thesis is an inquiry into the debates about the relationships between architecture, painting, and sculpture. The survey focused on the twentieth century, during which the disciplines of art and architecture resumed a close relationship, taking into consideration the historical context. The interaction emerged with Beaux-Arts Schools, Arts and Crafts, Art Nouveau movements until 1900s, and continued with Deutscher Werkbund, Bauhaus and De Stijl during the early twentieth century / and, focused on Minimalist Art, which emerged in the 1960s in America with the concept of &ldquo / architectural sculpture&rdquo / . One of the architects who was influenced by the Minimalist artworks was Frank Gehry. His method of combining art with architecture was taken as the motive to choose Gehry&rsquo / s work as the case study. His striking forms contribute to the development of a final product as a large-scale urban sculpture and a style that is collectively referred to as &ldquo / sculptural architecture&rdquo / . How does Frank Gehry&rsquo / s architecture approach to the condition of art? This question underwent examination in order to shed light on the dialogue between art and architecture, as well as the professional relationships between creators in these fields. At this point, the discussion turned to the issue of collaboration through which artists and architects find the opportunity to design together. Examining the influence of artists on Frank Gehry, it is observed that, interactions with art affected him when he was developing his characteristic style and such collaboration enriched the final product and increased the potentials of independent disciplines.

While focusing on high fashion and architecture, this thesis explores an aesthetic transition between the early 20th century’s “modern” style and the later 20th century style of “deconstruction.” We believe the style of “deconstruction” revolutionized visual metaphors for modern gender identity through the manipulation and experimentation of surfaces. These metaphors were accomplished through transformation relationships between surface, structure, and ornament. This study exclusively uses examples from women’s fashion and building façades for its analysis

No description available.

A arquitetura contemporânea vive hoje uma arriscada fusão com a publicidade e a indústria do entretenimento. Tal convergência exige uma expansão da forma arquitetônica até o limite de sua materialidade. Em busca da renda informacional máxima, característica do universo das marcas mundiais, constatamos uma inversão de seus antigos fundamentos construtivos e produtivos, subvertidos por um jogo de volumes e efeitos para além de qualquer regra ou limitação. Aliado às técnicas digitais de projeto e à reorganização dos canteiros de obra, esse novo fetichismo da forma, análogo à autonomização do poder e da riqueza abstrata no capitalismo contemporâneo, define a nova condição da arquitetura. Estudaremos essa condição tomando como fio condutor projetos dos arquitetos mais consagrados pelo atual sistema de distinção e premiação. No propósito de melhor identificar esta arquitetura da exceção, investigamos nas obras emblemáticas dos últimos vinte anos um conjunto de particularidades e recorrências, que a nosso ver define a economia política da exceção e da regra no mundo atual. Principiamos pela análise do emaranhado de significados que sustentam hoje a forma construída, passando em seguida à esfera da produção das novas modalidades de projeto digital às transformações no canteiro de obras para, ao fim, examinar como ocorrem a circulação (com a proliferação de imagens midiáticas), o consumo (especialmente por meio da indústria do turismo) e a distribuição de riquezas que essa arquitetura favorece. O que se verifica é uma produção sobredeterminada pela busca da renda monopolista derivada das propriedades intrínsecas da forma, em seu novo estágio de concepção e realização. Esperamos, assim, mostrar como a arquitetura de ponta tornou-se uma das manifestações mais expressivas da acumulação flexível e da renda das marcas sob a dominância da lógica das finanças. / Contemporary architecture is dangerously enmeshed with the entertainment industry and the field of advertising. This meshing has pushed architectural form to the limits of materiality. Architecture today searches for maximum informational rent, a process typical of global product branding; through this process, established building and production principles are subverted by a play of volumes and effects beyond any rule or limitation. Relying on digital design technologies and the reorganization of the building site, this new fetishism of form, analogous to the autonomization of power and abstract wealth in contemporary capitalism, defines the new condition of architecture. We study this condition by focusing on the work of those architects who are most successful in the current system of professional recognition and rewards. So as to identify this architecture of exception more precisely, we analyze emblematic works from the last twenty years; in these works we identify a set of particularities and recurrent issues that define the political economy of exception and rule today. We begin by analyzing the tangle of meanings associated with contemporary built form. We then move on to the sphere of production from the new technologies of digital design to transformations in the building site. Finally, we examine three processes as they relate to contemporary architecture: circulation (through the proliferation of images in the media), consumption (in particular through the tourist industry), and distribution of wealth. Our investigation reveals that architectural production, in its new stage of conception and realization, is overdetermined by the search for monopoly rent through intrinsic properties of form. We argue that cutting-edge architecture has become one of the most expressive manifestations of flexible accumulation and brand revenue under the prevailing logic of financial capitalism.

A arquitetura contemporânea vive hoje uma arriscada fusão com a publicidade e a indústria do entretenimento. Tal convergência exige uma expansão da forma arquitetônica até o limite de sua materialidade. Em busca da renda informacional máxima, característica do universo das marcas mundiais, constatamos uma inversão de seus antigos fundamentos construtivos e produtivos, subvertidos por um jogo de volumes e efeitos para além de qualquer regra ou limitação. Aliado às técnicas digitais de projeto e à reorganização dos canteiros de obra, esse novo fetichismo da forma, análogo à autonomização do poder e da riqueza abstrata no capitalismo contemporâneo, define a nova condição da arquitetura. Estudaremos essa condição tomando como fio condutor projetos dos arquitetos mais consagrados pelo atual sistema de distinção e premiação. No propósito de melhor identificar esta arquitetura da exceção, investigamos nas obras emblemáticas dos últimos vinte anos um conjunto de particularidades e recorrências, que a nosso ver define a economia política da exceção e da regra no mundo atual. Principiamos pela análise do emaranhado de significados que sustentam hoje a forma construída, passando em seguida à esfera da produção das novas modalidades de projeto digital às transformações no canteiro de obras para, ao fim, examinar como ocorrem a circulação (com a proliferação de imagens midiáticas), o consumo (especialmente por meio da indústria do turismo) e a distribuição de riquezas que essa arquitetura favorece. O que se verifica é uma produção sobredeterminada pela busca da renda monopolista derivada das propriedades intrínsecas da forma, em seu novo estágio de concepção e realização. Esperamos, assim, mostrar como a arquitetura de ponta tornou-se uma das manifestações mais expressivas da acumulação flexível e da renda das marcas sob a dominância da lógica das finanças. / Contemporary architecture is dangerously enmeshed with the entertainment industry and the field of advertising. This meshing has pushed architectural form to the limits of materiality. Architecture today searches for maximum informational rent, a process typical of global product branding; through this process, established building and production principles are subverted by a play of volumes and effects beyond any rule or limitation. Relying on digital design technologies and the reorganization of the building site, this new fetishism of form, analogous to the autonomization of power and abstract wealth in contemporary capitalism, defines the new condition of architecture. We study this condition by focusing on the work of those architects who are most successful in the current system of professional recognition and rewards. So as to identify this architecture of exception more precisely, we analyze emblematic works from the last twenty years; in these works we identify a set of particularities and recurrent issues that define the political economy of exception and rule today. We begin by analyzing the tangle of meanings associated with contemporary built form. We then move on to the sphere of production from the new technologies of digital design to transformations in the building site. Finally, we examine three processes as they relate to contemporary architecture: circulation (through the proliferation of images in the media), consumption (in particular through the tourist industry), and distribution of wealth. Our investigation reveals that architectural production, in its new stage of conception and realization, is overdetermined by the search for monopoly rent through intrinsic properties of form. We argue that cutting-edge architecture has become one of the most expressive manifestations of flexible accumulation and brand revenue under the prevailing logic of financial capitalism.

This thesis examines the ways in which Frank Gehry’s architectural contributions to Los Angeles’ social and built environment have shaped the region’s “postmodern geographies” throughout the 20th and 21st century. Through a focused exploration of three of Gehry’s postmodernist structures in Greater Los Angeles—a house, a library, and a concert hall—this thesis analyses how Gehry and his designs reflected and affected the artistic and socio-spatial development of Los Angeles’ “decidedly postmodern landscape.”