hypothetical problem in renaissance urban design.
Project description
Write a very brief essay (1 to 1-1/2 pages typed and double-spaced, accompanied by sketches) offering a proposed solution to the following (highly) hypothetical problem in renaissance urban design.
Kent State University
College of Architecture and Environmental Design
Survey of Architecture History I
ARCH 10012 Spring 2014
Steven Rugare, Assistant Professor
Assignment 1 – Renaissance Urbanism
Write a very brief essay (1 to 1-1/2 pages typed and double-spaced, accompanied by sketches) offering a pro
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posed solution to the following (highly) hypothetical problem in renaissance urban design. Due in class on Thurs
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day, January 30.
A Narrative
Finding his position in Ravenna both untenable politically and seriously dangerous to his person, Gianfranco left
the city under cover of darkness with a small but expert group of armed men. Of the bloodbath that ensued in that
unfortunate city, we shall perhaps have occasion to speak another time. Suffice to say for now, that the city paid a
thousandfold for Gianfranco’s misrule, while he sojourned on undiminished both in his ambitions and his appetite for
wrongdoing.
Some months later he arrived in the university town of Kent. This city had recently come under the rule of a cer
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tain Lefton. While he was not always the best or most just of rulers, he was neither the worst, and the people of Kent
tolerated him with little complaint. Gianfranco saw in their indifference an opportunity to usurp power, which he did
by the most treacherous means.
Through flattery and generous personal gifts, Gianfranco gained a trusted place in Lefton’s inner circle. He
perhaps intended to rule from behind the scenes, but he soon found that too difficult. T
aking advantage of a Spring
vacation to the Bahamas, he had Lefton poisoned, blaming his demise on rotten shellfish.
Upon returning to Kent, Gianfranco announced to the people that he would rule in Lefton’s stead. Fearing his
army, they thought best to keep quiet but meanwhile appealed to outside authorities for relief from the usurper. A
few well-placed bribes – the money having been looted from University scholarship funds –were more than enough
to blind the State authorities to any illegalities.
Needing money to support his extravagances, Gianfranco began to look for ways to cut costs. He convinced
many senior faculty to “retire” after five of their number were found dead in the center of town one morning. With
the money now available to him Gianfranco set about building a new residence for himself. He declared that his cur
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rent house was “inadequate to his dignity” and chose an ample palazzo near the center of town as his new home. This
building had housed a public art museum, which he closed, giving such of its contents as pleased him to his followers
and destroying the rest. He then invited the most esteemed architects and designers in the land to transform it into a
“suitable” setting, thereby setting the seal of art on all the power which he had acquired through sheer villainy.
from Anon.,
Vita é misfatti del famoso malvaggio Gianfranco del Volpe
Your Job
You have been asked to consider how best to turn the west facade of the University Art Museum
(Rockwell Hall) and the area upon which it fronts into a setting suitable to the needs of a 15th-century po
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tentate. You have before you a number of examples (Pienza, Urbino) of how renaissance architects dealt
with analogous (though not identical) situations. In particular, you will need to consider the following.
1. Gianfranco chose this building because the north facade (facing Main Street) is the only one
in town that looks at all beautiful to him. Your job is to make a new facade for the side facing the
Esplanade extension. It should be sufficiently decorous to satisfy Gianfranco’s ambitions, but you
will have to consider how much splendor would be appropriate to 15th-century Italian eyes?
2. Antiquity. As it stands, the entrance to the building is aligned with the new section of the Espla
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nade, but its materials and lack of decoration are a problem. Is there anything you could do to give
it a more explicitly antique feel (again to 15th-century tastes)? Is there a way to make it refer more
directly to ancient sources and types?
3. Public space. The space in front of the Museum is currentl
y a parking lot. Gianfranco finds this
repulsive. He would like some form of paved public space in which the people can gather to praise
him and hear his bidding. What form should this space take? What views of it are most significant?
etc.
4. Surroundings. Some of the buildings near the site are not necessarily of the most exalted type,
but Gianfranco is not so secure in his position as to simply tear them down. Is there a way to dress
them up or screen them off?
How to Prepare
First off, visit the site and look around. You may find it useful to make some sketches of it. Then, turn to
some of the renaissance examples (Pienza and Urbino are good ones) and consider various approaches to
your problem. Try sketching a few possible solutions before you commit yourself to a definitive one. Then
consider how you would make your solution sound good in written form, bearing in mind the aesthetic
standards of the 15th century.
What to Produce
The main burden of your proposal should come in written form, but you should also include a sketch
site plan and building elevation. A plan of existing site conditions is available on Blackboard Vista.
In your writing, you need to consider how buildings and spaces are described in an eloquent and deco
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rous way, as well as how they are designed. In the 15th century, of course, these would have been analo
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gous. Therefore, your description should explain how your design is appropriate to the circumstances in
words that are themselves appropriate to them.
Deliverables
The written portion should be printed in 10-12 point type, 1 to 1½
pages, double-spaced. Facade and
plan sketches may be done in any medium or on computer, but they should fit on a single 8½ x 11 sheet.
Evaluation Criteria and Some Reminders
The objective of this project is for you to synthesize the principles of early renaissance architecture
into a credible design proposition. Your project will be judged primarily on the basis of your fidelity to
those principles and the quality of the written description. The sketches are purely illustrative and will not
be evaluated for artistic quality.
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