Reading comprehension 1

My choice for a building based on Wotton's definition of commodity, firmness, and delight in architecture is the Al Dhana Tower (RasGas Tower) in Doha, Qatar.  I believe this tower realizes all the above definitions.  Commodity is fulfilled by its height of approximately 30 floors for an office building, which also includes a parking garage.  Along with its height is the sphere that hangs in the 20th floor and anchored by two points.  Firmness is fulfilled by its construction, it is built with a curtain wall facade system which keeps it stable and allows the appearance of glass exterior walls.  Lastly, delight is fulfilled because of the difference in appearance based on the time of day, as depicted below.  The one on the left is what it looks like during the day and the one on the right at night.

According to Hall and other people, different cultures have different spatial needs and attitudes. A lot of people consider that citizens of the U.S. generally feel a need for more space. Although, I do agree with the previous statement, the classroom in which we gather for IAR222 might not be seen as an example of this, but it is. I believe part of this is based on the time period that the building was built in. Even though, co-education occurred in the ‘60s and the building was built in the ‘70s, some change and adaptation was still occurring. The classroom was not built with any adaptable features. There were no considerations for students carrying more than a few books. Nowadays it is apparent that citizen of the U.S. feel a need for more space based on how they sit in the classroom on the first day in this classroom.

Alain de Botton believes that there can be an architecture of happiness and based on his work by the same title, I would have to agree with him. In his work, de Botton says, “[b]elief in the significances of architecture is premised on the notion that we are, for the better or for worse, different people in different places – and on the conviction that it is architecture’s task to render vivid to us who we might ideally be.” Happiness can occur when we envision our ideal selves because we only take all the positive and good qualities to make our ideal selves. An example of an object that, personally, exudes happiness is the jewelry set seen below. I believe this set exudes happiness in a few ways through color, material and craft. This set includes two major colors: bluish gray (the pearls) and white/silver (metal piece). However, I believe the materials and craft that really cause happiness. It is made of white gold, black pearls which are rare side, and diamonds. The craft done on this was very intricate and can be appreciated by all because of the work put into it.