Architectural Symbolism

The paper explores Tati's use of new film media in 'Playtime' in ways that reveal more fundamental modes of social, mimetic and situational mediation as performed in the film by architects, and architect-like characters, and by the architectural settings which Jacques Tati devised.

The intention of this thesis is to discuss the potential origins of the early Pyu and Mon era religious architecture of Myanmar. The period of architecture that will be in focus is the era preceding the 9th century CE., which marked the development of a new Burmese Kingdom known as Bagan in central Myanmar. There are some significant studies already conducted in this field of research, however what is lesser know about the developing Bagan kingdom, is what were the specific antecedents of the first temples, stupas and other religious monuments which appeared on the Myanmar landscape, built mostly by the Mon and the Pyu civilizations sometimes as early as the 1st century CE.. Existing research suggest heavy influence by Indian religious architecture which possibly traveled to the lands of the Mon and Pyu via Indian traders or sojourning Buddhist monks wanting to spread their religion to other kingdoms of South East Asia. So far much of what is known about the antecedents of early Myanmar architecture is for the most part assumptions based on archaeological evidence that does show some similarity between sites located at Beikthano in Myanmar, and Nagarjunakonda in India. However, comprehensive literature on the subject of the origin of Myanmar architecture is scarce and what literature does cover the subject can often be quite vague in its explanation. The following thesis will presently discuss several theories on potential origins of Myanmar architecture and conclude with an overview of where research currently may be lacking.

Το παρόν κείμενο πραγματεύεται τον τρόπο με τον οποίο τα αρχετυπικά σύμβολα υπεισέρχονται στην αρχιτεκτονική δημιουργία επηρεάζοντας την αρχιτεκτονική έκφραση. Επιχειρείται, αρχικά, μια διαχρονική προσέγγιση της έννοιας του αρχετύπου, το οποίο υπό το πρίσμα του ασυνείδητου αποκτά μορφή και έκφραση και μέσω των συμβόλων. Στη συνέχεια, μέσω της ανάπτυξης της  θεωρίας του Jung περί συνειδητού και ασυνείδητου, γίνεται ένας διαχωρισμός ανάμεσα στον εκ προθέσεως και στον αυθόρμητο συμβολισμό στην αρχιτεκτονική δημιουργία, ενώ επιχειρείται και η ερμηνεία του παραπάνω διαχωρισμού μέσω παραδειγμάτων.

The purpose of this research is to understand the relationship between the traditional beliefs and values of ancient societies and the architecture and urban design of those societies. By examining the common characteristics of cities and sacred buildings in ancient history, the research suggests that these structures were influenced by a shared understanding of the world and its connection to the cosmos.
To explore this relationship, the research introduces the concept of a "traditional cosmological model," based on the ideas of Mircea Eliade, which posits that ancient cities and sacred buildings were designed to reflect and embody a heavenly model, or microcosm. This model is used to analyze and interpret various examples from the ancient world, demonstrating how traditional concepts were consistently employed to link the physical structures of cities and sacred buildings to their celestial counterparts.
As a case study, the research applies the traditional cosmological approach to the Giza Plateau, offering an alternative interpretation to the views commonly held by mainstream historians and Egyptologists. Through this analysis, the research aims to shed new light on the role of traditional beliefs and values in shaping the architecture and urban design of ancient societies.

Kentucky, one of four Commonwealth states, became the 15th state of the Union in 1792. It was the birthplace of both president’s Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, was explored by Daniel Boone, saw numerous battles during both the Revolution and Civil War and is mostly known for its bourbon, moonshine, tobacco and horses. It is also home to hundreds of buildings, some on the National Register, which are adorned with thousands of gargoyles, grotesques and Green Men. Solidly a Christian state, Kentucky continues to publicly exhibit on its old buildings ancient symbols and icons which have been part of humankind’s history for thousands of years, far longer than Christianity has existed. Ancient symbolism continuously influences the lives of everyone, in every society, throughout time. This is because symbols are important to each generation and seem to be imbedded in the psyche. Symbols satisfy a need to be linked to an ancient tradition and the physical remains of that tradition. Overtime these symbols, and the various things they represent, become absorbed into the dominating culture and religion and come to represent the core values of those cultures and religions. This is especially obvious in the development of Christianity.

The historic city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has been the home to Native Americans and immigrants from around the world. It is also home to a large variety of gargoyles, grotesques and monsters carved in stone and adorning banks, government buildings and churches.

The paper examines Christian architecture from the perspective of “meta-codal function”, i.e. through examination of architectural symbolism expressed solely by architectural means. Emphasizing symbolic and semantic content of architecture, the paper offers a broader research field of architectural artistry by using a wider iconographic comparison. As a representative of baroque
architecture and the most prominent example of architectural symbolism, St. Peter and St. Paul’s Church in Vilnius (1668–1702)
has been selected for the research. The iconographic programme of this church is compared to most distinct iconographic themes identified through the analysis of some examples of historic Christian architecture. By this method, the research detaches from the usual stylistic analysis and poses the most basic question in architectural artistry: is architecture capable of expressing the independent artistic content which can translate more than architecture’s general appearance.
Keywords: historic Christian architecture, meta-codal function, architectural symbolism, Pisa Cathedral, Chartres Cahedral, Hagia Sophia

Political embodiment within architecture has the capacity to legitimise the authority of a regime and thus stabilise power relations. The means through which this is carried out are enigmatic and involve the use of 'metaphor' and 'mediated reference' . This capacity of power in architecture has an existing base of comprehensive research from a number of revered authors, yet the predominant focus throughout is the domestic architecture of a state. This

David Syme was buried a Presbyterian. Educated for the kirk, the son of a Scottish schoolmaster, and probably descended from that Syme of Ayrshire who befriended the poet Burns, David stepped out from the ministry to seek a broader field in journalism. But the ...

Darbe pateikiamas alternatyvus Vilniaus Šv. apaštalų Petro ir Povilo bažnyčios meninės programos aiškinimas. Remiantis ikonografiniais pavyzdžiais yra tikslinama atskirų bažnyčios skulptūrinės puošybos motyvų prasmė ir interpretacija lyginant juos su visuotinėje baroko dailėje aktualizuotais alegoriniais įvaizdžiais. Kitaip nei ankstesni tyrimai, identifikuojant bendrą bažnyčios meninę programą orientuojamasi ne tik į naratyvų interjero skulptūrinį dekorą, bet ir į bažnyčios architektūros formų simboliką. Šv. apaštalų Petro ir Povilo bažnyčios erdvės simbolika yra aiškinama platesniame krikščioniškos architektūros kontekste, aptariant, kaip tradiciniai krikščioniškosios architektūros simboliniai įvaizdžiai buvo pritaikyti šiai konkrečiai bažnyčiai. Bažnyčios meninė programa yra identifikuojama atskleidžiant bažnyčios skulptūrinės puošybos prasminę sąsają su jos architektūros formų semantika. Šis aspektas padeda suvokti tikrąsias baroko sakralinės architektūros galimybes kurti iš anksto numatytą, vieningą ir prasmingą meninį turinį.

De l’Iran, Jean Chardin écrivait au XVIIe siècle qu’il « n’y a pas de pays au monde où l’on fasse des dômes si hardis et si beaux. » Dans l’Antiquité, les coupoles de briques couronnaient les palais et les temples zoroastriens des Sassanides ; à l’époque islamique, elles seront, splendides et audacieuses, l’élément souvent fondamental des mausolées, des mosquées, des palais, des hammams et des bazars. Matrice d’imaginaires, symbole du ciel, la coupole possède aussi des propriétés structurelles, thermiques et acoustiques, parfaitement adaptées aux conditions climatiques du Plateau iranien et à un art de vivre millénaire. Leur décor d’étoiles, de motifs végétaux, de calligraphies, voire de représentations figuratives, constitue également le répertoire synthétique d’une culture, royale, religieuse, poétique et cosmologique. Riche de plus de 300 reproductions en couleurs, ce livre explore pour la première fois la beauté et la signification des coupoles persanes, de l’Iran antique au XXe siècle.

Filozófia, építészeti emblematika és fantázia a kora újkori alkímiai diszkurzusban 1 Jól ismert, hogy az okkult-ezoterikus kozmológiai diagramok divatja a XVII. századra érte el tetőpontját. Ezeket a ma is csodálatra méltó metszeteket több filozófiai-és kulturális motiváció inspirálta: többek között a manierizmus spekulatív szenzualizmusa, valamint az új barokk stílus és világkép illuzionista ambíciói. 2 Ezekhez járult a könyv előállítás technikai fejlődése, melynek eredményeképpen ma is a leglenyűgözőbb könyvek közé tartoznak Robert Fludd és Athanasius Kircher természetfilozófiai művei, Michael Maier okkult emblematikája, vagy Jakob Böhme gazdagon illusztrált kiadásai.

This essay is a brief exploration of the mediative and rhetorical functions of the built environment. Specifically, I investigate the use of the word 'symbol' in Trump-era political discourse and the use of symbolic rhetoric to describe proposed expansions and fortifications of the US-Mexico borderwall. Through the work and writings of Roland Barthes, Umberto Eco, Lebbeus Woods, Ronald Rael, and others, I describe the historical instability and unfixed meaning of symbols to argue that the symbolic intent of objects, including the US-Mexico borderwall, does not finalize their meaning or function but rather opens them to alternate and transformative interpretations.