Field Trip!

(Sorry I hadn't realized this hadn't posted!)
Society's complex structure, when dissected, can be broken down into key elements of architecture: groves, stacks, circles, and various repetition. On a stroll through campus I found that Greensboro is no exception to the rule. The question is, how do ritual and environment react to each other?

Groves common in nature include forests, sunflower patches, and humans themselves. We see them in skyscrapers and clocks towers, reaching into the heavens. In Greensboro I observed columns and light posts that imitated these vertical reaches. I connected the form of the structures with society's constant striving to go higher on the social ladder, to be at the top. Maybe this continuity in architectural form reflects this desire.

These columns represent groves

                                                



Stacks are another familiar form in design. Originally they   could have been a representation of stacks of supplies or the stack of layers of land to form mountains. They remind me of culture's organization, abundance, and foundations. They seem to visualize a hierarchy that is oh so similar to cultures throughout history. In Greensboro's campus there are stacks of bricks, stacks of concrete stairs, and stacks of floor levels and windows on every turn. The fountain displays very clear levels that lead to the fountain itself, a meeting place, a spot of interest, a ritual in itself.


Circles are a symbol of strength, with no end and no beginning. They can address a focal point or be a symbol. Circles are prevalent in nature; the sun, the planets, tree trunks, ripples; all are translated in the use of circles. We refer to existence as the "circle of life", rely on the water cycle, are familiar with the never ending orbit of the earth, use circles to refer to time, and use them in nearly every form of transportation. Circles are a primary shape in our world, and are integrated heavily in for design. In Greensboro I saw them as manholes, as fountains, as a structure for bridges, in detail and in design.





These shape motifs and the order, control and balance of repetition are hard to miss in the world around us. But why are they so common? Are the reasons scientific or aesthetic? Geometrical or traditional? For strength or routine? Why can these particular formations be traced through history? I believe that the environment we created is an echo of the rituals that we live by. The shapes and structures are those we take from the environment that are relevant to our culture.