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Villa Farnese

Located in the Trastevere Mountains of Rome, Italy, Villa Farnese is one of the architectural masterpieces of the Renaissance. Originally commissioned by the aristocratic family Alessandro Farnese, it was sold to the Chigi family and is now a museum. Villa Farnese, Italy, 1511      Villa Farnese was designed and built by a number of architects including Raphael and Baldassarre Peruzzi. Built in the early 16th century, the villa is one of the architectural masterpieces of the Renaissance. The graphic design of the villa is a pentagon, which was very unique at that time, and this is what I am most interested in about this building.  The pentagonal plan makes the interior layout of the villa very symmetrical and harmonious. Villa Farnese Plan( Drawn by Alex)      The facade of the house is made of grey and white stones and bricks. The facade is decorated with many exquisite carvings and patterns, which are elegant, delicate and solemn. During the construction of the villa, the most advanc
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St. Peter's Basilica

 The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter, also known as St. Peter's Basilica, is one of the most renowned and revered buildings in the world. Located in Vatican City, it is the largest church in the world and is regarded as one of the holiest Catholic shrines. St. Peter's Basilica,  Vatican, 1626      The construction of the Basilica started in 1506 and took over 120 years to complete. The building is a stunning example of Renaissance architecture and was designed by famous architects including Bramante, Michelangelo, and Bernini. The building's façade, which faces St. Peter's Square, is 114 meters wide and 47 meters tall. It is adorned with Corinthian columns and features an enormous bronze canopy, called the Baldacchino, which stands at over 20 meters tall.       One of the most fascinating architectural features of St. Peter's Basilica is the dome. The dome, which was designed by Michelangelo, is 136 meters tall and is one of the most recognizable features of the build
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Activity Center for Old People

 This is the final project of my studio course. The site I chose is a square in front of the cultural hall of Xianbei Village. This village is one of the villages that we visited this semester. I like this village a lot because I think it  has largely retained the original style and cultural customs of the village. So I went there several times and finally chose this place as my site. Site Mapping The site is an empty square in front of the cultural hall of Xianbei village. It is covered with a steel roof.  As it is shown in the site plan, the red dot line represents the outline of the roof. The roof is curved. The highest part of the roof is about 6.3 meters, and the lowest part of the roof is about 5.8 meters. So I wondered whether I could build something between the roof and the ground. I think so because, according to the interviewing of villagers, they think there is not enough space for them to have more activity.  Site Plan According to the observation, I found that old people l
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Site Viewing -- Learn from the Bridge

Village visiting is continuously conducted. The week before last week, we went to Zili village. Zili Village is a village deeply affected by modernization and industrialization. Half of the village was set aside for the construction of the factory. Factories include auto parts factories, shoe factories, clothing factories and lamp factories. And the village is cut in two by a busy highway. That's why I say the village is more industrialized and modern Site Plan of Zili Village      Although the highway encroaches on part of the village's land space, the space under the bridge is not wasted. After communicating with the local villagers, I learned that the space under the bridge was surrounded by the village committee as a warehouse and sold to nearby factories for storage. So the village gets extra income from rent. The highway is seen from the side as shown in the elevation below. Elevation of the Bridge As we entered the warehouse under the bridge for a tour, I discovered some
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The Architecture of the Italian Renaissance -- Basilica di Santa Maria Novella

Today I read chapter three of the book The Architecture of the Italian Renaissance written by Murray. This chapter is mainly about Alberti and Humanism. Leon Battista Alberti was an Italian architect, humanist, scholar, and writer who lived during the 15th century. He is considered one of the most prominent figures of the Italian Renaissance. Alberti made significant contributions to various fields, including architecture, painting, sculpture, and literature. Alberti's architectural style was characterized by a revival of classical elements and a focus on harmonious proportions. He sought to reconcile ancient Roman architectural principles with contemporary architectural needs, blending tradition with innovation. Notable architectural works attributed to Alberti include the Church of Sant'Andrea in Mantua and the Tempio Malatestiano in Rimini. Leon Battista Alberti, 1404-1472      In this chapter, I was most interested in the building Basilica di Santa Maria Novella.  Basi
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Being on site -- Old vs. Young

 There is an interesting and useful part of the studio course this semester, which is site visiting. Why do I say so? Because I really like investigating different sites and observing the activities and people there. Every site has its own features and culture. I feel comfortable when I get to know the difference from site to site. Fortunately, the places of the sites are all in the villages of Wenzhou. We visit one village per week and learn from that village. This week we went to Xianbei village, which is near our school. There is a river that goes through the village, and the villagers on both sides live on this river for hundreds of years.  Satellite Map      When I was visiting the village, I found a very lively place. There are many people playing chess, chatting, playing majiang there, and so on, especially old people. Then I noticed that it is the culture hall of the village. All of the people of the village gather here to communicate with each other. There were two classmates
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The Architecture of the Italian Renaissance -- Cathedral of Florence

 The subject of our Architecture history course this semester is the architecture of the Italian Renaissance. I read a book written by Mu rray, which indeed raise my interest in Renaissance architecture. One of my favorite buildings during that time is the Cathedral of Florence.   It was begun in 1296 in the Gothic style to a design of Arnoflo di Cambio and was structurally completed by 1436, with the dome engineered by Filippo Brunelleschi.  Cathedral of Florence, Italy, 1436 The reason why I chose this building is because I am interested in the construction of the big dome of the building. The workmanship of this dome is unprecedented, and no one can build a new dome more beautiful than that. Filippo Brunelleschi, a craftsman with expertise in ancient Roman architecture, won as chief architect. In the construction of the dome, instead of the popular round dome wooden frame of "arch eagle", the novel "fishbone" construction method was adopted, which was built succe
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