Design for integration is rooted in the Vitruvian idea of commodity.

The thought behind design

is to balance between beauty and function to provide a purpose that responds to the needs of the

society or community. It is this idea of integration that brings culture into design while also

bringing design into culture; thus, creating bonds and connections between the design and the

people. The Basotho homes in South Africa have been integrated and associated into the South

African culture, but also the South African style has been integrated into the design of Basotho

homes making them special and unique to the culture. Nevertheless, the main purpose of Basotho

homes was shelter.

Design for equitable communities can also be traced to Vitruvius’ commodity. The Basotho

homes, for example, have a rondavel geometry, and it is usually just one room. The circular

geometry of the home forces everyone to connect with one another; thus promoting the

engagement and human connection the AIA Framework emphasizes.

Design for ecosystems can be connected to the idea of commodity. It is the idea of using

materials and building structures while keeping the ecosystem in mind. That is the purpose of

design: to respond to the needs of people and their environments. Since the Basotho home is a

vernacular, its people have been building it using their local materials. Through the process of

trial and error, the people have become aware of their ecosystem, what materials work best, what

materials are available the most, etc.

Design for water can be connected to both commodity and firmness. In the case of my

vernacular, the Basotho homes are designed to protect from rainfall. Their waterproof, grass,

thatched roof’s firmness protects the home from any rainfall leakage into the dwelling.

Design for economy can be related to all the Vitruvian principles. All of commodity, firmness,

and delight can either cause an increase in the cost of a design or a decrease. One reason for why

the Basothos homes switched from using thatched roofs to iron roofs was due to economic

reasons. Thatched roofs are more labor intensive and return more expensive to install.

Design for energy: The Basotho homes’ thatched grass roof helps trap heat inside the dwelling

during winter and keeps it cool during the summer. This may be connected to Vitruvius’ firmness

of the dwelling while at the same time using almost net zero energy.

Design for well-being in my opinion can be most related to delight. There is an artistic power to

ignite feelings and emotions in its audience, whether one of joy or sadness as well as memories

and nostalgic feelings. The Basotho homes used dressed stone that the women paint and design.

They are very colorful and add to the South African culture.

Design for resources is rooted in the firmness of Vitruvius. The Basotho home is a vernacular

made out of local materials from South Africa. The selection of certain materials like grass roof,

solid turf, unburned clay, kimberly brick, and dressed stone is not only local to the area but also

firm enough to tolerate the climate.

Design for change can be connected to all the Vitruvian principles. The Basotho homes’ roofs

were traditionally thatched but the more modern houses started using corrugated iron which is

less expensive and labor intensive, as well as more sustainable. It is also way less riskier with

regards to fire hazards. These changes add to the firmness and the commodity of the building

while at the same time address possible risks within the design, as well as economic concerns.

Design for discovery is heavily connected to the Vutruvian principle of delight. The Basotho

homes and their colorful delight have become part of the stories of South Africans. Their

existence promotes discovery: of their history, their lives, their culture. It becomes part of their

history and also their future. In other words, the people of South Africa have formed a long-term

relationship with the land through their built homes.

I think The Basotho Homes in South Africa almost equally considered firmness, commodity, and

delight when building their homes, while at the same time achieving the AIA’s Design

Framework. The values for commodity are linked to firmness; the idea of shelter not only serves

as a purpose to the creation of the dwelling but also a purpose behind the use of each material

throughout the process. The vernacular is made of local materials within the people’s reach, but

through the natural process of trial and error, the people have become aware of their ecosystem:

the climate, material availability and durability, efficiency. The Basotho roofs, for instance, were

traditionally thatched made out of local available grass which is waterproof and can trap heat in

winter and keeps the dwelling cool during summer. The more modern homes, however, started

using corrugated iron, because it is less expensive and labor intensive, more sustainable, and

proposes less fire hazard risks. These changes add to both the firmness and the commodity of the

dwelling and address economic changes. The Basotho homes were also big on decoration. Their

homes were made of dressed stone in rondavel style, and they were very colorful and decorative.

The circular geometry of the one room house promotes continuous communication between the

dwellers integrating them amongst one another and within the design. The colors and decorations

integrate the South African culture in the dwelling which in return integrates the Basotho homes

in the South African culture. It is this cycle I mentioned before that we make design and design

makes us. In other words, we make architecture, but architecture also makes us. It becomes part

of who we are and our cultures; it represents what we celebrate as a society and what we care for.

This equal value the vernacular bestows on all three of the Vitruvian principals do not seem to

endure throughout the AIA’s Design Framework. The AIA’s Framework seems to associate more

importance and care towards commodity, then firmness, but very little to delight. It is full of

purpose driven statements, mostly regarding sustainability and protecting our environment
moving away from the original purpose of architecture: delight. The framework does a good job

integrating people into their ecosystem but in no way through delight. If only the framework

integrated more art that promotes the sustainability it strives to achieve. Art is a very powerful

tool. It can trigger extremely strong emotions of joy, fear, disgust, sadness, nostalgia. Thus, I

believe the use of the art of architecture to bestow these emotions in the people of our society is

one of the most powerful ways we can promote sustainable architecture and get our message

across. This is the purpose of architecture: to respond to the people’s needs just as we respond to

the environment’s. Then, architecture will create new responses within societies and

communities and the cycle goes on.

ARC 1015 F2022 teaching/learning goals & objectives . . . Reflection for Final Exam
Meeting - Fall 2022

OBJECTIVES - During the course of ARC 1015, you were directed to encounter each of
the following seven objectives. Identify the weeks you remember, or that your notes and
readings reflect, an understanding of each.

(In the extra space between each you should list a few key words to promptly identify the
memory.)

OBJECTIVE Weeks: 1-3 4-6 7-10 11-15

1. Histories of architectural practice _X__ __X_ ___ ___

- Vernacular structures

- Vitruvian principles (firmness, commodity, delight)

- 4th dimension (time)

2. Requirements for attaining licensure ___ _X__ __X_ ___

- NCARB

- AXP & ARE

- Experience (Setting A v. Setting O)

- Disciplines in Architcture (residential, healthcare, industrial, commercial, etc)

3. Alternate fields aligned with architecture ___ ___ _X__ _X__

- Interior design

- Construction

- Civil engineering

- Contractors
4. Notions of professional vocation & service ___ ___ __X_ _X__

- Ethics

- Goodness, truth, and beauty

- Design treatise

- Responsiveness

- Is architecture public or private

- Sexism in the filed

- AIA principles

- Advertising in architecture

- Common good

5. Vocabulary & means of aesthetic judgement ___ ___ __X_ __X_

- Good architecture

- “Immeasurable to and from the measurable”

- Delight

- Culture & history

- Context

6. The main realms of sustainability/stewardship ___ __X_ ___X ___

- Triple Bottom Line

- Vernacular structures

- Politics

- Hospitability

- Dynamics

- Creative mind & imagination

7. Reflective practices to enhance learning _X__ ___ ___ __X_

- My Personal History w/ Architecture

ARC 1015 F2022 teaching/learning goals & objectives . . . Reflection for Final Exam
Meeting - Fall 2022

OUTCOMES - At the successful conclusion of this course, you are expected to be able to
demonstrate the following. Write a sentence or two as appropriate to describe your
remembrance, understanding, or application as an example after each of the following
outcomes.

1. Describe the historic development of architectural practice through the era of

professionalization, and to the present day.

From vernacular structures, which used local materials and to create a shelter that responds to
its environment, and up to this day, it is evident that architecture lives to make history and
culture. The Vitruvian principles of firmness, commodity, and delight still hold until this day and
are taught and practiced by professionals all over the world.

2. Explain licensure in the United States by describing a plan to achieve licensure.

The path to licensure is a combination between education and experience. After earning a
degree in the field, you should earn experience in the different job positions under another
licensed architect. Even after licensure, architects still continue their education and undergo
examinations every two years to keep up with the development of architecture in our changing
world.

3. Articulate alternate fields aligned with architecture.

Some of the fields related to architecture are interior design, civil engineering, construction, and
contractors. In some cases, an architect can practice some aspects of these fields along with
architecture. For instance, an architect can take care of the interior design of a structure
whenever appropriate without the need to hire an interior designer. In fact, back then
architecture and engineering was one field, only recently in history did both practices become
separate fields.

4. Recognize opportunities for service and vocation within the context of twenty-first
century architectural practices and manifest a personal mission statement on
professional/vocational goals.

Professionals in the field have always considered ethics in architectural practices. Questioning
the ethics behind some practices such as advertising has always been existent. Architects have
come together to form a design treatise that accounts for the common good of the public and
the environment.

5. Explain approaches for aesthetic judgment using discipline-specific vocabulary to

evaluate architecture.

Is there anything such as good architecture? Can we put a measure on the goodness of
architecture and what exactly are we measuring? Is it beauty? Is beauty always visual?

6. Cite the realms of sustainability and interpret a variety of approaches to architecture.

The Triple Bottom Line encompasses equity, environment, and economy, to accomplish
sustainability to its extent and reduce the energy our buildings are using so they better respond
to the environment as much as they do the people. The design treatise outlines the points of
sustainability in order to integrate into equitable communities with regards to water, energy,
resources, wellbeing, discovery and change. This design treatise is timeless and can be used
by any generation anywhere.

7. Engage and demonstrate the efficacy of reflective practices to learning you

experienced in this course. Describe them in general as you experienced them in your
class section’s readings and discussions.

Reflecting over my personal history and experiences with architecture helps me recognize the
impact of architecture to myself personally and to those around me. It helps shape the way I
continue to interact with architecture and feel about it. However, when integrated with the many
other stories of architecture and principles we have studied this year, I realize I have gained a
broader knowledge of architecture. My history was that single story I had of architecture only to
discover that there is so much more: principles, vocation, strive towards sustainability, strive
towards diversity in the field, a different understanding of art and beauty.

After describing and noting your summary reflection briefly in items one through seven
above in this summary outline, please submit a short essay that is a reflective exercise
on these “ways of knowing”. The essay should be a deeper reflection that relates to
your answers to items 5 and 6 above on aesthetic judgment and realms of sustainability
in response to the following prompt.

Review your readings and notes from Goldberger's "why architecture matters". Summarize
the "kernels of wisdom" on aesthetics & ethics you want to remember and possibly build
upon as a guide for architectural critique in the future as you develop greater understanding
through education and experience. Specify historical and contemporary theories and/or
practices of "architects" as examples to emulate. (500 - 1,000 words)

Architecture has always been intriguing to me because of its obvious connections to and

influences on the people that experience it. Going through this course and starting architecture

school has made me realize that architecture is the strongest form of art because of both its

literal and figurative integration in the lives of those who come across it. That is the power of

good architecture. Or is there even such a thing as good architecture? That is the question that

many professionals and students like us have asked. What is good architecture? Is it

architecture that stands? Or one that serves a purpose? Or one that is beautiful? We can

certainly judge the strength of an architecture to stand firm and whether it fulfills its purpose or

not, but can we judge how good of a beauty a certain architecture has? Beauty is that

immeasurable aspect of architecture that we can not strictly measure. Each individual will

certainly have a unique liking for certain beauties, but is beauty only visual? Is not delight also

auditory? Is not beauty something that speaks to the soul of those who experience it. That is the

power of beauty. That is the power of architecture. It is the memories that we form in a certain

place that will always come to mind whenever we cross that certain street, or see a photo of that

certain structure. It is that run of emotions that we experience whenever we walk into a

structure. And there is also a reason behind us finding a structure aesthetically pleasing. Again,
it could be the memory that makes a certain place beautiful, or a feeling, or its symbolism, or its

meaning in the community and in its context. That is why architecture matters.

But with beauty, comes goodness and truth, and with professionality comes morals and

ethics. The strive for the common good through architecture compliments the beauty that comes

with it. Architecture strives to keep a balance in the triple bottom line, between social equity, the

environment, and the economy. It is the providing of hospitality amongst a diverse and dynamic

community in which various political views about life exist. This along with the design treatise

created to encourage sustainability in the field and the reduction of energy use in our structures

work towards the goal of sustainable architecture. The mission of integrating architecture into

the community and designing for water, resources, change, discovery, and energy is the

beginning of sustainability. Thus, architecture is not only the art of beauty and aesthetics but

also that of preserving for the environment and striving for its development.

This is what design is: the balance between beauty and the functions of architecture to

provide a purpose that responds to our changing environment. We are not just designing, we

are designing for a purpose. There is a reason behind everything. And that is the beauty of

design: building for the people but also keeping the ecosystem in mind and understanding how

the ecosystem can affect our architecture while not forgetting to consider how our architecture

will affect our ecosystem. This is why architecture is the most important and strongest form of

art. It is not just about one person, it is about everyone and everything we live around.

Furthermore, the field is growing in many ways both with regards to beauty and

sustainability. The design for discovery and change in the design treatise is one of the most

important, in my opinion. The continued discovery and development of technology is very critical

to the growth and efficiency of the field. Virtual reality, for instance, is a very powerful tool that

architects have been starting to utilize. The ability to see a structure built up and to walk through

that structure even before it is physically there is incredible and life-changing. Such

development of technology is another level of beauty in itself. It is what I like to call beauty
within beauty. That constant search for something new, something more creative and more

efficient. That strives towards making beauty and spreading it in our communities. That is the

application of wisdom in the field. To know when to keep pushing for greater discoveries and

life-orienting changes that will not only put the field in a better position but change the world and

make it a better place. That is our purpose to begin with. That is the morality behind all the work

we are doing, all the studies we are undertaking, and the changes we are anticipating. To add

something to this world.