Architecture Research Paper Kansai International Airport Essay Example for Free

Architecture Research Paper Kansai International Airport Essay The Kansai International Airport designed by architect Renzo Piano is a very fascinating and unique building. It construction combines a man-made island, a high-tech new age looking structure and creative architectural design to create one of the biggest and most expensive airports in the world as seen to right in (Figure-1a). Human use of Kansai Airport is best expressed by the lecture topics discussed in class that include: Designation and Organization of Use, Architectural Determinism, Humanism at a Personal Scale, and Humanism at the Scale of Neighborhoods / Communities/Bureaucracies and Meaning in Architecture. In the Professor Speck’s class lecture over Designation and Organization of Use, there are many themes that I feel parallel with the design of Kansai International Airport. In lecture Professor Speck said that the overall environment a building is in encourages both the behavioral aspects and the physical environment, which in turn alters the shape behavior of the building. This statement correlates perfectly to Kansai Airport, because first of all the building is built of the coast of Osaka, Japan on a made-island. So before the building is built there is already a sense of behavioral and physical difference that sets it apart from other buildings. According to the lecture space is designated for three reasons. The first reason being the practicality of the designated space, then the injection of certain cultural values and taboos and finally the intrinsic human need to claim pace- intervals and community. Also, he said that when architects are planning the zoning for building they consider time, efficiency and machines. Kansai Airport was built because of a need for a big international airport; however, Piano had to find an alternate location due to the crowdedness of the Osaka Bay area. Thus, he used the theme of designation and organization use to come to the conclusion of a manmade island. Piano decision for the island can be compared to early American houses expressed in the book The Place Houses. In the book the authors describe how the early houses in New England, Virginia and Deep South differed in design to help adapt to there environment. However, after Piano solved the problem of where the airport would be built he still had to decide how long to make the island so it could house the massive structure. The final decision was for the island to be four kilometers long and one kilometer wide. The Phaidon Press describes this well in the book On Tour with Renzo Piano when they write, â€Å"Projects such as Kansai International Airport are so large in scale that they are almost impossible to grasp. †(p. 7). The size of the island is seen from an aerial view above in (Figure 2-a). Architectural Determinism, as mentioned by Professor Speck, played an important role in the design and construction of the Kansai Airport. The interior of the building is very easy to navigate around. Transparent glass helps calm people down and at the same time speed up the process of arrival and departure. The long and narrow design allows for a nearly infinite field of vision, creating a stress free and carefree environment. This is described well in the book Renzo Piano when Emilo Pizzi writes, â€Å"The desire to maximize transparency between the various areas allocated to embarkation and arrival procedures mans that precedence is given at every point to the passengers need to find their way, as well as enabling them to see the planes parked in front of the building through windows. † (p. 228). Rather than some buildings where people can feel like a needle in hay stack and get lost easily, Kansai International is very easy to navigate through even with its massive size. The transparency of the interior that results in easy and efficiency of movement from one place to another is apparent in (Figure 3-a) right and above. The next issue presented in lecture related to the Kansai Airport is Humanism at a Personal Scale. The assortment of different kinds of plant life inside the terminal give let the airport connect with the people walking through it. The plants help to offset the cold, unwelcoming feeling that is given off by the vast amount of steel, high ceiling and open spaces. Also helping to offset this unwelcoming feeling is the beautiful view of the Osaka Bay. The large glass windows combined with sun reflecting off the water allows a lot of natural light into the terminal. As expressed in the book The Place of Houses natural light helps give a warm vivid feeling to room that will stay in our minds long after we walk out of that room. Another small but import feature of Kansai Airport is the small signs that give directions. While all airports have these signs, they are especially important particularly in this massive terminal. Convenience of restaurants and stores also helps the airport to connect to the people walking through it on a more personal scale. This range of activities helps everyone that is arriving or departing feel a little bigger in such a enormous place. All of the small tributaries from the restaurants, stores, etc. lead to a â€Å"canyon† area that is the focal point of the terminal. Again this is to try and make arrival and departure run more smoothly. This is explained well in the book Renzo Piano when Emilo Piano writes, â€Å"Inside, the different levels convene into the â€Å"canyon,† a tall atrium occupying the fall of the height of the building, which acts as a sorting point for those arriving or disembarking off the planes. † (p. 28). The importance of focus is also cited in the book The Place of Houses, which says that the â€Å"focus† of a room is one of the most important and critical characteristics, because they (foci) are meant help to organize the room around the center of interest. In this case is canyon is both the center of interest and the â€Å"gateway† to the re st of the terminal. In (Figure 4-a) right and above one can clearly see how the â€Å"canyon† along with the massive signs help to make Kansai International Airport more manageable and how it helps to cater to people on a more humanistic and personal scale. Humanism at the Scale of Neighborhoods/Communities/Bureaucracies is the next issue I will discuss and its connection with the Kansai International Airport. I think that buzzing, busy atmosphere makes the people in the terminal feel warm and jovial. While it could be argued that to many persons walking scurrying through the airport at the same time could be disturbing and annoying, I think that like the plants, stores and restaurant the sea of people helps to fill the gigantic inside space of the terminal. However, if Kansai were compared to a city I would definitely compare it to one of the larger metropolises in the US, simply because of number of people and the crowded feeling it gives off. I think that the feel in the terminal would be like an exaggerated effect of what west campus is like during the afternoon of a school day. Both require a lot of walking and there is almost no opportunity to drive an automobile through either. Although I do not believe that Kansai Airport is necessarily a bad environment, it is certainly not a nurturing one. In lecture Professor Speck pointed out that there are eight principles of nurturing communities. They are as follows, convenience, wide range of articles, wide range of activities, sense of human presence, personal human scale, variety of visual experiences, freedom from intrusion of disturbance and natural relief. In my opinion Kansai Airport satisfies all of them except for intrusion of distraction, which is definitely does not satisfy because of the mass amounts of people. Emilo Pizzi explains this well in Renzo Piano when we he writes, â€Å"The place seems to evoke the turmoil of Japanese cities, but also the spirit of a millenary civilization†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (p. 228). Although Kansai is not terrible as far as its Humanism at the Scale of Neighborhood/Communities/Bureaucracies is concerned it is definitely not as personable as the examples given in lecture, such as Kresege College in California, Byker, Newcastle-upon-Tyne in England, Tapiola New Town, Finland or the Crown Fountain, Millennium Park, Chicago. The final issue that Professor Speck discussed about in lecture was the Meaning of Architecture. The issue begins with the visual culture progression in the past fifty years leading to both greater reading comprehension and greater visual comprehension; architecture had to progress as well. Thus, architects started to use certain ways to â€Å"communicate† these ways of communication include Literal Direct Communication (LDC), Literal Indirect Communication (LIC) and Abstract. An example of LDC is a billboard of a cow with the caption â€Å"eat more,† so physically the meat is depicted. An example of LIC would be a picture of Bevo with the caption â€Å"We’re Texas. † Finally Abstract is defined as depicting certain feeling, colors, shapes, etc. I believe that Kansai International Airport is a combination of LDC and Abstract, because it looks like an airport with runways, planes, etc. but also is made of very unique shapes that set it apart from any other building. The uniqueness of Kansai that make it abstract are demonstrated well in Renzo Piano when Emilo Pizzi writes, â€Å"From the air, the building looks like a shining flag that cheerfully greets the traveler from the vast artificial island. The image stays in the mind when, having landed, the plane comes to a halt in front of the large metallic facade of the building. † (p. 224). A visual Kansai is flag-like structure and its Abstract communication is clearly depicted in (Figure 5-a) below. In conclusion, Professor Speck discussed many issues in lecture that distinguished the human and personal use of buildings all over the globe. The issues consisted of : Designation and Organization of Use, Architectural Determinism, Humanism at Personal Scale, Humanism at the Scale of Neighborhoods/ Communities/Bureaucracies and Meaning in Architecture. These issues/topics are especially vital in expressing the personal and human architectural use of Kansai International Airport. Theses issue give a small sample of truly how creative and unique Kansai Airport’s Architect Renzo Piano is and how impressive and world renounced Kansai International is by both world-class architects and just the every day observer alike. This airport with its manmade island and unique high-tech look will always be remembered and will mostly definitely used as a model for airports and other buildings in the future.

Essay --

David Kim Physics Lab 1 02/11/14 Section: A1 Introduction In Experiment 1, the objective was to weigh 150 pennies and find the best estimate value and the uncertainties for the weight of the pennies. Instrument uncertainty is the least value that can be read from the measuring device. It is always less than or equal to the least count. The least count is the smallest division that can be marked or shown from a certain instrument. The instrument uncertainty is equal to the least count in this experiment. Random errors are simply mistakes that are made due to the instrument being used or the measured object being poorly defined. The total uncertainty of a measurement is calculated by using the instrument uncertainty and the uncertainty due to fluctuation. Uncertainty due to fluctuation is dependent on the average and the total amount of times there was a measurement. This average is found when:  ¯x= 1/N (x_1+x_2+ †¦+ x_n ) N is the total number of measurements, x1 is the first measurement, x2 is the second measurement, and xn is the last measurement. The uncertainty due to fluctuation is found by: ∆x_fl= ÏÆ'_x/√N ÏÆ'_x is the standard deviation of the mean and N is the total number of measurements. Standard deviation can be found by: ÏÆ'_x= √((d_1^2+ d_2^2+ †¦+ d_N^2)/(N-1)) Where d_n(the derivative) is found by: d_n=x_n- x Ì… This in words is: the measurement of the nth term subtracted by the mean. Total uncertainty is found by: ∆x= √(∆x_ins^2+ ∆x_fl^2 ) Where ∆x_ins is the instrument uncertainty and ∆x_fl is the uncertainty due to fluctuation. Initial Data Part A1: Instrument Uncertainty Quiz Student has passed the test The following answers were entered for the digital device # 2: Units g Least count 0.1000 I... ...ould have to take around 300 measurements so that the results would be accurate and precise to the expected value of 100. In part B of the experiment, the standard mass of the penny between 1941 and 1982 was 3.100 g; and between 1983 and 2011, the standard mass was 2.500 g. The standard mass of the penny changed between 1982 and 1983. The mass was decreased by .600 g. Pennies lose or gain weight in circulation because most of the pennies were not 2.5 or 3.1 grams on the dot. The possible rust or erosion from the time it was in circulation helps to describe the range that the mass of the pennies had. In general, most of the measurements were accurate compared to the expected value. The measurements on the most part were accurate. However for the outliers, the rust and the erosion to the penny can describe the mass being significantly higher or lower.

The Persian Wars

The Persian Wa rs tric D. Blanco Persia, known as Iran, was the largest empire the world had ever seen by the 5th century B,C. E. The name Iran derlves trom the word â€Å"Asyran,† and durlng the first half of the first millennium, the Iranian-speaking people moved gradually Into the area of the Zagros Mountains, the largest groups known as the Medes and Persians. According the author of The Greek and Persian Wars 499-386 3C by Philip de Souza, The Persians were part of a group of ancient peoples who spoke languages similar to modern Iranian (Souza, Pg. 9). The origin of the Persian Empire can be attributed to the leadership ot Cyrus the Great. A brilliant and powerful Persian king. he enlarged nearby Islands and united them Into one empire. Cyrus was able to create a vast empire that would last more than two hundred years. As time went by, the Greek city- states were under the rule of the Persians. The Persian wars began. But what was the Persian war? According to the â€Å" Encyclopedia of Ancient History, Greece†, it was a serious of conflicts fought between Greek states and the Persian Empire.Greece was Invaded twice during the Persian wars. The wars with Greece and Persla were a result due to rebellion, but who won the war? The Persians wanted to conquer more of Greece, then a war broke out, but how did it all began? After the death of King Croesus of Lydia died, Greece was under the rule of the Persian Empire which they much resented. In result to this, they fought to throw out the Persians. The city-state Ionia revolted. Athens and Eritrea supported the Ionians with a token force of twenty ships from Athens, five ships from Eritrea.The Ionian revolt was successful at first, but after the Greeks sailed home It was rushed. Persian temples had been violated, and whether they did it or not the Athenians and Eritreans were blamed for it. King Darius I of Persia ordered a punitive expedition to these two cities, but a storm smashed his fleet. Anot her fleet was assembled. and the tlrst Persian war began, Which city-state was saved, and which was destroyed from the fleet of Persia? Before finding the answer of which city-state was saved and destroyed, and victor, let's look at the important kings, generals during the wars.Darius l, he was the king of the Persian Empire during the first war. His son Xerxes took the title as king of the Persian Empire at the start ot the second war. Mardonius is a Persian general In both wars. Datls and Artaphernes were generals at the Battle of Marathon, the first war. 1 OF3 Marathon. At the Battle of Thermopylae, the second war, Leonidas, Spartan general, and king fought the Persians with three hundred men. In Thermopylae 480 BC by Nic Fields, Leonidas as the commander-in-chief, held off the Persians to their rear by a mountain track, the Anopaia path (Fields, Pg. ). Themistocles was an Athenian dmiral at the Battle of Salamis. Pausanias was also a Spartan general but at the Battle of Plataea. They are the important people during this time of event. Fought to the death, some survived, but who won the wars? Persians have returned home with a low supply of weapons after the first war, they were defeated by the Greeks at the Battle of Marathon. Persians attacked Athens to teach them a lesson for revolting against the Great Darius l, but the Athenians defeated the Persians. The second invasion returned with the new king, Xerxes.With a huge army he gathered, they ttacked the Greeks at Thermopylae. That's when the Spartans came in, with three hundred men under the leadership of Leonidas. The Persians ended up reaching the city of Athens and burned it. The Persians were finally defeated by the Greek Navvy in a bloody sea battle. Fewer than four hundred Greek ships under the Athenian general Themistocles beat twelve hundred Persian ships. Xerxes went home after the defeat. However, he left a large army in Greece. The Spartans and Athenians fought the Persian army. The combined f orces were able to beat the Persians.Looking back at the question, Athens was the city-state that was destroyed and Eritreans survived. The war may have been won by the Greeks, but when did it all started? According to the author of The Greek and Persian Wars 499-386 BC book by Philip de Souza, In 499 the Persians launched a major naval expedition against Naxos, the largest and most prosperous of the Cycladic islands. Herodotus presents this expedition as the result of an appeal by some exiled Naxian aristocrats to Aristagoras, the ruling tyrant of Miletos, to help them force their compatriots to ccept them back and return to power.Miletos was one of the largest and most important Ionian cities. According to the text, it had enjoyed privileged, semi- independent status in relation to the Lydian kings, which the Persians allowed to continue. The Ionians rebelled, some of the Ionian cities and island had been developing a form of democratic government when they came under Persian infl uence. Such developments continued in mainland Greece, especially in Athens, but the move to widespread popular participation in government was prematurely halted in Ionia.

I Had A Good Childhood - 848 Words

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