Neoclassical

Neoclassical period is boring.
To me this period is just copying baroqe period. Thank god im in environment. I don't need to handle how to design neoclassical interior design. However, i will find out how to design a neoclassical garden just in case i have to do design this in the future.

So. a neoclassical garden.
1. has principles of balance and symmetry often found in landscapes traditions of the seventeeth century
2. Common features normally parterre gardens, double row of rees flanking a path or road.
3. Classical statuary/statues.

The main features are a massive, stone structure, with a symmetric façade, balconies, columns, a grand staircase and lavish decoration. In city planning, the Beaux Arts philosophy leads to neighborhoods, with wide boulevards, and expansive parks. This style is still seen in many St. Paul and
Minneapolis libraries and the geometric layout and architecture of American universities.

Neoclassic estate-sized gardens
Estate gardens are designed in a revival of the classic Italian villa. The main elements are stone terraces, a grand staircase, grottoes, fountains and statuary. The best existing example is the Kikuit garden on the Rockefeller estate, in the Hudson Valley, designed by W.W. Bosworth. Its size allows it to create its own distant views beyond the formal garden near the house, with a natural English landscape.

Formal, Neoclassic urban garden
Although not in the Midwest, the garden at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, DC, designed by Beatrix Ferrand, is the most masterful existing example of a large (10 acre) urban garden in the Neoclassic style. It incorporates French, English, and Italian garden elements to create garden rooms suitable for family use or entertaining. Created mainly between 1921 and 1941, it incorporates an orangery from 1810. Built to include a swimming pool, tennis court (now a pebble garden),
and open-air theater, it uses formal borders reflecting the axial, geometric construction of the interior building spaces to create definition. The two main characteristics are clear organization along a main sight line, terminating in a focal point such as a sculpture, fountain or pleasant view, and the use of strong vertical planes such as evergreen hedges, walls made of stone, and shrub borders.

Trees, Plantings at Dumbarton Oaks
Notable trees are the Katsura, Japanese maple, American beech (clipped into a 16’ high aerial hedge), and European beech. Plant selection includes interest in all seasons. Spring blooms include cherry trees, forsythia, wisteria, azaleas, dogwood, akebia (Zone 5), and magnolia.
Early summer blooms are lilacs, perennial borders, clematis, roses, peonies, and the fringetree. Summer blooms include perennial borders, clematis, roses, and canna. Late summer features perennial borders, daylilies, fuchsia, gardenias (potted), agapanthus, and oleanders. Fall blooms include chrysanthemums and asters.


 Now lets take a look at
how French Baroque gardens are:

The inspiration for these gardens initially came from the Italian Renaissance garden of the 14th and
15th centuries and ideas of French philosopher Renée Descartes (1576–1650). At this time the French
opened the garden up to enormous proportions compared to their Italian predecessor. Their gardens
epitomize monarch and 'man' dominating and manipulating nature to show his authority, wealth, and power.
Renée Descartes, the founder of analytical geometry, believed that the natural world was objectively measurable and that space is infinitely divisible. His belief that "all movement is a straight line therefore space is a universal grid of mathematical coordinates and everything can be located on its infinitely extendable planes" gave us Cartesian mathematics. Through the classical French gardens this coordinate system and philosophy is now given a physical and visual representation.

This French formal and axial garden style placed the house centrally on an enormous and mainly flat property. A large central axis that gets narrower further from the main house, forces the viewer's perspective to the horizon line, making the property look even larger. The viewer is to see the property as a cohesive whole but at the same time is unable to see all the components of the garden. One is to be led through a logical progression or story and be surprised by elements that aren’t visible until approached. There is an allegorical story referring to the owner through statues and water features which have mythological references.

There are small, almost imperceptible grade changes that help conceal the gardens surprises as well as elongate the gardens views.These grand gardens have organized spaces meant to be elaborate stages for entertaining the court and guests with plays, concerts and fireworks displays. The following list of garden features were used:
Allée
Axis
Bosquet
Canal
Cul de sac
Fountains
Grottos with rocaille
Orangerie
Parterre de broderie
Patte d’oie (Goose foot)
Tapis Vert
Topiary




Verdict : See! they are so similar! Its so boring! Both have status, mazes,their gardens are strict and stonic, water features and the most of all! not as many flowers! Boring!

The finished presentation

Baroque & Rococo

The 17th and 18th centuries saw an increase in scientific and philosophic advances. Both the Baroque and Rococo styles reflect these changing times. There were more colours and the art made during that time had more emotions or looked more dramatic. The 17th Century could be called the first modern age. Human awareness of the outside world was increasing due to trading.

Baroque architectureIn Baroque architecture, new emphasis was placed on bold massing, colonnades, domes, light-and-shade 'painterly' color effects, and the bold play of volume and void. In interiors, Baroque movement around and through a void informed monumental staircases that had no parallel in previous architecture. The other Baroque innovation in worldly interiors was the state apartment, a processional sequence of increasingly rich interiors that culminated in a presence chamber or throne room or a state bedroom. The sequence of monumental stairs followed by a state apartment was copied in smaller scale everywhere in aristocratic dwellings of any pretensions.

Interior design of Rococo

In those Continental contexts where Rococo is fully in control, sportive, fantastic, and sculptured forms are expressed with abstract ornament using flaming, leafy or shell-like textures in asymmetrical sweeps and flourishes and broken curves; intimate Rococo interiors suppress architectonic divisions of architrave, frieze and cornice for the picturesque, the curious, and the whimsical, expressed in plastic materials like carved wood and above all stucco (as in the work of the Wessobrunner School). Walls, ceiling, furniture, and works of metal and porcelain present a unified ensemble. The Rococo palette is softer and paler than the rich primary colors and dark tonalities favored in Baroque tastes.

Reflection

             The Rococo Interior in Gatchina

                         Baroque's Hall Of Mirrors.

How interesting. Even though the time difference between the two period seem to be very small, i can see a big contrast in taste the people had. Those who lived during the Baroque period obviously preferred strong and bold colours. To me, the buildings and clothes from the baroque and Rococo period seems so similar to the renaissance that i find it rather boring. To look at is beautiful but perhaps i have had an overdose talking about architecture and clothes that im rather bored of the topic.

SO, this time round i want to talk about the music and an inventor during that period for a change.
This is what i think are awesome composers during that period.

Beethoven

Beethoven Baroque- Relaxation music
link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwpiHVCnpt4

This is one of his works .To me, the struggle that comes through his music is what makes it so compelling. The struggle was always part of his life. The determination to be an artist on his own terms which i think you can hear it in his music. Music that against the odds articulate the mind power of the human spirit that even if he was deaf he still could compose a wonderful piece.

Tchaikovsky

Another person that i find most interesting during this period was Sir Issac Newton

He came up with Mechanics and gravitation and developed the optics. This was also the guy, that in the past i cursed at during secondary school because of his work that today modern calculas is formed.

 

I think he must have died very painfully. As an alchemist, Newton would have most likely handled both toxic metals improperly. Tasting substances was a part of the alchemic tradition and the toxicity of metals was not understood at this time. His dead body was found to have high toxins of mercury.

He didn't beleive in god but i find that he spent a great deal of time working out when was the date for the end of the world. He describes his attempts to extract scientific information from the Bible, and estimated that the world would end no earlier than 2060. I hope his prediction will not be true!

Well, this period reminds me of my childhood favourite show: Anastasia. Its really old cause it was made in 1997)

The plot is loosely based on an urban legend which claimed that Anastasia, the youngest daughter of the last

monarch of imperial Russia,

find out about her forgotten past.

This as you can see the decorations from the walls to

the carpet really reminds me of the Rococo period and

a mix of the Baroque period.

As it was supposed to be an animation, colours that were

used were stronger. Russian royalty was symbolised by

the colour red over hear, but i cant help noticing the

intricate details nthe walls which mimics both the

Rococo period and the Baroque period.

I think during that time multifunctional furniture was

definately not thought of during that time.

I suppose as i see majority of the spaces in the houses

look huge.

The hair and clothes affair during this period.

Reflections

I must say, I don’t envy the women anymore who had to wear these clothes every day. it look like it Not onlly take hours

to assemble (hair, makeup, and dress that takes as long to get into as it does to get out),(no wonder people during that

period were said to have horrible skin even worst the makeup during that time was not exactly skin friendly)

it is also extremely physically demanding. Narrow waist and chest crush your lungs making breathing a luxury

(no wonder women were fainting all the time!), and the sheer weight of the garments & jewellary puts

tremendous strain on your feet.

Dresses back in the day really weren’t really designed for movement. It’s essentially a human-shaped cage limiting

movement down to standing, sitting, and maybe stealing an occasional sip of air. This explains why royal portraits

were so stoic and rigid!

I find it gross too that such hairdresses were homes for lots of insects. When i think of insects i think of ticks!

It must have been a tick paradise there! the hair is so high till they had to scratch with a stick. I can not even

fathom how it is like to sleep !

The history of the women hairstyle of the 18th century can be divided into several stages.

Till 1713 the aristocratic ladies were still wearing the fontage which form and look by itself

was a piece of art.

The new era in headdresses began in 1713, at a ceremonial reception at Versailles, when a

Duchess of Shrewsbury appeared before Louis XIV without a fontage with the smooth and

slightly curly hair decorated with lace and -owers.

Louis liked that, and since he was the leader of European fashion at that time it was

a command for the court to follow this new trend in hairstyles.

This seeming simplicity became a major fashion tendency of Rococo century.

However somewhere from mid 70-ies the hairstyle started “growing up” again.

It emerged into a complex structure and was was as high and unimaginable as

ever before. Ingenious women used almost everything they could nd to make their

headdress ,including most popular belts, jewelry, fabrics, -owers, fruit.

The most stylish women managed to wear stuffed birds, statues and even a

mini-gardens with tiny articial tree on their heads. The well known and beloved

A-la Belle Poule hair model with the famous frigate also belongs to this time.

Such a design could take the whole day and coiture itself could be weared for

several days and sometimes even a week. Not speaking about the fact that it was

impossible to sleep, such hairdresses were homes for lots of insects and it was allowed

to scratch the head with a special stick

in fact survived the execution of her family,she sets off to a journey to remember and

Site study -Fort canning 1

Actually ,We (my group) went to Fort canning a few days ago but i have been so busy with work that im updating it only now.

Okay,So for my  5 member group, I have Kai xiang, Cecilla, Syhidah and Dawson. Dawson is our leader. We went to Fort canning park right after our history lesson. It's lucky that majority of us are Singaporeans cause that would mean that we know where is the location of our site.Another thing that i am quite thankful is that the site is near our school. HOWEVER, the place that we have to cover is so BIG!

As it was impromptu, I find that the timing we picked to go there was bad. To walk there was so hot especially cause it was in the afternoon where the sun is the hottest.. however surprisingly, when we went there i find that gradually i cooled down because of the abundant trees that gave shade and there was beeze!. I think the place felt cooling cause it was on top of a hill.

When we reached there we discussed how we were going to do this project and highlighted the main areas of where we wanted to go.Each of us selected a place where we would conduct our own site study and we went as a group to find the different places. 

The Christain cemetery

Location Surroundings and Site

• Near to Dhoby Ghaut District.
• Behind Park Mall
• Near YWMCA Fort canning lodge
• National Meuseum of singapore
• Two exit points which i think are from Dhoby Ghaut and Clarke Quay
   ( We walked all the way from the Dhoby Ghaut side to Clarke Quay)
• Close Proximity to transportation (A close walk away from Dhoby Ghaut)
• The original portion of the cemetery, as found in the register of Lands Held on Grants issued by Sir Stamford Raffles and J. Crawfurd, was listed as “Lot 576. Burial Ground” and as being 2 acres (8,100m²) in area.
•  i could not find any building regulations for the cemetary.
  
  History
• Before it was a cemetary,the place was known as “Forbidden Hill”, and was once the seat of royalty for the Malay rulers in 1300s which is why the name of the cemetary is called Forbidden Hill Cemetery.
• The cemetery was discontinued at the end of 1822, and all traces of it had been wiped out by the different rebuilding developments and programmes. One of these major projects was the construction of the fort that came to be known as Fort Canning because the cemetey was located at a good strategical defence from comming enemy ships which was why Fort Canning was built over it.
• Raffles was our founder and he was a british. Therefore, this brought along impact as the developers brought british influence to the surrounding buildings that we see today.
•  By late 1977, only three original monuments still stood in their original locations. In the clearing of the graves, the authorities did, however, save a number of plaques which were then bricked into the west wall of the cemetery.
  Climate:
• Sunny
• High humidiy
• Clean airToday:
• The buildings of fort canning are not used any more and only serves as a reminder of Singapore's colonial period.
• It has now become as a park for people to jog and excecise.   
• Instead of a cemetary, there is a big field of grass.(Real Grass/Fake grass alike)
  The fake grass there are for people to sit on the grass as they don't like the feeling of wet grass.
  When i took a look at the graves:  The graves are very grand compared to modern day graves. Some of the graves even have a hint of the gothic characteristic such as the fonts used on the graves or the way how the graves were built.
  Take for example this particular grave, there is vertical emphasis as well as an indication of a buttress.These two mentioned are gothic architecture characteristics and can be seen on the grave 'sculpture'.
  
  
  And that's all i think about site studies.
  I'll end off this post with group pictures! :)