Unit-8-NewIdeas-New-Architecture.doc

Unit 8 New Ideas, New Architecture
Part I Warming up A. Tapescript:
For hundreds of years, it has been an imperial capital of Europe. Its rulers raided the Western world to enrich the coffers of the empire. They spent their wealth on magnificent palaces and grand public buildings. They built an opera house that rivals any in Europe. They founded great museums and libraries. They constructed massive, ornate government buildings. And they raised opulent palaces for themselves. A tour of Vienna is a tour of these monuments to excess.
Take Schonbrunn Palace, for instance. The Palace's Million Room, named after the cost of the decorations -- 1 million guilders, is a Rococo masterpiece. Inset in the paneling are 260 rare miniatures of Indo-Persian heritage. The frames are real gold leaf, and the paneling is precious wood.
The Great Gallery, modeled after a room in Versailles near Paris, has 35-foot ceilings graced with giant frescoes boasting of the power of the Austrian army. Massive crystal chandeliers reflect in the wall of mirrors, trimmed in gold leaf.
The list of other sights to see in Vienna is long. St. Stephen's Cathedral dominates the skyline of Old Town, the medieval section of the city. Its main spire soars 450 feet into the sky, and the top can be reached by climbing 343 steps. The cathedral' was begun in the 12th century.
In the catacombs beneath the cathedral are copper urns containing the intestines of deceased Habsburgs. Their bodies are in ornate caskets in the Imperial Burial Vaults in the Kapuziner Church a few blocks away, and can be visited.
The Old Town is a fascinating place to walk. Most of the narrow streets have been turned into pedestrian malls lined with shops, coffeehouses and restaurants. In one section, the original Roman ruins under the streets can be seen by going to an underground museum.
The Natural History Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts occupy matching buildings on Maria Theresa Plaza, a small square across from the Hofburg. Hofburg is the Habsburg’s in-town palace. It is big, with 2,600 rooms but not ornate. Hofburg is a jumble of buildings constructed at different times and in different styles, from Baroque, Gothic and Classical to Renaissance and Rococo. Its oldest parts date from the 13th century, but most were built from the 1700s on.
B1. The Palais du Louvre: * Location: heart of Paris * Beginning year of construction: 1527
* Time when first used as a public art gallery: 1793
The Louvre Pyramid: * Designer: Ieoh Ming Pei * Use: the main entrance to the Palais du Louvre
* Height: 21m * Width: 33m * Materials: steel tubes, cables, sheet glass * Year of completion: 1988
Tapescript:
The Palais du Louvre stands at the heart of Paris, and houses one of the world's greatest collections of works of art. The original palace dates from 1527, and it was extended and added to over the next four centuries. It was first used as a public art gallery in 1793. In 1981, the Chinese-American architect Ieoh Ming Pei was commissioned to redevelop the public part of the Louvre and create more space for reception areas and services. He designed the famous Glass Pyramid, which serves as the main entrance to the building, leading underground to the museum and art gallery. The Pyramid is 21 meters high and 33 meters wide, and uses a combination of steel tubes, cables and sheet glass. It was completed in 1988, and quickly became a major tourist attraction in its own right.
B2 1. She likes the Louvre Pyramid because of the transparency, and it has a light effect.
2. She likes the Louvre Pyramid for its contrast of shapes. It emphasizes the beauty of the Louvre.
3. She thinks the right thing is to put something so contradictory to the Louvre. They stand in dialogue with each other and they don't try to complement each other.
4. She thinks it would have been the biggest mistake to try to build something similar to the Louvre.
Tapescript:
I like the Louvre Pyramid because of its transparency, because you can just look through it, and it has a very light effect. It is not heavy and it is made of glass, and so it looks like a light object. And I like it for its contrast of shapes, because it is such a contrast to the Louvre building that in fact it doesn't interfere with the beauty of the Louvre, but it even, it emphasizes the beauty of the Louvre. And in the evening when this pyramid is lighted, it's just a source of light to put the Louvre into a new light. And this has for me also a symbolic meaning. And it is such an unexpected shape in this urban context, just to use a traditional shape of a pyramid built in new materials with new technologies, high-tech, and so on, that it is a completely surprising effect. So that people get shocked by it or they like it, but there is nobody who would be uninvolved or who could just pass and not notice this building. So it's something you have to look at. And I think this is also very important in building, and creating something in the cities, and exactly for example close to these historical buildings which are such a... they are so sensitive topics that nobody dares to touch them. I think the right thing is really to put something so contradictory to it that they stand in dialogue with each other and they don't even try to complement each other. Because it would have been the biggest mistake to try to build something similar to the Louvre, to put a building which would copy the Louvre, because it would just mean that we don't live in continuity, the architecture doesn't continue its history, but it would mean that architecture stands still on the level of the 17th century, and that would be a lie.
Part II Eco-conscious construction
A. 1. the world’s first eco-city 2. off the coast 3. agricultural land 4. half a million 5. $1.3 billion
6. a sustainability consultant 7. sustainable development 8. a more ecologically friendly model
9. minimize impact on nature 10. solar and wind power 11. power and fertilizers 12. electric cars
B1.
1. a dream-house which is sustainable by the environment – an environmentally-sustainable dreamhouse
2. windows that face south -- south-facing windows
3. a kitchen that is well lit -- a well-lit kitchen
4. paint that is based on milk or uses milk as a base –milk-based paint
5. solutions which are beneficial to the environment -- environmentally-beneficial solutions
Tapescripts:
1. Architect Jim Logan is building his environmentally-sustainable dream-house at the site of a former commune a few miles north of Boulder.
2. As you drive onto the small farm property, you're immediately struck by a series of large south-facing windows.
3. Walk through the well-lit kitchen, and you'll see that even the north side of the building has a passive solar component.
4. In all facets of construction, Logan is emphasizing both biodegradable building products and nontoxic materials. He's using milk-based paint, for example.
5. In many cases, many environmentally-beneficial solutions pay for themselves in as little as 6 or 7 or 8 months.
B3. Main features:
* south-facing windows: day-lighting, solar heat * no furnace * no air-conditioning
* solar heater: hot water * three-foot outside walls: adobe + insulation + adobe
* thermal mass * milk-based paint * ceiling: galvanized * inside wall: plaster
* no carpet * not connected to a water system: well, rainwater
Tapescript: A--Alan J--Jones L--Logan
A: Many environmentalists and energy experts say that the wave of the future won't be any one miracle cure, but rather overall conservation of available resources. The approach is being spearheaded by a quiet revolution in the eco-conscious construction business. Colorado Public Radio's Peter Jones recently visited a building site near Boulder and brings us this report.
J: Architect Jim Logan is building his environmentally sustainable dream-house at the site of a former commune a few miles north of Boulder. Logan has incorporated nearly every aspect of a modern eco-conscious design. As you drive onto the small farm property, you're immediately struck by a series of large south-facing windows. Walk through the well-lit kitchen, and you'll see that even the north side of the building has a passive solar component.
L: Every room in this house has a window that faces south, regardless of where it's located, so all the rooms in the house have both day-lighting, which means that there's ample light coming in high into the room so that we don't need to use electric lights during the day, and also have south-facing glass that provides solar heat.
J: As a result, Logan's house will have neither a furnace nor air-conditioning. For hot water, he'll tee an active solar heater. But efficient use of the sun is only one of the building's many eco-conscious features.
L: The outside walls -- if you include a foot of adobe, a foot of insulation, and another foot of adobe- are three feet thick.
J: The so-called super-insulation is required to store the solar heat, but Logan is also using thermal mass, or dirt, to keep the house both warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
J: In all facets of construction, Logan is emphasizing both biodegradable building products and nontoxic materials. He's using milk-based paint, for example, and relatively little of that.
L: This room and the inside of this room- virtually all the finishes did not need to be painted. The ceiling is made out of galvanized metal and the walls are plaster. Painting is a fairly un-environmental act in that it is something that involves chemistry, it involves doing it over and over many times in the lifetime of the building.
J: And don't look for any carpeting in Logan's house.
L: Well even if carpet is made from recycled material, it still can't be recycled the second time currently, so carpet virtually always gets thrown away. Also, most carpet gives off volatile organic compounds.
J: Initially, Logan will get all his water from a well. The house won't be connected to a city water system. But he says the roof has gutters and will eventually collect rainwater for general use. Logan is paying $75 a square foot to build his house, and estimates environmental features added 10 - 15% to the up-front costs. But he says he'll save money in the long run.
L: In many cases, many environmentally-beneficial solutions pay for themselves in as little as 6 or 7 or 8 months. A low-flow showerhead in most situations will pay for itself in a month.
Part III Tomorrow's house
B. Safety: *Security systems that detect fires, gas and water leaks, intruders, unwelcome guests, etc.
* Security systems that limit home access to specific times of the day and tell you which doors and windows are open
Energy-efficiency: * Lights that turn themselves off when you leave a room
* Sensors that help open skylights, turn on ceiling fans and close the draperies when the house reaches a certain temperature
Convenience: * Appliances that tell you when something is wrong with them
* Security system, spa, lights, CD player, garage door, thermostat, stereo, etc. that can be controlled while in the house or remotely from a touch-tone phone or computer and modem
* Lifestyle improvements for elderly and disabled people: voice command, infrared remote control, etc.
Tapescript:
Current advances in home automation offer homeowners convenience, security, energy savings and a lot of gee-whiz technology.
With a fully automated home, you'd be able to pick up your phone, call your house and instruct it to disarm the security system, start the spa, turn up the lights and coax classical music from the compact disc player. While you were at it, you could also open the garage door or set the thermostat to a pleasant 70 degrees.
Sound intriguing? How about lights that turn themselves off when you leave a room? A stereo that quiets itself when the phone rings? Or appliances that tell you when something is wrong with them?
Although most home automation systems now on the market are expensive and available only in new homes, within the next two years you can expect an explosion of products that transform homes into architectural geniuses.
By all accounts, the time is right for houses to become "smart." During the last decade, consumers have readily accepted such technological wonders as microwave ovens, fax machines and cellular phones. Our cars use microprocessors, automated tellers abound, and virtually everyone has access to a personal computer. The interest in home automation, however, is not born out of a desire to create a space-age home. It stems from a genuine interest in ways to make houses safe, energy-efficient and more comfortable.
Take security, for example. If there is a fire, an automated house will detect it, turn off the gas, close the dampers in the ventilation system, turn on the lights, unlock the doors, set off an alarm and call the fire department. More advanced systems might even tell you where the fire is and through which room you should escape.
In the case of an intruder, a triggered motion detector can turn on floodlights in the yard and instruct your stereo to queue up the sound of a barking dog.
Or say you want to avoid unwelcome guests. By mounting a video camera at the front door, you can view visitors on a TV screen.
Automated security systems can also detect gas and water leaks, limit home access to specific times of the day and tell you which doors and windows are open when you activate the system.
With Home Manager, one of several automation systems on the market, you can warm up the master bedroom, kitchen and bathroom in the morning before the alarm goes off. Or you can program it to keep the nursery at a constant temperature. In midsummer, you can even instruct sensors in the house to open skylights, turn on ceiling fans and close the draperies when the house reaches a certain temperature.
All of these functions can be controlled while in the house or remotely from a touch-tone phone or computer and modem.
In addition, home automation offers tremendous lifestyle improvements for elderly and disabled people. For those who cannot push a button or flip a switch, a voice command can be used to activate security cameras, turn up the stereo volume or drop the room temperature a few degrees. The click of an infra: red remote control could turn on the oven, close the blinds or open the door.
So what is home automation, exactly? In short, it's actually a combination of several things including microprocessors, enhanced power line transmission, computer chips, telephone and cable wiring, infrared sensors and radio frequency waves.
Fortunately, the manufacturers that are developing these automated products understand that consumers don't care how somethin