Sumer: Man and Space

As Sumer, and it's mysteries and enigmas had been on my mind for the past couple of years, when i saw an opportunity to dig deeper i didn't hesitate and choose Sumerian texts as the theme of my research work for the subject of "Anthropology of Cities" by Professor Marta Llorente in the Architecture School of Barcelona, UPC. 
Now that I've handed in my work i though of sharing it with you here. For those who are not familiar with Sumer, a fast introduction would do some good. 


                                                                               Click on the images for better resolution               

Mesopotamian Cities

Man and Space

Ziggurat of Uurk

Sumerian Space

Sumer was a a group of Mesopotamian City-Estates where for the first time human settlements, first cities and first alphabets and numbers were founded and invented, therefore it's considered as the cradle of human civilization and much of today can be traced right back to 5000 B.C. when they first started to form what later was known as Mesopotamia. 

But Sumer more than a geographical location is a place in the time, ancient times that is, where space left it's impressions on the mind of the man, manifested in whatever he created. Though we don't know much about their time more than it has reached ours, the ruins and the texts. 
But when you read the texts, they don't quite match up what one finds where they supposed to be in the past for the earth and man alike constantly change. 




So i tried in this research to create a cartography of Sumerian mind,  a navigating map for those who venture in the misty waters of Mesopotamia. Reading the ancient texts i tried to separate the concepts that the author mentioned and then recreate the connections he made between them, also determining the importance he gave to them by number of times it's mentioned it has bigger circle and a bigger font. To be able to see the world trough his eyes and interpret things as he did.



 

Concepts of the tablet

My intention is and was to create a document equivalent to the text itself and pure as the text itself, staying loyal to the original source. so i did not any other words and only used words mention in the text. I added only some concepts from my part to fill in and be able to create the connection i saw necessary but always these word are underlined so one would be able to distinguish them from the originals. Once all the connections made and all concepts we would have the DNA of Sumerian mind, but being the super-positioning of various subgroups of concepts if found it would be more easy to study them i you would try to recognize the families of concept exited what would be the sub-diagrams of Elam, Family, Sumer and etc. The covered The text used here for the diagrams I've added are from the tablet found in library archives of Nippur and Ur (Today's Iraq)  called "The Lament for Sumer and Ur" which narrates about the Elamite invasion of Sumer around 2000 B.C..  
Beyond creating such documents i did not want to venture for that part is up to each one, to draw his own conclusions and try to match the pieces, all i intended was to create the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle. I will keep digging in this research more, applying the same process to other texts and comparing them, so tune in for more in near future!  








                            Here you have the full diagram and the different families of sub-diagrams.
                                               Click on the images for full-screen view

Cartography of Sumerian Mind

Diagram of Sumer

Diagram of Elam

Diagram of Family

Diagram of Agriculture 

Diagram of Destruction

Coollective Barcelona or how to change the concept of university

Coollective Barcelona, an official student association of ” Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Barcelona” is the result of fusion of two sides : Jovetsab and The Cool:lective.  Coollective as it define itself is “Born from the minds and hearts of architecture students with the proposal to share knowledge, experience and discuss projects. “  We all are familiar with how Architecture is taught in many different colleges around the world, theoretically, where the student at least for a good long time will not taste and understand what architecture is. His projects teachings will never pass from 2 dimension plans and 3 dimension models, made or designed, to a real life experience. Architecture is not biology to be taught at a class, architecture should be lived and experienced to be understood. That´s why when many architecture students finish their studies and start to work as an architect encounter many problems and find out that there are still many things they should learn and on their own. Coollective Barcelona is now changing this ancient practice. Collective Barcelona with organizing conferences for students is now making that they live a real life situation and share architect´s experiences that he had to learn alone. Furthermore Coollective by hosting debates is making the students care and participate in architectural subjects, to change the architecture career as what they study to what they live.

The German pavilion

                                                               The Spatial Question

The German Pavilion designed by Mies Van Der Rohe in 1928 for the Barcelona exposition of 29 was and is unique in the spatial perceptions. Although it had and has been criticized by many well known architects and critics and may some of those criticisms may be true but still we can not deny that the space created there is not space you would run into daylily and that is a space unlike any other. But as Martin Heidegger explains in his essay “Der Ursprung des Kunstwerkes” and as do the same Bruno Zevi says in his work “Saper vedere l’architettura” first to talk about the spatial question in the pavilion we should determine what is the space and what it is it’s essence. Is the space a thing? Are the walls and the roof in a building and the planes in the plans the space’s essence therefore the architecture? 

My answer to these questions is “No”. The essence of the space are not these but it’s essence is what is perceived by the viewer who is personally present in the pavilion and any other work of architecture, And the essence of the architecture itself is the space. It is true that they are defined by walls physically but they are nothing but constructive details. Those who try to see the pavilion as a thing, as a building, never reach the true meaning of it which is the sensations that the pavilion delivers to the viewers. Those who try to look instead of seeing, and to understand instead of perceive are those to whom the pavilion is seemed vulgar, normal and full of flaws.  

Now we try to analyze the space of the pavilion. In doing so we will try to concentrate also on the feelings each part of the pavilion transfers. Despite the pavilion’s unity and cohesion the pavilion is a conjunction of lesser spaces which are completely connected as it is a trajectory to follow. Each of these spaces transfers a different sensation.

The first space to be talked about will be the podium. It’s main function is to hide whole pavilion from the eyes of visitors. It has the same function of the entrance of the Acropolis of Athens which is a play of shadow and light. Here Mies Van Der Rohe has used an elevation to represent the pavilion in the second you go up the stairs, to take away the chance of you starting dialyzing and analyzing the pavilion unconsciously and stop perceiving the pavilion as whole thing. The first thing you will run into after coming up is the water pool where the surface of the shallow water nest to all the rocks at the end of pool create a material – immaterial Effect and weightlessness, A sensation which is present through all the pavilion and creates a silent infinite space which space flows from each part to another inside the pavilion and in the end out of the pavilion.

One of another elements of the pavilion are the steel columns which the mirroring effect obscures their actual presence and thanks to them the roof acquires a comparable floating quality which contributes to the sensation of it’s infinite space.

In the pavilion the verticality is challenged by the horizontality, making it limited and lesser in importance while in his later designs in United States we can see that this is the horizontality that is challenged by verticality as his skyscrapers are actually standing pavilions.

Another of characteristics of the pavilion and most of the Mies Van Der Rohe’s woks are the interactive relationship with nature that exists as the nature also is present in the pavilion as inseparable element of the pavilion used to create a sensation of relaxation and equilibrium. One of another elements of the pavilion are it’s great series of reflections, in the water, the steel columns and at last but not least in the windows. Intentions of each of these reflection are different, I the steel columns to hide them; in the windows to duplicate the space and show two views at the same time and in water to achieve a sensation of silence.

The symmetries in the pavilion are much debated in the pavilion. But those who criticize the symmetries in the pavilion consider once more wrongly the symmetry in a building as a principal element of a building while it is just an element which contributes to the visual aspects. In the pavilion exist both lateral and vertical symmetries.

Also in the façade exists a visual symmetry.

The walls of the pavilion are autonomous and flowing planes minimum thickness of 18 cm in section. It is easy to sea the influence of El Lissitzky’s paintings in the flowing walls of the pavilion. The last part of pavilion to be talked about here is the down which is a point of stillness and rest.

For resuming in the Pavilion exists an autonomous space which speaks of nothing else save itself.

Torre Girona

The former chapel of Torre Girona is where modernity and antiquity clash and surprisingly the result of this high contrast is an inspiring must see interior space. The clash of  thick beige stone walls, the Romanesque arches, the ornately carved wooden doors with the Iron, Steel and Glass. Torre Girona is where the Spain´s most powerful Supercomputer "MareNostrum" (In Latin : Our Sea) is located. The harmony that exists between the technology and architecture there amazes all the visitors. As it is said MareNostrum may not be the most powerful in the world but surly it is the most beautiful.

 

Western architecture banned in Iran !

City council of Tehran has banned the western architecture for controling more the architecture and urbannism of the capital. According to the vice chancellor of mayor of Tehran the use of western architecture for elevations of the new buildings is banned. This is not the first time that an organization in Iran is trying to do something similar in the past 10 years while for more than hundred years there had been an exchange of styles between West, East and Iran which has helped in the creation of many outstandings buildings all over the world.

Louis Kahn´s Salk Institute

The campus of Salk institute was designed by the famous american architect Louis Kahn in 1959 in California. What many don´t know is Louis Kahn´s Salk Institute was inspired in the Persian style garden layout "Charbagh". The architect had also found many other inspirations in the Middle eastern architecture for his other projects around the world.
In Persian, "Chār" means 'four' and "bāgh" means 'garden'. The "Charbagh" is a quadrilateral garden which is divided by walkways or flowing water into four smaller parts. Charbagh style has it´s origins in the Achaemenid Persia and each of the 4 smaller gardens represent a seasons of the year. More examples of this style are: The court of the lions in Alhambra or the garden of Taj Mahal in India.