For every building that is made, for every piece of artwork that is made, and for almost
every aspect of one's life we must take into account commodity, firmness, and delight. We need to realize how a decision is going to make us feel, what its outcome is going to be, and how permanent it is.
First we must understand that these three components belong together, one cannot continue to exist without the other two.
In architecture, we need to understand the purpose for which the building was, or is being made. What purpose it is made to serve. After that we need to try and make it so that the building may be altered to serve many purposes while the needs of our culture shift over time. They need to be structurally sound so that weather does not greatly affect them, and so that our everyday activities have no impact on their structural activities as well. We need them to last, which is another reason why the building needs to be able to shift to accommodate many purposes, because our needs will change as time progresses. It is also important to experiment with how the building will make us feel. For example, the illumination of a building is very important; if there are not enough windows there is not enough natural light. Natural light is what keeps us, as humans, healthy and happy. When there is a lack of natural lighting the
building feels cave like and cold. Along with all of this the buildings main priority is to direct
it's inhabitants. For example, in a cafeteria there are aisles of food that each person moves through to choose the food they want to eat, this space is usually cramped and uncomfortable so that each person moves through quickly, then they proceed to the space where they will eat, which is much more open and enjoyable. The ways these spaces are designed are very purposeful. The spaces that we design should make us healthy and happy, and make our everyday lives easier.
Idiom, or figure of speech, is something in our culture that shifts over time as well. There are figures of speech that stick with us in our everyday dialogue and passed down through generations, and some that can come and go. Idioms are sometimes considered the raw materials of language. In history we spoke about how idioms are both additive, and subtractive, in that they can embellish on, or take away from, our history and our dialogue.
Illuminate, meaning shedding light on something, can also be put in the less literal context of understanding. When something is understood, its point is illuminated, there is light shown upon it so that it can be seen clearly. History is the illumination of the past. From historical artifacts more of our past is understood, or illuminated. The things that are illuminated in our lives will change, and to different people different things will be illuminated.
The word material has many different meanings as well. For speech idioms can be considered the material of language. In building there are many different materials that can be used to make the building structurally sound and aesthetically pleasing and help it perform it's purpose. There are also many different materials that are needed to help illuminate, or understand our past, present, and future. The material we use in our lives will shift, as everything else in our lives shifts, and we will use them for different purposes or change the materials we use.
Continuing on the consistent theme of cycle, the world cycles through so many different things. Different things will be illuminated. There will be different meanings behind commodity, firmness, and delight. And different buildings that represent these words. A good example to tie all of these words together is the Nile River in Egypt. We learned about it, it was illuminated to is, in our history of architecture class. It carries materials from place to place, for trade, and also contains materials for the natives to build homes and for other uses. It also fills all three of the main components. It serves several important functions, such as a water source, a place for trade, a division of the lands, and a home. It is such a large and consistent river, and it will last for thousands of years to come, and it is also very aesthetically pleasing.
Everything in life can tie into these words. Any art form, any object, any place, and any thing.
"As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end." Roth p190
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