History of Architecture Final Exam Study Guide, Study Guides, Projects, Research of History of Architecture

Download History of Architecture Final Exam Study Guide and more Study Guides, Projects, Research History of Architecture in PDF only on Docsity! Part II: Image Identification 1. Great Stupa, ca. 250 BCE - 250 CE Sanchi, India 2. Kailasa Temple, 8th Century CE Ellora, India 3. Konark Sun Temple, c. 1250 CE Odisha, India 4. Bayon Temple, Late 12th or early 13th centuries Angkor Thom, Cambodia 5. Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, 1406-1420 Beijing, China 6. Horyuji Temple Complex, ca. 607 CE Nara, Japan 13. Sindone Chapel, Begun 1667 Turin, Italy - Guarino Guarini 14. St. Louis des Invalides, 1670-1708 Paris, France - Jules Hardouin-Mansart 15. Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte, 1658-1661 Near Melun, France(southeast of Paris) - Louis Le Vau, André Le Nôtre, and Charles Le Brun 16. Castle Howard, 1699-1811 Yorkshire, UK - John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor Part I: Essay Questions 1. Describe a Buddhist stupa. Explain what it symbolises, how it is used, and describe its major components using relevant teams. Name at least one major Buddhist stupa in India that illustrates typical features. To mark the ten sacred places where the cremated remains of Buddha reside, a simple mound of rubble and earth known as a stupa were erected. In time, Buddhist monks settled in the vicinity of stupas to form viharas or small monasteries of individual cells organised around open courts. Under Ashoka’s reign, the original simple stupas were enlarged to create new shrines with hemispherical forms, reflecting the simplicity of the circle in plan, section and elevation and creating a symbolic link to the cyclical nature of existence. To indicate their sacred character, they were protected by a verdica, or enclosing fence, that delimited the path for circumambulation and to mark their special association with the Buddha, they were crowned with a harmica, or square railing, and a chatra, or three-tiered umbrella form. The monastery at Sanchi illustrates the fundamental elements of Buddhist shrines in India. The Great Sanchi Stupa has a dome almost 120 feet in diameter and fifty-four feet in height, crowned by a chatra set inside a harmica and the base is encircled by a two-tiered ambulatory. Enclosing the stupa is a massive stone verdica, nine feet in height, with four carved gates at the cardinal points of the compass. and elaborate toranas, or entrance gates which reflect the bamboo prototypes. When built in stone, however, it became possible to embellish the work with carved figures representing Buddhist legends. 2. Describe a typical northern Hindu temple. Explain how the temple is used and describe the major components using relevant terms Name one major Hindu temple (or group) that illustrates typical features. A typical northern Hindu temple is simultaneously a dwelling of the god, a place for worship and an object of worship. Aspects of the cosmos (and the thus the gods) are incorporated into the temple by use of specific forms, sacred geometry, careful orientation and axial alignments, These include forms that are symbolic of the holy mountain, the sacred cave, and the cosmic axis (axis mundi). The geometry is derived from a subdivided square(or mandala) and a single unit that sets all proportions which are considered divine. There is no congregational worship but there is a garbhagira which is a womb chamber that contains a sacred image or element as a symbol of god’s presence. These temples typically consist of a prayer hall called a ‘mandapa’(a general gathering area comparable to the narthex of a western church) and a sanctuary, inner sanctum, or central shrine, the “garbhargriha”. Around the sanctuary and prayer hall is a covered space for worshipers to walk in a clockwise fashion. Above the inner sanctum is the main “sikhara”, or central tower. It is usually a dome- or pyramid-shaped tower that represents Mt. Meru. The shikhara is crowned by a ribbed, disk- like structure called an amalaka. On top of the amalaka is the kalasha reminiscent of the shape of a water jug, symbolizing a state of plenty or bounty. Some temples have elaborately-decorated, often brightly-coloured, gateways or gate towers known as “gapuras”. Most temples have an outer wall with “gopuras” (gates) that represent the four directions of the universe and are considered thresholds between the universe and the outer world. One example of a Hindu temple exhibiting all these features is the Chaturbhuja Temple in Khajurao.