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Evan AustinKristen BarrettBahareh JafariMark Szostak

Instructor:Alphonso Peluso

THE BAROQUE ERATHE BAROQUE ERA

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IIT College of Architecture - FALL 2015 - Arch 543 - Neighborhood - RE-THINKING METROPOLIS

BAROQUEGeneral Background

The Baroque period started around 1600 in Rome, Italy and spread quickly throughout Europe. The style was used in a variety of media, such as paintings, sculptures, architecture, music, and others. A defining aspect from this era was the style’s connection to and expression of liturgical themes. The style was encouraged by the Roman Catholic Church to combat the Reformation movement created by Martin Luther in 1517. Aristocracy at the time also enjoyed the Baroque style, especially in architecture and art, and used it to impress visitors and express triumphant power and control.

Some characteristics of the Baroque style are: • Energetic• No axis of rotation• Drama• Tension• Power• Baroque = “irregular pearl” • Bold • Emotional Intensity• A moment in time• Dynamism • Diagonals• Involving / Close• Real / not idealized

Aeneas Flees Burning Troy, Federico Barocci, 1598 David, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, 1624

Trevi Fountain, Nicola Salvi, 1762, Rome, Italy

Girl with a Pearl Earring, Johannes Vermeer, 1665

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Austin_Barrett_Jafari_SzostakIIT College of Architecture - SPRING 2017 - Arch 435 - Digital Fabrication

BAROQUEArchitecture

Baroque architecture was characterized by new explorations of form, light and shadow, and dramatic intensity. Some of its other characteristics are:• in churches, broader naves and sometimes given oval

forms• fragmentary or deliberately incomplete architectural

elements• dramatic use of light; either strong light-and-shade

contrasts or uniform lighting by means of several windows• opulent use of color and ornaments (putti or figures made

of wood (often gilded), plaster or stucco, marble or faux finishing)

• large-scale ceiling frescoes• an external façade often characterized by a dramatic

central projection• the interior is a shell for painting, sculpture and stucco

(especially in the late Baroque)• illusory effects and the blending of painting and architecture• pear-shaped domes in the Bavarian, Czech, Polish and

Ukrainian Baroque• Marian and Holy Trinity columns erected in Catholic

countries, often in thanksgiving for ending a plague

Church of the Gesù, Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola, 1580

Church of Weingarten Abbey, Franz Beer, 1724

San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, Francesco Borromini, 1638 Church of Santo Domingo de Guzmán (Oaxaca), 1731

Karlskirche (St. Charles’s Church), Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, 1737

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BAROQUESculpture

While the Baroque era explored new techniques in many areas such as architecture, painting, and music, it could be argued that the most well-recognized area would be sculpture. Baroque sculpture wasn’t limited to one region in Europe, but made its influence spread across the known world. Thousands of pieces were created during this time, a majority of the most well-known ones having been created by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Bernini’s sculptures are a perfect example of the characteristics common to the Baroque era: -Showing motion in a frozen moment of time -Telling a story at a midpoint, rather than beginning or end -Making a hard material, such as marble, look soft and fluid -Heavy religious (Christian) influences -Extravagant decorative flourishes to add to the architecture of a space

Many of Bernini’s sculptures litter Rome, the center of Christendom, with many of his works filling the interior of St. Peter’s Basilica, which was heavily designed by his contemporary, Michelangelo.

A prime example of the difference between Renaissance and Baroque sculpture can be seen when com-paring Michelangelo’s famous David sculpture to Bernini’s sculpture of the same name. Michelangelo’s David is shown in a stationary pose, with his chiseled features looking hard and more like an ideal of perfection, while Bernini’s is depicted mid-motion, making the marble look fluid in its gentle curves.

Memorial to Maria Raggi_Bernini_1647

Bernini’s David_c.1624Michelangelo’s David_c.1504

Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi_Bernini_1651 St. Peter’s Baldachin_Bernini_c.1634

The Rape of Proserpina_Bernini_c.1622

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BAROQUEPainting

The Crowning with Thorns by Caravaggio Pietà by Annibale Carracci Descent from then Cross by Rubens

The Nightwatch by Rembrandt

Baroque painting is the painting associated with the Baroque cultural movement. Baroque art is characterized by dynamism, which is augmented by extravagant effects (e.g. strong curves, rich decoration, stark lighting). In Baroque paintings the most dramatic moment of the event is depicted. Among the greatest painters of the Baroque period are Velázquez, Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Rubens, Poussin, and Vermeer.

Artists like Caravaggio turned to a powerful and dramatic realism, creating bold contrasts of light and dark by using a spotlit against the dark background. This can be seen in works by Rembrandt, Vermeer as well. There are also tightly-cropped compositions that enhanced the physical and emotional immediacy of the depicted narrative in Baroque paintings.

The prosperity of 17th century Holland led to an enormous production of art by large numbers of painters who were mostly highly specialized and painted only genre scenes, landscapes, Still-lifes, portraits or History paintings. Technical standards were very high, and Dutch Golden Age painting established a new repertoire of subjects that was very influential until the arrival of Modernism.

The Crowning with Thorns by Caravaggio Pietà by Annibale Carracci Descent from then Cross by Rubens

The Nightwatch by Rembrandt

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Image Description Image Description Image Description

BAROQUEMusicBaroque music is a style of Western music composed from approximately 1600-1750, following the Renaissance period. It is a large part of the “Classical Music” canon1. Baroque music, like many other art forms from the period, possessed a love for ornamentation. The embellishing elements of ornamentation profoundly defined Baroque music. This technique was heavily reduced in use as Classical2 took over as the popular genre of music.

A key component of Baroque music was the creation of tonality - a technique still used in almost all 200s-era Western popular music. Tonality is a musical system that arranges pitches or chords to induce a hierarchy of perceived relations, stabilities, and attractions.

Musicians were generally expected to be master improvisers. In typical Baroque music, a group of bassline musicians would lead while a basso continuo (the harmonic structure of the music) group of chord playing instruments (for instance, harpsichords or lutes) would improvise.

Dense, complex polyphonic music was popular during the Baroque era. Multiple independent melody lines would be performed simultaneously to create a cohesive sum. Concerts would be held by soloists or combined vocal and instrumental groups.

Key composers of the Baroque era include Johann Sebastian Bach, Antonio Vivaldi, George Frideric Handel, Claudio Monteverdi, and Domenico Scarlatti.

1. Refering to Western art music produced from approximately the 11th century to present.

2. Referring to the Classical period from approximately 1750-1820.Harpiscord - a common chord instrument in Baroque music Teatro Argentian - Rome, Italy Baroque instruments including hurdy gurdy,

harpsichord, bass viol, lute, violin, and guitar

Johann Sebastian Bach Antonio Vivaldi George Frideric Handel Claudio Monteverdi Domenico Scarlatti

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PROPOsAlOption 1

Ornamentation is frequent in Baroque architecture. These patterns are usually sculpted into the architecture and organically flow throughout spaces in buildings. This type of ornamentation is usually seen in churches, an example being the Church of Santo Domingo de Guzmán in Mexico.

Not only are these patterns organic, but they seem to be lively or active. The shape looks like its constantly in motion and curls at multiple points. All these characteristics reminded me of bicycling. This led to the question: how can carbon fiber, bicycles, and the Baroque style be connected?

From there, I was reminded of some of the issues Chicago neighborhoods have with bike lanes and bike racks. In many places there are not enough bike racks or they are absent all together. If there are no bike racks, then that leads to no bike lanes. An example of a neighborhood that lacks these materials is Riverdale, which is south of IIT.

Therefore, I propose to create a bike rack / bench that would benefit neighborhoods that don’t have “bicycle cultures.”

Church of Santo Domingo de Guzmán (Oaxaca) Detail

Common Ornamentation in the Baroque style

The “Solution” The “Solution “ - Top & Side View

The “Problem” The “Solution” - Perspective Views

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PROPOsAlOption 2

Baroque sculpture implies motion in otherwise stationary objects. It’s a tool for telling a story, or at least promoting discussion of the story being depicted.

Benches are typically used as places where motion stops, and unless you’re Forest Gump, no storytelling is really happening. A Baroque inspired bench that implies motion in a stationary object promotes the flow from one person to another, hopefully encouraging engagement between users.

Taking the spiraling, moving pillar from Bernini’s altar canopy in St. Peter’s Basilica, a solid, but light looking object creates a space for engagement wherever it is place.

St. Peter’s Badachin_ Spiral Column used as influence

Ornamented Spiral Colmn on its axis

Spiral bench in use at IIT Baroque Bench Design

Existing bench that implies motion Bench Top View

Bench Right View

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PROPOSALOption 4

Since Baroque is a highly decorated style of the seventeenth century; there are complex patterns in both architetcure and paintings from that era which are perfectly ornate and complicated with intricate designs. All the paintings try to exagerate an important moment. So paintings and architeture is decorated by intricate curves and intertwining lines and floral patterns.

Some of the curves in these floral pattern can present the same form as human’s body while he is laying down or sitting. Because of that, these patterns can inspire different forms for design benches.

Since carbon fiber is a light weight material with high strenght, it can be used as a surface to sit or lean on.

Baroque Patterns

Baroque Patterns

Benches at Parks A Bench inspired by Baroque Patterns

Benches at Parks Baroque Pattern

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PROPOsAlOption 3

In Baroque music, the bass line grounds the music while the treble section improvises or harmonizes different melodies. Jolts of ornamentation give flair and embellishment to the basso continuo section.

By taking techniques found in Baroque Music and combining them with the idea that furniture can serve multiple purposes allows for the creation of new forms. These forms take on strong clear bases and intersect them with freeform improvisation of different shapes.

The base, though clear and legible, can be thin and act as a support for the improvised intervening piece thanks to the strength of carbon fiber.

The intervening piece can vary, while maintaining a sense of attractions, stabilities, and relations. Perforations can be created using parametric scripts to further the notion of improvisation.

Multifunctional Furniture

Improvised Treble Clef

Grounded Bass Line

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