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Post by Deleted on Jul 19, 2013 7:22:22 GMT -5
From Wadham College, Oxford, Professor Thonemann has urgently contacted us in order to ensure that we do not forget the difference between a circle and a rectangle. "What does a round building mean?" he demands. "Circles, unlike rectangles, are common in the natural world. Roundhouses have traditionally been favoured by hunter-gatherers and pastoralist societies, while farmers prefer rectilinear structures. The last part of Europe to retain a strong tradition of round buildings was Ireland. The plan of British megalithic stone circles may have been intended to play down the distinction between people. Although the circle has an obvious centre, it has no front or back. In 1932 Mikhail Okhitovich remarked that the right angle in architecture originated in private land ownership, while curvilinear structures were communist in principle." How much does curvature matter to members?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 19, 2013 9:12:00 GMT -5
Well, the Royal Albert Hall is, in essence, a round house in the middle of London, Sydney, although as I am sure you will have realised, I do not actually live there, even during the Proms.  BBC - Royal Albert HallIs there any evidence, however, to suggest that the Royal Albert Hall is any more communal, or even communist, than any other (rectangular) building, for example, the equally prestigious rectilinear Royal Opera House?  Royal Opera House - Getting hereFrom a mathematical perspective, I would argue that the circle, or indeed, a globe, is more perfect a structure than the square, or indeed, a cube. From a societal perspective, however, I would suggest that different spaces work in different ways. As I previously pointed out, cities, towns and villages today are 'meeting places', Sydney, where a host of different life stories become entangled in physical proximity. Each place is a particular mix, born out of a specific history, and has to be negotiated between rich and poor, between incomer and old-established resident. We need to rethink the notion of the identity of place, away from ideas about ownership and towards the recognition of responsibility - including towards the global relations and peoples - upon which any place depends. Ought we not also to enquire into the wider conditions that underpin our present local places? I suppose that a circle takes us around the bend, Sydney, but to what end? The paradox is, of course, that a circle tends to take us back to where we started from. As both the world and the universe may be spherical, linearity itself may ultimately be an illusion. We cannot ultimately go anywhere! |
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Post by neilmcgowan on Jul 19, 2013 11:12:00 GMT -5
In 1932 Mikhail Okhitovich remarked that the right angle in architecture originated in private land ownership, while curvilinear structures were communist in principle." I fear Comrade O'Hitovich had become obsessed with Arthurian Legend  It's hard to think of any iconic buildings of Communist pedigree which were built in circular form - except, perhaps, a certain number of the above-ground parts of the Moscow Metro.  Even so, the number of circular metro stations is relatively few, and even where a comfy open area was available to build a round one, more often than not they built them square anyhow:  The most notorious of soviet building projects was - thankfully - never realised, due to the onset of the Second World War. But I don't notice anything much spherical or circular about the plans for the Palace Of The Soviets:  |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 19, 2013 13:20:56 GMT -5
Of course, there is another possibility. Round huts were easier to build than square huts, certainly during the Iron Age. One of the best reconstructed Iron Age forts in Britain is at Castell Henllys, in the Nevern valley in Northern Pembrokeshire, Wales.  Pembrokshire Coast National Park - Castell HenllysIt is also possible that after the Roman evacuation from Britannia around 410 AD/CE, Romano-Britons reverted to their ancestral architecture. The Roman towns were certainly deserted, and within a few generations, all Roman buildings, including villas, lay in ruins. Of course, many modern buildings are built round.  30 St Mary AxeClassical architecture, however, tends towards the square!  Villa Rotunda |
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Post by neilmcgowan on Jul 19, 2013 16:06:18 GMT -5
Peculiarly, one of Moscow's most individual private houses is circular - t he Melnikov House - and it's the one which the Communist Party tried hardest (and continues to try) to demolish...  |
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