Designers can make their environments better places by using universal and sustainable design concepts. Universal and sustainable designs must reduce negative impacts of buildings and improve their performance for all occupants irrespective of their age and disabilities. Universal design concepts are not complicated.
They involve using simple materials such as pulls rather than knobs, lever handles, wide doors, shallow sinks and adapting bathrooms and toilets to meet needs of various users, including people with disabilities and the elderly (`koda, 2012). These minor adjustments can result in a better and much easier to use environments by various people. This research will identify problems and propose solutions to home renovation based on universal and sustainable design concepts.
In contemporary homes, normal measurements for doorways, kitchen cabinets, bathrooms and toilets among others could present challenges to people on wheelchairs. However, applications of universal design concepts alter measurements of house fittings to enhance accessibility and usability by various occupants. Doorways and hallways may be extended to accommodate wheelchairs and build to avoid any potential injuries to users (`koda, 2012).
`koda notes that the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) refers to universal design as design that serves the broadest range of people, regardless of levels of ability, mobility, age or gender and without the need for specialized design (`koda, 2012). Therefore, universal design strives to account for development of products and environments that any individual can use optimally without any further modifications or specialized design.
In other words, universal designs should adapt to the needs of the occupant or user without any major changes. This implies that a home design can serve the needs of an individual and be adaptable to meet the needs of different users. In this respect, the concept of universal design embraces the Americans with Disabilities Act and makes home environments easily adaptable to diverse needs of users.
One may wonder about the relationship between universal design and sustainable design. Modern practices in home construction focus on building homes and renovating existing ones to enhance their ecological sustainability. Such upgrades target water and energy efficiency. Therefore, designs, materials and appliances must meet the desired characteristics of users to enhance sustainability. However, a sole focus on sustainable homes could create homes that are difficult to occupy and use.
Therefore, designs must consider elements of universal design so that individuals of all ages and disabilities are able to live in any sustainable building. In this regard, sustainable homes must enhance efficiency in energy and water usage, as well as provide better, comfortable environments for residents. Therefore, designers of sustainable homes must incorporate elements of universal design to account for various purposes and occupants of such buildings at present and in the future.
As designers develop new buildings with smart features and link them to the smart grid, the concept of universal design will become simple for users due to automation of several features (`koda, 2012). Therefore, occupants will be able to use automated lighting systems, appliances, security systems, bathrooms and thermostats among other modern features in smart buildings (`koda, 2012). Moreover, occupants will be able to adjust home settings to meet and accommodate their diverse preferences and needs.
Problems and Solutions
Difficulties in using stairs
People using wheelchairs and walkers may have difficulties in climbing or using stairs. Therefore, such buildings should be renovated by applying universal design concepts. The solution for such cases involves constructing ramps to accommodate wheelchairs and walkers. The developer must ensure that ramps are not too steep or slippery for users (Home Ramp Project, 1999).
Figure 1: Access ramp for people on wheelchair. Web.
Difficulties in using bathroom and toilet
The bathroom is a critical area in homes where disabled persons and the elderly experience the most difficulties in terms of usage. Therefore, these facilities should be adapted to meet their various needs. Improvement should eliminate narrow doors and install grab bars for individuals with disabilities.
In addition, toilets may also require elevation when they are too low for some users (Tremblay Jr., 2014). For freestanding sinks, it is necessary to install additional support beneath the edges because handicapped people tend to lean much on sinks. Moreover, cabinet doors may be removed to facilitate ease of usage.
Windows may be protected with curtains even if opened from the outside to let the air in. In addition, showers and toilet may be close or in a single space to enhance accessibility, efficiency and usability for people in wheelchairs.
Figure 2: Adapted bathrooms with wide doors and space for wheelchair maneuvering. Web.
Inaccessible kitchen cabinets and countertops
People in wheelchairs may have difficulties in using kitchen cabinets and countertops. Universal kitchen design approaches ensure that the available space is accessible and easy to use by any occupant, including people with disabilities. In most cases, challenges in kitchen designs for people in wheelchairs are mainly common in countertops, sinks, cabinets and appliances.
The solution must focus on designing a wheelchair accessible kitchen that can enhance functionality, efficiency and attractiveness. Such universal kitchen designs should promote convenience, independence and integrate various capabilities of all occupants.
Figure 3: Adapted kitchen for people on wheelchair. Web.
Inaccessible garden
People in wheelchairs may not have opportunities to gain access to their gardens. Consequently, they require adapted gardens, particularly in old homes. Renovation may require raising the gardens to reach their preferred levels, enhancing accessibility on either side, providing adequate space for maneuvering in a wheelchair and maximizing planting surface area.
Homes without existing gardens can introduce raised garden beds, which could be located in easily accessible areas with firm ground and adequate space for movements and exposure to sunlight.
Figure 4: Gardening on a wheelchair. Web.
Conclusion
The principles of universal and sustainable designs are focused on developing homes that can serve various needs of disabled users, incorporate green materials, enhance efficiency in water and energy usages, as well as meet the changing needs of various occupants over long time. Therefore, designers must integrate universal and sustainable design elements to develop smart, green and better environments.
As home developers consider renovating current buildings, it is imperative for them to account for comfort and usability of such buildings by various groups of people. The cost of upgrading homes will continue to rise over the years. Therefore, designers should design homes, which meet various needs of different occupants and eliminate the need for constant renovations.
As many people approach old age, designers must focus on universal and sustainable design concepts in their works in order to come up with new homes that will serve people of all ages and with various disabilities. At the same time, they must also strive to create better and comfortable environments for current users.
References
Home Ramp Project. (1999). How to build ramps for home accessibility. Web.
`koda, I. (2012). Universal Design and Sustainability. Web.
Tremblay Jr., K. (2014). Home Adaptations for the Disabled. Web.
According to Chen (54), between 3000BC and 2000BC, the Sumerians established hunting parks for domesticating animal, especially horses. Wild animals were also placed in some parks and the hunting box was later installed in landscape pressure pavilions. The ancient parks have inspired the development of modern parks.
They were used for recreation and pleasure. Gilgamesh, a historic figure in 2500BC, mentions the garden of gods. A good example was the Ziggurat of UR, an artificial Hill of Heaven where Sumerians ancestors were believed to reside. For this reason, the garden was highly respected and protected because rituals were carried out in the shrines within it.
According to Chen (55), the gardens eventually developed into pure pleasure gardens. They were enclosed areas with some plants and animals stocked for royal hunting sports. At this time, the Sumerians called the parks paradise , which means enclosed .
Later, when the Persian conquered Assyrians and Egypt, they came up with new designs for the gardens. They increased the design to incorporate exceptional forms. These gardens are the forerunners of the modern pleasure gardens. They provide a paradise where they were used for spiritual purposes. In addition, they were used as meeting places for friends and families.
Parks and gardens, being artificial creations, reflect the idealized form of micro-landscape. Their design and characteristics symbolize the ideas that the society sought from such landscapes. Recreation facilities and amenities are installed with time because people increasingly yearn for more pleasure. Today, they form major tourist attraction sites in various parts of the world. Other ancient structures and artifacts have been achieved in museums to provide an important source of historical information for the future generations.
Sacred Groves of Greece
According to Conan (43), the ancient Greek societies used to set aside certain areas and preserved them in their natural environment. Conan (43) states that sacred groves, which were kept as places for worshiping the ancient Greek gods, are a good example of the special gardens.
In addition, other groves were parks used for recreation by monarchs and citizens. Sections of the groves and the parks existed naturally, which gave a good habitat to planted forests and wild animals. Sacredness meant that the trees within them could not be cut. Dead leaves were supposed to remain intact on the ground. Hunting animals and birds was forbidden. In addition, fishing in the springs, lakes and streams within the parks was restricted to ensure that illegal fishers were kept away.
However, the association with the gods remained intact. In the process of urbanization, the building of temples and planting fruits and trees started including the altered or artificial sacred grooves. In other cases, new groves were planted around the temples. Therefore, these sacred groves did not maintain their initial status.
Therefore, they became leisure parks and gardens instead of sacred. Recreational amenities were installed to provide the society with places for fun such as swimming and boat riding. During the Persian War, the Greeks discovered a hunting park called the Alexandria Park , a sacred grove whose mountains were part of the living body of the goddesses.
Conan (67) pointed out that the Lyceum was a public park for meditation and discussions. The gymnasium, which had turfs and trees, was a field located within the environs of the sacred groves and a sanctuary. Centuries after mass cutting of the trees in Greece, only the plants within the sacred shrines remained intact.
Conan (71) also noted that the Jewish kings were buried in some groves as a final sign of status. In the modern times, burials in the sacred gardens are historically considered one of the honors given to the noble people in the ancient times.
The Peristyle Garden
According to Bowe and DeHart (59), a peristyle was a series of columns that surrounded and gave support to buildings or those columns that surrounded the courts . The ancient communities were devoted to different kinds of Gardens. Historical evidence shows that the Greek earliest peristyle courtyards were a common architectural style during the classical period. It gave an idea of an outdoor green room (Chen 85).
Depending on the social standing sculptures, plants, fountains, pools and water features were placed along the corridors. Paintings were used on the walls to make the place look as if there were larger spaces. The Greeks used plants like mandrake, lilies, sea daffodils, date palm, cabbage rose and lemon (Bowe and DeHart 61).
The Romans combined the best properties of garden styles and designs previously used in Greece, Persia and Egypt to create unique recreational facilities. The roman peristyle garden was created at the center of a house and the atria. The garden was located in an open courtyard surrounded by columns.
Ornamental plants, flowers and sculptures were found in the garden. If the family could afford it, fountains murals pools and running water were included (Bowe and DeHart 61). For the lower class, open ceilings and potted plants were common, especially in residential houses.
The gardens were for recreational purposes as well as places where people interacted with their nature. They reflected the importance of a house due to their size and magnificence. Noteworthy, the legacy of the peristyle garden styles and designs has influenced the modern architectural designs with different kind of plants and art (Bowe and DeHart 61).
Works Cited
Conan, Michel. Sacred Gardens and Landscapes: Ritual and Agency. New York: Dumbarton Oaks, 2012. Print
Chen, Gang. Planting design illustrated. New York: Archi 2011. Print
Bowe, Patrick and Michael DeHart. Gardens and Plants of the Getty Villa. Los Angeles: Getty, 2011. Print
The influence of Fletcher Steele on modern day garden design lies in his experimentalism and willingness to think outside of the thought processes that originally dictated what a garden should look like. In essence, he can be described as a transitional influence between traditional garden design and its modern day equivalent. What marks Steele as unique is that he was not afraid when it came to incorporating what is known as modern art into the overall shape of the garden design he was creating.
This resulted in a considerable level of creativity which manifested into one of the main influences that Steele has had on modern day garden design, namely the incorporation of concrete into developing the lines, shapes and contours of the garden. The end result is that the works of Steele seemingly ebb and flow with a distinct contrast between the natural (i.e. plants) and the unnatural (i.e. concrete structures) which, while being distinct in their own right, still seemed to fit or looked right for lack of a better term (Robinson and Falb 21).
It is based on this that it can be stated that Steele helped to shape the Modernist design that helped to define future artists that utilized the same medium by showing how modern art styles can be incorporated into garden design. From the perspective of Steele, artists should not be afraid to incorporate more creativity when it came to the design process for gardens and, as such, should seek to utilize new mediums, different approaches and create their own distinct styles that help to reflect what they perceive a garden should look like (Robinson and Falb 21).
Basically, Steele was a proponent against the generic cookie cutter garden designs that were prevalent in the 1920s and 1930s and instead focused his efforts into developing a new interpretation that combined both the aesthetic appeal of European garden design with the new way of thinking that modern art encompassed. The end result was a legacy that helped to define garden design for decades resulting in constant emulation of the design processes that Steele had originally pioneered.
Biography
Born on June 7, 1885, Fletcher Steele is a well known landscape artist with well over 700 gardens credited to his name. His designs elements and willingness to experiment were considered as turning points in modern day landscape design.
Early Influences
Early on in his career, Steele made a trip to Europe for several months in order to examine the landscape designs of the various estates that were located there. The end result was that he became heavily influenced by Italian and not English landscapers resulting in the eschewing of broad expanses that were common in English gardens and instead focused on developing more encapsulated experiences so to speak (Jones 40).
This involved the creation of complex hedges, specific areas where interesting design features can be seen and the use of more flowing lines rather than rectangular or square shaped design features. It was his visit to the works of Tony Garnier and Gabriel Guevrekian that truly impacted his style from that point forward since he began to increasingly incorporate modern art principles into his design elements for landscaping resulting in the creation of the distinct and modern style that he is known for today.
Distinct Style
One of the more interesting aspects of Steeles distinct style was his focus on creating a certain level of proportion when it came to the garden he was designing. What this means was that he ardently incorporated geometry into his design process resulting in a distinct flow wherein hard geometric lines encompassed smooth curved lines and vice versa. He had a great deal of interest in modern cubism, especially when it came to the work of Tony Garnier and Gabriel Guevrekian.
While Steele was not the first to utilize concrete as an aspect of garden design, he was one of the main proponents to utilize it as an essential tool in creating layouts resulting in what can be defined as a form of Art Deco .
It is based on this interpretation that it can be stated that Steele was one of main influences behind the modernist movement in modern garden design wherein through his influences on students such as Rose, Kiley and Eckbo, a greater level of influence was placed on the potential of incorporating modern art with the design process of a garden.
Simply put, Steele was an experimenter that enjoyed testing the limits of what could be done in the design process. This can be stated as the secret behind his success since during the decades in which he was active, there were few, if any, garden designers that pushed the envelope of creativity so to speak as Steele had done.
It is important to note that while Steele has been heavily influenced by the various types of Renaissance designs that he had seen during his trips to Europe, the fact remains that one of the distinctive hallmarks of his work was the use of modern concerns regarding the value of space in garden design. What must be understood is that one of the main hindrances in modern day garden design as compared to its European counterpart is the issue of space.
European gardens are distinct in their incorporation of wide open spaces, intricate planting designs and the distinct feel of openness that helped to accentuate the various estates that these gardens were present in. Unfortunately, American estates did not have the same size as their European counterparts and, as such, attempting to incorporate the same design features resulted in a squashed look that lacked the essence of openness and grandeur that European gardens had.
It was based on this that a different sense of aesthetics was necessary wherein designers needed to take into consideration the differences in size and the need to maximize the amount of space that they were given (Coffin-Brown 9). This is where Steeles focus on creativity and modernism came into play wherein through the use of intricate designs over the use of wide open spaces, Steele was able to create a design style that sufficiently respected the value of space while at the same time utilizing some of the aesthetic sensibilities inherent in European garden design.
The end result was aesthetically pleasing since the intricate designs were eye catching without too much wasted space. Examples of this came in the form of square lawns with curving paths, the use of balustrades, water steps and hedges as well as various intricate shapes cut into the land via concrete walkways, small trees and concrete structures such as small steps, geometric shapes and circular archways (Coffin-Brown 9).
Conclusion
It is should be noted though that when it came to his original design philosophies, Steele did not immediately focus on the abstract and the modern. Instead, his earlier works were actually largely referential and derivative and focused on emulating established practices in the field of landscape architecture.
This is particularly important for students of landscape design to focus on since it shows that the capacity to become a good landscaper is not an immediate one. Just as Fletcher Steele had initially focused on derivative and referential work, so to do modern day landscapers follow the same principles as they learn and develop.
It is once they develop the necessary aesthetic sensibilities and properly internalize the rules of proper landscape design that they begin to branch out and become more creative in the types of designs they use and the general theme of their work. Fletcher Steele can be considered as an inspiration and great influence to modern day landscape designers not only because of the revolutionary designs that he developed, rather, it is because he focused on the concept of thinking outside the box when it came to developing his own distinctive style.
He examined different landscape designs ranging from European aesthetics to Asian appeals, and attempted to mix and match these aspects until he got the look he was going for. It is this aspect that is necessary for modern day landscapers since to focus on doing the same generic work over and over again is simply a waste of the vast canvas that a landscape gives to them that enables their imaginations to come alive and be presented for the entire world to see.
Works Cited
Coffin-Brown, Margie. Preserving Fletcher Steeles Legacy At Rolling Ridge. Perspectives In Landscape Design 23.1 (2009): 9. Print
Jones, Gladys Montgomery. Mission House: A Doorway To History. Early American Life 32.4 (2001): 40. Print
Robinson, Joan, and Karen Forslund Falb. A Contemplative Garden By Fletcher Steele. Perspectives In Landscape Design 22.2 (2007): 21-24. Print
Starruca Viaduct is a monumental bridge in Pennsylvania, which is a pioneer work in the field of engineering using concrete. This paper gives an overview of how the viaduct was constructed. It starts with an introduction followed with an overview of when, where, and the size of the bridge. The paper then gives the civilization and prevalent culture in which the viaduct was constructed.
The body of the paper highlights how the bridge was built, including the materials, methods, tools/equipment, the labor force, and the cost of the viaduct. It also gives an analysis of how the bridge would be built in contemporary times before giving a conclusion.
Introduction
Starruca Viaduct is a monumental bridge in Pennsylvania, which is perhaps one of the most important concrete engineering works of the 19th Century. Before the construction of the bridge, the journey from New York to Lake Erie was a long and arduous one as people had to travel to New Jersey, then climb the Gulf Summit in Pennsylvania, and ultimately get to New York via Binghamton. Fortunately, surveyors discovered what would later become a logistical redeemer to people transiting from New York to Lake Erie and beyond.
The discovery was Starruca Creek, who joined the two locations. However, the eminent problem was how to come up with a structure to connect the two locations via the newly found creek. Julius W. Adams, a respected civil engineer, was tasked with the duty of figuring out how people would cross the valley. Adams had several options with the most straightforward one being to fill the valley by removing tons and tons of raw earth and gravel, which conventionally would be a laborious and costly exercise.
The second option was to construct a wooden supporting tower, which came out as the most feasible and inexpensive exercise. However, the wooden trestle would require regular maintenance and a couple with its vulnerability to disasters like fires; this option could not qualify as a long-term solution to the problem at hand.
The last option was to venture into a monumental concrete bridge, which had not happened anywhere else across the world at the time. Nevertheless, Adam decided to take the road less traveled, and he chose the last option, which led to the birth of the Starruca Viaduct as it stands today.
The structure was a pioneer bridge in many aspects. First, the bridge was the first concrete structure of its kind. In addition, it was completed in record time, and it was the longest structure of its kind at the time. This paper is a report highlighting the different issues surrounding the construction of the Starruca Viaduct including when and where it was constructed, and the prevalent culture in the era of its construction, and the civilization that built it.
Other elements include how it was built, the materials and methods employed, the tools and equipment used, and the labor force used at the time. The report concludes by speculating how the structure would have been built if it were constructed in contemporary times.
The Starruca Viaduct
The groundbreaking work of this historic bridge occurred in the spring of 1847, and it took one year to complete the project in 1848, and as aforementioned, the viaduct is located in Pennsylvania. As noted before, this bridge was the largest of its kind at the time of its construction. Mott affirms, At 1040 feet in length, 25 feet wide at the deck level, and 90 to 100 feet high, the Starruca Viaduct was the largest and most expensive stone arch bridge built in the United States at the time (76).
The bridge was built in the 19th century American civilization. During this time, the United States was undergoing a transformation, which was marked by unparalleled optimism and growth. Unfortunately, life in the country was extremely obtuse, and the most available labor opportunities were menial jobs in the dispersed industries across the country. The transport sector was not different as most people depended on mules or horses dragging wagons for miles to reach ones destination or deliver goods at the appropriate areas.
However, in Pennsylvania, the Erie Canal was a reprieve as it offered a better option of transport mechanisms to the benefit of the areas that are connected. Nevertheless, this canal alone was not adequate to serve the ever-growing population. Most importantly, there was a need to connect New York and Erie for business purposes for as aforementioned, the journey between the two places was time and resources consuming as one had to pass through New Jersey.
The prevalent culture at the time was highly dictated by politics, just like the contemporary United States. Slave trade was still prevalent at the time, and so menial workers were readily available. However, the sociopolitical environment was charged as anti-slavery groups had started voicing their demands for liberation.
In New York, the famous Seneca Falls Convention took place at the time. At the same time in Pennsylvania, the black minority population was experiencing mob attacks from white supremacist groups, and thus the prevalent culture was in transition. In the business arena, wealthy British capitalists were still commanding a sizable portion of the economy, which is one of the factors that contributed to the construction of the Starruca Viaduct.
The New York and Erie had to connect somehow, and different surveyors were tasked with the duty of finding a solution to the problem at hand. Initially, New York and Erie authorities had embarked on a project to connect the two areas via a railroad in the 1840s. Unfortunately, the project had taken almost a Century, and with revised charters, the authorities had agreed to complete the project in 1949.
Unfortunately, time was fast approaching, and the initially proposed route had to be altered as, by the time the construction started, the involved authorities had less than 18 months to complete the structure of losing the charter. Adams enlisted the services of an equally respected civil engineer, James Kirkwood, in a bid to beat the set deadline. Kirkwood went on the records for telling Adams, &I can build that viaduct in time, provided you do not care how much it cost (Mott 101).
Fortunately, funding was not a problem as affluent British merchants had pledged to support the project regardless of the cost. Unfortunately, there was a problem, the Starruca Creek was under the jurisdiction of Pennsylvania, and thus New York and Erie had to broker a deal with the Pennsylvanian authorities. The deal cost the financiers of the project an annual $10,000, which would go to Pennsylvania.
Fig 1: The Starruca Viaduct. Source: (Economic Development par.1)
How it was built
Given that the structure was a pioneer project at the time, a lot had to be done. As aforementioned, engineers had never attempted such a feat before, and so good planning was a requisite element for the project. Fortunately, Julius Adam had the required skills. He had hitherto worked with the Western Railroad, where he was responsible for many success stories. In this project, Adam had to design a novel project.
Having completed the designing of the project, Adam had to look for other competent individuals and especially engineers to steer the implementation bit of the construction (Mott 94). Coincidentally, Adam had an equally competent civil engineer cum brother in law, James Kirkwood. In the process of looking for someone to steer the construction bit of the project, Mott records that Adam told the representatives of the involved authorities that he knew no one who could do it unless it was Kirkwood (103).
Fortunately, the representatives agreed with Adams suggestion, and Kirkwood was enlisted as part of the key players in the construction of the project. Different scholars differ on whether Adams delegated all the constructions responsibilities to Kirkwood or whether the two worked hand-in-hand towards the completion of the project. Nevertheless, regardless of how the duties were shared, the resultant structure was one of its kinds at the time.
Materials
The structure called for the use of concrete. The stones used in the project were mined from two locations, just a few miles from the site. One of the quarries was Lanesboro, which supplied enough stones for the larger part of 1847 and partly in 1848. The other quarry, which supplied stones for the remaining part of the construction, was located at Stevens Point in the Starruca Creek valley (Plowden 82). The most used stone was the native Pennsylvania bluestone, which is a form of a sedimentary rock found mostly in the United States.
Young posits, Wooden falsework provided the framing on which the bridge was shaped. Concrete and stone footings formed the base, upon which masons fashioned the piers, arches, and spandrel walls (the sections above the piers and between the arches) of bluestone (78). Cement was necessary for making mortar to hold the stones together. The cement for the project came from limestone quarries, and it was known as Rosendale cement. Mostly, the quarries were found around Ulster County in New York.
Fig 2: Falseworks being constructed (Economic Development par.1)
In addition, bricks were of use in holding the Roman arches in place. The bricks were then readily available materials in this project as they were made locally from clay, which was abundantly available on the site of construction. Wood was also a critical material useful in making the falseworks. Initially, the designers thought that they would recycle wood used in one arch and use it on another arch until they covered the 17 arches (Young 79).
Unfortunately, this process was time-consuming, and speed was of the essence, as mentioned earlier in this paper. Therefore, Kirkwood decided to make different falseworks for every arch in the quest to beat the set deadline. Therefore, the project ended up using lots of wooden materials and timber, but such materials were readily available. The other material widely used was water, which was abundantly and locally available at the time. Wrought iron was ultimately used in the construction of the T-rails.
Methods
Advanced technology in the 19th Century was a distant dream, and thus, most of the methods applied in this project were conventional. The process started by digging the foundations of the arches. Adams had projected the foundations to be over 15 feet deep, but upon digging 9 feet, he encountered course hard gravel, pervious to water.
(Young 92). Due to lack of advanced machinery, Adam had to settle for 6-9 feet foundations, and even though most people were a skeptic of such shallow foundations, he went ahead to erect the arches. Fortunately, the arches have stood the test of time and criticism, and they stand strong today, which is over one and half centuries after the construction. The arches were 50 feet apart and having set the foundations; the bases were made of stones.
After making the stone bases, the involved workers (who were mainly masons) made piers on each foundation. The piers were meant to connect the arches and solidify the bases. The piers were 65 feet long after which arches were erected on top in a length of 20 feet and 51 feet in breadth. Finally, the spandrel walls were then constructed mainly using cement. The stone bases and the arches were made purely of stone where the mason laid stone after stone until the specified sizes were achieved.
Fig 3: The stone arches (Economic Development par.1)
Surely, this was an arduous task, but it was worth the efforts. Bricks were then used to hold the arches, which ran through the hollow spandrels. At the surface, stones were laid down systematically to make a continuous deck, which ran for over 1040 feet. In a bid to demonstrate how the process was time and energy-consuming, Hungerford notes,
The stone was cut and numbered and loaded on the stone cars drawn by horses and mules over the piers and were unloaded by derricks down on the piers. They drilled two holes in the large stone, about two feet apart. They had a short chain with a ring in the center and short plugs on each end. They would stick these plugs in the holes with the derrick, hook in the ring and let them down on the piers where they were fitted to go. The stone was & marked with black paint. The masons on the piers knew where to lay [it] (90).
In the making of the T-rails, which were critical in the completion of the broad-gauge railroad, wrought iron was used. Hungerford posits, Wrought iron T-rails for the broad-gauge railroad were manufactured at the new Lackawanna iron works 40 miles to the south, the first large order for T-rail in the country and a contract, which marked the industrial birth of the city of Scranton (94). From the sites, the stones were transported using stone cars pulled by mules.
Tools/equipment
The most used tools in this project were hand tools. The masons had to use the brick trowel for placing the mortar between stones. Other forms of trowels used included buttering trowel and pointing trowel. Other tools included hammers, bolsters, chisels, levels, masons line, jointers, and mixing tools. Trucks and canoes were used to transport the required materials to the site.
The masons made creative ladders to support them as they laid brick and mortar on the topmost areas of the viaduct. The mining of the limestone mainly depended on workers who dung the material from the ground. Others included horses and mules together with carts for moving the materials.
The labor force at the time
Given the short period available to complete this project, Adams and Kirkwood enlisted the services of approximately 800 workers. Mostly, these workers were masons as the required work was mainly masonry. The only notable skilled engineers for this project were Adams and Kirkwood, who were both civil engineers. Apart from masons, other unskilled workers were required for support purposes. They had to move bricks, mortar, stones, and all other materials necessary for the project.
Most of the workers were from Scotland, and even though critics argue that 800 workers were more than enough, the excess numbers were inevitable given the short period within which the project was supposed to be completed. Despite the criticism, Adam and Kirkwood delivered results as, by the end of November 1848, the project was complete.
Funding and Cost
Approximately, the project cost $320,000. This amount qualified the project as the most expensive undertaking of the time. However, money was not an issue as affluent British investors pledged enough money to construct the viaduct as they had high business stakes in the region. The workers earned $1 every day, and given that they were about 800, a large portion of the budget went to labor expenses.
How it would be if built today
From the 19th Century to the 21st Century, a lot has changed. The technological field is ever-changing with novel ideas and machinery entering the market every other day. If Starruca Viaduct were to be constructed today, the starting point would be to come up with proposals of different technical designs. As opposed to the 18th Century, where engineers were rare, the contemporary age is advantaged with the expertise of every nature. A team of experts would be drawn from all over the world based on experience.
Perhaps Michel Virlogeux and Norman Foster would be the key candidates for the project following their successful construction of the Millau Viaduct in France (Foster 37). Structural engineers and architects would be the key technical people in designing the project. The team of international experts would then look into the different available proposal designs and select at least six of them.
Afterward, the team would look into the designs and see the best ones or probably come up with a hybrid of the different proposals. Ultimately, they would probably come up with a cable-stayed viaduct. After this point, the team would embark on a test exercise to see whether the proposed design fits the topography of the location where the viaduct is to be constructed.
The second step would entail issuing calls for tenders from international contractors. Most probably, a consortium of contractors would win the tender as opposed to a single company as the former has the capacity to handle huge projects like the 21st Century Starruca Viaduct. Most probably, the different companies within the consortium would be tasked with handling different stages of the project.
One company might be dealing with the concrete construction, another one with dealing with the steelworks, while another one might be dealing with the hydraulics of the project. Another company would handle the bitumen works needed while another one would deal with the electrical aspects of the entire project. Different companies would be tasked with designing the different parts of the project like the steel deck. Ultimately, another company would be tasked with the overall management of the project.
The consortium would then come up with a timeline of the project, indicating the different stages of completing the different phases of the project. Humanity has become impatient with the need for instant results, which has become the contemporary culture, and this time would be of the essence. The viaduct would probably look like the following, which is an example of the modern-day viaduct the Millau viaduct.
Fig 4: Source (Foster 67)
Materials
This viaduct would be constructed using three main materials, viz. concrete, steel, and pre-stressed steel. Others would include electric cables, bitumen, and other supporting materials. Plants would be established on the site to produce concrete for cost-effectiveness and reliability.
Methods
The construction would start by laying the piers foundations made of concrete. Each pier would have five piles with a depth of 20 meters or 60 feet. The piers would be close to 100 meters supported by temporary steel intermediates. Cranes and hydraulics would be used to make the tiers. In a bid to save time, the laying of the deck foundation would start immediately after the completion of the first three piers. The process of making the piers would be repeated until the 17 piers are made.
The steel deck would be designed and made offsite in a steel company, which would be part of the consortium. Then the different parts of the deck would be transported via road to the site. The preassembled parts of the deck would then be joined on site. The launching of the deck would be indifferent phases using the lift and push hydraulic system. For accuracy purposes, the different parts of the deck would carry a GPS receiver on the launching end in a bid to ensure that the predetermined coordinates are followed.
After placing the deck in position, pylons would then be erected. The pylons would be made offsite, transported to the site using trucks, and erected on the deck using crawlers. They would then be welded to the deck to make perfect vertical joints. This process would call for close monitoring using a special instrumentation program.
On the surface of the deck, there would be a layer of bitumen, which is flexible in a bid to cushion the surface from the adjustments of the steel structure probably due to expansion and contraction. The electrification process would then follow.
This stage would entail installing telephone sockets and temperature sensors coupled with other sensors to gather traffic, measure wind speed, and the structures oscillations, among others. The final step would be removing the entire temporary structures like the supporting steel intermediaries holding the piers. Then a toll plaza and a rest area would be constructed for accommodating the technical management personnel to monitor and maintain the viaduct.
Tools/Equipments
The commonly used tools in this project would be machines. The first machine is the crane for making the piers. The other major machine would be the hydraulic lifting machine for launching the deck. Others include support machines like trucks and welding tools for joining the different parts of the deck and any other wielding aspects of the project.
Labor force
Given that machines and technology have replaced the need for manual work, a workforce of 100 workers would be enough. Most of the workers would-be engineers.
Funding and cost
The funding of the project would come from a combination of efforts from both federal and local government. The cost of the project would be essentially numerous times of the $320,000, which was used to make the 19th Century Starruca Viaduct. The project would probably cost several billion dollars in contemporary times.
Conclusion
Starruca Viaduct is as one of the monumental bridges of the 19th Century. Made of concrete and stones, the viaduct runs for close to 350 meters in length, about 8 meters width, and close to 35 meters in height. The project was built manually under the watch of Julius Adams and James Kirkwood the two most coveted civil engineers of the time. The project was one of its kinds as there had not been such a structure before. The main materials were concrete, Rosendale cement, and the Pennsylvania bluestone.
The stones were laid down one after the other until the project was completed. Most of the tools used were masonry tools and mules used for transporting the materials to the site. The project cost the British financiers close to $320,000.
If the project were executed today, the process would be easier courtesy of technology and innovation as explicated in this paper. The funding would most probably come from the federal and local governments, and the contract would be awarded to a consortium. The project would probably take eight months before completion.
Works Cited
Economic Development: Bridges of the Future. Web.
Foster, Norman. Millau Viaduct, New York: Prestel Publishing, 2012. Print.
Hungerford, Edward. Men of Erie, a Story of Human Effort, New York: Random House, 1946. Print.
Mott, Edward. Between the Ocean and the Lakes: The Story of Erie, Charleston: Nabu Press, 2010. Print.
Plowden, David. Bridges: The Spans of North America, New York: W. W. Norton, 2002. Print.
Young, William. Starruca: The Bridge of Stone, Susquehanna: Starruca Valley Publications, 1995. Print.
Design research occupies a special position within artistic research. Design research and artistic research reflect many similarities ultimately subsumed under the title research in the creative disciplines . However, historically, design research has been categorized among the arts but in more modern times it is postulated as a separate form of knowledge distinct from the knowledge of the arts and the sciences.
Not until the design research movement that started in 1960 and particularly beginning from 1980 did design research come to be understood as an independent knowledge culture , an issue contented with others who coined terms such as design knowledge and design thinking . However, beginning from the design movement of 1960, several aspects of design research will be discussed to distinguish between analytical differentiation and essential reductionism within which design research is currently situated.
In 1962 a conference on design methodology took place in London purposely to formulate methods to allow the systematic control and analytical understanding of processes in design that had previously been approached more or less intuitively. The movement was sustained by people from technical and scientific disciplines but received little attention from practicing designers.
Ulm, a practicing theoretician held that design research was an artistic creative vision of the pure designer while the rest held to the opinion that design research was a planning activity that should strive for the control of its consequences .
The approach of the movement was best summarized by the historian Nigan Bayazit as follows: Design methods people were looking at rational methods of incorporating scientific techniques and knowledge into the design process to make rational decisions to adapt to the prevailing values, something that was not always easy to achieve .
However, on the emergence of new kinds of technologies, complex problems were diagnosed in the planning of cities and traffic systems, in questions of environmental protection and space exploration. The quest for design methods had had its genesis on the successes of the US military developments.
Issue of contention and varied definitions such as the rigid fixing of aims of design methods brought about another definition of design research. Known as tacit knowledge, it could not be adequately articulated. However, current knowledge of tacit knowledge has weaknesses.
Tacit knowledge integrates the critical results from the sociology of knowledge, in which our knowledge and actions cannot be understood exclusively through the models of explicit knowledge and conceptions of rationality, while on the other hand, the unquestionable assumption of tacit knowledge propels the idea that designers are receptive and intuitive to original ideas.
Another approach postulated design as an independent form of knowledge categorically distinct from other forms of knowledge such as science or art which integrates the idealistic approach of categorizing design research.
Such idealistic view that design research is a forward-looking, methodical sphere of action developing between science and art has great visionary potential. However, many perspectives on design research abound today. There is cooperation between science and art in contributing to our knowledge of the culture.
Today design research is seen as an independent discipline which has received little attention from academia. To clearly define design research, reductionism and historical theories must be called to mind to afford the connection between art and science where the discipline may assertively be defined as categorical knowledge and a third culture knowledge which affords the vision of a new culture.
I have visited Holy Trinity Orthodox Cathedral in San Francisco. The building stands out of the neighborhood houses, as it has complex architecture and utilizes blue and white as primary colors. It reminds of a traditional orthodox cathedral, as it follows all characteristics. Holy Trinity Orthodox Cathedral majorly support the principles of Orthodox religion ( Holy Trinity Cathedral par. 1).
However, as for the religion of the site, it has to be mentioned that Vedanta Community is an element of Hinduism tradition. In turn, Hinduism is an Indian religion, which focuses on worshipping various Gods, as Vishnu appears in different forms (Chander 111). According to Vedas, all Gods are diverse manifestations of Brahman, who is the creator and present in various shapes (Ellwood and Alles 200).
Karma plays a vital role, as it is believed to affect a future rebirth (Ellwood and Alles 200). Speaking of how Vedanta Society manifests Hinduism, the main goal of this community was to establish a Universal Religion in the United States of America, and it emphasizes and supports individual decisions in following his/her way to divine (Bruteau et al. 1).
It could be said that Vedanta Society supports a principle of unity of all religions. It is the primary reason for having strong ties with Christianity and attracting Christian believers, who are not satisfied with the order in the religion institution.
As for the sights architecture, symbols, images, and form of worship, all of these elements convey its unique religious charm. The pictures of Swami Vivekananda, Jesus, Buddha, Ramakrishna, and Ramakrishnas wife Sarada Devi are present on the altar and the walls of the cathedral.
The images try to express and show the mission and meaning of life. It could be said that pictures imply that one should encourage the development of divine nature in our minds. A follower by looking at and exploring the inner understanding of the images can develop his inner sanctity and unity with Brahma.
Since Brahma is the first God, who was able to appear in three shapes (Lochtefeld 119). As harmony and agreement with self are the ways for inner improvement that can be reached by the acceptance of the union with the God. It helps a follower understand the presence of divinity in self and discover the presence of the multiple substances of the same God.
Speaking of a particularly sacred detail, which I found appealing in Holy Trinity Orthodox Cathedral, it could be said that two primary Gods from different religions were located next to each other on the altar. It was surprising and unpredictable to discover that Jesus and Buddha could have this position in this cathedral. A question comes to mind whether both of them were dedicated and support the same religious ideal.
This fact sounds intriguing to me. There is only one God, and both Jesus and Buddha get a chance to experience strong connection and unity with this God. Any believer and follower seek a union with his/her ideal and ability to explore inner divinity of himself/herself (Watson 11). This particular fact seems appealing to me, as I want to dedicate myself to reach the union with God. I want to follow examples of Buddha and Jesus and reach the desired goal since any believer can pursue his path to explore his destiny.
Works Cited
Bruteau, Beatrice et al. Vedanta and Christianity. American Vedantist 10.2 (2004): 1. Print.
Chander, Prakash. India: Past and Present. New Delhi: APH Publishing Corporation, 2003. Print.
Ellwood, Robert and Gregory Alles. The Encyclopedia of World Religions. New York: Facts on File, Inc., 2007. Print.
The peculiarities of the graphic design in the 20th and the 21st centuries
The art of the 20th century rejected the main principles proclaimed by the artists earlier and reduced the significance of Realism with making the accents on Modernism and later on Postmodernism.
The processes in the development of the graphic design reflected the major ideas of the art at the beginning of the 20th century, and then the tendencies in the graphic design were closely connected with the progress of the art and cultural visions. The art and graphic design became progressive and even revolutionary. The artists and designers concentrated on the idea to emphasize the inner meaning of their works and also astonish the public with creating a kind of the art provocation.
The main trends in the graphic design of the period before World War II are based on rising the industry of advertising with the help of different types of images, using the contrasting colors to accentuate the elements of the work, presenting the images and texts within mathematically developed areas. The first part of the 20th century is characterized by the progress of International Typographic Style which developed not only in the European countries but also in the United States1.
The area for the presentation of the designers work was posters, advertisements, the covers of books where designers used different styles of scripts, various techniques in combination images, colors, and prints. However, the main accents were made on the perfect combination of the arithmetic exactness of the proportions, vivid scripts and meaningful images presented as symbols.
It is important to note that during different periods of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, the variation of using strict lines and proportions or abstract and modernistic images can be observed. The ideals of Modernism were developed during the post-war period and reflected in Postmodernism which influenced the shift in the graphic design to accentuating vivid illustrations and the scripts connected with them.
Letters also became significant as the independent objects during the progress of the corporate design and creating the attractive visual logos for the famous companies. The most remarkable figures of the graphic design during the 20th century and beginning of the 21st century are Siegfried Odermatt, Rudolf de Harak, and Paul Rand2.
The impact of the illuminated manuscripts and chromolithography on the culture, society, and imagery of the 20th and the 21st centuries from the historical perspective
In spite of the fact it can seem that there are few similarities between the illuminated manuscripts and contemporary books or between chromolithographs and modern illustrations in the magazines or on the posters, the tradition of the illuminated manuscripts and chromolithography influenced greatly the development of the present-day graphic design from the point of the historical process. The development of the idea to decorate the books with definite ornaments and symbols is closely associated with the phenomenon of the illuminated manuscripts. To emphasize the significance of the written text and make the manuscript luxurious, the decorators developed the technique of illuminating the letters and designing the pages of manuscripts.
The cultural meaning of the illuminated manuscripts for the modern graphic design and the tradition of imagery is in the fact that these manuscripts were the first decorated texts in the history of the humanity. Moreover, the tradition to produce the illuminated texts was developed during several centuries till the beginning of the era of Renaissance3.
Thus, the modern practice to decorate the books in the 20th and the 21st centuries with a lot of different illustrations has its origins in the tradition to provide the illuminated images with the help of colorful ornaments and with using gold and silver to create the specific effect of the illumination.
The impact of chromolithography for the development of the modern graphic design can be observed with references to the progress of such techniques as photography and phototypography. The necessity to produce a lot of similar pictures which are the copies of each other is the symbol of the modern culture, and it is possible to mention that during the 19th century chromolithography was used in order to meet the demands of the public and make the process of producing pictures economically relevant.
Moreover, later the technique of chromolithography was utilized not only for producing the illustrations but also for copying the famous paintings and the other works of artists. During the second part of the 20th century the method which has a lot of peculiarities with chromolithography was used by Bradbury Thompson to create his colored illustrations and images4.
Thus, the illuminated manuscripts became the first step to the modern illustrated books, and the progress of chromolithography gave the start for developing the other numerous ways of making the copies of various images and vivid illustrations.
The manifestation of the illuminated manuscripts and chromolithographys concepts and ideas in the products of the 20th and the 21st centuries
Artists and designers often develop their new ideas with references to the tradition. In spite of the fact sometimes it is rather difficult to find the origins of this or that idea, a lot of modern art objects are influenced by the aspects of the historical progress of art and design. Today, the concepts of the illuminated manuscripts are not only reflected in the tradition of decorating books with illustrations but also followed in producing the contemporary variants of the illuminated manuscripts.
Modern illuminated manuscripts are often the books which include the religious texts, and they are extremely significant for the definite community. These books are usually referred to as iconic books, and it is possible to find them in churches, monasteries, and cathedrals where they are used as the ritual books. Nowadays, to decorate the religious texts, designers do not use gold and silver, but the usage of the other traditional elements of the illuminated manuscripts is followed.
Thus, these books contain vivid ornaments, the decorated initials, and many miniatures and illustrations at the borders of the pages5. Furthermore, the tradition of decorating the letters in the illuminated manuscripts affected the style of the 20th century according to which the letters are often accentuated with the definite symbols, and the image makes the headline more intensive and meaningful6.
The possibility to use the full-color and multi-color graphics is the result of developing chromolithography. Today, the reflections of the style of the first chromolithographs can be observed on many modern posters where the accents are made on the intensiveness of the color and the symbolic meaning of the picture7.
The abstract art and the principles of Modernism rejected the elements of the traditional chromolithographs, but according to the tendencies of Postmodernism it is possible to refer to the traditional images, and the ideas of chromolithographs are used for decorating the modern books and posters.
Bibliography
Eskilson, Stephen J. Graphic Design: A New History. USA: Yale University Press, 2007.
Jones, Susan. Manuscript Illumination in Northern Europe . Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. 2002.
Last, Jay T. The Color Explosion: Nineteenth-Century American Lithography. USA: Hillcrest Press, 2005.
Lupton, Ellen and Jennifer Phillips. Graphic Design: The New Basics. USA: Princeton Architectural Press, 2008.
Meggs, Philip B. and Alston W. Purvis. Meggs History of Graphic Design. USA: John Wiley & Sons, 2011.
Munari, Bruno. Design as Art. USA: Penguin Global, 2009.
Footnotes
Philip B. Meggs and Alston W. Purvis, Meggs History of Graphic Design (USA: John Wiley & Sons, 2011).
Philip B. Meggs and Alston W. Purvis, Meggs History of Graphic Design.
Susan Jones, Manuscript Illumination in Northern Europe , Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, 2002.
Jay T. Last, The Color Explosion: Nineteenth-Century American Lithography, (USA: Hillcrest Press, 2005).
Stephen J. Eskilson, Graphic Design: A New History, (USA: Yale University Press, 2007).
Ellen Lupton and Jennifer Phillips. Graphic Design: The New Basics, (USA: Princeton Architectural Press, 2008).
Bruno Munari, Design as Art, (USA: Penguin Global, 2009).
The newsletter will be dubbed Adorable Pets, which is a name meant to reflect the adorable nature of the cats and dogs that Animal Lovers Unlimited shelter handles. The newsletter seeks to promote the services of the animal shelter, boost support for the shelter, and advertise animals that are up for adoption.
By doing this, the newsletter is intended to help reduce the number of abandoned animals, and give willing families a chance to adopt animals from the shelter. Being a non-profit organization, the newsletter also intends to lobby support (financial or otherwise) from people of goodwill.
At first, the Newsletter will target people within its XYZ1 area, where it is located. Specifically, it will target people within the ages of 18 and 45 years, who have a liking for animals. Initially, 100 copies of the magazine will be published and distributed on a quarterly basis within the XYZ area. With time and depending on how well people respond to information requesting support for the shelter, the distribution will target other areas within a 250-kilometer radius of XYZ area.
All information contained in the newsletter will be animal (cats and dogs) related. Specifically, the newsletter will try to address issues that lead to animal abandonment, what people within specific localities can do about such animals and the benefit of adopting and opening ones home to such animals.
Each newsletter will also contain a detailed description of what the animal shelter does, and how willing people can contribute towards the shelter. Topics on animal care, handling, training, health, and general inclusion of newly adopted animals into ones home will be included in the newsletter.
The newsletter will contain at least six stories in every issue. I believe six stories will sufficiently cover all the issues identified above. As the marketing manager for the shelter, I will write not more than two articles in the newsletter. The remaining stories will be sourced from volunteer writers and experts trained in handling dogs and cats. Any information obtained from other sources will have to be credited to the authors in accordance to copyright laws.
Acknowledging sources will be done by mentioning the source of the information, and where a substantial amount of another persons work is used, the newsletter will have to request for publishing rights from the articles original creator. The graphic elements used in the newsletter will combine colors, diagrams, suitable font faces, and photographs. Combining these elements will however seek to attain a harmonious visual appearance for the newsletter, which is meant to have a physical appeal amongst its targeted readers.
The page count for the newsletter will be set at four pages. I estimate that the four pages will be sufficient to contain the six articles stated earlier in this essay.
More so, the newsletter will have four sidebars, which will contain animal trivia, interesting cat and dog facts, advice for cat and dog owners, and an escaped corner column, where people whose pets have run away or escaped can advertise the same. The content of the newsletter will be written in Georgia font, size 11, while the masthead will be written in Georgia font, size 36. Headlines will appear in a 24-size Georgia typeface. The font type was chosen due to its readability.
The template to be used for the newsletter will be the marketing managers own creation because such allows for enhanced creativity and flexibility. More so, creating an own template will allow the designer fit all the content into the four pages without having to stick an already laid out design outline.
Finally, the newsletter will utilize full color printing technology, as this allows greater versatility during image creation (Silverbrook 6). A digital printing press will then be contracted to do the printing work. Animal Lovers unlimited will cater for the printing costs, until a time when the newsletter can attract enough advertising revenue to cater for the expenses incurred during printing.
Works Cited
Silverbrook, Kia. Full-color Desktop Publishing System. United States Patent. 2006. Web.
Interviewing is one of the important ways to find out the views of people on various issues. I used the method of interview for the purposes of my analysis. I initiated the conversations with the representatives of the design industry in order to determine the major changes, which occurred in design during the past decades.
The Interview Summary
Last week, I was lucky to talk to the representative of the design industry. I think that the results of my work can be used to summarize the major changes occurred in the field of design. The conversation with the designer allowed me to get a better understanding of the peculiarities of their work. In particular, in the interview with Amanda Johns, an interior designer, working for one of the successful firms in the city, I got to know that the design industry underwent the substantial changes during the last years. She said, The work of the designer became much more diverse than it was in the past. When I asked her what she meant under the diverse , she said that the modern designers had to be erudite in many spheres and had to be flexible in order to react to the rapid changes, occurring in the modern world, quickly.
Frankly speaking, I was wondered when Amanda said that she did not have a designer diploma when he joined the firm. She said that she graduated from university ten years ago and could not imagine that one day she would dedicate her life to the creative activity. At the university, Amanda majored in Math. However, the knowledge, which she obtained, helped her in the designer work. She explained it as follows, The pencil and paper are no longer the primary mediums for the designers drawings. It is the specialized and often rather complicated software, which we use for the creation of images that takes the central place in our working process . She said that she applied her knowledge of Math to her work as she had to logically think about the parameters of the models, which she created. I had to reflect the actual proportions of premises in the computer images with the mathematical exactness , she added.
Then, I suggested talking about the current situation in the US designer industry. I said that, according to the statistical data, the Creative Class workers account for approximately 35% of the employed in the US (Florida 268). I asked her to comment on this data. She said, I think this data is underestimated as a lot of people work in the industry as the freelancers while having a full-time job somewhere else.
The interview raises the questions closely connected with the problems touched upon in the book by Richard Florida. In particular, it is interesting to compare the average cost of education with the average salaries of the Creative Class workers in order to determine how many years it will take to be repaid for the costs incurred. Furthermore, the obtained results can be compared with similar data from other industries.
Conclusion
In summary, the interview allowed me to gather important information about the design industry, its peculiarities, and trends. It also gave me an indication to the areas of further research. And last but not least, I was spending my time with pleasure while communicating with an interesting person.
Works Cited
Florida, Richard L. The Rise of the Creative Class: Revisited, New York: Basic Books, 2012. Print.
Sometimes people are either born with a disability, or the disability develops later in life. It is the objective of the society to treat persons with disabilities in a way that makes them feel comfortable within society. One of the ways the society does this is through communication, such as the posters developed by the students. This paper seeks to analyze one of the posters in different dimensions.
Nothing is Impossible
Among the many posters developed, the poster named Nothing is impossible was chosen for analysis. This poster portrays a young child who has won a race despite being physically disabled. The boys leg is amputated from the knee, but he has undergone a medical procedure to attach an artificial limb which enables him to walk.
The poster depicts that there is a race in which the boy has emerged the winner. It is not clear from the poster about the physical nature of the other competitors, but it can be assumed that the boy ran so fast that he left them way behind where we cant see them. It is very clear from the poster that the boy is very happy, satisfied, and comfortable with his life.
Idea Communicated by the Poster
The picture is trying to communicate to the audience or the society that in spite of any misfortune that may befall anyone, there is always a way around to overcome the disability. As can be seen from the poster, the boy had a physical disability due to the amputation of his leg. This is a physical disability that can hinder a person to integrate with the physical aspect of life effectively.
Day to day activities such as walking, working, and exercising can be very difficult for persons with this type of disability. The boy has gone round the physical problem by having an artificial leg that allows him to function just like a normal human being (Shakespeare, 1998).
The author of this poster was very creative in communicating the idea of overcoming a physical disability by directly handling the particular problem. He has used a picture of a very young boy which communicates to the audience that disability can be handled at a very early age hence giving the person the opportunity to live a complete life.
The boy in the picture looks very happy, which indicates that he has overcome his disability and is happy and content with life. The boy is alone in the picture which depicts that his disability is his problem, and he has successfully handled it. The boy has also finished and won the race, which indicates that despite the disability, he is equally capable of handling challenges of life such as walking and running.
Disability Model Reflected
This poster reflects the medical model of disability. According to the medical model, people who have impairments are somehow abnormal. Their impairment is seen as a problem and more to that their problem, not societys (Moore, 2002, p. 402). The poster depicts a person with a physical medical condition that reduces the quality of life of the person.
The medical theory tries to identify the problem and look for all possible ways such as surgery or physiotherapy to minimize or overcome the challenges posed by that particular condition. As can be seen from the poster, the boy has undergone a medical procedure which has made him overcome the challenges of living without a limb. This has restored in him the quality of life, and thus, the boy can interact with the society comfortably.
Ways of Improving the Poster
The author of the poster is creative since the poster has been able to communicate most of the aspects to the audience. However, the poster misses one key aspect called comparison. It would have been more effective if the author had included other human beings who have no disability in the race.
This would have brought the element of comparison between the boy who has overcome the disability and other normal boys of his age. The poster can be more catching if the race consists of other boys of his age who are normal and the boy wins over them. It is also recommended that a cheering audience be incorporated into the poster. This would show the support and acceptance that society is supposed to give to persons with disabilities (Tassoni, Beith, & Bulman, 2005).
Conclusion
In conclusion, the poster has been creatively designed to portray that any condition that can reduce the quality of human life can be overcome and total functionality restored. The poster has been successful in depicting the medical theory of disability. It portrays a disability which has been overcome and restored the full functionality of the person. The poster is creative. However, it lacks comparativeness, and it would be more effective if other competitors and audience were incorporated in to the poster.
References
Moore, S. (2002). Social welfare alive! Nashville: Nelson Thornes.
Shakespeare, S. (1998). The Disability Reader: Social Science Perspectives. New York, NY: Continuum International Publishing Group.
Tassoni, P., Beith, K. & Bulman, K. (2005). Childrens care, learning and development. London: Heinemann.