Architecture

The sequence of change for public architecture during the Mississippian period may reflect a centralization of political power through time. In the research presented here, some of the community-level assumptions attributed to the appearance of Mississippian mounds are tested against the archaeological record of the Town Creek site—the remains of a town located on the northeastern edge of the Mississippian culture area. In particular, the archaeological record of Town Creek is used to test the idea that the appearance of Mississippian platform mounds was accompanied by the centralization of political authority in the hands of a powerful chief. A compelling argument has been made that mounds were the seats and symbols of political power within Mississippian societies. While platform mounds have been a part of Southeastern Native American communities since at least 100 B.C., around A.D. 400 leaders in some communities began to place their houses on top of earthen mounds—an act that has been interpreted as an attempt to legitimize personal authority by a community leader through the appropriation of a powerful, traditional, community-oriented symbol. Platform mounds at a number of sites were preceded by a distinctive type of building called an earthlodge—a structure with earth-embanked walls and an entrance indicated by short, parallel wall trenches. Earthlodges in the Southeast have been interpreted as places where a council of community leaders came together to make decisions based on consensus. In contrast to the more inclusive function proposed for premound earthlodges, it has been argued that access to the buildings on top of Mississippian platform mounds was limited to a much smaller subset of the community. If this was the case and if ground-level earthlodges were more accessible than mound-summit structures, then access to leaders and leadership may have decreased through time. Excavations at the Town Creek archaeological site have shown that more...

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How did architects get to be architects in any given period in history? How were they trained? How did they find their clients and communicate with them? What did society think of them?. Spiro Kostof's The Architect, a collection of essays by historians and architects, explores these and other intriguing questions about the profession of architecture. The first book in more than fifty years to survey the profession from its beginnings in ancient Egypt to the modern day, it is the most complete synthesis to date of our knowledge of how the architect's profession developed. Included are a major study of the Beaux-Arts, a vivid memoir by the distinguished architect Josephy Esherick, and an excellent chapter on women which demostrates how the ethic of professionalism has contributed to the exploitation of women in this as in many other professions. The Architect places the current dilemma about the architect's role in society in historical perspective and offers a good overview of the development of one of the world's oldest professions. more...

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Presents for the first time, a wide range of world famous architects' sketches from classical civilization to the present day more...

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The architect's interest in continuing education has increased as a result of the national trend of state initiatives requiring continuing education for architect registration Architect's Essentials of Professional Development assists registered architects and architecture firms in designing their own professional development programme in the context of professional practice Information on this subject is in high demand Covers strategic planning, programme design and assessment while taking into consideration the culture of different design firms Assessment worksheets and questionnaires allow readers to personalise their books while discovering and implementing their own professional development goals and strategies Practical, applied, concise, affordable and user-friendly more...

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The Architect's Essentials of Professional Practice Series provides substantive information on the business of architecture and its affiliated professions to maintain and improve the quality of the professional and business environment. Architects and designers are usually required to prepare and submit proposals in order to secure new business and the success of these proposals has a direct impact on the success or failure of any given firm.: Architectural firms spend an average of £'000s preparing proposals. This guide offers full coverage of how to create a proposal that will get the job; Looks at how to personalise proposals as well as effectively targetting it to maximise success rates more...

Price: $40.00