The Dome of the Cathedral, Florence Essay Example for Free

The Dome of the Cathedral, Florence Essay The Cathedral was designed and built in between 1377-1466 by the architect and visionary Fillipo Brunelleschi and numerous others. However parts of the building appear to date back to the 11th century, by a sculptor Arnolfo di Cambio (Farfan, 2001). The cathedral itself is located north of the Piazza del la Signoria and towers over the city. Initially there had been a great deal of competition with regards to who would be granted the contract of building the dome (also known as the Santa Maria del Fiore), but Brunelleschi used the innovative idea of constructing the dome support structure without a wooden center (Farfan, 2001). In 1420, Brunelleschi was granted the contract that involved the inner support being constructed from brick alone (Farfan, 2001). The dome consists of a complicated geometrical design, with an octagonal drum that with several empty shells within to lighten up the interior of the structure, this Brunelleschi called the ‘oculus’ (the eye). Brick ribs crisscross the interior but do not serve as a support for the building. The springing put of the dome is approximately 177 feet above ground level. From the base of the drum to the top of the dome is around 108 feet, showing the massive volume of the building as a whole. The radius across the outer edges of the octagonal drum measures 176 feet. An estimated amount of bricks used is in excess of 4 million (Farfan, 2001). The octagonal domes inside the cathedral were completed in succession of one another in order to create a stable support. The process is complex and dependent of precision timing and measurement. Bricks were laid using the ‘herringbone’ method, being laid on sloping beds in a ring like fashion, the spirals are closed with protruding bricks laid lengths ways instead of breadth. The cones within the spiral are divided into 5 equal geometric points in order to locate the ‘pointed-fifth curvature’. The axis of the inverted dome corresponds directly with the domes outer structure. The slack line corresponds with the bricks beds resting on the inverted cone surface. As work commenced the domes vertex shifts upwards (Farfan, 2001). The completed dome is supported by 3 half domes on the exterior of the structure. The ‘quinta acuto’ (eight corner ribs), the method of the radius divided into four-fifths of the maximum crossing span, is visible in even the half domes (Salvadori, 1980). Sandstone bricks were used within an iron reinforcement, prevent the collapse if the dome under pressure from its parallels (Salvadori, 1980). This was the largest dome built without wooden centering. This was the first instance that Doric, Ionic and Corinthian orders were used in architecture since the ancient times. Constructed out of sandstone and iron reinforcements, Brunelleschi designed tiles for the surface of the dome that would be easy to maintain and resist the elements (Salvadori, 1980). The outer facades are constructed with visible cantilevered arches, presenting themselves as alcoves facing onto the street below. Atop the Dome is Brunelleschi’s famous lantern which is hollow marble. The ornately decorated exterior is what can be described as truly Renaissance grace, elegantly yet elaborately consisting of numerous alcoves, facades and frescoes. The main facade is pink and green. The interior has stained glass windows in order to allow as much light in as possible and the paving entering the dome is marble. The interior also has frescoes of The Last Judgement, by artists Giorgio Vasari and Frederico Zuccari. The interior is extremely vast with extraordinarily high ceilings and is extremely well lit. The oculus sheds a direct beam into the middle of the building. The Duomo itself fits in with the Renaissance architecture surrounding it, including The Baptistery designed by rival Ghiberti, whose equally Gothic sculpture and is equaled if not surpassed by Brunelleschi’s ornate facade. All machinery and hoists used in the building of the dome have been removed, however numerous modern students of architecture have rebuilt models using versions of the machinery that would have been utilized, as well as making bricks in the same way as Brunelleschi would have done. Because of the openness of the structures interior, it is easy to move around in and facilitates vast numbers of people at one time. It is also constructed so that most of the inner quadrant can be viewed from the center of the building. Brunelleschi initiated the idea of linear perspective, with all points converging to a centralized point, this is evident in his construction of the dome particularly. This was also the beginning of the humanism approach, focused on the sensibilities of people. This meant that the building itself had to be as user friendly as possible while still being an aesthetic asset to the city. The idea of perspective for Brunelleschi was the most important aspect of humanism, drawing from the postulate that art is how the person views their world. Therefore the artistry of the dome had to by some standards be appropriate to the period, social climate and what the people of the city were expecting (see footnote 2). As a result, much of the richness associated with renaissance art is visible in the construction of the dome, but it remains relatively unobtrusive, its colors being predominantly bronzes and burnt browns. The interior flagged marble floor has alternating pieces of dark ruddy brown and cream, making at more aristocratic than religious. This lends itself heavily on the idea that the initial purpose of the dome was not religious, but more a centerpiece around which the city could be arranged. It has the ‘landmark quality’ that associates it with other countries and cities almost via its competitiveness. The entrance to the dome, through Giotto’s bell tower, which was completed only after the death of Brunelleschi. Three doors mark the entrance and exits of the dome. The main door is called the Almond door due to its elliptical shape. It has a painting of The Assumption of Our Lady Into Heaven, by the painter Nanni Bianco. Rich renaissance colors mark this painting as a distinct aspect of renaissance culture. High up on the side portals of the main painting are two small statues of the prophets by sculptor Donatello. There is also a mosaic in the lunette of the portal door, by the artists Domenico and Davide Ghirlandiao. Due to the three small domes supporting the dome itself, entrances and exits are through these portals, meaning that one can basically enter and proceed through the opposite entrance if necessary. The Dome of Florence Cathedral could basically be described as a landmark that does not intrude on other buildings within the Florentine setting, instead it serves as a central point in the city and has become a tourist attraction over the years. For students, the remarkable invention of stone supported domes has also become a topic of discussion. Previously having used wooden support scaffolds, the stone version may have been costly and time consuming but it gave the opportunity to build stronger and larger constructions. IT has been used over centuries as a gathering place for local meetings and also to house the some of the nost beautiful renaissance artworks of time. It is possible that Brunelleschi’s ideas about light and space influenced more modern architects such as Lloyd Wright, whose ideology was to allow as much natural light as possible into the building. The colors of the interior of the dome allow this natural light emanating from the oculus to be expanded and rather than giving the cold internal feel such as some of the older basilica’s would, the dome gives off an intensely warm energy. This was certainly an invention that changed the face of architecture and has long held it position in the history of the art. Sources: â€Å"Dome: Almond Door†. 2008. FirenzeViva. com. Accessed: 10 February 2008. (http://www. firenzeviva. com/duomo-firenze/duomo_almond_door. htm) Farfan, Maria. 2001. â€Å"Dome Structures: Santa Maria Del Fiore (Florence). † McGill University, Philosophy of Structures. Accessed 10 February 2008). http://www. arch. mcgill. ca/prof/sijpkes/arch374/winter2001/sfarfa/ensayo1. htm Salvadori, Mario. 1980. â€Å"Florence Cathedral – Dome†. Architecture Around The World. Accessed: 10 February 2008. http://www4. bfn. org/bah/a/virtual/italy/flor/cath/dome. html â€Å"The Early Renaissance in Florence† (date unknown). NGA. Accessed: 10 February 2008. http://www. nga. gov/collection/pdf/gg04en. pdf

The Importance of Volunteering: College Students Should Do Community S

Nowadays, it is very difficult to get a job without a College Diploma. Our ever-increasing demands on student’s academic performances have insured well-educated adults, but what we have failed to focus on is the vital component of volunteerism as an integral part of rearing well-rounded adults. College students should be required to complete a year of community service/volunteer work before they can graduate, in order to create mature and caring adults and versatile future leaders. By mandating all College students across the United States of America to add another year to their studies and use this year for community service/volunteer work only, we will be able to increase their knowledge of community need, civic responsibility, and allow them the opportunity to gain experience and skills applicable to their future. The recent global financial downturn has greatly increased the dire need for volunteers throughout all levels of society. Also, this recession unmasked the reality of not only our current social economic environment, but also revealed the importance of continuing to educate all members of our society as to the importance of community outreach through volunteerism; many of these grass-roots, non-for-profit organizations suffered a detrimental blow to their budgets with the vast reduction of corporate contributions to offset their daily operational cost. These organizations not only rely on economic support, but they heavily depend and count on the continual hands on involvement of their volunteers. In addition to the vast reduction of financial resources, these organizations had drastic cuts in services, community outreach and employment opportunities, which had a severe and direct impact on our society. It is for t... ...eeded transfer and graduating hours all while volunteering and giving back to the community. â€Å"†¦ If you love kids and are great at arts and crafts, you can visit children’s hospitals and lead art activities with pediatric patients† (â€Å"Volunteering†). As you can now see, volunteering is not limited into only one form; there are many options when it comes to volunteering. Some may argue that graduating college students have learned all they need to in years of schooling, which is untrue. Although college students have typically undergone sixteen years of academic schooling, not all have had sixteen years of life lessons and character growth. Volunteering is not only beneficial to the community or organization, but also to the individual partaking in the activity. â€Å"Volunteering gives you an opportunity to change people’s lives, including your own† (â€Å"Volunteering†).

Leatherback Loggerhead or Just Turtle Final

After a hard day of laboring through the grease and grim at your pitiful factory job, you come home and meeting you at the door is a 77 year old desert tortoise. You reach down to stroke the turtle, and it retracts its head into its shell because it wants nothing to do with you, starting to feel threatened it snaps at your fingers. Youngsters and adults typically adore animals and especially loves turtles are not what Kay was trying to convey in this piece. She wanted to use an animal that most people would not, or could not relate too.It depicts a harsh reality to a mundane occurrence. Ryan portrays a turtle using metaphors, rhyming, personification, assonance and imagery to relate that the human daily grind Of humanity is no different than any chelonian. As the reader you are being baited into thinking, â€Å"What is she thinking? Is there a human being in this world that would want to live the life of a turtle? † It remains still hibernating in a rocky self-dug hole for lon g periods of time without any contact to the outside world only to emerge to a cruel and unforgiving reality.Eating grass and trying to avoid a speeding teenager riving on a country road, or a starving alligator seems like a life of misery. She goes on and likens the turtle to something cumbersome that can barely get out of its own way. â€Å"A barely mobile hard roll, a four-oared helmet,† (line 2) Dinner rolls are made to be enjoyed while warm, soft and freshly from the oven, but this roll is hard and not consumable. A meal that the majority would not choose if given the chance, but ingest if absolutely necessary is what a crusty dinner roll represents.It brings to mind rowing a boat with three other people in rough water, just trying to make ground in the choppy sea. Turtles have extremely hard outer shells and have serious problems with locomotion, and Ryan uses these metaphors in the first few lines which portrays a seriously immobile, clumsy loggerhead. Ryan shows us ri ght away that being a turtle IS not like Franklin the Turtle, a character in the Franklin picture book series by Paulette Bourgeois who goes to school and eats sandwiches that his mom makes, or plays outside without care with his friends.This turtle does not go to school, or receive an education like Franklin. The reader can start to identify with the turtle as Ryan gives the animal ender and makes you start to feel for her and the chances the turtle must take to eat. Ryan gives the turtle not a name, but describes it as â€Å"her†. The female or egg laying half of the turtle race who not only has to find food through any means possible, but carry the future while doing so. This responsibility was not by her own choice, it was handed down to her by nature.Gathering food is not something civilized people do on a regular basis; they simple order while resting comfortably in their air conditioned vehicle while listening to their favorite AC/DC soundtrack. On the other hand, he t urtle is dangerously rowing with its four stubby legs towards its meager reward of grass. She is moving so slow and deliberately that any number of creatures could easily stop her quest for nourishment. Ryan pens the word rowing, but turtles cannot row.Those slow, deliberate strokes symbolize just how hard any movement is for this leatherback just to find sustenance. Ryan describes a turtle that is not interested in becoming more than just a subpar being dragging its inconvenient shell, trying to eat and not perish doing so. Her turtle is â€Å"below luck level† and could never imagine winning the lottery† or any other prize that would change her â€Å"pottery† or shell in to wings that would enhance her life immensely. People dream of hitting the jack pot and spending their fortunes, but not this turtle, it is a realist.Ryan uses rhyming with â€Å"lottery and pottery' (line 13, 14) to bring attention just how far away this turtle is from anything great, and th e turtle knows that it will be nothing but a turtle living a life of just getting through the next meal. Ryan compares the turtle to an axled vehicle getting stuck almost on a regular basis. Images of an 18 wheeled tractor-trailer, perched on top of raffiti covered concrete K-rail on the side of the freeway come to mind. There will not be a tow truck coming to save this turtle's day, it must fend for itself.The turtle, precariously wedged on the slant of an oversized stone, using gravity to start a rocking motion to hopefully free itself, hoping that its efforts will not upright her and exposed a soft delectable under belly. One definition of insanity is repeating the same action and expecting a different result. The manager who urgently escapes his workplace at the whistle every day because that is when the work day is done, and then complains he did ot receive his bonus based on effort or lack thereof shows insanity. The turtle is not a truck, a train or even a boat, but Ryan uses personification in reverse to relate these things.Our turtle is avoiding things that would make it more difficult to survive, just as a man working in a belt factory would not raise his hand to show interest in becoming a supervisor. Raised hands mean additional labor and nonexistent satisfaction. The unneeded stress of the responsibilities would surely crush the factory worker and his family would undeniably suffer dire onsequences. â€Å"Almost any slope† (line 6) would defeat the pace of any turtle from finding some grass to eat. The turtle ‘Skirts the ditch which would convert' (line 10) her into turtle tar-tar for any mangy animal that happens to be passing through.Ryan uses assonance to convey that the turtle might be slow, but through experience as learned to avoid hazards just like the belt factory worker. Eating your favorite dish, or remembering that when as a child you saw your mother start to prepare for baking Christmas cookies brings you back to that plac e and time. It is a perfect picture in your mind, even though some cookies were not perfect you still remember the image without flaws and imperfections. The author uses imagery of the turtle turning her shell into a serving dish, upside down and vulnerable.Once the turtle is on its shell, it becomes more than just a helpless creature; it becomes lunch, or even a buffet for all to share. After an alligator snaps the turtle in half and partakes in the majority of the supple meat, other smaller creatures stop by to pick through the steamy entrails and leftover pieces its elongated snout prevents it from eating. It is imperative to understand what Ryan means bynot being able to change her â€Å"pottery to wings† and know that this turtle cannot be anything else, but a mindless creature doing the same thing every day just to survive.Our friend the turtle was merely trying to eat, and not be eaten. Millions of people rise without the shine and go through the same mundaneroutines e ven before leaving their residence. The same monotonous lifestyle or career shapes a society and teaches the masses to just place one foot in front of the other. A homeless man wakes every day from a restless few hours of sleep to instantly onder if he is in imminent danger. He struggles to his feet, and starts a plan of action, not unlike to his previous eleven years.Prison would be an easier life. Themiddle aged soccer mom takes the same steps every day starting at the gymand then to daycare before racing to work to avoid the penalties of being late. They both rarely venture outside of their comfort zone. The homeless man knows what small, slow steps he must take to survive for that moment, and the soccer mom thinks of multiple projects and lists she must complete to provide for herself. In either case, both are going through the ame daily steps and in survival mode to reach the next marker in their life.

Children s Special Educational Needs - 1970 Words

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