Building engineers

UNIT II

1.Identify all the participle forms in the text “English Country Architecture” and translate the sentences into Russian.

2.Read the text and make your conclusions using the read information.

English Country Architecture

In the Anglo-Saxon period a private fortress was often called just the hall. Indeed, behind its walls there was one big hall where the household dined together. The lord’s family sat on a raised platform called the dais. The floor of the hall was used by servants for sleeping, after the tables were stacked against the wall. The lord’s family had a separated room to sleep in. After the Norman Conquest, the castles of new (Continental) type appeared in Britain, usually built of white stone. The oldest castle of this type built by William the Conqueror is known as the Tower of London. The biggest of English castles is Windsor Castle. It still belongs to the royal family but, when the Queen is not there, it is open to visitors.

The Norman castle usually had the stone main tower for the lord’s family to live in. It is called the keep. Berkley Castle has a prison cell where Edward II was murdered in 1327. Warwick Castle was built for Earl of Warwick, the King-Maker, who got this nickname for changing sides during the Wars of the Roses, helping to dethrone one king and to crown another. Hever Castle in Kent remembers the days of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, his wife, later beheaded by the order of her husband.

The last private house that called itself “castle” is Thornbury, built in 1511. By this time, the castles had lost military significance and the great houses that were built later are usually called country houses. Like castles, they have historical and cultural associations. For example, Blenheim Palace near Oxford was built by the Duke of Marlborough to commemorate the Battle of Blenheim and has a park with trees laid out in the form of troops during this battle, in which the first owner of the house took part. Another famous place is Wilton House near Nottingham. It has a room which contains a famous picture gallery. The last house, which deserves to be called a Country House, was Castle Drogo, built in Devon in 1930.

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During the Norman times, the church became the dominant influence in the lives of people, although Christianity was introduced there much earlier, in 597, by St. Augustine and his missionaries. In order to build the first churches, they had to bring the masons from France and Italy, as men in Britain could not build in brick and stone. The early English churches were mostly with spires, for a spire was believed to represent a finger pointing to God. A typical example is the spired cathedral in Salisbury. The Normans began to build round arches to their doors and windows. This style was called “Norman” after them.

In time builders became more skilful and as a result slender pillars were used to support decorated vaulted roofs. Doors and windows now had pointed arches. This architecture is called Gothic. During the period of Renaissance the architects began to build domed cathedrals. The most famous English domed cathedral was St. Paul’s, built by Christopher Wren. Modern churches either repeat the classic designs or may be quite unusual in design. For instance, the New Coventry Cathedral looks more like a factory than a church. It incorporates the ruins of the medieval cathedral destroyed by bombing during World War II [3].

3.Answer the following questions using the text.

1.Why the term “hall” was often used to refer to Anglo-Saxon strongholds?

2.When did the first stone castles appear in Britain?

3. What are the names of the oldest English castles of the Continental type?

4.Who is the owner of Windsor Castle? Is it open to visitors?

5.Do you know the terms used to refer to different parts of the castle?

6. Why is Thornbury Castle called the last castle ever built in Britain?

7.What term is used to refer to great private houses that were built after 1511?

8.Who and when introduced Christianity in Britain?

9.Who built churches during that early period?

10.Which modern cathedral is most often criticized as being especially provocative?

4.Emphasize 1-2 sentences in every paragraph which you think not to be very important.

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Appendix A

TEXTS FOR SUMMARIZING

Работа с оригинальным текстом связана с необходимостью извлекать и фиксировать полезную информацию, полученную при чтении. Одним из важных видов такой работы является составление реферата. Реферирование литературы представляет собой такую обработку текста, в результате которой создается текстаннотация или текст-реферат.

Рефератом называется текст, построенный на основе смысловой компрессии первоисточника с целью передачи его главного содержания. Реферат – это не сокращенный перевод и не пересказ источника, он должен отвечать на вопрос, какая новая информация заключена в реферируемой работе.

Приступая к реферированию, необходимо:

1)устно и письменно перевести текст источника;

2)выделить ключевые отрывки, несущие в себе основной

смысл;

3)отобрать те главные факты, данные и положения, которые должны быть отражены в реферате, и выстроить их в логической последовательности;

4)руководствуясь внутренней логикой текста и пользуясь внутренними формулировками, обобщить содержание текста источника.

Аннотация – это предельно сжатое описание материала, имеющее своей целью дать представление читателю, о чем сообщает первоисточник.

Из аннотации можно узнать о наличии определенного материала, познакомиться с его выходными данными (автор, название, место и год издания, название газеты или журнала, где опубликован аннотируемый материал, номер и дата опубликования) и получить общее представление о его содержании.

Аннотация носит более обобщенный характер, чем реферат. Она дает лишь самое общее представление о содержании оригина-

ла [7].

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TEXT 1

1.Read the text and make a summary using the following expressions.

1.As you can see from the title the text is devoted to …

2.According to the text …

3.It is arranged as follows …

4.The first part describes …

The second part gives …

5.It is pointed out that …

6.From my point of view …

House of Water and Glass

Kenzo Kuma

Location: Shizouka, Japan. Architect: Kenzo Kuma. Scheme:

House for guests of a Japanese company. Floor Area: 1125 m (12,100 ft).

The House of Water and Glass is located on the edge of a cliff, on the coast of Atami, looking out over the Pacific Ocean. The materials used are all light, such as glass, steel, or wood; these, according to Kenzo Kuma, are materials of the present. The floor of the top level is covered by a sheet of water 15 cm ( 6 in) deep. Three glass structures, two square and one oval, have been placed over this and are reflected on the water. These are covered by a roof of metal sheets. Access is from parking lot through an open door in a granite wall, which leads directly to a bridge of concrete and steel. On the floor below there is a bedroom in the Japanese style, a room for administration, a meeting room, and a gymnasium. On the access level floor is the dining room, to the right the kitchen and the sushi bar, and to the left visitors’ rooms. On the top floor, the two rectangular structures contain guest rooms, and in the oval one there is a dining room. The central idea of the House of Water and Glass is the study of different ways of seeing, in this case, nature: all in a general atmosphere of calm and equilibrium and with a rational use of materials [3].

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TEXT 2

1.Read the text and make a summary using the following expressions.

1.The object of this paper is to present …

2.The paper is concerned with …

3.The paper begins with …

4.Then follows a discussion on …

5.The final paragraph states …

6.In my opinion …

Republic Plaza

Kisho Kurokawa architects & associates

Location: Singapore. Architect: Kisho Kurokawa. Associates:

Tatsuaki Tanaka, Akira Yokohama, Hiroshi Kanematsu, Kazunori Uchida, Masahiro Kamei, Nobuo Abe, Yukio Yoshida, Ichiro Tanaka, Naotake Uekei, Iwao Miura. Scheme: 66 floors of offices and residential apartments.

As is the case with many other skyscrapers, the tower is matched by a lower body element, in this case a five-story podium. The podium is used for banking offices, and the tower for rented offices. On the eastern side, facing Raffles Place, is a cantilever canopy for vehicle reception. The columns of the building define an exterior portico corridor which provides access to the interior and the transitional area. The remainder of the first floor forms a reception area around the nucleus, accommodating the set of elevators. This nucleus element, which is repeated on all the floors, forms a central rotated through 45 . The building podium is also connected to the reception area. On the northeast side is another canopy, and a number of escalators which convey pedestrians to the underground levels through a broad opening. The first basement floor offers a wide variety of shops and restaurants, and is linked to the subway terminus located beneath raffles Place. The building, with a total of 66 floors, is surmounted by the residential accommodation of the owner, at the very peak of the structure [3].

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TEXT 3

1.Read the text and make a summary using the following expressions.

1.The paper puts forward the idea …

2.The paper deals with some aspects of …

3.First, the author points out that …

4.Next the author tries to …

5.The conclusion is that the problem is …

6.I think …

Galeries Lafayette

Jean Nouvel

Location: Friedrichstadt Passagen Block 207. FriedrichstrasseFranzosischestrasse, Berlin, Germany. Competitive tender: March 1991. Client: Euro-Projekt Entwicklungs GmbH. Architect: Jean Nouvel. Project managers: Barbara Salin (tender phase), Laurence Daude (execution phase), Judith Simon, Viviane Morteau (works management). Net floor area: 39,585 m (426,000 ft). Scheme: Shopping mall, offices, apartments, and parking.

This is a building with a fairly diverse composition, including store space for Galeries Lafayette, as well as offices, shops, apartments, and parking. As shown in the photograph, the chosen site occupies a little over half a block in Berlin, next to the Schinkel Schauspielhaus. The size of the block will enable up to seven floors to be constructed, as well as four underground levels. Nouvel plans to have the four sides of the building (including the roof) completely covered with glass, so that the play between the natural light penetrating from outside, the artificial light produced by the building itself, and, finally, the various reflections generated by all these creates an atmosphere that is both spectacular and at the same time clearly has a functional element. In order to achieve these objectives, and given the dimensional characteristics of the building, Nouvel resorted to the strategy of drilling holes from the roof through the entire glass structure, so that the light penetrates at numerous points, all of them different and organized in hierarchical fashion [3].

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TEXT 4

1.Read the text and make a summary using the following expressions.

1.The article attempts to determine …

2.The article provides information on …

3.At the beginning the author notes that …

4.After discussing … the author turns to …

5.Finally the author admits that …

6.To my mind …

Sea Hawk Hotel

Cesar Pelli & Associates

Location: Fukuoka, Japan. Architect: Cesar Pelli & Associates. Scheme: Hotel/resort, exterior gardening.

Built on the edge of the sea, visible from the city and constructed like a lighthouse, the hotel’s design creates a collection of sculptural forms on the bay. The curves of the roof and walls relate to the elements: water and wind. The complex consists of buildings of different sizes. On the 34 floors of the high tower (in the shape of a boat) there are 1052 rooms, all with a view of the sea. The composition of fragmented curves echoes the profiles of a baseball stadium’s monumental roofs. This tall tower contrasts with the round shapes of the lower building’s glass cupolas. The walls are finished in ceramic tiles that form a rich texture of different colors and designs. The foyer is an elegant and quiet entrance for hotel guests, as opposed to the high, luminous and lively space of the glass atrium. In the form of a glass horn and open to the sea, the atrium is designed as an urban plaza with fountains and trees that invite both private conversations and public performances [3].

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TEXT 5

1.Read the text and make a summary using the following expressions.

1.The purpose of this article is to give …

2.The article is devoted to …

3.At first the author notes that …

4.It must be emphasized that …

5.To sum up the author emphasized that …

6.To my mind …

Champs Elysees remodeling

Bernard Huet

Location: Paris, France. Client: Municipality of Paris. Architect: Bernard Huet. Associates: Oliver Bressac, Jean-Baptiste suet (project designers): Omnium (engineering): Jean-Michel Wilmotte, Marc Dutoit (street furniture); GTM-DS (parking lot construction).

Without doubt, the Arc de Triomphe is a memorable focal point from any perspective. But in regard to the architecture flanking the Champs Elysees it is above all the alignment and dimensional unity, rather than the somewhat modest quality of its facades when considered separately, which contribute to the coherence of this urban composition. As Bernard Huet says, the chief factors in this context are, for instance, the surface of the paving, the alignment of the trees, and the design of the street furniture. The sidewalks, which are all at the same level, and therefore needed a proper drainage system designed, have been organized into two groups differentiated by the treatment of the paving. The pedestrian promenade, which is completely empty except for the exits from the subway and parking lots, has been designed with large light-gray granite slabs, punctuated by small blue-gray tiles. In the second group of sidewalks, between the new line of trees and the street furniture, the rhythm is marked by small light-colored tiles, cut by a series of darker double bands going across, in line with the trees. This system serves as a basis for the urban furniture. This concept and the unity of aspect, color, and material sought by the project designers should reinforce the perception of space and the coherence of an urban plan to which contributions throughout the centuries have been the fruit of the same unique straight thinking in this regard [3].

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TEXT 6

1.Read the text and make a summary using the following expressions.

1.The object of this paper is to describe …

2.The paper deals with some aspects of …

3.First the author describes that …

4.The next paragraph presents …

5.The conclusion is that the problem is …

6.I’ve learned a lot …

M & G Research

Samyn and Partners

Location: Venafro, Italy. Architect: Ph. Samyn, A. Cermelli, A.Charon, M.D. Ramos, M. Van Raemdonck, B. Vleurick, Studio H. Consultants: SETESCO (structure), CANOBBIO (roof structure). Area: 2700 m (8900 ft).

These chemical laboratories are in Venafro, a township in the south of Italy located in a long valley surrounded by hills, fields of crops, and traditional buildings. Right from the initial sketches, the idea was to create a roof which would form a single volume, of an awning type, oval in shape, with dimensions of about 85 × 32 m (280 × 105 ft) and a height of 15 m (49 ft), supported by transverse arches and longitudinal cables. The whole structure is located in the center of a pool, likewise oval in shape, which not only has a landscaping function but also provides a means of regulating the heat of the laboratory facilities. The interior space is lit by the inherent transparency of the membrane, and by a series of perimeter arches, adapted to serve as windows. The membrane is made of PVC-coated polyester. Inside, research programs are carried out which call simultaneously for heavy machinery and delicate experimentation. Located beneath the awning are the equipment and a second two-story structure which accommodates offices and services, these being accessed by a system of linking passageways [3].

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TEXT 7

1.Read the text and make a summary using the following expressions.

1.The main idea of the text is …

2.According to the information given in the text …

3.At the beginning the author describes that …

4.The first part describes …

5.The final paragraph states …

6.From my point of view …

Hotel Paramount

Philippe Starck

Location: New York, USA. Client: IanSchrager, Philil Pilevsky, Arthur Cohen, Morgans Hotel group. Architect: Philippe Starck. Associates: Anda Andrei (associatearchitect), Michael Overington (works director).

The plan for the hotel included 610 rooms, two restaurants, an elegant club, a gymnasium, a creche space, areas for shops and exhibitions, and even a small cinema. The hotel aspires to offer functional comfort in the context of almost poetic design. The emblematic façade of the building has made respectful use of its original structure. The first floor is defined by a series of 12 pointed arches over a glass surface with no visible frame or joins. The central interior courtyard is a rectangular space of double height. The whole area becomes a stage set, an idea that is reinforced by the checkerboard carpet reminiscent of the game of life itself.

The intermediate floor, occupied by one of the hotel restaurants, is in the form of a gallery that is open to the interior courtyard. A glass screen reveals the ambiguous function of these balconies, which act both as viewing points and display cabinets at the same time.

The architectural forms used in the hotel are based on chromatic and structural neutrality. Their severity and rigidity are transferred outside by the use of the color gray on stucco or plaster ornaments, roofs, and paving. The hotel’s interior color scheme looks energetic and sensual, lending vitality to the activities taking place. The color motifs are repeated in the bathrooms. The polished surfaces and the mirrors multiply the visual perspectives and the sensation of size. The recurring rose red theme evokes lyrical references. The interior of the rooms has been designed personally by Starck himself with the very clear intention of creating a comfortable atmosphere that is like a second home [3].

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