Architecture建筑
Architecture is theart and science of designing structures that organize and enclose space forpractical and symbolic purposes. Because architecture grows out of human needsand aspirations, it clearly communicates cultural values. Of all the visualarts, architecture affects our lives most directly for it determines thecharacter of the human environment in major ways.
Architecture is athree-dimensional form. It utilizes space, mass, texture, line, light, andcolor. To be architecture, a building must achieve a working harmony with avariety of elements. Humans instinctively seek structures that will shelter and enhance their way of life. It is the work of architects to createbuildings that are not simply constructions but also offer inspiration anddelight. Buildings contribute to human life when they provide shelter, enrichspace, complement their site, suit the climate, and are economically feasible.The client who pays for the building and defines its function is an importantmember of the architectural team. The mediocre design of many contemporarybuildings can be traced to both clients and architects.
In order for thestructure to achieve the size and strength necessary to meet its purpose,architecture employs methods of support that, because they are based onphysical laws, have changed little since people first discovered them—even while building materials havechanged dramatically.Theworld’s architecturalstructures have also beendevisedin relation to the objectivelimitations of materials. Structures can be analyzed in terms of how they dealwith downward forces created by gravity. They are designed to withstand theforces of compression (pushing together), tension (pulling apart), bending, ora combination of these in different parts of the structure.
Even development in architecture has been the result of major technological changes. Materials andmethods of construction are integralparts of the design of architecturestructures. In earlier times it was necessary to design structural systemssuitable for the materials that were available, such as wood, stone, brick.Today technology has progressed to the point where it is possible to invent newbuilding materials to suit the type of structure desired. Enormous changes inmaterials and techniques of construction within the last few generations havemade it possible to enclose space with much greater ease and speed and with aminimum of material. Progress in this area can be measured by the difference inweight between buildings built now and those of comparable size built onehundred years ago.
Modernarchitectural forms generally have three separate components comparable toelements of the human body: a supporting skeleton or frame, an outer skinenclosing the interior spaces, and equipment, similar to the body’s vital organs and systems. Theequipment includes plumbing, electrical wiring, hot water, andair-conditioning. Of course in early architecture—suchas igloos and adobe structures—there was no suchequipment, and the skeleton and skin were often one.
Much of the world’s great architecture has beenconstructed of stone because of its beauty, permanence, and availability. Inthe past, whole cities grew from thearduoustask of cutting and pilingstone upon. Some of the world’s finest stonearchitecture can be seen in the ruins of the ancient Inca city of Machu Picchuhigh in the eastern Andes Mountains of Peru. Thedoorways andwindowsare made possible by placing over the open spaces thick stone beamsthat support the weight from above. A structural invention had to be madebefore the physical limitations of stone could be overcome and newarchitectural forms could be created. That invention was the arch, a curvedstructure originally made of separate stone or brick segments. The arch wasused by the early cultures of the Mediterranean area chiefly for undergrounddrains, but it was the Romans who first developed and used the arch extensivelyin aboveground structures. Roman builders perfected the semicircular arch madeof separate blocks of stone. As a method of spanning space, the arch cansupport greater weight than a horizontal beam. It works in compression todivert the weight above it out to the sides, where the weight is borne by thevertical elements on either side of the arch. The arch is among the manyimportant structural breakthroughs that have characterized architecturethroughout the centuries.
以上就是关于“托福TPO3阅读文本”的内容，相信大家对接下来的备考内容，有更清晰的了解。托福考试成绩的高分，并不是一蹴而就的，大家还是需要踏踏实实的练习备考，才能真正的提升我们的分数。