Convention Exhibition Centre Essays

Convention Exhibition Centre Essays Convention Exhibition Centre Essay Convention Exhibition Centre Essay On the 18th February 2009, several lucky year 11 drama students at Santa Maria College saw Nostalgia by Ishinha at the Perth Convention Exhibition Centre. This play extended for 2 hours, which was a reasonable time frame for such an astounding performance. Prior to the performance, I had very low expectations for the play because I assumed I wouldnt understand the plot, for the dialogue is in Japanese. However, the performance definitely exceeded my expectations because I understood the plot through the non-verbal communication and greatly appreciated this. The performance put aside, the audience was disappointing because I was forced to mix with people I would not normally mix with, and these people carried out rude habits, such as eating and talking during the performance. Nevertheless, the play was that brilliant that I didnt notice this often. Nostalgia is a play about Japanese immigrants migrating to Brazil in 1908. It is the story of Noichi, who wonders around the world, falling in love with Ann along the way. Ann, Noichi, and their new companion, Chikino, wander throughout South America. Unfortunately, they get separated because of racism and struggle to find each other again. Along with racism, Nostalgia faces such issues as friendship, immigration, and discrimination. The dramatic form of Nostalgia is non-realism because of certain theatrical devices. For example: the characters broke the fourth wall; language was stylised through repetition; and dance, song, and unrealistic costume were employed. Even though the form was non-realism, it also included aspects of a representational style because it attempted to create the illusion of life progressing on stage. The settings were extremely detailed and realistic, and the audience is expected to emphasise with the characters. I liked how the action of the play was clearly structured into thirteen obvious scenes, which generally didnt include narrative devices. Each scene had an individual tone. For example, scene 9 had a joyful tone, involving several cheerful children singing questions. Whereas, scene 3 had a distressing tone, because the privacy of the immigrants was violated. The overall tone of the play would be reflective because each scene reflects on different aspects along their journey. The performance space used was a box stage and the set changed every scene. The set was mostly representational in style because it was very realistic, especially in the newspaper factory in scene five. However, it did consist of few presentational scenes because the set was unachievable. Some of these unachievable sets included the beach in scene one, the river in scene six, and the desert in scene eight. The set was extremely effective in creating a sense of place because it was so realistic and believable. The set contributed to the various moods of the play because it emphasized the issues by situating them on a more believable level. There are numerous scenes in Nostalgia that used lighting, which consequently impacted my opinion of the play. Some scenes cleverly used realistic lighting to convey to the audience the time of day. For example, in scene five, the lighting was bright during the day, and then dimmed when it was nighttime. The use of symbolism through lighting really impacted my view of the play. One of the many brilliant examples was in scene three: during the physical examination, there was an extremely bright light symbolising the violation of the immigrants privacy, which contributed to the distressed mood of the scene. There were many sound effects used throughout the duration of the play. One of the powerful examples occurred in scene five: after the protests, fire, rape, and shootings, there was unbelievably loud music, which intensified the scene. This contributed to the chaotic mood of the scene because the loud music added more havoc to the issues already presented. Overall, I definitely enjoyed watching Nostalgia. I believe the play is amazing because of the theatrical techniques, such as music; lighting; song and dance; and scene structure. Surprisingly, I could actually understand the plot, regardless of not being able to recognise the dialogue, because I understood the non-verbal communication. This was a new experience for me, as I had never seen an international play before. Without a doubt, I would recommend everyone to watch Nostalgia!

About the Geodesic Dome in Architecture

About the Geodesic Dome in Architecture A geodesic dome is a spherical space-frame structure composed of a complex network of triangles. The linked triangles create a self-bracing framework that is structurally strong yet elegantly delicate. The geodesic dome could be called the manifestation of the phrase less is more, as a minimum of building materials geometrically arranged ensures a design both strong and lightweight- especially when the framework is covered with modern siding materials like ETFE. The design allows massive interior space, free from columns or other supports. A space-frame is the three-dimensional (3D) structural framework that enables a geodesic dome to exist, as opposed to a typical buildings two-dimensional (2D) frame of length and width. The space in this sense is not outer space, although the resultant structures sometimes look like they come from the Age of Space Exploration. The term geodesic is from Latin, meaning earth dividing. A geodesic line is the shortest distance between any two points on a sphere. Inventors of the Geodesic Dome: Domes are a relatively recent invention in architecture.  Ã‚  Romes Pantheon, rebuilt around 125 AD, is one of the oldest large domes. In order to support the weight of the heavy building materials in early domes, the walls beneath were made very thick and the top of the dome became thinner. In the case of the Pantheon in Rome, an open hole or oculus is at the domes apex. The the idea of combining triangles with the architectural arch was pioneered in 1919 by German engineer Dr. Walther Bauersfeld. By 1923, Bauersfeld had designed the worlds first projection planetarium for the Zeiss Company in Jena, Germany. However, it was R. Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983) who conceived and popularized the concept of geodesic domes being used as homes. Fullers first patent for a geodesic dome was issued in 1954. In 1967 his design was shown to the world with Biosphere constructed for Expo 67 in Montreal, Canada. Fuller claimed that it would be possible to enclose mid-town Manhattan in New York City with a two-mile wide temperature-controlled dome like the one presented at the Montreal exposition. The dome, he said, would pay for itself within ten years...just from the savings of snow-removal costs. On the 50th anniversary of receiving a patent for the geodesic dome, R. Buckminster Fuller was commemorated on a US postage stamp in 2004. An index of his patents can be found at the Buckminster Fuller Institute. The triangle continues to be used as a means to strengthen architectural height, as evidenced in many skyscrapers, including One World Trade Center in New York City. Note the massive, elongated triangular sides on this and other tall buildings. About Space-Frame Structures: Dr. Mario Salvadori reminds us that rectangles are not inherently stiff. So, none other than Alexander Graham Bell came up with the idea of triangulating large roof frames to cover large, barrier-free interior spaces. Thus, write Salvadori, the modern space frame sprang from the mind of an electrical engineer and gave rise to a whole family of roofs having the enormous advantage of modular construction, easy assemblage, economy, and visual impact. In 1960, The Harvard Crimson described the geodesic dome as a structure composed of a large number of five-sided figures. If you build your own geodesic dome model, youll get an idea of how triangles are put together to form hexagons and pentagons. The geometry can be assembled to form all kinds of interior spaces, like architect I.M. Peis Pyramid at The Louvre and the gridshell forms used for the tensile architecture of Frei Otto and Shigeru Ban. Additional Definitions: Geodesic Dome: A structure consisting of a multiplicity of similar, light, straight-line elements (usually in tension) which form a grid in the shape of a dome.- Dictionary of Architecture and Construction, Cyril M. Harris, ed., McGraw- Hill, 1975, p. 227 Space-Frame: A three-dimensional framework for enclosing spaces, in which all members are interconnected and act as a single entity, resisting loads applied in any direction.- Dictionary of Architecture, 3rd ed. Penguin, 1980, p. 304 Examples of Geodesic Domes: Geodesic domes are efficient, inexpensive, and durable. Corrugated metal dome homes have been assembled in undeveloped parts of the world for only hundreds of dollars. Plastic and fiberglass domes are used for sensitive radar equipment in Arctic regions and for weather stations around the world. Geodesic domes are also used for emergency shelter and mobile military housing. The best-known structure built in the manner of a geodesic dome may be Spaceship Earth, the ATT Pavilion at EPCOT in Disney World, Florida. The EPCOT icon is an adaptation of Buckminster Fullers geodesic dome. Other structures using this type of architecture include the Tacoma Dome in Washington State, Milwaukees Mitchell Park Conservatory in Wisconsin, the St. Louis Climatron, the Biosphere desert project in Arizona, the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden Conservatory in Iowa, and many projects created with ETFE including the Eden Project in Britain. Sources: Why Buildings Stand Up by Mario Salvadori, Norton 1980, McGraw-Hill 1982, p. 162;   Fuller, Nervi Candela to Deliver 1961-62 Norton Lecture Series, The Harvard Crimson, November 15, 1960 [accessed May 28, 2016]; History of Carl Zeiss Planetariums, Zeiss [accessed April 28, 2017]