第2篇 what a building is.doc

1、A building does not express its meaning in the same way as a picture or a sculpture, because it is by nature much more complex. It demands a prior effort of analysis. In the first place, we never see a building in its totality; we can never obtain more than partial views both of the exterior and interior, with the result that we are always obliged to relate what we can see to what we cannot see to form a clear picture of the whole. It is impossible simply to indulge the pleasure of the eye: one has to think as well as look. To help us in this intellectual exercise we have an important tool to hand, the plan, which inform us simultaneously（同时） about exterior and interior, the whole and the part. Together with the cross section, which reveals（揭示） the structure, it gives in abstract form a composite image of the building which photographs-in whatever number-could never give. It is therefore necessary, before anything else, to learn to read a plan and to familiarize oneself in a general way with the various means of graphic expression used in architecture (cross section, elevation, axonometric plan). 一栋建筑并不会像一幅图片或是一座雕像那样表达它的内含，因为它的自然属性会更加复杂。在欣赏建筑之前，人们需要先进行充足的分析工作。首先，我们从不会看到一个建筑以其整体的姿态出现，而且我们也只能看到内部景象与外部景观的部分场景，因此我们经常会将我们看到的与我们看不到的组成一个清晰的关于整体的样貌。仅仅满足视觉的欢愉是不可能的：人们必须边看边想。为了帮助我们更好地进行这项消耗智力的练习，我们应当去掌握一个重要的工具，那就是平面图。平面图可以同时告知我们内部与外部的信息，也可以告诉我们整体与局部的信息。它与显示结构关系的横向剖面图一起，共同给我们提供了一个抽象的关于整栋建筑的合成图，这种图像是内部摄像所不能提供的。因此，了解与欣赏一个建筑之前，先学会看懂平面，同时让你熟悉认知建筑中多种图像表达方式（剖面，立面，轴测图等）是很有必要的。2、 The transformations（变换） to which buildings are subject constitute（构成、设立） a second difficulty. Very often we can no longer see today what the builders would have wished: projects are abandoned or modified（修改） before completion, parts that were complete are demolished（摧毁）, others, added later, are of a different character. Time, it is true, alters（改变） all works of art, but its effect on architecture is more noticeable because the construction of a major building takes a long time, and because buildings -always intend for use-must be adapted to the changing needs of men. We should not , therefore, look at a building completed at one stretch（拉伸） and still more or less intact, such as Salisbury Cathedral（索尔兹伯里大教堂）, in the same way as we regard an incomplete chateau（不完全的城堡）, such as Brissac（布里萨克城堡）, or a building that has been continuously altered, such as Versailles（凡尔赛宫）. In the first unusual case, we are immediately in a position to appreciate the work of the builders; in the second, we have to imagine what was intended; and in the third case, we have to discover the successive stages（连续阶段） of building to interpret(解释） correctly what we see, and not attribute to the intention of a single architect what was the product of several building campaigns.3、Finally, it should never be forgotten that even the most magnificent宏伟的 buildings were never intended simply as works of art, and that they are incomprehensible if one is unaware of their purpose, whether utilitarian功利的 or symbolic象征的. The particular forms of religious buildings, houses and palaces, are always a reflection of the demands of religious cult宗教祭礼, of everyday life, or of the exercise of power in any given society确定的社会. Less independent than other artists, the architect exercises his powers of invention within a framework框架 strictly defined by the society to which he belongs and the individuals个体 to whom he owes each commission佣金. Such constraints限制, compelling to a degree dependent on the particular age and social level (the Greek temple, the urban dwelling, are highly standardized types),impose limits on invention, but also confer on architecture an important social significance: buildings are a unique embodiment体现 , the most durable耐用的, the most manifest明显的- of the needs and dream of men.最后，绝不能忘记的是：即使是最宏伟华丽的建筑也不能被简单的认为只是艺术的产物，而且如果人们没有认识到建筑建成的原因，无论是功利性的（世俗的）还是象征性的，就很难理解建筑。那些宗教建筑、房屋和宫殿建筑的特有形式，往往是对于日常宗教祭礼要求或特定社会下权利行使需求的回应。建筑师的独立性明显弱于其他艺术家，他们的创造力被紧紧地限制在他们所属的社会和被拖欠的佣金这一框架中。这些在一定程度上受制于特定的时代和社会水平的限制（希腊神庙、城市住宅是高标准的类型）虽强加于创造力上，但同时也赋予了建筑一个重要的社会意义：建筑是满足人类需求和梦想的最显然、最坚固的独特方式。4、We take an interest in a building to the degree to which we see in it effects of volume, space, rhythm and colour that please us. In certain cases-an urban dwelling or rural architecture, for example-these effects are very simple and result above all from harmony between a building and its environment. In other cases-the most interesting -these effects are extremely complex and can be attributed to one or more creative individuals who have deliberately contrived them. Between these two extremes-architecture without architects and the architecture of great masters-there are numerous degree, but it would be pointless to distinguish them. It is more worthwhile to identify the various means of expression available to architecture: one in this way can we enrich our perception of the buildings we encounter. 我们对一个建筑感兴趣，在一定程度上是那些我们看到的让我们愉悦的建筑体积、空间、节奏和色彩的影响。在某些情况下例如：一个城市的住所或者一个农村房屋这些影响是非常简单，因为建筑及其环境之间很和谐。在另一些情况下最有趣的情况这些影响是极其复杂的,可以归因于一个或更多的创造性的人故意做作。在没有建筑师的建筑和那些有很高的学位的建筑大师设计的建筑这两种极端里，区分它们是没有意义的。确定出很多有效的建筑表达方式才是更有价值的，一种这种方式我们才能丰富我们对我们邂逅的建筑的感知。 Contrived adj. 人为的；做作的；不自然的 Extremes n. 狂热分子，极端条件 perception psep()n n. 知觉；生理 感觉；看法；洞察力；获取 Encounter vt. 遭遇，邂逅；遇到 Deliberately adv. 故意地；谨慎地；慎重地建筑（作为学科）的变换构成了第二个难点。经常地在今天我们再也不能看到建筑师曾经期待的：项目在完成之前就被抛弃或修改，已经完成的部分被摧毁，其他的后加入的还有不同的符号表示。诚然，时间改变了所有艺术作品，但是它对于建筑的影响更是显而易见，因为主要建筑的修建要花费更多时间，而且因为建筑总是为必要的使用而改变以适应变化的人类需要。因此，我们不应该看一座建筑在一个程度完成而或多或少的完整固定，像索尔兹伯里大教堂，用相同的方式看待我们认为不完整的城堡，像布里萨克城堡，或一个建筑一直持续在改建，像凡尔赛宫。第一个不寻常的情况，我们会马上站在赞美建筑师的位置上；第二个，我们不得不猜想什么是预期的。第三个情况，我们必须发现建筑建造的连续阶段去正确解释我们看到的，而不是凭空认为一个产生于建筑竞赛的单独建筑的意图。5、 This perception should not be equated with aesthetic appreciation, but it is necessary precondition. Without it, spontaneous judgments which appear to be expressions of personal opinion do no more than（仅仅） repeat preconceived adj. 预想的；（思想或观点）事先形成的ideas-on the bareness of the Romanesque, the excesses of the Baroque, the frigidity of classical churches. Thus we could not recommend to the reader too strongly to forget such prejudices and to look with a fresh eye and open mind in order to appreciate the objectivesn. 目的（objective的复数形式）；目标；宗旨 peculiar adj. 特殊的；独特的；奇怪的；罕见n. 特权；特有财产to each style.这种看法不应等同于审美,但这是必要的前提.似乎没有它,自发的判断,表达个人观点只是重复成见，关于罗马式的赤裸简单，巴洛克的过度繁琐，古典教堂的庄严，因此我们也不推荐读者强烈忘记这样的偏见，要用新鲜的眼光和开放的心态,以欣赏目标看待每个特有的风格。 6、All these observations lead to the same conclusion: a work of architecture is too complex to be understood at first glance; one has simultaneously（同时地） to be aware of all