ARC 308 Quiz #2 Multiple Choice

In the lecture on "Structure and Materials" we discussed the relationship between different forces considered in the design of buildings. Which of the following best describes those relationships?

A combination of tension on one side and compression on the other side creates bending in the whole member

In her chapter on "sacredness" Ms. Heschong discusses many different thermal environments that have taken on "remarkable significance" in their culture. Which of the following is not included among her examples?

Air conditioned shopping malls and sports venues reach the status of sacred places because their thermal mechanisms are so invisible.

In her chapter on "Delight" Ms. Heschong notes a propensity of various cultures to enjoy thermal extremes. Which of the following is not one of the comments she makes about these practices?

Australians over-heat and over-air condition their homes as a response to the very uniform climate they live in.

In the chapter on "necessity" in Thermal Delight, Ms. Heschong makes the point that organisms, both plants and animals, have various mechanisms for coping with thermal change. Which of the following is not a point she makes in that regard.

Cold-blooded animals are at a thermal disadvantage to plants because they must just endure thermal conditions or perish.

In the lecture on "climate/energy" which of the following was not noted as a building characteristic responsive to climate in Cameron Offices in Australia?

Deep beams across courtyards channel cool breezes into the building

in the lecture on "geography/topography/ecology" we discussed the term "impervious cover." Which of the following is an accurate statement about that term?

Flooding problems in the area we discussed in southeast Houston were caused, in part, by the area having too much impervious cover.

In the lecture on "Architecture in Response to Climate", several points were made about the ideal massing, fenestration, and sun shading for a building in a climate like Austins. Which of the following is not one of the points made then?

Ideal massing orients long faces east and west and short faces north and south.

In the lecture on "Geography/Topography/Ecology" we discusses the term "impervious cover". Which of the following is an accurate statement about that term?

Impervious cover refers to materials which prevent seepage of rainfall into soils, like slab-on-grade foundations or paved parking lots

In her chapter on "Delight" Ms. Heschong observes, "It is not at all uncommon in Houston or Los Angeles to drive an air-conditioned car to an air-conditions office to dinner at an air-conditioned restaurant before seeing a movie in an air-conditioned theater." Which of the following best describes her response to this steady state thermal environment?

In spite of the extra physiological effort required to adjust to thermal stimuli, people definitely seem to enjoy a range of temperatures rather that constant steady state.

Which of the following best describes the siting of Mont St. Michel, which we looked at in the lecture on "Buildings and Land"?

It is a magnificent partnership between a bold, exceptional landform that juts prominently out of a flat coastal landscape and a building which extends that landform and makes it more dramatic.

In the lecture on "Construction/Tectonics" the building process of S. Maria della Fiore in Florence was described in some detail. Which of the following best describes that process?

It was a long building process slowed down by the plague, indecision about what to do and lack of knowledge about how to construct what they wanted.

In her preface to Thermal Delight, Ms. Heschong makes which of the following statements about the historic role of a fireplace in a house?

Its dancing light, smoky smells, and warm crackling created an ambiance that made a house more a home.

In the lecture on "Relating Buildings to the Land" Frank Lloyd Wrights Fallingwater was noted for all but one of the following. Which is not a trait observed by it?

Its vertical concrete piers reflect the vertical piers of rock, which characterize the site

In the chapter on "necessity" Ms. Heschong notes that "of all creatures, human beings have the greatest variety of thermal strategies available to them." Which of the following is not one such strategy she notes?

Our naked skin functions perfectly in hot, humid tropics as well as in most other climates, meaning that traditional clothing could develop more for ornament that for thermal function.

In her chapter on "Sacredness" Ms. Heschong discusses thermal qualities as status symbol. Which of the following is not an illustration used in this part of the text?

Passive solar houses today are often built more as a status symbol that as an energy conserving building form. Because they are so costly to build and operate they are associated with wealth.

In class we talked about a number of building elements that were made special by the way they dealt with thermal qualities (e.g. courtyard protected from wind at Sea Ranch, front porch in Galveston, fireplace hearth made by rock outcropping at Fallingwater.) Which of the following best describes such places, Ms. Heschong discusses in her chapter on "Affection"?

Places like inglenooks and gazebos carry an association of the experience of well-being with a particular place that leads us to think of it fondly, engendering affection.

In the lecture on "Geography/Topography/Ecology" three major problems were noted in the development of the area around Friendswood, Pearland and Clear Lake City southeast of Houston that contributed to flooding problems. Which of the following is not one of those?

Problems related to diurnal swing

In her preface to the book, Thermal Delight, Ms. Heschong describes her own experience working on a solar building similar to the ones we looked at in the lecture on "Climate". Which of the following best identifies her description of that building?

Rather than simply housing an autonomous mechanical system, the building itself acted as a thermal system. Rooms, windows, and shutters served as both features for living, viewing, etc. and as thermal devices.

In her chapter on "sacredness" Ms. Heschong talks about passive solar-heated buildings (which we also discussed in class) Which of the following is not an observation she makes about them?

She admires the fact that they provide "the convenience of a constant indoor temperature" with an air temperature flux of no more than a few degrees per day.

IN the class on "Architecture in Response to Climate" we talked about porches in Texas and Australia. Which of the following was noted in that lecture as a point Lisa Heschong makes that is applicable to these porches?

Social customs- the ways people socialize and form communities- often involve a thermal aspect

In the lecture on "structure and materials" several examples were cited of Roman masonry projects that were excellent illustrations of bearing (compression) structure. Which of the following is not one of those examples?

The Parthenon

In the first lecture of this segment on "buildings and Land," we discussed Monte Alban in Oaxaca, Mexico in terms of its site and the structures on it. Which of the following best describes an observation that was made in that discussion?

The buildings extend the drama of the hilltop site, in some ways even resembling the shapes in the surrounding landscape

In her chapter on "affection" in Thermal Delight, Ms. Heschong talks about "strong thermal associations" of certain architectural forms. Which of the following is not an accurate match between an architectural form and a thermal association it ties with.

The gazebo, inglenook and porch swing are generally absent of any decoration, even in Victorian buildings. This is because they were seen as functional, utilitarian objects

In her chapter on "Sacredness" Ms. Heschong emphasizes the connection of nature, climate, and weather to cultural and religious attitudes using several examples from the Islamic faith. Which of the following best describes an observation she makes in this regard?

The most benevolent aspects of the weather, the cool breezes and the rain, were identified with either God or the Prophet. The garden became a metaphor for the human condition with the soil identified with human mortality.

In her chapter on "sacredness", Ms. Heschong describes "passive solar-heated buildings" similar to the ones we looked at in class. Which of the following is not consistent with the attitudes she expresses about those buildings?

The primary disadvantage of these buildings is that they may go through an air temperature flux as great as 20F per day. For this reason they can never be widely used.

Which of the following best describes the hypothesis with which Ms. Heschong says she began the work on Thermal Delight in the preface to the book?

The thermal function of a building could be used as an effective element of design. Thermal qualities might be included in the architects initial conception and could influence all phases of design.

At the end of the lecture on "Structure and Materials" we looked at town buildings by Eero Saarinen. Which of the following best describes those buildings and what they indicate about Saarinen's design ideas?

The two buildings look very different because they each express the materials they are made of- steel frame and glass in one instance, and concrete with large stones as aggregate in the other.

At the end of the lecture on "Buildings and Land" we compared two buildings by Frank Lloyd Wright. At the end of the lecture on "Structure and Materials" we compared two buildings by Eero Saarinen. What was the point of the two comparisons?

The two buildings noted for each architect were distinctly different from each other because the architects paid attention to physical considerations that shaped each building.

In the lecture on "Buildings and Land" we discussed three historic settlements that grew out of the landscape- Monte Alban, Acoma, and Mont St. Michel. Which of the following is true of all three of them?

They all occupy elevated landscapes that command broad, sweeping views of the surrounding terrain.

In the lecture on "Architecture in Response to Climate" we looked at two office buildings in the early part of the lecture- Cameron offices in Australia and the Tenneco Building in Houston. Which of the following is true of both of these?

They both have extensive areas of glass protected by deep sun shading to reduce heat gain

In her chapter on "affection" one of Ms. Heschonds primary examples is the family of Harvard professor Lawrence Wylie who moved from their modern American home to a French village house heated by fireplaces. Which of the following best describes their transition?

They found that their family life became concentrated in one room in their French house since it was very difficult and time consuming to keep fireplaces burning all over the house

In the lecture "buildings and land" which of the following observations was made in comparing Taliesin West to Fallingwater?

Though they were designed by the same architect, they have very different visual character because of the very different landscapes and regions they were built.

In the lecture on "Construction/Tectonics" S. Maria della Fiore was noted for all but which of the following construction processes?

Use of flying buttresses (made by employing wooden centering) to reduce the massiveness of the nave walls.

In the lecture on "Geography/Topography/Ecology" The Woodlands near Houston was noted as incorporating several good ideas regarding land planning for that area. Which of the following is not one of the ideas noted?

Use street gutters and storm sewers for drainage rather than unsightly ditches.

In the lecture on the construction process the concrete shells f the Sydney Opera House were noted as

an alteration in shape to Jorn Utzons original competition, which Utzon came up with to ease the construction process