Presence of Water in Architecture

Presence of Water in Architecture Your Name Subject and Section Professor’s Name May 29, 2019 Water has been very significant in almost every aspect of the human society. It is both a necessity and a symbol, not only of life, but also of progress as could be seen among the way most civilizations are formed in relation to different bodies of water. Being a reflection of reality from the mind of an artist, art and architecture have also given utmost importance towards the use of water. Temples, aqueducts, fountains, and even then smaller sculptures utilizes water in order to achieve its purpose whether practical or aesthetic. One specific example of an architecture that uses water is the Aga Khan Museum located in Ontario, Canada. Aga Khan Museum is a museum of Islamic Art, which is designed by the renowned architects Fumihiko Maki, Charles Correa, and Vladimir Djurovic. In this architecture, water is used in order to complement the overall structure of the museum itself, and thus is most appreciable when viewed in a distance. Nonetheless, the grounds of the garden of the museum are mostly white, aside from several huge, square basins laid down with black marble tiles. These basins are filled with water only, about a few inches in height. It is the strategic combination of these aspects – water height, composition, color of the tiles, and background – which gives a reflective surface that complements the structure of the museum that can be viewed in its background. In looking at this, it must be noted that water has been very important to any Islamic architectures around the world, for it is believed that every living creature has emerged from water itself. In this particular architecture, water was used in order to reflect the structure of the museum itself in a symmetrical manner, which evokes an almost melancholic and mysterious feeling amongst its viewers.[Castro, Fernanda. 2018. The Aga Khan Museum / Maki ...