Bella Luna: An Architectural Masterpiece

Use images at the end of instructions to write a 2 page essay analyzing their architectural aspects as the description below describes.

ANALYTIC PAPER
This assignment asks you to scrutinize and interpret a single example of contemporary commercial off-campus architecture in a thorough and rigorous manner. Your selective analysis will answer the following questions: What particular messages does your structure convey, how precisely does it convey them, and to which specific audience?
Although we live in a profoundly visual culture, seldom do we look at images and spaces in a sustained and analytic fashion. One of the basic goals and premises of this course is the development of skills in critical visual analysis, just as liberal-arts education emphasizes the

STEP ONE: ASSEMBLING THE EVIDENCE
Already we’ve seen how various elites orchestrate the natural and built environment to articulate various forms of power, whether to demonstrate control over tremendous human and natural resources, to express divine status or favor, to align themselves with particular natural phenomena, to intimate subjects or enemies, or to mark off and restrict access to privileged or sacred spaces. Like all producers of visual culture, architects and designers today wield a battery of tools. A successful argument will mobilize many species of visual evidence, including but not
restricted to:
Approach: What do visitors see first? What associations do these first impressions create?
Layout: Why have designers planned this site in this manner? Is there any apparent “program,” or order in which the environment should be experienced? Are some spaces privileged over others?
Design: The overall atmosphere will subtly shape visitors’ expectations and experiences. Here you might also consider scale, media (the materials used), signage, lighting, color, and the physical relationship between the products and the consumers.
Style: Does the architecture or interior design evoke other cultures, historic periods, or structures?
Symbolism: Both the structural exterior and the displays inside may contain specific motifs and symbols. Art historians refer to such culturally-specific visual codes as iconography. What associations do these symbols and images evoke?
Audience: Who is the target audience for this environment? What demographic (in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, region, education, class, etc.) does the store serve? Do the spaces appeal to a particular social group in direct contrast to or at the expense of another? Obviously WalMart, the Shenandoah Farmers’ Market, and Black Sheep Cafe each address a distinct constituency.

STEP TWO: BUILDING AN ARGUMENT
Once you’ve amassed your visual evidence, you’ll need to present it to your reader in a clear and convincing manner. Do not simply list all your description by type of visual evidence; instead, structure of your analysis by message. Each section of your essay will showcase a central message that you feel the advertisers are striving to express, and all visual details in that section will directly substantiate your argument about that message. Thus, your argument must subordinate mere description to analysis of the meanings of your case study. Your conclusion, finally, should demonstrate how the overall image caters to a specific audience. Be economical with your analysis; in such a short paper you must focus selectively on just one or two aspects of your chosen image. A stronger argument will cover fewer phenomena more thoroughly and persuasively rather than more features of site more superficially. Description should always be RELEVANT. Never describe anything about your site unless it directly advances your argument. Conversely, be sure to SUBSTANTIATE your larger arguments with specific details from the site or structure.

WRITING TIPS
Bear in mind I will be reading multiple papers. Both your title and your introductory sentence should grab my attention.

In terms of diction: use the active rather than the passive voice; avoid vague filler words such as really, clearly, or rather; where possible, favor strong, evocative verbs over the bland and ever-tiresome is, has, does, goes, makes, uses, and so on; and always vary your vocabulary. Eschew long, cumbersome, multi-clause sentences; complex syntax makes a poor vehicle for complex ideas. Above all, be sure to proofread: I won’t deduct very much for typos and spelling but slopy writing are ususaly a cleer sign of a last0-minute papre. Your introduction or “thesis” will summarize your paper and set out the questions you intend to answer over the course of your essay (for this reason I strongly recommend that you compose it last, after you’re really worked out your arguments). Likewise, the first, “topic” sentence of each paragraph should encapsulate its contents. I should be able to read just your intro and topic sentences and get a general but complete understanding of your argument and its implications. A draft is always a good idea. Bringing me a draft to review is a better one. The worst thing you can do is to try to write this paper the night before!

DEADLINES AND LOGISTICS
Due to Canvas before class on THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14. Late papers will be downgraded 1/2 grade per day or fraction thereof; a third page of textual analysis will merit the same penalty. Final papers will be 1 to 2 pages, double-spaced, typed, paginated, in twelve-point font, with one-inch margins, and in .docx format. The 1 to 2 pages will be solely reserved for textual analysis.