Instructions

Part 1

Read the late Michael Sorkin’s list – “Two Hundred Fifty Things an Architecture Should
Know.”
(Links to an external site.)
.
Pick one of the 250 things and tell us a bit about it!
Have a great Thanksgiving break.
#65 – Entasis
Entasis: a slight convex curve in the shaft of a column, introduced (maybe?) to correct
the visual illusion of concavity produced by a straight shaft
from the Greek ‘enteinein,’ to stretch or strain
■ Early classical builders did not leave an explanation of their use of entasis.
■ Yale architectural historian, Vincent Scully, argues that entasis emphasizes
the weight of the roof of a building by making the building columns appear to
bulge under the pressure distributed among them.
■ The column shape may also have originated in reference to a palm tree. The
“bulge” is an accurate depiction of the shape of a palm tree trunk.

Part 2

Read the excerpt from Havings Words by Denise Scott Brown in Files>Readings and
answer the following questions:
1. Denise Scott Brown argues that the “powder room is not the time or place to
start exploring” in defense of the restroom as a place of comfortable
standards. Do you agree or disagree? Why?
2. Scott Brown’s article was written in 1967. How have restrooms have changed
since the 1960s?
3. How might restrooms change in the next 50 years? Explain a scenario.
4. Scott Brown describes the experience of several women using inadequate
restrooms. Describe a user’s experience of your restroom design? Are things
easy for them to understand? Are there intentional inconveniences?

Part 3

Read “Stalled! Transforming Public Restrooms” by Joel Sanders, PDF available under
Files > Reading.
Answer the questions below in relation to your project:
1. “Stalled!” refers to public bathrooms as a “crucible” of society’s social
anxieties. Why do you think public restrooms evoke such strong emotions
from the general public?
2. People on both sides of the gendered debate around public restrooms cite
safety concerns (p.110). Why do you think people typically feel unsafe in
restrooms? What is an example of fear?
3. Is the fear you identified solved by the separation of genders within the
restroom?
4. What other fears might people have about public restrooms? Specify another
example.
5. Does the design pictured in “Stalled!”, p.113, address that fear?

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