Schematic plan of a megaron complex. 1: anteroom, 2: hall (main room), 3: columns in Porch and hall

The Megaron complex at Mycenae, view from the main hall (circular hearth visible in foreground) through the anteroom and porch.

The megaron (plural megara) (Ancient Greek: μέγαρον) is the great hall of the Grecian palace complexes. It was a rectangular hall, fronted by an open, two-columned porch, and a more or less central, open hearth vented though an oculus in the roof above it and surrounded by four columns. It is the architectural predecessor of the classical Greek temple. It was used for poetry, feasts, worship, sacrifice, formal royal functions, councils, and is said to be where guests of the king would stay during their visits. Originally it was very colorful — made with the Minoan architectural order, the insides made of fired brick and a wooden roof supported on beams. The rooftop was tiled with ceramic and terracotta tiles.
In the theory of architecture, the Megaron is considered to be the earliest architectural act. It is the earliest intervention that transforms utilitarian buildings into buildings with architectural qualities. The Megaron creates the notion of special approach and axis and thus is considered to be the predecessor of all orders in architectural theory.

A famous megaron is in the large reception hall of the king in the palace of Tiryns, the main room of which had a throne placed against the right wall and a central hearth bordered by four Minoan-style wooden columns that served as supports for the roof.

The megaron of Odysseus is well described in the Odyssey.

• Biers, William R. 1987. The Archaeology of Greece: An Introduction. (Ithaca: Cornell University Press)
• Klein, Christopher P. (Editor in Chief) Gardner's Art Through the Ages. Tenth edition. Harcourt Brace (1996). ISBN 0-15-501141-3
• Vermeule, Emily, 1972. Greece in the Bronze Age (Chicago: University of Chicago Press).
• Another of Homer's works is The Iliad, which is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters.

This Ancient Greece-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

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Wim Mertens
Born	(1953-05-14) 14 May 1953 (age 59) Neerpelt, Belgium
Nationality	Belgium
Occupation	musician

Wim Mertens (born 14 May 1953) is a Flemish Belgian composer, countertenor vocalist, pianist, guitarist, and musicologist.

Life and work[link]

Mertens was born in Neerpelt, Belgium. He studied social and political science at the University of Leuven (graduating in 1975) and musicology at Ghent University; he also studied music theory and piano at the Ghent Conservatory and the Royal Conservatory of Brussels.

In 1978, he became a producer at the then BRT (Belgian Radio and Television, now called Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroep). For Radio 2 (Radio Brabant) he produced concerts by Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Terry Riley, Meredith Monk, Urban Sax and others, and hosted a program called Funky Town together with Gust De Meyer (with whom he recorded the experimental album For Amusement Only).

Known primarily as a composer since the early 1980s, Mertens is best known for his opus "Struggle for Pleasure". He is also well known for his piece "Maximizing the Audience", which was composed for Jan Fabre's play The Power of Theatrical Madness, which premiered in 1984 in Venice, Italy.

Mertens' style has continually evolved during the course of his prolific career, starting from downright experimental and avant-garde, always gravitating around minimalism, usually, however, preserving a melodic foundation to the forays that he makes into the worlds that he is exploring. His compositional quality has often overweighted the "labelling issue" and reached wider audiences although stemming from a far-from-mainstream musical context (see section In popular culture). One can follow three separate threads of musical styles throughout his work: a) Compositions for ensemble, perhaps his most accessible and "commercial" material; b) Solo piano and voice compositions, which features haunting keyboard melodies accompanied by Mertens' unique high-pitched tenor voice singing in an invented, personal language; and c) Experimental minimalist "cycles" for single, dual, and sometimes more instruments.

Mertens has released more than 50 albums to date, the majority of which were issued by Les Disques du Crépuscule from 1980 until 2004. Mertens also produced a number of Crépuscule releases and consulted with the label on its choice of works by contemporary composers such as Michael Nyman, Gavin Bryars, and Glenn Branca. Mertens also curated a series of releases for a Crépuscle imprint, Lome Armé, that featured works from the classical era as well as contemporary jazz.

Mertens' music was used in the 1987 Peter Greenaway film The Belly of an Architect, along with that of Glenn Branca also in the Dutch-British film Shadow Man (1988), directed by Piotr Andrejew, as well as in the Brazilian documentary Nós que Aqui Estamos por Vós Esperamos (Here We Are Waiting for You), directed by Marcelo Masagão.

Mertens is the author of American Minimal Music,^[1] which looks at the school of American repetitive music and the work of LaMonte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and Philip Glass.

In March 1998 Mertens became the Cultural Ambassador of Flanders.

Mertens can be heard on the CD Indeterminate Activity of Resultant Masses of Glenn Branca, which published an interview of Mertens with John Cage.

In August 2007 Mertens signed a contract with EMI Classics for his entire catalog.^[2] The label re-released his entire back-catalog beginning in January 2008. EMI Music Belgium has also released Mertens' new work, beginning with the 9-track album Receptacle on 24 September 2007. For this album Mertens decided to work with an orchestra consisting of only women, 17 in total. It is not the first time that Mertens has worked together with EMI. Already in 1999 Mertens released the soundtrack to the Paul Cox film Molokai: The Story of Father Damien via EMI Classics.

New work released in 2008 includes the CD L'heure du loup which, similar to some of his experimental works, contains a series of tracks based on variations around one composition, the previously released Hors nature. Mertens also released a box set of six volumes from his live Years Without History series, the sixth volume of which (The Promise Kept in Advance) is only available with the box set. A seventh volume, Nosotros, was also released in 2008. It contains a recording from July 2002 at the Kasteeldomein van Gaasbeek in Belgium, the live premiere of material that would later be released on the Skopos CD. Other live albums and a DVD concert performance have been released as well.

In April 2010 Mertens released his first new compositions in several years on the CD Zee Versus Zed.

Discography[link]

• 1980 - For Amusement Only - The Sound of Pinball Machines
• 1982 - At Home - Not At Home
• 1982 - Vergessen
• 1983 - Close Cover
• 1983 - Struggle for Pleasure
• 1984 - The Power of Theatrical Madness (Limited Edition Single)
• 1984 - A Visiting Card
• 1985 - Usura (under the band name Soft Verdict)
• 1985 - Maximizing the Audience
• 1986 - Close Cover (2)
• 1986 - A Man of No Fortune, And with a Name to Come
• 1986 - Hirose
• 1986 - Instrumental Songs
• 1987 - Educes Me
• 1987 - The Belly of an Architect
• 1988 - Whisper Me
• 1988 - After Virtue
• 1989 - Motives for Writing
• 1990 - No Testament
• 1990 - Play for Me
• 1991 - Alle Dinghe Part III: Alle Dinghe
• 1991 - Alle Dinghe Part II: Vita Brevis
• 1991 - Alle Dinghe Part I: Sources of Sleeplessness
• 1991 - Stratégie De La Rupture
• 1991 - Hufhuf (Single taken from Stratégie De La Rupture, including previously unreleased material)
• 1992 - Houfnice
• 1992 - Retrospectives Volume 1
• 1992 - Shot and Echo
• 1993 - A Sense of Place
• 1994 - Epic That Never Was
• 1994 - Gave Van Niets [Promo] [1994-11]
• 1994 - Gave Van Niets Part IV: Reculer Pour Mieux Sauter [1994-11]
• 1994 - Gave Van Niets Part III: Gave Van Niets [1994-11]
• 1994 - Gave Van Niets Part II: Divided Loyalties [1994-11]
• 1994 - Gave Van Niets Part I: You'll Never Be Me [1994-11]
• 1995 - Jeremiades [1995-04]
• 1996 - Entre Dos Mares [1996]
• 1996 - Lisa [1996-04]
• 1996 - Jardin Clos [1996-10]
• 1996 - As Hay in the Sun [1996-10]
• 1996 - Piano & Voice [1996-12]
• 1997 - Sin Embargo [1997-10]
• 1997 - Best Of [1997-11]
• 1998 - In 3 or 4 Days (Single taken from Integer Valor, including previously unreleased material)
• 1998 - Integer Valor
• 1998 - And Bring You Back
• 1999 - Father Damien
• 1999 - Integer Valor - Intégrale
• 1999 - Kere Weerom Part III: Decorum
• 1999 - Kere Weerom Part II: Kere Weerom
• 1999 - Kere Weerom Part I: Poema
• 2000 - If I Can
• 2000 - Rest Meines Ichs (Single accompanying Der Heisse Brei, not sold separately)
• 2000 - Der Heisse Brei
• 2001 - At Home - Not At Home
• 2001 - Aren Lezen [Promo]
• 2001 - Aren Lezen Part I: If Five Is Part Of Ten
• 2001 - Aren Lezen Part II: Aren Lezen
• 2001 - Aren Lezen Part III: Kaosmos
• 2001 - Aren Lezen Part IV: aRe
• 2002 - Years Without History Volume 1 - Moins De Mètre, Assez De Rythme
• 2002 - Years Without History Volume 2 - In The Absence Of Hindrance
• 2002 - Years Without History Volume 3 - Cave Musicam
• 2002 - Wim Mertens Moment Box set featuring Vergessen, Ver-Veranderingen (Previously recorded 1981 but unreleased), The Belly of an Architect, Struggle for Pleasure, Motives for Writing, Maximizing the Audience, Instrumental Songs, If I Can, For Amusement Only, Educes Me, At Home - Not At Home, After Virtue, A Man of No Fortune, And with a Name to Come
• 2003 - Years Without History Volume 4 - No Yet, No Longer
• 2003 - Skopos
• 2004 - Years Without History Volume 5 - With No Need For Seeds
• 2004 - Shot and Echo/A Sense of Place (including previously unreleased material)
• 2005 - Un respiro
• 2006 - Partes Extra Partes
• 2007 - Receptacle
• 2008 - Platinum Collection
• 2008 - L'heure du loup
• 2008 - Years Without History vol. 1-6 boxset (vol. 6 available only in this boxset)
• 2008 - Years Without History Volume 7: Nosotros
• 2009 - Music and Film (3-CD boxset with over 20 unreleased tracks)
• 2009 - The World Tout Court
• 2009 - QUA (37-CD reissue of the complete cycle previously known as Alle Dinghe)
• 2010 - Zee Versus Zed
• 2011 - Series of Ands/Immediate Givens (2-CDs, two separate albums released together)
• 2011 - Open Continiuum / Tenerife Symphony Orchestra(OST) (2-CDs and one DVD)

In popular culture[link]

• With that same title, the collection of electronic music Café del Mar features in its 5th volume "Close Cover", one of the most melodic and, in a way, classical pieces of the author.
• "Struggle for Pleasure" was directly covered by Belgian dance music project Minimalistix in 2000 and reached the Top 40 in the charts in many European countries including the United Kingdom, Belgium and the Netherlands. The group also did a successful cover of, again, "Close Cover".
• A cover appeared in 2001 on Gatecrasher Digital. Elastica presents Jesus Elices 'Maximizing the Audience'.
• The James Bond novel High Time to Kill (Raymond Benson, 1999) contains a passing reference to the music of Wim Mertens, in which characters in the novel comment on the music playing in a cafe. Benson, the fourth official James Bond novelist, is a fan of Mertens' music. The reference is somewhat ironic given the interest in James Bond culture shown by Michel Duval, the founder of Les Disques du Crépuscule.
• "Struggle for Pleasure" also inspired one of the most influential Electronic dance music tracks - Energy 52's trance music project called "Café Del Mar", firstly released on Eye Q Records in 1993. It became a successful hit in 1997 with Three 'n One remix, and Nalin & Kane remixes in 1998. In April 2011, the song was voted number one in Pete Tong's Top 20 Dance Tracks of the last 20 years.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Wim Mertens at WimMertens.be (official website)
• Wim Mertens at Allmusic
• Wim Mertens discography at Discogs

Renzo Piano
Piano in 2007
Born	(1937-09-14) 14 September 1937 (age 74) Genoa, Italy
Nationality	Italian
Alma mater	Politecnico di Milano
Awards	Pritzker Architecture Prize AIA Gold Medal Sonning Prize Royal Gold Medal Kyoto Prize
Work
Practice	Renzo Piano Building Workshop
Buildings	Centre Georges Pompidou Parco della Musica Shard London Bridge

Nemo Science Centre in Amsterdam. The shape reflects the tunnel entrance it is built on

The Living Roof of the California Academy of Sciences, a museum and research facility in San Francisco, California

Kansai International Airport, Osaka, Japan (1991–1994)

Central Saint Giles, London, England (2010)

Renzo Piano, Ufficiale OMRI (born 14 September 1937 in Genoa) is an Italian Pritzker Prize-winning architect. Architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff said of Piano's works that the "...serenity of his best buildings can almost make you believe that we live in a civilized world."^[1]

In 2006, Piano was selected by TIME as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.^[2] He was selected as the 10th most influential person in the "Arts and Entertainment" category of the 2006 Time 100.

Biography[link]

Piano was born in Genoa, Italy, in 1937 into a family of builders. He was educated and subsequently taught at the Politecnico di Milano. He graduated from the University in 1964 and began working with experimental lightweight structures and basic shelters.^[3] From 1965 to 1970 he worked with Louis Kahn and Z.S. Makowsky. He worked together with Richard Rogers from 1971 to 1977; their most famous joint project is the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris (1977). He also had a long collaboration with the engineer Peter Rice, with whom he shared a practice (L'Atelier Piano and Rice) between 1977 and 1981.

In 1981, Piano founded the Renzo Piano Building Workshop, which today employs 150 people and maintains offices in Paris, Genoa, and New York.^[4]

In 1999, Piano designed a watch entitled "Jelly Piano (GZ159)" for the Swatch Summer Collection. The watch design is clear and the exposed inner workings were influenced by his Centre Georges Pompidou design.^[5]

On 18 March 2008, he became an honorary citizen of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.^[6]

Piano's recent expansion of the Art Institute of Chicago includes a 264,000-square-foot (24,500 m²) wing with 60,000 square feet (5,600 m²) of gallery space^[7] called the Modern Wing, which opened on 16 May 2009.^[1][8] It includes a "flying carpet", a sunscreen that hovers above the roof and a 620-foot (190 m) steel bridge connecting Millennium Park to a sculpture terrace that leads into a restaurant on the wing’s third floor.^[9]

Select projects[link]

Current[link]

• ARS AEVI Museum of Contemporary Art^[10] in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (1999–)^[11]
• Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, Tjuvholmen, Oslo, Norway (2002–)^[12]
• Centro de Arte Botín, Santander, Spain (2011–)
• City Gate, Royal Opera House, Parliament of Malta, and Freedom Square, Valletta, Malta (2009–)
• Columbia University Manhattanville Campus Master Plan and Jerome L. Greene Science Center, New York, New York (2004–)
• Harvard Art Museums expansion and renovation, Cambridge, Massachusetts (2009–)
• Kimbell Art Museum expansion, Fort Worth, Texas (2008–)
• KT Corporation headquarters, Seoul, South Korea (2011–)
• Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California (2003–)
• Pathé Foundation headquarters, Paris, France (2006–)
• Renzo Piano Tower I & II, San Francisco, California (2006–)
• Sesto San Giovanni masterplan, Milan, Italy (2004–)
• Shard London Bridge, London, England (2000–)^[13]
• Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, Athens, Greece (2008–)
• Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, New York (2005–)

Completed[link]

• Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum wing, Boston, Massachusetts (2005–2012)
• Central Saint Giles, London, England (2010)
• Modern Wing expansion of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois (2009)
• Nichols Bridgeway, Chicago, Illinois (2009)
• California Academy of Sciences rebuilding, San Francisco, California (2008)
• Vulcano Buono, Nola, Italy (2007)
• The New York Times Building, New York, New York (2003–2007)
• Rocca di Frassinello Winery, Gavorrano, Italy (2002–2007)
• Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern, Switzerland (1999–2005)
• The Morgan Library & Museum expansion, New York, New York (2003–2006)
• Cité Internationale, Lyon, France (1995–2006)
• Weltstadthaus, Cologne, Germany (2005)
• High Museum of Art Expansion, Atlanta, Georgia (2005)
• Padre Pio Pilgrimage Church, San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy (2004)
• Il Sole 24 Ore headquarters, Milan, Italy (1998–2004)
• Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas, Texas (1999–2003)
• Parco della Musica, Rome, Italy (2002)
• Maison Hermès, Tokyo, Japan (2001)
• Auditorium Paganini, Parma, Italy (2001)
• Aurora Place, Sydney, Australia (1996–2000)
• Potsdamer Platz master plan, Berlin, Germany (1992–2000)
• Ferrari wind tunnel, Maranello, Italy (1996–1998)
• Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Center, Nouméa, New Caledonia (1991–1998)
• Ushibuka Haiya Bridge, Amakusa, Japan (1991–1997)
• Beyeler Foundation Museum, Basel, Switzerland (1991–1997)
• NEMO science museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands (1997)
• Cy Twombly Gallery, Houston, Texas (1995)
• International Terminal, Kansai International Airport, Osaka, Japan (1991–1994)
• Stadio San Nicola, Bari, Italy (1988–1989)
• Menil Collection, Houston, Texas (1982–1987)
• Banca CIS building, Cagliari, Sardinia (1985)
• IBM Travelling Pavilion, (1982–1984)
• IRCAM & the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France (1971–1977)

Cancelled[link]

• City Tech Tower, New York, New York
• Trans National Place, Boston, Massachusetts

Awards[link]

Cavaliere di Gran Croce Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana, 24 March 1990^[14]
Italian Order of Merit for Culture and Art, 28 March 1994^[14]

• In 1989, Piano was the recipient of the Royal Gold Medal.
• In 1990, Piano was the recipient of the Kyoto Prize.
• In 1998, Piano was the recipient of the Pritzker Architecture Prize.
• In 2008, Piano was the recipient of the AIA Gold Medal.
• In 2008, Piano was the recipient of the Sonning Prize.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Renzo Piano

• Official website
• Pritzker Architecture Prize biography
• Profile at GreatBuildings.com