Theory of Architecture - I

Unit 1 – Introduction to Architecture

CONTENTS

 Part-1:
Definitions of Architecture- context for architecture as
satisfying human needs- functional, aesthetic and psychological –
architecture as a discipline

 Part-2:
Introducing the various functional aspects of architecture:
site, structure, skin, services, use, circulation etc.

 Part-3
Introduction to formal vocabulary of architecture and
Gestalt ideas of visual perception
Architecture
 Originated from the Greek word
Architekton
 Archi – great. Tekton – builder
 Architecture is the art and
science of building
 It is the conscious creation of
utilitarian spaces with the
deliberate use of material
 Architecture should be
technically efficient and
aesthetically pleasing.
Other Definitions
Other Definitions
Other Definitions
Architecture

 Architecture - a manifest order

appropriately conceived
logically developed
conditioned and disciplined
coherent through consistency
 CONTEXT FOR ARCHITECTURE AS SATISFYING HUMAN NEEDS

As per GEORGE S. SALVAN words

1.GENERAL INFLUENCES

NEEDS OF MAN

religion and art

recreation
 CONTEXT FOR ARCHITECTURE AS SATISFYING HUMAN NEEDS

1.GENERAL INFLUENCES
ACTIVITIES OF MAN

Desire for PRESERVATION

Desire for Recognition
prestige, pride and ambition, social status

Desire for Response

love, friendship, and sociability

Desire for Self- Expression

CONTEXT FOR ARCHITECTURE AS SATISFYING HUMAN NEEDS

II. INFLUENCES OF NATURE

A. CLIMATE

NATURE B. TOPOGRAPHY

C. MATERIALS
 CONTEXT FOR ARCHITECTURE AS SATISFYING HUMAN NEEDS

III. INFLUENCES OF SOCIETY movies

1. SOCIAL CONDITIONS: TV time
radio

2. Man's Personality.

3. Man's Interests.
factory

house church
FUNCTIONal, aesthetic and psychological

Spatial SEQUENCE
spatial FIT

By
Ar.Rajiv Kumar.P.S
FUNCTIONal, aesthetic and psychological
FUNCTIONal, aesthetic and psychological

NO Function
NO soul
functional, aesthetic and psychological

Beauty

Elements of aesthetics
Mass & space
proportion
symmetry
balance
contrast
decoration
massing
functional, aesthetic and psychological
functional, aesthetic and psychological
functional, aesthetic and psychological
functional, aesthetic and psychological
Play
w ith id e, steem
hum a l p r al e
an m u ltur ation
ind
n of c n, or n
e s sio ssio
r a
exp ietal p
so c

i v ity
u ct
od
d pr Sp
ac
an ing
e,
ood lb e fo
rm
m l
we ,a
nd
and lig
lt h ht
h ea
f ect
af
functional, aesthetic and psychological
Physical structure has a significant

effect on human behavior.

As humans find themselves spending more time
enclosed within the walls of structure, it becomes
valuable to design structures integrating features of the
natural environment and structural landscape features
into the human-made environment (Joye, 2007).

Research suggests the design of residential and

commercial space has pervasive effects on its
inhabitants and is an important consideration in
architectural design.
functional, aesthetic and psychological

Space, form, and light are elements that are often incorporated either
purposefully or unconsciously for aesthetic or practical reasons but
more pointedly give people meaning, purpose and stability amidst an
ever changing physical universe of seeming chao
functional, aesthetic and psychological
functional, aesthetic and psychological
ARCHITECTURE as a discipline-

 ARCHITECTURE – an ability to organize, manipulate and

articulate the constant and variable component parts of size,
shape, and treatment.

 ARCHITECTURE - a language of sequential path, place,

and transition spaces in relationship to site, location, and
orientation.
ARCHITECTURE as a discipline-

The relationship of architecture to other fields and disciplines

THREE COMPONENTS

 SIZE AND SHAPE

 TREATMENT
 ORIENTATION
THREE COMPONENTS
 SIZE AND SHAPE

 is self-evident, consisting of an infinite variety of different

sizes of masses or volumes:
 such as squares, rectangles, circles, pyramids, ellipses, curves,
cubes, etc.
THREE COMPONENTS
 TREATMENT

 what do you do with the sizes and the shapes?

 •how many different ways can you treat it in a simple way?
 •how does that treatment alter or change?
 •in what ways can you define or manipulate the sizes and shapes?
 •what is your strategy for detailing and joinery (articulation)?
 treatment is pattern, texture, color, figure, ground, light, illumination, contrast,
opacity,
 transparency, translucency, reflectivity, visual density, thickness or thinness, etc
THREE COMPONENTS
 ORIENTATION

 what is the relative position of something or someone?

 •location - a particular place or position:
 -external - internal - interstitial
 -placement and displacement
 -edge (periphery) vs. center (core) or foreground, middle ground,
background
 -relationship of a building to its neighbors
 -relationship of building to sky
 -relationship of building to ground
 •directionality, redirection or reversals:
 -up vs. down
 -left vs. right
 -longitudinal vs. transverse
 -horizontal vs. vertical
 -orthogonal vs. diagonal
 -exposure: north - south - east - west
THREE TYPES OF SPACE

 PLACE - SPACES
 PATH – SPACES
 TRANSTITION - SPACES
THREE TYPES OF SPACE
 PLACE-SPACES

 major spaces that portray a sense of definite location or

position
THREE TYPES OF SPACE
 PATH-SPACES

 major transition spaces which are directional; corridor,

connector, passageway.
THREE TYPES OF SPACE
 TRANSITION-SPACES

 minor spaces which process a change from one condition to another.

 •joint spaces (or articulation spaces)
 •can define a pause between spaces
 •can juxtapose spaces of contrasting or continuous character
 •can act as a separator space
 •can act as fastener, joining or linking space
 servant-spaces are transition spaces that act as functional support (storage spaces,
bathrooms, mechanical voids, space occupied by structural elements, etc.)
Introducing the various functional aspects of architecture
SITE:
Location
(geography)a point or
an area on the
Earth's surface or
elsewhere
Building site, a
place
where construction ta
kes place
Introducing the various functional aspects of architecture
STRUCTURE:

It is an arrangement
and organization of
interrelated elements
in a material object
or system, or the
object or system so
organized
Introducing the various functional aspects of architecture
SKIN:
Introducing the various functional aspects of architecture
CIRCULATION:
APPROACH
The Distant View
ENTRANCE
•From Outside to inside

CONFIGURATION OF THE PATH

•The Sequences of Spaces

PATH-SPACE RELATIONSHIPS
•Edges, Nodes, and Terminations of the Path

FORM OF THE CIRCULATION SPACE

•Corridors, Halls, Galleries, Stairways and Rooms
Introducing the various functional aspects of architecture
SERVICES:

Structural
Plumbing
Electrical
Fire safety
Maintenance
Gestalt Theory
• Gestalt theory originated in Austria and Germany toward the end of the
19th century. Since then, Gestalt theory has become fundamental to
several related disciplines, including art, graphic design, web design and
interior design.
What is Gestalt Theory
• Gestalt theory focuses on the mind’s perceptive processes
• The word "Gestalt" has no direct translation in English, but refers to "a
way a thing has been gestellt ; i.e., ‘placed,’ or ‘put together’";
• common translations include "form" and "shape"
 What is Gestalt Theory
• Gestalt theorists followed the
basic principle that the whole
is greater than the sum of its
parts.
• In viewing the "whole," a
cognitive process takes place
– the mind makes a leap from
comprehending the parts to
realizing the whole.

Fish/Duck/Lizard 1948 M.C. Esher

Figure Ground Segregation
• When you look at the environment, you
look at it as a whole picture, not
separate parts.
• There are images in the environment
that people are aware, this would be
the figure.
• Images people are not aware of make
up the ground.
 Figure – Ground Segregation
• The figure is what a person is concentrating
on;
• The ground would be everything else in that
environment;
• Some properties of figure ground:
• Figures hold more memorable association
than the ground.
• Figures are seen as being in front of the
ground.
• The ground is seen as uniformed material
and seems to extend behind the figure.
• The contour separating the figure from the
ground appears to belong to the figure.
(Goldstein, pp. 156-159)
Reversible figure/ground
• There are no correct interpretations to what the figure is and
what the ground is; it is the individual’s choice.
• People have different memories and experiences that
influence their perception of images.
• We have seen that meaningfulness can help determine which
area we see as figure.
• If something has meaning to someone, it normally "jumps out"
at them, and is more noticeable
 Gestalt Laws of Organization
1. proximity - elements tend to be grouped together according to their
nearness
2. similarity - items similar in some respect tend to be grouped together
3. closure - items are grouped together if they tend to complete some
entity
4. Continuation – the eye is compelled to move through one object and
continue to another object
 Theory of Architecture - I

Unit 2 – Elements of Architecture

CONTENTS

 Understanding fundamental elements such as point, line, plane,

form and space, shape, pattern, light, colour, surface and texture
with reference to the evolution of architectural form and space
POINT
 Marks a position in space
 Conceptually, it has no length, width or depth
 It is static, centralized and directionless
 As the prime element in the vocabulary of form, it serves to
mark:

THE TWO ENDS OF A LINE

THE MEETING OF LINES AT THE
THE CENTER OF A FIELD
CORNER OF A PLANE OR VOLUME

THE INTERSECTION OF TWO LINES

To mark a position in space or on the ground plane,
a point must be projected vertically into a linear
form

BECOMES A
LINE WITH
LENGTH,
POINT IS
DIRECTION
EXTENDED
AND
POSITION

POINT Obelisk of Thutmose I, Karnak

Other point-generated forms that share these
same visual attributes are the:
CIRCLE

Plan of the Tholos at Epidaurus

CYLINDER

Baptistery at Pisa, Italy

SPHERE

Cenotaph for Sir Isaac Newton

LINE
 A point extended
 A line is a critical element in the formation of any visual
construction
 It can serve to:

JOIN OR LINK OTHER

VISUAL ELEMENTS
SUPPORT VISUAL
ELEMENTS

SURROUND OR
INTERSECT OTHER
VISUAL ELEMENTS
DESCRIBE THE EDGES OF AND
GIVE SHAPE TO PLANES

SQUARE

TRIANGLE
ARTICULATE THE SURFACES OF PLANES
LINE
 The orientation of a line affects its role in a visual construction
 A vertical line can express a state of equilibrium with the force of
gravity, symbolize the human condition, or mark a position in
space
 A horizontal line can represent stability, the ground plane, the
horizon, or a body at rest
 An oblique line may be seen as a vertical line falling or a
horizontal line rising
Vertical elements have been
used throughout history to
commemorate significant
events and establish
particular points in space

Column of Marcus Aurelius

 Hagia Sophia, Constantinople

Vertical linear elements can also define a transparent volume of space,

as in the example above, the four minarets outline a spatial field which
the dome of Hagia Sophia rises in splendor
• Linear members that possess the necessary
material strength can perform structural functions
• Linear elements express movement across space

Salginatobel Bridge, Switzerland

• Linear members provide support for an
overhead plane

Caryatid Porch,
The Erechtheion, Athens
• A line can be an imagined element rather than a
visible one in architecture
• An example is the AXIS, a regulating line established
by two distant points in space and about which
elements are symmetrically arranged

National Mall, Washington D.C.

• Two parallel lines have the ability to visually describe a plane
• The closer these lines are to each other, the stronger will be
the sense of plane they convey

Colonnade
PLANE
 A line extended in a direction other than its intrinsic direction
 Conceptually has length and width but no depth
• Planes in architecture define three-dimensional volumes
of mass and space
• The properties of each plane – size, shape, color and
texture – as well as their spatial relationship to one
another determine the visual attributes of the form they
define and the qualities of space they enclose
• In architectural design, we manipulate three generic types
of planes:
• Overhead plane
• Wall plane
• Base plane
OVERHEAD PLANE

The overhead plane can be either the roof plane that shelters the
interior spaces of a building from the climatic elements, or the
ceiling that forms the upper enclosing surface of the room.
WALL PLANE

The wall plane, because of its vertical orientation, is active in

our normal field of vision and vital to the shaping and
enclosure of architectural space.
BASE PLANE

The base plane can either be ground plane that serves as the
physical foundation and visual base for building forms, or the
floor plane that forms the lower enclosing surface of a room
upon which we walk.
• The ground plane ultimately supports all architectural
construction
• It can be manipulated to establish a podium for a building
form
• It can be elevated to honor a sacred or significant place;
bermed to define outdoor spaces or buffer against
undesirable conditions; carved or terraced to provide a
suitable platform on which to build; or stepped to allow
changes in elevation to be easily traversed
 Acropolis, Athens
Elevated to honor a sacred,
significant place

Mortuary Temple of Queen

Hatshepsut
Terraces approached by
ramps rise toward the cliffs
where the sanctuary is cut
deep into the rock
• The wall planes isolate a portion of space to create a
controlled interior environment
• Their construction provides both privacy and protection
from the climatic elements for the interior spaces of a
building, while openings within or between their boundaries
reestablish a connection with the exterior environment
• The ceiling plane is usually out of reach and is almost always a
purely visual event in a space
• It can be raised or lowered to alter the scale of a space or to
define spatial zones within a room
• Its form can be manipulated to control the quality of light or
sound within a space
• The roof plane is the essential sheltering element that protects
the interior of a building from climatic elements
• The form and geometry of its structure is established by the
manner it spans across space to bear on its supports and
slopes to shed rain and melting snow
• As a design element, the roof plane is significant because of
the impact it can have on the form and silhouette of a building
within its setting
 Falling Water,
Frank Lloyd Wright
Slabs express the horizontality of
the roof planes as they cantilever
outward from a central vertical
core

Schroder House, Gerrit Rietveld

The overall form of the building can be
endowed with a distinctly planar quality by
introducing openings which expose the
edges of vertical and horizontal places
VOLUME
 A plane extended in a direction other than its intrinsic direction
becomes a volume
 Conceptually, a volume has three dimensions: length, width and
depth
All volumes can be analyzed and understood to
consist of:
Points or vertices where
several planes come
together

Planes or surfaces which

define the limits or
boundaries of a volume

Lines or edges where two

planes meet
• Form is the primary identifying characteristic of a
volume
• It is established by the shapes and interrelationships
of the planes that describe the boundaries of the
volume
• As the three-dimensional element in the vocabulary of
architectural design, a volume can be either a solid –
space displaced by mass – or a void – space
contained or enclosed by planes
 Theory of Architecture - I

Unit 3 – Elements of Architecture - FORM

CONTENTS

 Understanding perceptual effects of specific geometric forms

such as sphere, cube, pyramid, cylinder and cone and its
sections as well as their derivatives with respect to the evolution
of architectural form and space.
• In architecture, a volume can be seen to be either a
portion of space contained and defined by wall, floor,
and ceiling or roof planes, or a quantity of space
displaced by the mass of a building
• Plan and Section – space defined by wall, floor and
ceiling
• Elevation – space displaced by the mass of a building
• In architecture, a volume can be seen to be either a
portion of space contained and defined by wall, floor,
and ceiling or roof planes, or a quantity of space
displaced by the mass of a building
• Plan and Section – space defined by wall, floor and
ceiling
• Elevation – space displaced by the mass of a building
FLOOR PLAN
space defined by wall,
floor and ceiling
 ELEVATION
space displaced by the mass of a building
Building forms that stand as objects in the landscape
can be read as occupying volumes in space

San Miguel Building, Ortigas

Building forms that serve as containers can be read as
masses that define volumes of space

Piazza Maggiore, Bologna

SPHERE

Sphere is body that consists of

Regular, continuous surface.
It has no lines , edges or corners
Neither horizontal or vertical
emphasis
It is a form which is closed within
itself.
Visual effect

 Pure convex form externally

 Presents impenetrable,
uninviting appearance.
 It displays visual quality of SPHERE BUILDING , SHANGHAI
repulsion.
 Has no points of interest to
focus
 Defined by vague outline of
circle, whole mass appears as
immense dot.
FLOATING PAVILION FOR SHANGHAI
Emotional effect

 Lack of concentration
 Restleness
 Diffuseness
 Total effect on observer is SPHERE BUILDING , SHANGHAI

lack of sense of orientation

FLOATING PAVILION FOR SHANGHAI

Inside the sphere

 The bounding surface is

continually concave.
 It opens to the observer.
 Invites attention.
 Attraction is from all sides
 Centre of equilibrium is centre of
sphere which may be imaginary
if not articulated
 It arouses sensations of
Concentration , repose and
orientation.
The circular shape in architecture
The Circle symbolizes unity, stability, rationality. It is also the
symbol of infinity, without beginning or end, perfection, the ultimate
geometric symbol. It represents a completeness which
encompasses all space and Time.

Lucky Coin' Building , china Al Dar Headquarters | MZ Architects

Derivatives of sphere – Hemisphere

 Cut horizontally in half.

 Cut portion forms an edge,
circular in plan.
 The dome and the edge
portion give the visual
character
Hemisphere - Visual effect & Emotional effect

 Visual Effect
 Diffuse quality in the sphere , but continuity is terminated at
rim.
 Emotional effect
 A sense of circular movement set up by the rim.
 While sphere leads to disorientation
 hemisphere leads to circular movement.
Internally
 One concave surface and other flat
 Interior is circular in shape.
 The attention to the observer will be to the centre.
 The sense of movement is associated with the edge.
 Inverted hemisphere
 If the base is flattened it would be horizontal arena towards the
which attention is focused.
 This would be idea for viewing a central activity such as sporting
events
CUBE
 Six equal square sides
 Angle between any two adjacent faces being right angle
 Cube is static form.
 It is very stable unless it stands in corners.
VISUAL EFFECT
 The vertical blank square neither invites nor repulses .visually
and physically impenetrable ,uninviting appearance.
 Because the directions are equally emphasized , the mass as a
whole has no directional quality and neutral.
 Visual force is given by edges.
INSIDE CUBE
 Space inside cube is bounded in plane surface , lines and
corners.
 Corners wont project towards the observer but recede away
from him.
Cuboid
 Altering the equal sides of the cube, cuboid is obtained.
 The volume is spread in particular direction either horizontal or
vertical , irrespective of the surface.
 Each mass has a longer side and Shorter side.
 Surface lines are emphasized than corners.
 Horizontality – urban street.

( because of the continuity one hesitates to stop unless opening is

created )
 Verticality – high rise building

( both physical and visual tension makes it dominating visual

entity)
 The horizontal internal space stimulates a horizontal movement
which is greater with increasing horizontality. So space becomes
transformed into a passage , a corridor and an internal street.
 Vertical space stimulates vertical movement when filled with stair
case, lift or ramp.
Pyramid

 Made up of tapering and inclined surface and gather together to

form an apex , a corner where the whole mass culminates.
 The directional quality is stronger than that of a rectilinear tower.
Cylinder

 Rounded surface.In far distance it appears in outline as

rectilinear and nearer it appear more like circular.

 Curvature and circular movement continue alongside a strong

vertical movement. the resultant is spiral. spiral ramp and spiral
stairs suits a space.
 Theory of Architecture - I

Unit 4 – Elements of Architecture - SPACE

CONTENTS

 Understanding perceptual effects of specific configuration of

architectural spaces – Enclosure – Internal and External, Continuous
spaces
 Spatial relationship and its types, Spatial organisation: Centralized,
Linear, Radial Clustered, Grid – built form and open space
relationships.
SPATIAL ORGANIZATION

 There are five types of spatial organization:

 1. Central Organization
 2. Linear Organization
 3. Radial Organization
 4. Cluster Organization
 5. GRID Organization
Central Organization
 It is a stable & concentrated composition
 It consists of numerous secondary spaces that are clustered
around a central, dominant & bigger space.
 It presents secondary spaces that are equal in terms of
role,shape & form, which creates a distribution package that is
geometrically regular to two or more axes.
Central Organization
 Those central organizations whose forms are relatively compact
& geometrically regular can be used to :‐
–Establish "places" in space,
– Be term of axial compositions,
–finally act as a form‐object inserted into a field or an
exactly defined spatial volume.
Linear Organization

 Consists essentially of a series of spaces.

 These spaces can be interconnected directly, or be linked
through another linear independent and distinct space.
 Those spaces that are important, functionally or symbolically
within this organization, can take place anywhere in the linear
sequence and show their relevance using their size and shape.
 The organization can solve linear different conditions at the site.
 It can be a straight, segmented or curve line and it can develop
itself horizontally, vertically or diagonally.
Radial Organization

 It combines elements of both linear and centralized

organizations. It consists of a dominant central space, with many
radial linear organizations.
 While a centralized organization is an introverted scheme that
directs to the interior of its central space, a radial organization is
an extrovert scheme that escapes from its context.
 The central space of a radial organization has a regular form,
acts as the hub of the linear arms and maintains the formal
regularity of the whole organization
Cluster Organization

 This type of spatial organization is used to connect spaces using

proximity.
 It can accommodate in its composition spaces with different
sizes, shapes and functions, as long as they relate themselves
by proximity and some visual element.
 The connected spaces can be grouped gather around a large
area or a well defined spatial volume.
GRID ORGANIZATION

 It consists of forms and spaces whose position in space and

their interrelationships are regulated by a type of plot or a three‐
dimensional field.
 It can be created by establishing a regular scheme of points that
define the intersections between two groups of parallel lines.
 Its capacity on organization is the result of its regularity and
continuity that includes the same elements that distributes.
Spatial Relationships

Space Within a Space

Interlocking spaces

Adjacent Spaces

Spaces linked by a common space

THEORY of ARCHITECTURE
ESSENCE OF ARCHITECTURE

ARCHITECTURE & ARTS

Greek words
ARCHI = first or original
TECT = the ability to put things
together

Sanskrit root
ARTS = everything in its right
place
 • Analysis of a set of facts in relation
to one another
• Belief, policy or procedure proposed
or followed as basis of action
• An ideal or hypothetical set of facts,
principles or circumstances of a body
of fact on science or art
• A plausible or scientifically accepted
general principle or body of
principles offered to explain
phenomenon

THEORY IN GENERAL
 Forms/types of Theory
-Descriptive: Explains
phenomenon or events; they re
neutral and do not lean towards
any ideology
-Prescriptive: Prescribes bases
or guidelines
-Critical: Challenges relationships
between architecture & society

THEORY IN GENERAL
 Essence and Composition

 A collection of thoughts, view,

ideas
 Organized by theme or topic
 Evolution of thoughts
 There is not a grand theory or
unified theory of architecture; it is
a combination of various thoughts,
speculations, concepts

ARCHITECTURAL THEORY
 Form
 In a conceptual form
 Needs to be translated
 From concepts to reality
 Discussed, tested, developed

ARCHITECTURAL THEORY
ESSENCE OF ARCHITECTURE

Architecture is the process that we

instinctively recognize as the genius of
growth and creation

It gives form to the invisible pulses

and rhythm of life

The physical manifestation of the power

is a consequence of the desire for the
invisible to be made visible
ARCHITECTURAL SYSTEMS

The Architecture of Space  Organizational pattern, relationships,hierarchy

Structure  Qualities of shape, color, texture,scale, proportion
Enclosure  Qualities of surfaces, edges and openings

Experienced through Movement in  Approach and entry

Space-time  Path configuration and access
 Sequence of spaces
 Light, view, touch, hearing and smell

Achieved by means of Technology  Structure and enclosure

 Environmental protection and comfort
 Health, safety and welfare
 Durability

Accommodating a Program  User requirements, needs, aspirations

 Socio-cultural factors
 Economic factors
 Legal restraints
 Historical tradition and precedents

Compatible with its Context  Site and environment

 Climate: sun, wind, temperature and precipitation
 Geography: soils, topography, vegetation and water
 Sensory and cultural characteristics of the place
SPATIAL
SYSTEM

ARCHITECTURAL SYSTEMS
STRUCTURAL
SYSTEM

ARCHITECTURAL SYSTEMS
ENCLOSURE
SYSTEM

ARCHITECTURAL SYSTEMS
CIRCULATION
SYSTEM

ARCHITECTURAL SYSTEMS
 CONTEXT

ARCHITECTURAL SYSTEMS
THE • Organizational pattern, relationships,
ARCHITECTURE hierarchy
OF:
• Qualities of shape, color, texture, scale,
Space proportion
Structure • Qualities of surfaces, edges and
Enclosure openings

ARCHITECTURAL SYSTEMS
 • Approach and entry
EXPERIENCED
THROUGH: • Path configuration and access
Movement in Space- • Sequence of spaces
time
• Light, view, touch, hearing and smell

ARCHITECTURAL SYSTEMS
 • Approach and entry
EXPERIENCED
THROUGH: • Path configuration and access
Movement in Space- • Sequence of spaces
time
• Light, view, touch, hearing and smell

ARCHITECTURAL SYSTEMS
 • Structure and enclosure
ACHIEVED BY
MEANS OF: • Environmental protection and comfort
Technology • Health, safety and welfare
• Durability

ARCHITECTURAL SYSTEMS
 • User requirements, needs, aspirations
ACCOMMODATING
• Socio-cultural factors
A:
• Economic factors
Program
• Legal restraints
• Historical tradition & precedents

ARCHITECTURAL SYSTEMS
 • Site and environment
COMPATIBLE • Climate: sun, wind, temperature and
WITH ITS: precipitation
Context • Geography: soils, topography, vegetation
and water
• Sensory and cultural characteristics of the
place

ARCHITECTURAL SYSTEMS
ARCHITECTURAL Form and Space Systems and
ORDERS Organizations of:

Physical
 Solids and Voids  Space
 Interior and Exterior  Structure
 Enclosure
 Machines
Perceptual Sensory perception and  Approach and
recognition of the physical Departure
elements by experiencing  Entry and Egress
them sequentially in time  Movement through the
order of spaces
 Functioning of and
activities within
spaces
 Qualities of light,
color, texture, view
and sound
Conceptual Comprehension of the  Images
ordered and disordered  Patterns
relationships among a  Signs
building’s elements and  Symbols
systems and responding to  Context (Space, Form,
the meanings they evoke Function, Technics)
ARCHITECTURAL ORDERS
ARCHITECTURAL FORM & SYSTEMS &
ORDERS SPACE ORGANIZATIONS OF

• Solids &Voids • Space

• Interior & • Structure
Physical Exterior
• Enclosure
• Machines

ARCHITECTURAL ORDERS
ARCHITECTURAL FORM & SYSTEMS &
ORDERS SPACE ORGANIZATIONS OF

Sensory • Approach & Departure

perception &
recognition of • Entry & Egress
Perceptual
the physical • Movement through the
elements by order of spaces
experiencing
them sequentially • Functioning of activities
in time within spaces
• Qualities of light, color,
texture, view & sound

ARCHITECTURAL ORDERS
ARCHITECTURAL FORM & SYSTEMS &
ORDERS SPACE ORGANIZATIONS OF

Sensory • Approach & Departure

perception &
recognition of • Entry & Egress
Perceptual
the physical • Movement through the
elements by order of spaces
experiencing
them sequentially • Functioning of activities
in time within spaces
• Qualities of light, color,
texture, view & sound

ARCHITECTURAL ORDERS
ARCHITECTURAL FORM & SYSTEMS &
ORDERS SPACE ORGANIZATIONS OF

Comprehension of • Images
the ordered and
disordered • Patterns
Conceptual relationships
among a building’s • Signs
elements and • Symbols
systems and
responding to the • Context (space,form,
meanings they function,techniques)
evoke

ARCHITECTURAL ORDERS
ARCHITECTURAL FORM & SYSTEMS &
ORDERS SPACE ORGANIZATIONS OF

Comprehension of • Images
the ordered and
disordered • Patterns
Conceptual relationships
among a building’s • Signs
elements and • Symbols
systems and
responding to the • Context (space,form,
meanings they function,techniques)
evoke

ARCHITECTURAL ORDERS
ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
POINT
 The two ends of a
line
 The intersection of
two lines
 The meeting of lines
at the corner of a
plane or volume
 The center of a
field

ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
LINE
A point extended
becomes a line with
properties of:

 Length
 Direction
 Position

ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
PLANE
A line extended
becomes a plane with
properties of:

 Length and width

 Shape
 Surface
 Orientation
 Position

ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
VOLUME
A plane extended
becomes a volume with
properties of:

 Length, width, depth

 Form and space
 Surface
 Orientation
 Position

ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
ARCHITECTURAL FORM is the
point of contact between mass and
space
Properties of
Form:
• Shape
• Size
• Color
• Texture
• Position
• Orientation
• Visual Inertia

FORM
SPACE DEFINITION
SPACE DEFINITION
SPACE DEFINITION
SPACE DEFINITION
Dimensional
Transformation
a form can be
transformed by
altering one or more of
its dimensions and still
retain its identity as a
member of a family of
forms. A cube, for
example, can be
transformed into
similar prismatic forms
through discrete
changes in height,
length or width.

FORM TRANSFORMTION
Subtractive
Transformation:
a form can be
transformed by
subtracting a portion
of its volume.
Depending on the
extent of the
subtractive process,
the form can still
retain its initial
identity or be
transformed into a
form of another
family.

FORM TRANSFORMATION
Additive
Transformation:
a form can be
transformed by the
addition of elements
to its volume. The
nature of the additive
process and the
number and relative
sizes of the elements
being attached
determine whether the
identity of the initial
form is altered or
retained.

FORM TRANSFORMATION
SPATIAL
RELATIONSHIPS
• Space within a Space
• Interlocking Spaces
• Adjacent Spaces
• Spaces linked by a
Common Space

FORM AND SPACE

SPATIAL
RELATIONSHIPS
• Space within a Space
• Interlocking Spaces
• Adjacent Spaces
• Spaces linked by a
Common Space

FORM AND SPACE

SPATIAL
RELATIONSHIPS
• Space within a Space
• Interlocking Spaces
• Adjacent Spaces
• Spaces linked by a
Common Space

FORM AND SPACE

Centralized
Organization:

a number of
secondary forms
clustered about a
dominant, central
parent-form

SPATIAL ORGANIZATION
Linear
Organization:
a series of forms
arranged
sequentially in a
row

SPATIAL ORGANIZATION
Radial
Organization:

a composition of
linear forms
extending outward
from a central
form in a radial
manner

SPATIAL ORGANIZATION
Radial
Organization:

a composition of
linear forms
extending outward
from a central
form in a radial
manner

SPATIAL ORGANIZATION
Clustered
Organization:

a collection of
forms grouped
together by
proximity or the
sharing of a
common visual
trait.

SPATIAL ORGANIZATION
Clustered
Organization:

a collection of
forms grouped
together by
proximity or the
sharing of a
common visual
trait.

SPATIAL ORGANIZATION
Grid
Organization:

a set of modular
forms related and
regulated by a
three-dimensional
grid

SPATIAL ORGANIZATION
Approach:

the distant view; the

first phase of the
circulation system
during which we are
prepared to see,
experience and use
the building

ELEMENTS OF CIRCULATION
Entrance:

from outside to inside;

may be flushed,
projected or recessed

ELEMENTS OF CIRCULATION
Configuration
of Path:

the sequence of spaces ;

can be linear, radial,
spiral, grid, network or
composite

ELEMENTS OF CIRCULATION
Anthropocentrism:
the human being is the
most important entity in
the universe. The world is
perceived according to the
values and experiences of
the human being.

SPATIAL THEORIES
Anthropomorphism:
human qualities are
associated with non-human
entities/ events. Qualities
such as form, values and
emotions.

SPATIAL THEORIES
Anthropometrics:
study of measurements
of the human body

SPATIAL THEORIES
Ergonomics:
an applied science
concerned with the of
characteristics of people
that need to be
considered in the design
of devices and systems in
order that people and
things will interact
effectively and safely.

SPATIAL THEORIES
Proxemics:

The study of the

symbolic and
communicative role of the
spatial separation
individuals maintain in
various social and
interpersonal situations,
and how the nature and
degree of this spatial
arrangement relates to
environmental and
cultural factors.

SPATIAL THEORIES
Spatial illusions
through:
Changes in levels
Bringing outside in
Borrowing views
Use of glass and light
materials
Multiplicity of functions
Two-dimensional
treatments
Use of color

SPATIAL THEORIES
Spatial illusions
through:
Changes in levels
Bringing outside in
Borrowing views
Use of glass and light
materials
Multiplicity of functions
Two-dimensional
treatments
Use of color

SPATIAL THEORIES
CONCEPTS &
PHILOSOPHIES
 Functional concepts
Environmental concepts
Structural concepts
Cultural concepts
Thematic concepts
Time-based concepts

CONCEPTS
Traditional
definition of
good
architecture:

Vitruvius’s
Utilitas, Firmitas,
Venustas

FUNCTIONAL CONCEPTS
 Existing State Future State
Architecture is The Setting
Cultural, Social, Political, Mission
a product of
Historical, Economic
programming Physical Conditions/ Site Goals
Data
Geography, Climate, Performance
Archaeology, Geology Requirements
Client/User Profile
Demography, Concepts
Organizations, Needs,
Behavior
Constraints
Legal, Financial,
Technical, Market

FUNCTIONAL CONCEPTS
 Durand:

There are only two problems in

architecture :

1) in private buildings, how to

provide the optimum
accommodation for the smallest
sum of money
2) in public building, how to
provide the maximum
accommodation for a given sum.

FUNCTIONAL CONCEPTS
 Ornament had nothing to do with architectural
beauty, since a building was only beautiful when
it satisfied a need.
“Whether we consult our reason, or examine
ancient monuments, it is evident that the primary
purpose of architecture has never been to please,
nor has architectonic decoration been its object.

Public and private usefulness, and the

happiness and preservation of
mankind, are the aims of architecture.

FUNCTIONAL CONCEPTS
Light and color
as a modifying
element of space;
artificial or natural,
light can be
manipulated by
design to identify
places and to give
places particular
character

ENVIRONMENTAL CONCEPTS
Temperature,
ventilation,
sound, smell,
texture

ENVIRONMENTAL CONCEPTS
Temperature,
ventilation,
sound, smell,
texture

ENVIRONMENTAL
CONCEPTS
ENVIRONMENTAL CONCEPTS
Using and
modifying things
that are already
there

ENVIRONMENTAL CONCEPTS
Stratification
and climate
responsiveness

ENVIRONMENTAL CONCEPTS
Passive
Cooling

ENVIRONMENTAL CONCEPTS
 Le Corbusier

“Architecture is the masterly,

correct and magnificent play of
masses brought together in
light. Our eyes are made to see
forms in light.

Thus, cubes, cones, spheres,

cylinders or pyramids are the
great primary forms which
light reveals to advantage;
they are not only beautiful
forms, but the most beautiful
forms.”

ENVIRONMENTAL CONCEPTS
 Rococo: multiplication of real effects of
parallax, which is the apparent displacement of
objects caused by an actual change in the point
of observation. Ex. Use of mirrors

ENVIRONMENTAL CONCEPTS
STRUCTURAL
CONCEPTS
STRUCTURAL
CONCEPTS
ARCHES

STRUCTURAL
CONCEPTS
STRUCTURAL
CONCEPTS
STRUCTURAL
CONCEPTS
STRUCTURAL
CONCEPTS
Frames

STRUCTURAL CONCEPTS
Tube
Construction

STRUCTURAL CONCEPTS
Mushroom
Construction

STRUCTURAL CONCEPTS
 Mushroom
Construction

STRUCTURAL CONCEPTS
SUSPENDED
SYSTEMS

STRUCTURAL
CONCEPTS
PREFABRICATION

STRUCTURAL
CONCEPTS
Stretched
Membrane

STRUCTURAL CONCEPTS
Stretched
Membrane

STRUCTURAL CONCEPTS
Stratification

ENVIRONMENTAL CONCEPTS
 EVOLUTIONARY ARCHITECTURE

Architecture can
create as nature
creates
A building can be
tree seen as a living
organism with
functional processes

ENVIRONMENTAL CONCEPTS
 EVOLUTIONARY
ARCHITECTURE
The overriding objective is
to reach the ultimate
evolution of a design
so that it is a perfected
culmination of
function, form and
purpose within limits of
budget, materials, and so
forth

ENVIRONMENTAL CONCEPTS
 ETHNOCENTRISM

Habitual disposition to judge

foreign peoples or groups by
the standards and practices
of one’s own culture or ethnic
groups.

CULTURAL CONCEPTS
 CRITICAL
REGIONALISM
Factoring in cultural variations
and contextual realities.

CULTURAL CONCEPTS
Ledoux: the plan of
an edifice was not
something resulting
from its function but
was deliberately
designed to express
its function by
association of ideas.

CULTURAL CONCEPTS
THEMATIC CONCEPTS
THEMATIC CONCEPTS
TIME-BASED
CONCEPTS
ARCHITECTURAL PHILOSOPHIES
 The Ten Books of Architecture by
Vitruvius

MAN OVER “The man of learning… can fearlessly look

ENVIRONMENT down upon the troublesome accidents of
fortune. But he who thinks himself
entrenched in defenses not of learning but
of luck, moves in slippery paths, struggling
though life unsteadily and insecurely.”

ARCHITECTURE-ENVIRONMENT
 The Poetry of Architecture by John Ruskin

“ Everything about it should be natural, and should

appear as if the influences and forces which were
in operation around its had been too strong to be
ENVIRONMENT resisted, and had rendered all efforts of art to check
OVER MAN their power, or conceal the evidence of their
action, entirely unavailing… it can never lie too
humbly in the pastures of the valley, nor shrink too
submissively into the hollows of the hills; it should
seem to be asking the storm for mercy, and the
mountain for protection; and should appear to owe
weakness, rather than strength, that it is neither
overwhelmed by the one, nor crushed by the
other.”

ARCHITECTURE-ENVIRONMENT
 Architectural Principles in the Age of
Humanism by Rudolf Wittkower

Explores Renaissance use of ideal geometric

figures and ratios in their designs. Also
discusses why they believed that such figures
and ratios were powerful. Bases are the
relationship of the human body with nature.

ARCHITECTURE-ENVIRONMENT
 Le Corbusier “The plan proceeds from within to
without; the exterior is the result of the interior”

ARCHITECTURAL FORM
 The New Architecture and the Bauhaus by
Walter Gropius

The ultimate goal of the new architecture was

‘the composite but inseparable work
of art, in which the old dividing line between
monumental and decorative elements will have
disappeared forever’

ORNAMENTS
 Bauhaus: Aim was to unite art and
technology under a purified
aesthetic that removed all ornament
and articulation from form and
stressed the beauty of expressed
function.

Ornament was considered a

bourgeois decadence, if not an
actual crime- Walter Gropius,
Marcel Breuer and Josef Albers

ORNAMENTS
“Less is More”
– Mies Van der Rohe

“Less is Bore”
– Robert Venturi

ORNAMENTS
“Less is More”
– Mies Van der Rohe

“Less is Bore”
– Robert Venturi

ORNAMENTS
 “An Architecture of complexity
and contradiction has a special
obligation toward the whole- its
truth must be in its totality or
implications of totality.

It must embody the difficult

unity of inclusion rather than the
easy unity of inclusion”

- Venturi

CONTRADICTIONS
 De Stijl: pursuit of social
renewal through ideal
abstraction;

Close relationship between

architecture and the fine
arts; pristine, geometric but
more decorative than the
Bauhaus:

Painter Piet Mondrian, Design

Critic Theo Van Doesburg,
Architects J.J.P. Oud, Gerrit
Rietveld and Mart Stam

DE STIJL
INTERNATIONAL STYLE
 “The house is a machine to live in.”
• the program for building a house should be
set out with the same precision as that for
building a machine;
• structural frame should be separately
identified from the space-enclosing walls;
• house should be lifted on pilotises so the
garden may spread under it;
• roofs should be flat, capable of being used
as a garden;
• interior accommodation should be freely
planned

INTERNATIONAL STYLE
INTERNATIONAL STYLE
INTERNATIONAL STYLE
 Tectonics- the art and
science of shaping,
ornamenting or assembling
materials in building
construction.

TECTONICS
REVOLUTIONARY
ARCHITECTURE (1800s)

Eclecticism or Indiferrentism- designing without

considering that any matter of principle was
involved

The new tendency to plan buildings

geometrically or symbolically without close
reference to functional requirements
HISTORIOGRAPHY
Historicism and Exoticism: Notion of evolution
and chronology
Passion for Archaeology

ROMANTICISM
 INFLUENCE OF THE PICTURESUE

Sculptural and picturesque

The villa concept- multiplicity, relatively modest

dimensions, unrestricted sites, assymmetry,
irregularity of plan, fenestration and silhouette

Intricacy defined as the disposition of objects

which, by a partial and uncertain concealment,
excites and nourishes curiosity

ROMANTICISM
 AWARENESS OF STYLE

Style : the fashion which each generation can

promptly recognize as its own; what ties together
the aesthetic achievements of the creative
individuals of one age;

the expression of a prevailing, dominant or

authentically contemporary view of the
world by those artists who have most
successfully intuited the quality of human
experience peculiar to their day, and who are able
to phrase this experience in forms deeply
congenial to the thought or matter expressed

REVIVALISM
 PRIMITIVISM AND PROGRESS

Issues of birth, growth and decay were tackled

The value of historical study was that it showed
by what gradual steps the transition had been
made from the first simple efforts of uncultivated
nature to a state of things which was ‘so
wonderfully artificial and cultivated’

Glorification of the ‘noble savage’

REVIVALISM
 ECLECTICISM (1830s)

A composite system of thought made up

of views selected from various other
systems.
Eclectics claim that no one should
accept blindly from the past the legacy
of a single philosophical system to the
exclusion of all others but each should
decide rationally and independently
what philosophical facts used in the past
were appropriate to the present and then
recognize and respect them in whatever
context they might appear.

REVIVALISM
ROMAN REVIVAL

• Influences of the Roman monumental

compositional forms
• The new tendency to fit public buildings into
antique temples
• The tendency to incorporate the compositional
forms of Antique temples into public buildings
• Importance of ruins and archaeological studies

REVIVALISM
 GREEK REVIVAL

Acknowledgement of the idea of

the Parthenon as the most perfect
building ever constructed; its
qualities have been interpreted to
justify every change in
architectural fashion,

from the servile duplication of its

composition and details to the most
individualistic creations in
reinforced concrete and steel.

REVIVALISM
 GREEK REVIVAL
• Traditional use of plumb lines, squares and
levels
• Regard for public buildings as objects in
space rather than objects enclosing space.
• Making pediments correspond to the
structural reality of the pitched roof

REVIVALISM
 RENAISSANCE REVIVAL

the renaissance revival allowed an

architect to select and even to invent
for himself such compositional and
decorative forms as might be
considered suitable for the occasion.

Introduced common sense

into architectural design.

REVIVALISM
 RENAISSANCE REVIVAL

Picturesque and lacked order and symmetry of

classical architecture.

REVIVALISM
 RENAISSANCE REVIVAL

Skill of architects not to be found in

archaeological accuracy of facades but in the
orderly sequences of accommodation on
awkward sites, skillful combination of different
and new materials

REVIVALISM
 GOTHIC NATIONALISM

Buildings with pseudo-mediaeval details

Ideals with which to justify Gothic revival were
immensely varied and often diametrically
opposed.

REVIVALISM
 GOTHIC NATIONALISM

Neglect of practical comforts and

functional planning; spaces were
planned more with an eye to their
scenic effect than to their workability

REVIVALISM
 POLYCHROMY

Introduction of variegations into the exterior

design of facades.
Exteriors should display colors of various hues.

Structural Coloration: architectural form was

necessarily structural form, and hence, effects of
color should result from the structural materials
by which an edifice was actually built.

REVIVALISM
 SYMBOLS OF
FUNCTION
• BIOLOGICAL ANALOGY

• MECHANICAL ANALOGY

• GASTRONOMIC ANALOGY

• LINGUISTIC ANALOGY

FUNCTIONALISM
 BIOLOGICAL ANALOGY

• Architecture based on anatomy

• Concept of Organic Architecture
• Parts of a whole
• Morphology: science of form
• Form follows function
• Influence of the environment

FUNCTIONALISM
 MECHANICAL ANALOGY

• Scientific evolution and artistic evolution

follow the same laws
• Movement and function
• Collaboration in the progressive accumulation
of technical knowledge
• Precise destination and expression of
potentialities

FUNCTIONALISM
 GASTRONOMIC ANALOGY

Demands the combination of materials of

strength, ideal sequence or plan, analysis and
testing of efficacies

Goes beyond scientific analysis; requires

intuition, imagination, enthusiasm, immense
amount of organizational skill

FUNCTIONALISM
 GASTRONOMIC ANALOGY

Demands the combination of materials of

strength, ideal sequence or plan, analysis and
testing of efficacies

Goes beyond scientific analysis; requires

intuition, imagination, enthusiasm, immense
amount of organizational skill

FUNCTIONALISM
 LINGUISTIC ANALOGY

Eloquence and expression

Emotions and experiencing emotions
Vocabulary and composition

FUNCTIONALISM
 LINGUISTIC ANALOGY

Eloquence and expression

Emotions and experiencing emotions
Vocabulary and composition

FUNCTIONALISM
 INFLUENCE OF ENGINEERS
• Importance of mathematical studies in
constructional design
• Straightforward, unadorned building unless
needs of decorum demanded ornament
• Classical proportions were modified in
accordance with new materials
• Architecture of iron

FUNCTIONALISM
 INFLUENCE OF THE ALLIED
ARTS

• Decorations and ornaments

• Abstract patterns on space layout
• Furniture design on Architectural
composition

FUNCTIONALISM
INFLUENCE OF
THE ALLIED
ARTS

• Decorations and
ornaments
• Abstract patterns on
space layout
• Furniture design on
Architectural
composition

FUNCTIONALISM
 EKISTICS

Doxiadis:

“A human settlement is made

up of five ekistic elements,
which are interactive and
interdependent with each
other. These are man, nature,
shells, networks and society.”

HOUSING AND URBAN PLANNING

CONCEPTS
 Linear and Nodal City- Le Corbusier

Broadacre City- Frank Lloyd Wright

Chandigarh – Le Corbusier

The Freestanding Building/ Functionalism-

Sigfried Giedion (Space, Time and
Architecture)

The Ideal City- Ludwig Hilberseimer

City of Setback Skyscrapers- Louis Sullivan

Garden City-Ebenezer Howard

URBAN DESIGN CONCEPTS

 A series of discontinuous movements in the
19th and 20th centuries;

opposes both the Zeitgeist and the Single

Strand theories that propose continuous
evolution of styles.

Modernism is characterized by
multi-valence or by the presence of
multi-valued levels of meaning

MODERNISM
 ISSUES:
• relativity
• evolutionary
• diversity

MODERNISM
 COMMON NOTIONS
• soulless container
• absence of
relationship with
the environment
• arrogant
• unarticulated
• monstrous
• speculative
• mass-produced

MODERNISM
ASSOCIATED TERMS:
Functional
Industrial
Innovative/ Novel
Technology
Revolutionary and Opposing

MODERNISM
 Modernism is marked by the following:
• Renunciation of the old world
• Addressed mass housing
• Explored potentials of materials and new forms
• Technological determinism and structural rationalism
• Aesthetic self-expression
• Belief in the power of form to transform the world
• Sleek machined surfaces
• Mass production and cost reduction
• Skyscrapers and capitalism
• Grand urban projects

MODERNISM
 Van Doesburg:
“Every machine is a spiritualization of an
organism… the machine is par
excellence, a phenomenon of spiritual
disciplines… The new spiritual artistic
sensibility of the 20th century has not only
felt the beauty of the machine but also
taken cognizance of the unlimited
expressive possibilities for the arts.”

MODERNISM
 The Metaphysical School of Architecture-
the quasi-mystical spirit of ‘what the
building wants to be’.

Les Corbusier:
“The frame of a building or buildings is
like the laws that govern society. Without
these laws there is anarchy and without
the frame there is visual anarchy.”

MODERNISM
 Thomas Ava Edison

experimented with Portland concrete and

subsequent mass production of pre-
fabricated houses made of concrete.
Then came the technology of casting with
the use of scaffolding that allowed for
variation and alteration

MODERNISM
 A diverse and unstable concept that
started in the United States after
1965 then spread to the rest of the
industrialized world.

Post-modernists focused on the

differences and brought to fore that which
had been marginalized by dominant
cultures. In other fields, the movement is
characterized by a rejection of a unitary
world view

POST-MODERNISM
 Architecture came with cartoon-
like trivialization and packaging

POST-MODERNISM
 Urban planning under post-
modernism celebrated
heterogeneity in place of
central, grand statues

POST-MODERNISM
Venturi:
“An Architecture of complexity and
contradiction has a special obligation
toward the whole- its truth must be in its
totality or implications of totality. It must
embody the difficult unity of inclusion
rather than the easy unity of inclusion”

POST-MODERNISM
 Venturi and Scott Brown:
“the architect’s task was to express
meaning to the general public,
whether in the design of a house or
a civic building; people became
mobile bearers of meaning.”

POST-MODERNISM
 Jacques Derrida- the founding
father of Deconstruction

“Something has been constructed, a

philosophical system, a tradition, a
culture, and along comes a de-
constructor (who) destroys its
stone by stone, analyzes the
structure and dissolves it…
One looks as systems… and examines
how it was built, which keystone, which
angle… supports the building; one shifts
them and thereby frees oneself from the
authority of the system.

DECONSTRUCTION
DECONSTRUCTION
DECONSTRUCTION
 Structuralism- study of
relationships between say, words in
a language, etc.

Post-structuralism- was
concerned with questions of
meaning and how individuals order
the world. In architecture, PS
focused on meaning rather than
process.

STRUCTURALISM & POST-STRUCTURALISM

 Fordism- refers to the state-
regulated system of mass production
and mass consumption which,
undergirded by welfare and security,
dominated advanced capitalist
societies in the west, roughly from
the Depression to the crisis of the
1970s.

FORDISM AND POST-FORDISM

 Post-Fordism- characterized by:

• flexible communication
• niche market consumption
• flexible machinery equipment that can
be adapted to different tasks relatively
quickly
• flexible accumulation of goods in order
to respond quickly to demand
• more temporary and part-time labor
• geographical clustering of information,
transnational cultural and population
flows
• information superhighways

FORDISM AND POST-FORDISM

 Dry-bulb Temperature (DBT): This is
ELEMENTS
the measurement of the temperature of the air
OF CLIMATE and as far as possible excludes any radiant
NEEDED IN temperature
DESIGN Relative Humidity (RH): The amount of
water in the air
Precipitation: This is mainly rainfall but
could also be dew
Sky: Cloud cover
Wind: The direction, frequency and force of
the wind throughout the year

ENVIRONMENTAL CONCEPTS
 COMFORT ZONE: The range of
conditions under which most people feel
comfortable;
It is a function of many variables, among which
is the annual mean temperature

ENVIRONMENTAL
CONCEPTS
 CHARACTERISTICS OF
TROPICAL CLIMATE
Warm Humid: High Temperature; High RH;
Heavy rains esp. during monsoon
Hot Dry: Very high DBT; low humidity; low
precipitation; little or no cloud; sparse/bare
ground
Composite: mixture of warm, humid and hot/dry
Macro and Micro: region and site

ENVIRONMENTAL
CONCEPTS
Walter Gropius
(1883- 1969)

•German Architect
•Worked under Peter Behrens
•Influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright
•FOUNDED THE BAUHAUS
•Migrated to the US and taught at the
Harvard School of Architecture
“Architects, sculptors, painters, we must all return to the crafts!
For art is not a ‘profession.’ There is no essential difference
between the artist and the craftsman.
The artist is the exalted craftsman.”
-GROPIUS

CHARACTER OF WORKS:
•Simple geometry, often rectangular
•Use of modern materials like steel and glass
•Smooth surfaces
•Primary colors
•Linear and horizontal elements
 Walter Gropius
(w/ Adolf Meyer),
WERKBUND PAVILION,
Germany, 1914

Walter Gropius, The BAUHAUS BUILDING,

Dessau, Germany, 1926
Walter Gropius,
GROPIUS RESIDENCE,
Massachusetts, 1937
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
(1886- 1969)

• German Architect
• No formal training in architecture
• Worked under Peter Behrens
• Succeeded Gropius as Bauhaus Director
• Migrated to the US and taught architecture
at the Illinois Institute of Technology
• Designed SKYSCRAPERS OF STEEL AND GLASS
which became models of skyscraper design
throughout the world
 “Less is more.”
-van der Rohe

CHARACTER OF WORKS:
• Simple rectangular forms
• Open, flexible plans and multi-functional spaces
• Widespread use of glass to bring the outside in
• Mastered steel and glass construction
• Exposed and very refined structural details
 Mies van der Rohe,
LAKE SHORE DRIVE APTS. & THE SEAGRAM BUILDING
Mies van der Rohe,
SEAGRAM BUILDING,
New York, 1958
Mies van der Rohe,
LAKE SHORE DRIVE
APARTMENTS, Illinois, 1951
Mies van der Rohe,
FARNSWORTH HOUSE,
Illinois, 1946-51
Mies van der Rohe, Mies van der Rohe,
GERMAN PAVILION Interior, FARNSWORTH HOUSE Interior,
Barcelona Expo, 1929 Illinois, 1946-51
Frank Lloyd Wright
(1867- 1959)

• American Architect
• Worked under Louis Sullivan
• Influenced by the British Arts and Crafts Movement
and traditional Japanese Architecture
• Influenced European modern architects
• created the philosophy of ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE,
which maintains that the building must develop out of
its surroundings.
• known for the Prairie Houses, characterized by
asymmetrical plans and low, wide overhanging eaves.
CHARACTER OF WORKS:
• strong eastern influences
• use of natural materials like bricks, stone and wood
• use of textured concrete
• designs that blend well in its environment
• focused more on residential designs
Frank Lloyd Wright, ROBIE HOUSE,
Illinois, 1909
 Frank Lloyd Wright,
KAUFMANN HOUSE or THE FALLING WATER,
Bear Run, Pennsylvania, 1937
 Frank Lloyd Wright,
GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM,
New York, 1956-59
Louis Kahn
(1901- 1974)

• important figure in the transition from International Style

Modernism to Postmodernism
• first convincing rebel against the dull, glass boxes
produced by modernists
• designed contemporary and monumental architecture
of massive geometrical forms in contrast to the usual
rectangular glass and steel designs during his time.
• taught architecture at Yale University and
at the University of Pennsylvania
• Influenced postmodernists Robert Venturi & Charles Moore
CHARACTER OF WORKS:
• simple, Platonic forms and compositions
• use of brick and poured-in place concrete
• dramatic spaces
• use of natural light

Several elements of Kahn's architecture came together in the

RICHARDS MEDICAL RESEARCH BUILDING, elements that were
used before, independently of each other:
• a clear articulation of servant and served spaces;
• the problem of light;
• the integration of spatial, structural, and utility elements; and,
• the integration of form, material, and process.
As a result, this building represents a significant turning point in
contemporary architecture.
Louis Kahn, RICHARDS MEDICAL RESEARCH BUILDING
University of Pennsylvania, 1957-61
Louis Kahn,
KIMBELL ARTS MUSEUM,
Texas, 1966-72
 Louis Kahn,
SALK INSTITUTE FOR BIOLOGICAL STUDIES
California, 1959-65
Richard Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983)
• American inventor of the Geodesic Dome and the principle
of “Synergetics, ”who influenced High Tech leaders,
especially Norman Foster
• “MORE WITH LESS” – a philosophy concerned with the
efficient use of materials and technology for energy and
cost-efficient designs, for the benefit of humanity.

Eero Saarinen (1910-1961)

• Finnish architect
• noted for his highly expressionist work reflected in the
sculptural forms of his buildings using reinforced concrete
• studied architecture and sculpture
• influenced by Mies van der Rohe and Antonio Gaudi
Buck Fuller, DYMAXION HOUSE,
Wichita, Kansas, 1946
Buck Fuller,
U.S. PAVILION - 1967 Exposition,
Montreal, Canada
Eero Saarinen, M.I.T. AUDITORIUM,
Massachussets, 1962
 Eero Saarinen,
T.W.A. TERMINAL, J.F.K. INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT,
New York, 1962
Eero Saarinen, DULLES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT,
Washington, 1962
Philip Johnson (1906- )

• controversial architect who worked in the modern

and, later, in the postmodern style
• together with Henry Russell-Hitchcock, curated an
exhibition entitled “Modern Architecture: An International
Exhibition” from which the “International Style” came from
• for his master’s thesis, built the Glass House
whose concept was borrowed from van der Rohe’s
Farnsworth House
• worked with Mies van der Rohe and together they
designed the Seagram Building
• designed the AT& T Headquarters, considered as the
first postmodern skyscraper

“ The only cardinal sin in building is boredom.”

- JOHNSON
Philip Johnson,
(above) THE GLASS HOUSE,
Connecticut, 1949
(left) THE SEAGRAM BUILDING,
New York, 1958
(with Mies van der Rohe)
 Philip Johnson,
AT&T HEADQUARTERS,
New York, 1979
Michael Graves (1934- )

• one of the New York Five or The Five Whites, together with
Richard Meier, Peter Eisenman, Charles Gwathmey and
John Hejduk, known for their white, modernist designs
• in the mid-70s, abandoned modernism and became a
famous figure in the postmodern camp
• successfully brought the postmodern style from the
academe to the public through the design of the
controversial Portland Building in 1983.
• diverted architecture from modernist abstraction to
restore literacy to readers and users of the building

“ I believe that people make natural associations with form,

color, and the composition of elements while decoration
and detailing help communicate a building’s purpose.”
-GRAVES
Michael Graves,
HANSELMANN HOUSE,
Indiana, 1967

Michael Graves,
SNYDERMAN HOUSE,
Indiana, 1972
 Michael Graves,
PLOCEK HOUSE, 1982
Michael Graves,
PORTLAND BUILDING,
Oregon, 1983
Michael Graves,
WORLD TRADE EXCHANGE BLDG.,
Binondo, Manila
Arquitectonica

• Miami-based firm composed of Bernardo Fort- Brescia

and Laurinda Spears
• works are influenced by both Modernism and
Postmodernism
• pursued the style of an unconventional modernism,
both abstract and romantic, playful as well as dramatic
and forceful
Arquitectonica,
THE PINK HOUSE,
Miami, Florida

Arquitectonica,
ATLANTIS CONDOMINIUM,
Miami, 1982
Arquitectonica,
ATLANTIS CONDOMINIUM,
Miami, 1982
 Arquitectonica,
BANCO DE CREDITO,
Peru, 1988
 Arquitectonica,
PACIFIC PLAZA TOWERS,
Fort Bonifacio Global City,
Philippines
Peter Eisenman (1932- )
• one of the New York Five or The Five Whites, together with
Richard Meier, Michael Graves, Charles Gwathmey and
John Hejduk
• became influenced with the Deconstruction philosophy of
Jacques Derrida and is now well-known for his
Deconstructivist architecture
• seeks for meaning in architecture not through the use of
historical elements but through the manipulation and
transformation of the architectural forms themselves

“I am looking for ways of conceptualizing space that will place

the subject in a displaced relationship because they will have no
iconographic reference to traditional forms of organization.
That is what I have always been trying to do, to displace
the subject, to oblige the subject to reconceptualize
architecture.”
-EISENMAN
 Peter Eisenman,
Model for the GARDIOLA WEEKEND HOUSE
Spain, 1988
 Peter Eisenman,
WEXNER CENTER FOR THE VISUAL ARTS,
Ohio State University, 1989
Peter Eisenman,
COLUMBUS CONVENTION
CENTER, Ohio
1992
Frank Gehry (1929- )

• Canadian-born American architect

• known for his distinctive architectural style characterized
by a collage-like composition out of found materials like
plywood, corrugated metal and chain-link fences
• inspired by the rich and varied culture of Southern California

“Every building is by nature a sculpture. Sculpture is a

three-dimensional object and so is a building.”
-FRANK GEHRY
 Frank Gehry,
GEHRY HOUSE,
Santa Monica, CA , 1978
 Frank Gehry,
GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM,
Bilbao, Spain, 1991-97
Tadao Ando (1941- )

• Japanese minimalist architect

• self- taught in architecture
• influenced by Le Corbusier
• works are characterized by geometrical forms, dramatic
use of natural elements like light and water and the use
of bare reinforced concrete as chief building material

“ I do not believe architecture should speak too much. It

should remain silent and let nature, in the guise of light
and wind, speak.”
- ANDO
Tadao Ando,
KOSHINO HOUSE,
Tokyo, 1981
 Tadao Ando,
CHURCH OF THE LIGHT,
Japan, 1981
 Tadao Ando,
CHURCH ON WATER,
 Tadao Ando,
WATER TEMPLE,
Japan, 1990
John Pawson,
PAWSON HOUSE,
London, 1995
John Pawson,
CALVIN KLEIN STORE,
New York, 1995
Richard Meier (1934- )
• one of the New York Five or The Five Whites
• continued to work with the Corbusian 5 points
• designs are easily recognizable by his white neo-
Corbusian forms, the hierarchy of building elements,
sleek industrialized skins, and greater complexity in
planning and massing

Ieoh Ming Pei (1917- )

• Chinese-American architect
• studied under Walter Gropius at Harvard University
• noted for the use of highly geometrical forms for his designs,
most especially the triangular elements constantly found in
his more important project

“Geometry is the key to all architecture.” - PEI

 Richard Meier,
THE ATHENEUM, Indiana
1979
 Richard Meier,
HIGH MUSEUM OF ART,
Atlanta, 1980-83
 I.M. Pei,
THE GLASS PYRAMID at the LOUVRE,
Paris, 1983-93
I. M. Pei,
ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME,
Cleveland, Ohio, 1993-95
I. M. Pei,
BANK OF CHINA,
Hongkong, 1989-90
 I. M. Pei,
ESSENSA TOWERS,
Fort Bonifacio Global City, Philippines
Richard Rogers (1933- )
• British architect
• educated at the Architectural Association in London & at Yale University
• started his career working with Norman Foster in the group, Team 4
• rose to international recognition with the design of the
“high-tech” museum, The Pompidou Center, in Paris
• known for designs exposing the skeleton and services
of buildings, and the use of state-of-the art materials like
stainless steel and glass

Norman Foster (1935- )

• British architect
• educated at the Manchester University & at Yale University
• has worked under, was influenced by, Buckminster Fuller
• known for his high-tech buildings characterized by structural
lightness and low-energy designs
 Richard Rogers,
HOUSE FOR HIS PARENTS,
Wimbledon, 1968-69
 Richard Rogers
(w/ Renzo Piano),
THE POMPIDOU CENTER,
Paris, 1991-97
Richard Rogers,
THE LLOYD’S BUILDING,
London, 1978-86
Norman Foster,
SAINSBURY VISUAL ARTS
CENTER, Univ. of East
Anglia, 1974-78

Norman Foster,
RENAULT DISTRIBUTION
CENTER, Swindon, 1980-82
Norman Foster,
STANSTED INT’L AIRPORT,
Essex, 1980-91

Norman Foster,
CHEK LAP KOK AIRPORT,
Hongkong, 1997
Norman Foster,
HONGKONG & SHANGHAI BANK,
Hongkong, 1979-85
Renzo Piano (1937- )
• Italian architect
• rose to international recognition with the design of the
high-tech building, The Pompidou Center, w/ Richard Rogers
• in his later work, moved to a more subtle kind of “high-tech”
by designing context-sensitive buildings and using
technology only where appropriate

Ken Yeang (1948- )

• Malaysian architect
• educated at the Architectural Association School in London
• developed the “bioclimatic theory,” a design of structures defined by
climate and context
• designed sustainable skyscrapers, where wind direction and solar
orientation are prime considerations
• common design features include fragmented floor plans, sky courts,
windwalls, balconies and vertical landscaping
 Renzo Piano,
MENIL COLLECTION GALLERY,
Houston, Texas, 1981-86
 Renzo Piano,
KANSAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT,
Osaka, Japan, 1988-94
 Renzo Piano,
TJIBAOU CULTURAL CENTER,
New Caledonia, 1991-97
Ken Yeang,
MENARA MESINIAGA BUILDING,
Malaysia, 1992
Ken Yeang,
TOKYO-NARA TOWER,
Japan, 1997-
Charles Edouard Jeanneret
(1887-1965)

• Swiss-French architect
• 1908-10 – studied in Paris with August Perret
• 1910 – worked in the studio of Peter Behrens
with Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius
• turned to painting and founded Purism with
Amedee Ozenfant
• 1923- published a collection of essays,
Towards A New Architecture, and adopted
the name Le Corbusier
• 1920s-30s- became concerned with urban planning
and published plans of ideal cities especially the
Ville Contemporaine ( A Contemporary City) and
the Ville Radieusse (The Radiant City)
• designed the famous Villa Savoye in France, the model for what is
to be known as the International Style.
Charles Edouard Jeanneret
(1887-1965)

• After World War II, moved away from Purism and toward a more
“brutalist” aesthetic
• 1946-52- The Unite d’ Habitation was built in France, from his
prototype of The Vertical City.
• 1950-51- commissioned by the Indian Government to plan the
city of Chandigarh, the new capital of Punjab.
• 1950s and onwards- moved to a more humanistic phase and
designed poetic, handcrafted buildings reflected in the
Church of the of the Notre Dame du Haut at Ronchamp (1954-59).
• accidentally drowned in the Mediterranean on Aug. 27, 1965.
Le Corbusier’s 5 Points of a New Architecture:
1. Pilotis
2. Roof Garden
3. Free Plan
4. Ribbon Windows
5. Free Façade
The VILLA SAVOYE
Poissy, France
1929-31
Le Corbusier, Unité d’ Habitation,
Marseilles, France 1946-52
“Living architecture is that which faithfully expresses its time.
We shall seek it in all domains of construction.”

- AUGUST PERRET (1923)

“ Economic, technical and cultural conditions have changed radically.”

- MIES van der ROHE (1928)

“For the first time perhaps, the pressing problems of architecture,

were solved in a modern spirit. Economy, sociology, aesthetics:
a new solution using new methods.”

- LE CORBUSIER (1923)
“Let us guide our students…
from materials, through function to creative work…
We must understand the motives and forces of our time
and analyze their structure from three points of view:
the material, the functional, and the spiritual.”

- MIES van der ROHE (1938)

“Form is not the aim of our work, only the result.”

- MIES van der ROHE