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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
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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