Architectural Theory

Architecture consists of architects, buildings and people. The role of the architect is to express the conditions of the context that a particular building is in architecturally. The role of the building is to shelter and protect, to satisfy functional and emotional needs, and connect with man. In connecting with man, People make the architecture alive and part of society by experiencing it and gaining a greater understanding of life through his observations.

The general qualities of architecture include: rhythm, repetition, scale, proportion, rational structure, unity, harmony, nature of materials, space, form, and beauty.

The funtional qualities of architecture, such as program, circulation, clients and users won't be discussed much here. Although they are extremely important, these qualities vary too much from building to building to go into great depth.

These qualities are related to each other. Rhythm is the beat of the music called architecture. These relationships can be understood as A-B-A-B relationships. The rhythm can go: A-B-A-B; A-A-B-A-A; A-B-C-B-A; A-B-C-D-A-B-C-D...you get the picture. A million different combinations. Must you have rhythm? It should, because architecture is better understood with these clear relationships.

Repetition goes along the same lines.

Scale can be important too. The proper scale of an element or whole building is crucial to understanding. The greek temple used stairs at the scale of the building and the gods, not to the scale of mortals. These are the two main scales to be concerned with: Human and Building. Is the scale of the entrance fit the building or the occupants? How about the openings?

Organization is the funtional side of architecture. In the days of the Ecole de Beax Arts, the grid is the tool of choice for the architect. It still is extremely useful in organizing program and circulation.

The basic forms of nature are the circle, the square, and the triangle. Hence, the sphere, the cube, the pyramid, and also the cylindar are clearly defined forms. Add to this geometry with its order and relationships and the combination of all these basic forms, that is the basis of many of the forms that we see.

Forms also have symbolic meaning in many societies. The arch is a prime example. Forms like this should be used with caution.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." Although this is true, beauty can be attributed to nature. The forms of nature, in the animal and human world, are simple and economical. The honeycomb is example of simplicity and strength. Simple and complex geometry also plays a role in mother nature's design. Flowers and foliage, like those that adorn Corinthian capitals or the decore of Louis Sullivan, have long the inspiration of ornament. The forms are symmetrical and geometrical and a perfect choice for decoration in most societies.

Context covers a wide array of things: the site, the region it's in, it's climate, the topography, or the connection to the sun. Cultural context includes the people, their history, traditions, craftsmanship, economics, materials, their movement , and the society's symbol systems.

Architects design what they know. The architecture that comes from an individual is a reflection of his personality and his soul.

But not all people who design buildings are architects. An architect is one who takes a concept and resolves it.

My Thoughts

I am by no means an expert in the area of theory, but from my experience and study, This is what I gather. This is still a learning process for me. But I want to throw my ideas out there for discussion.

So, what is architecture to me? The need for shelter? The ultimate form of expression? Decisions based on the comfort of the users? Responding to numerous factors to solve a problem?

Architecture is a discipline that deals with science, geometry, mathmatics, composition, sociology, history, construction and art. There is no shared definition, but architecture ultimately begins and ends with the human figure.

In the language of architecture, the words and symbols are the earth, the wall, and the sky.

The earth can be equated to the horizontal plane, the foundation of a building, the floor, and mankind. Platforms can be raised and stacked, but still give us a sense of the earth. The connection of mankind to the earth is fundamental to understanding architecture.

The wall is vertical, divides and encloses space, takes changes in grade, can be opaque or transparent, and are places for threshholds and openings. Walls can fundamentally be presented in different ways. The colonnade, a screen, a low wall, or even a beam on the ceiling. They can be load bearing or non-load bearing, partition walls, or they can float in space. Pentrations through these walls are important too. The window and the threshhold make architecture inhabitable.

The sky can be equated to the roof, the horizontal plane, shelter from the elements, and the heavens and the gods. Protection is also a fundamental response us humans have to nature.

These ideas form a simple vocabulary of architecture: The wall, the platform, and the roof. What makes these architectural words coherant, meaningful, and understandable is the grammar and syntax. Things like rhythm, proportion, composition, structure, space, form, funtionality, and context.

Rhythm, proportion, composition, structure, space and form have similar roots in design.

Context can be many things: cultural history and traditions, vernacular precedent, program, function, symbolism, climate, the users, etc.

Putting the words together using correct grammar is the beginning of your story. If you put this and this together like this, you are communicating something to whoever looks at your building. The story can be grand, serene, wild, or tame, to be read in a certain way. The sentences are the "Once upon a time..." and the "And they lived happily ever after."

Language to me means resolution of architecture with personal style. Through one's experiences and thoughts, you wish to communicate something. Instead of voicing your ideas, you express them through architecture. Maybe, to keep the metaphor going, you invent your own language. You want others to understand you. That's where words and grammar come in. You teach them your words and grammar, and like an open book, people learn more about themselves.

How do we go about sorting through all these things and begin to design? First you could look at who you are designing for and identify their concerns and needs. Next, I suggest...RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH! I think you must understand the big picture of your project before you can narrow it down. The library is a good place to start. Information can take the form of literature, maps, paintings, charts, or history. Along with the research, diagrams of initial ideas can begin to be recorded, relationships you observe, interviews with people, contacts with significant people, and mapping the needs of the target groups, still in diagram form.

Still in the research phase, one way to better understand the basic concerns of the project is to diagram the phenomena that surround your project. The concerns, the relationships, and the experience of the spaces. These diagrams are just one idea that you observe. Edges, corners, streets, existing buildings, relationships to those buildings, relationships to the streets, transportation and use patterns, figure/ground studies, etc. are good tools to help in design.

Now, trying to fit in function and program is tricky. You could give a function a size, cut it out of a piece of paper, and begin to see relationships. You could go visit places that contain similar program elements and find a range of sizes and organizations.

The next step is to draw out different alternatives, that is, several schemes for your project. They should all be completely different, and one idea should carry through in the whole design.

This would be a good opportunity look back at the initial ideas. This can be done at any point along the way though. This is also a good point to get feedback and input from others. Again, this could happen at any point. The more the better.