Fine Arts

The Elements of Architecture

Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Architecture comes from Latin arcitectura; from Greek arkhitekton: great, builder, and carpenter. Its the art and science of erecting buildings and other physical structures. Is usually referred to as the Mother of the Arts because it serves as a background for, or occurs in relation to other fields of art such as painting, sculpture, interior design, landscape architect, and city planning. Architectural art begins physical and ends psychological. Architecture should be technically efficient and aesthetically pleasing. More than an account of technical know-how or individual genius, the story of architecture is also the story of human history In material/ immaterial ways, architectural structures reveal much about the philosophical, religious, and political values of society. Pyramids suggest the Egyptian desire for permanence and immortality The Parthenon, w/ its balance of vertical and horizontal lines, reps the golden mean of ideal equilibrium of Greek philosophy. Dominant vertical lines of Gothic cathedrals illustrate the heavenward aspirations of the medieval mind. The function or purpose and use of a build, is shown in the floor plan, a diagram of the horizontal layout of rooms. Structure or how a building is supported is illustrated in the section or vertical slice through a buildings stories. Beauty is best demonstrated in an elevation drawing, which shows exterior or interior elements as if one were facing the building. Dead load is the weight of materials and structural members like floors, roof, walls. Live load, dynamic forces acting on the structure generated by wind, traffic, seismic tremors, and the movement of occupants. o Uses durable materials and follows certain building standards. Materials used in architecture are stone, concrete, brick, wood, steel, glass, or plaster. Produces structures suited for their purpose or function. Landscape Architecture: design and development of landscape and garden to capture the needs of the environment o Landscape Architecture is the planning of outdoor areas for human enjoyment especially gardens, parks, playgrounds, golf courses, etc. o Materials are plants trees shrubs flowers vines and ground cover Urban / City Planning: the planning and arranging of physical aspects of a large or small community o Structures and areas are concerned w/ all phases of living and working, which are attractively and efficiently organized and related

Functional Classifications
Religious Commercial Residential Recreational Government Industrial Cultural / Art Exhibitions Rehab Centers Airports Seaports Malls Communication Centers Research Centers Observatories Institutional / Service

Elements of Architecture
Lines Colors Light Acoustics Space Form / Rhythm Ornament Scale Texture Weight and Mass

3 Kinds of Architecture According to Function

Interior Design: creation or design of the interior of a house to suit the personality needs and lifestyle of the people living in it

Elements of Architecture: Form / Rhythm Architects set up a pattern of rhythmic repetitions of elements like solids and voids, walls and windows, projecting or receding parts. Placement of columns on a faade or arches in an arcade, for example, is considered regular, symmetrical, or syncopated. Regular shapes such as squares octagons or circles are popular. Its all a matter of rhythm.

2012 JKH. 0201

Fine Arts

The Elements of Architecture

Elements of Architecture: Lines Vertical Lines of monuments, like Stonehenge and the Tower of Babel, have been yearning toward the divine. The Gothic cathedral, w/ its soaring vertical lines, illustrates most graphically the idea of uplift and striving for ascent to a heavenly realm. Symbolize connected w/ horizontal and vertical lines. Horizontal Lines, like the position of sleep, imply shelter and security. Diagonal Lines best convey a sense of movement. Diagonal Lines imply action and energy. Elements of Architecture: Ornament Among the many purposes of ornament are to emphasize structure, embellish the surface with visual detail, model light, and shadow, add human scale, and delight the eye Ornament can even serve practical aims, as in the gothic gargoyles that function as downspouts. In Romanesque sculptures ornament served the purpose of teaching illiterate worshipers church doctrines.

Monday, October 15, 2012 Elements of Architecture: Acoustics Buildings are perceived not just with the eye, but through multiple senses. Herbs and flowers can be used to scent the air near buildings, and the sound of water can be used to draw on deeper into the interior. Buildings use hard surfaces to reflect sounds and create live acoustics. Soft surfaces make spaces seem dead acoustically and provide a quiet atmosphere. Winston Churchill We shape our buildings, and afterwards our buildings shape us. Elements of Architecture: Site Buildings can contrast with their settings or enhance and blend in with their surroundings. Some buildings seem to grow naturally fro, their site, while others are the opposite of harmonious melding with a site. Elements of Architecture: Space Space can seem fixed or it can have openings and changing relationship. (+) / (-) o Positive: a void wrapped in a shell o Negative: a space between 2 masses, hollowed-out. Convex = MASS Concave = SPACE o American = POSITIVE SPACE o Japanese = SPACIAL FLOW Elements of Architecture: Weight & Mass A building can be heavy, chunky, bulging, and solid; or a building can be weightless and light. Contrasting forms of scale, ornament, color,, textures, and material can be used to produce the desired appearance Different historical periods placed varying value on weight and mass as attributes of arch.

Thursday, October 11, 2012 Elements of Architecture: Scale Scale refers to a buildings size in relation to human body, as well as to its surroundings. Architects manipulate scale to make a building seem more cozy or overwhelming. *give ex. Elements of Architecture: Lights Light (nat or artif, int or external) clarifies and defines the form of a building. It can also provide visual delight and highlight meaning, focusing the eye on important points. Light also deter ones perception of texture and form creating both a physiological effect and a psychological effect. Light creates a circle of intamicy and warmth, a feeling of well-being or of hostile glare. Elements of Architecture: Texture Texture can create an effect of solidity, stability, and abrasiveness, and/or effect of smooth refinement and softness I Renaissance palaces, the bottom floor was constructed of rusticated stone to suggest a firm foundation and impenetrable defenses Optical text also exploits the contrasting qualities of hard vs. soft surfaces @ Versailles movement of gushing fount and softness of green counter stone palaces rigid symmetry Elements of Architecture: Color Color can be used to differentiate various parts of a building, as in bands of contrasting stone that separate stories or wings Warm colors on re-orange end of spectrum evoke a more heated emotional response, while blue-green colors are perceived as restful and calming.

2012 JKH. 0201

Fine Arts

The Elements of Architecture

Elements of Architecture: Planning Orientation: control of the effects of natural forces. Design: modification

Modern Architecture
Skeleton Construction: requires the use of a strong foundation which will fit to the great height of the floor, roof, and partition which are usually made of concrete and steel The Romans developed concrete as a building material used to build aqueducts, baths, and other public works. Steel and concrete are the favored materials for commercial type buildings. Wood and brick are the favorite materials for residential construction. The first skyscraper was built in St. Louis, MO by Louis Sullivan who coined the expression form follows function. Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect who carefully considered the environment where the building was to be constructed; built Falling Water.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012 Principles of Architectural Construction Post-and-Lintel: makes use of posts or two vertical supports spanned by a lintel or horizontal beam. Post and Lintel is considered the oldest of the construction systems. Ancient Greek Orders Columns: composed of a shaft, capital, and base. [Doric, Ionic, Corinthian] Entablature: the top of an order (column); includes the architrave, frieze, and cornice. Pediment: triangular piece, sloping cornice, tympanum. The Arch: consists of separate pieces of wedges or shaped blocks arranged in semi-circles. The keystone is the last set stone at top center which locks the pieces together. The arch was a purely Roman invention. An arch is often made up of small stones called voussoir and a large central stone called a keystone. The Vault: is an architectural term for an arched form used to provide a space with a ceiling or roof. The Dome: a roof that is hemispherical in form and resembles a half ping pong ball and built in a framework formed by a series of arches rising from consecutive points in the base. The arch, vault, and dome are variations of the same concept that allowed for greater height and more space inside a building. A series of columns is called a colonnade. A series of arches is called an arcade. Flying Buttress: an external arch that counterbalanced the outward thrust of the high, vaulted ceilings. Truss System: was used during the Industrial Revolution, many new materials were developed: glass, wrought iron. This system applies to most of the bridges, assembly plants, theaters, shopping malls, gymnasium that necessities wide spaces but very few interior supports. + A Truss is a structure comprising 1 triangular units constructed w/ straight members whose ends are connected at joints referred to as nodes. Cantilever: used to support walls and floors that are ideally made of steel and Ferro-concrete; a beam or slab extended horizontal beyond its supporting part from strong support.

2012 JKH. 0201