ARCHITECTURE: the art and science of designing buildings

THEORY: body of related facts or principles that explains a phenomenon; basis for
future action
DESCRIPTIVE: explains phenomena or event
PRESCRIPTIVE: prescribes bases or guidelines
CRITICAL: challenges the relationship between architecture and society
ARCHITECTURAL ORDERS
PHYSICAL: form, space, system, organization
PERCEPTUAL: sensory perception, light, color, texture, view, sound
CONCEPTUAL: meanings, images, patterns, signs, symbols, context
SPACE ARTICULATION AND ORGANIZATION
PRIMARY ELEMENTS
Point
Line: extended point with length, direction, and position
Plane: extended line with length and width, shape, surface, orientation,
position
Volume: extended plane with length, width, depth, form and space,
surface, orientation, position

ARCHITECTURAL FORM: point of contact between mass and space

Properties: shape, size, color, texture, position, orientation, visual inertia
SPATIAL RELATIONSHIPS
Space within a space
Interlocking spaces
Adjacent spaces
Spaces linked by a common space
ORGANIZATION OF SPACES
Centralized organization
Linear organization
Grid organization
Radial organization
Clustered organization
CIRCULATION
Elements:
Approach: the distant view
Entrance: from outside to inside
Configuration of path: sequences of spaces

PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
1. Proportion: dimensional relationship to bases
a. Types:
i. Relative: parts to each other
ii. Absolute: parts to the whole
iii. Arithmetic:
h = (l x w)/2
iv. Geometric:
h = (lw)2
v. Harmonic
b. Classical Orders
c. Renaissance Theories
d. Modulor: proportioning system by Le Corbusier
e. Ken: Japanese proportioning system based on the tatami mat
2. Scale: dimensional relationship to standards
3. Contrast: juxtaposition of elements in a design, element intensity and dominance
Contrast of line
Contrast of form
Contrast of character
Contrast of mass
Contrast of color
4. Balance: apparent state of equilibrium; symmetric around an axis
Symmetrical

5.

6.

7.

Unsymmetrical (material and design balance)

o
Gravitational balance (single element dominance balance)
Hierarchy: system of ordered elements (sequence)
Hierarchy by size
Hierarchy by shape
Hierarchy by placement
Rhythm: pattern repetition of elements
rhythm of lines
rhythm of areas
rhythm of color
accented rhythm
unaccented rhythm
Color: quality of appearance of design
Hue: the color itself
Tonal Value: lightness and darkness of the color
Chroma or Intensity: brightness or dullness of the color

THE DESIGN PROCESS

Generating proposals that changes existing conditions into better things
Stages
Initiation: project identification
Preparation: collection and analysis of information (architectural programming)
Proposal Making: synthesis and considerations

Evaluation: cycles and feedback (post-occupancy evaluation)

ARCHITECTURAL PROGRAMMING: process of managing information that affects design outcome;

to gather, organize, interpret, and present data and information relevant to the design
Issue-Based Program: what is the problem?

Required State Program: what should be the solution to the problem?

o
Vision of an alternative environment

Philosophy: statement of the beliefs where the design solutions

take off

Problem: statement of the overall issue

Concept: solution to the problem, abstracted; breakdown of the

answers to the issues within the bigger concept

PROGRAM DOCUMENT:
States the project purpose
Fact repository
Decision documentation
Legal contract between architect and client
FACT: objective, specific, and verifiable
Contextual, site-based, or user-based
ISSUE: concerns, questions, topics that require a design as answer
VALUES: personal values
GOAL: statement of intention
PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS: measurable level of function
List of all possible spaces
Description of the spaces
o
Materials, volume, dimensions
Space interrelationship
o
Matrix, bubble diagram

SPATIAL THEORIES
Architecture and the Self
Levels of the Self
Body
o
Anthropocentrism: the human being is the most important entity in the
universe
o
Anthropocentrism: the architecture is based on the configuration of the
human body; creation of the design with human attributes
o
Anthropometrics: body measurement
o
Ergonomics: design of devices for the human body
Gender
o
Masculine Architecture: aggression, extroversion; straight lines
o
Feminine Architecture: introspective, social introversion; curving lines
o
Gay Architecture: expresses both masculine and feminine qualities
o
Androgynous Architecture: neither masculine nor feminine
Emotions: expression of emotions in form and space
Spirit: concept of oneness in form and space

PROXEMICS: study of the symbolic and communicative role of the spatial separation of
individuals
Dr. Robert Sommer: all human beings have an invisible bubble (personal space)
Dr. Edward Hall: father of proxemics, the personal space is not static (distance)
Proxemic Zones
Public distance: more than 12 ft. on average
Social distance: 4 - 12 ft. on average
Personal distance: 18 - 48 in. on average
Intimate distance: 0 18 in. on average
Socia-petal Space: brings people together
Socio-fugal Space: separates people
TERRITORIALITY AND DEFENSIBLE SPACES
Territory: delimited space that a group defends as exclusive preserve
Ownership and rights
Defense against intrusions
Personalization: staking claims to spaces
Defensible Space: space that affords easy recognition and control through visual access,
adjacent or electrical monitoring
SOFT ARCHITECTURE: building or environment that can be personalized without damage
SOCIAL OVERCROWDING: lack of control over the environment; leads to negative behavior

PRIVACY: ability to control interactions with others

Solitude: being free from observation
Intimacy: with another person, free from the outside world
Anonymity: state of being unknown even within a crowd
Reserve: employment of psychological barrier to control unwanted intrusions
PSUCHOLOGICAL THEORIES AND ARCHITECTURE
Maslows Hierarchy of Needs
Self-Actualization: realizing the full potential, the clients
dream
Self-Esteem: making the occupant feel good
Social Acceptance or Affiliation: need to belong to a group
or society
Security: securing of occupants
Physiological: providing shelter
THEORIES ON PERCEPTION
Cognition: mental process of acquiring knowledge
Symbol: representation
Semiotics: science of signs
Gestalt Theory: observation with innate qualities; layering observation (independent layering)
Figure-ground: image stands out from the background
Grouping: organization

Ecological Theory: environment affects object perception (interactive layering)

Transactional Theory: recognizes the role of experience; active perception governed by
expectancies
AESTHETICS: study of the mind and emotions in relation to the sense of beauty
Speculative Aesthetics
Philosophical
o
Hermeneutic: environment interpretation as text
o
Phenomenological: intuitive
o
Existential: creative
o
Political (Marxist): struggle
Scientific
o
Psychoanalytic: catharsis (upsurge of emotions)
o
Psychological

Mechanistic: stimulus

Contextual: nature
o
Organismicist: organism
o
Formist: pattern or form
Empirical
o
Information-Theory Approach: image (big picture)
o
Semantic Approach: meaning
o
Semiotic Approach: cultural meaning
o
Psychological Approach: physical or response

BEHAVIOR SETTINGS AND ACTIVITY SYSTEMS

Behavior Settings: combination of activity and place
Standing pattern of behavior
o
Actones: microbehavior within the standing pattern of behavior
Milieu or physical support
Relationship between the standing pattern of behavior and milieu
Specific time period
CONCEPTS AND FUNCTIONALITIES
Functional Concepts
o
Vitruvian Triad: firmitas (strength), utilitas (utilities), venustas (aesthetics)
o
Durand: the two problems of architecture

Private buildings: optimum accommodation for low cost

Public buildings: maximum accommodation for a given sum

Environmental Concepts
o
Light and Color
o
Temperature
o
Ventilation
o
Sound
o
Smell
o
Texture

Structural Concepts
o
Frames
o
Tube construction
o
Mushroom construction
o
Suspended systems
o
Pre-fabrication
o
Stretched Membrane
o
Stratification
o
Evolutionary Architecture
Cultural Concepts
o
Ethnocentrism: judging people by the standards of ones culture
o
Critical Regionalism: factoring in cultural variations and contextual
realities
Thematic Concepts
Time-Based Concepts
Technological Concepts

PHILOSOPHICAL IDEAS IN ARCHITECTURE

Environment and Architecture
Man Over Environment
o
Ten Books of Architecture: Vitruvius

Comprehensive view of the building

Environment over Man
Poetry of Architecture: John Ruskin
o
Everything should be natural
LAWS OF ECOLOGY:
Harmonious relation to land; work in partnership with nature
Start of green architecture
EKISTICS: human settlement is made of 5 elements: man, nature, shells, networks, society
BAUHAUS: socialist movement in architecture; combines architecture + fine arts + design
Walter Gropius school in Weiman, Germany (1919)
Forerunner of modernism; architecture for civil society: ART + TECHNOLOGY
ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE: architecture must be a natural element of the site

MODERNISM AND THE INTERNATIONAL STYLE

Architectural response to the social upheaval between the 20th century wars
o
Renunciation of the old world
o
Technological determinism and structural rationalism
o
Belief in the power to transform the world
o
Sleek, machined surfaces
o
Mass production and cost reduction
Le Corbusiers formula
o
Programmed precisely
o
Structural frame separately identified
o
Pilotises
o
Flat roofs
o
Open-plan interior
POST-MODERNISM
Reaction to the excesses of the International Style; humanistic and pluralist,
individuality and craftsmanship
Introduced by Robert Venturi in Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture
Memory aids to human history; uses humor as well

CRITICAL REGIONALISM
Examines the global trend of architecture to reflect the dominant culture
DECONSTRUCTION
Freeing oneself from the authority of the system
Questioning given norms to unearth the hidden biases
Thinking outside the box
PHENOMENOLOGY AND PLACE
Knowing something as more than a rational process but also involves a felt
experience
In architecture:
o
People assign unconscious meanings to the environment
o
Place:

Bounded manifestation of the production of meaning in space

Built, natural, or both: the Designed Environment

Spirit of Place / Genius Loci: meaning of place (namamahay)

o
Topoanalysis: study of an areas Place and Spirit of Place

FENG SHUI: Chinese philosophy of geomancy

Related to the concept of Qi, the flow of natural energy
2 Theories of Feng Shui
Form Theory: currents are known based on landscape
Compass Theory: places emphasis on mathematical calculations using LO PAN
Five Elements of Feng Shui
Wood: life, femininity, creativity, organic
tall, cylindrical (tree trunks)
Fire: energy, intelligence
sharp peaks (flames)
Earth: stability, endurance, ground
flat terrain
Metal: competitiveness, business,
masculinity, metal
rounded hills (coins)
Water: all that flows, transport,
communication
wavy, undulating ground
YIN YANG: harmonious balance of opposites

CONCEPTS AND PROPONENTS

Modulor
Proxemics
Hierarchy of Needs
Ten Books of Architecture
Poetry of Architecture
Laws of Ecology
Ekistics
Bauhaus
Organic Architecture
Post-Modernism
Critical Regionalism
Deconstruction
Phenomenology and Place
Theory
Phenomenology and Place
Theory in Architecture

Le Corbusier
Dr. Edward Hall
Maslow
Vitruvius
John Ruskin
Aldo Leopold
Doxiadis
Walter Gropius
Frank Lloyd Wright
Robert Venturi (introduced)
Alexander Tzonis, Liliane Lefavre, Kenneth Frampton
Jacques Derrida
Edward Husserl and Martin Heidegger
Charles Norberg - Schulz