PRINCIPLE OF

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN
DAAT 1043

Chapter 4:

Form & Space

Horizontal & Vertical Elements
Defining Space

Horizontal Elements
Defining Space

SUBTOPICS>>

1. Base Plane
2. Elevated Base Plane
3. Depressed Base Plane
4. Overhead Plane

1. BASE PLANE
A horizontal plane laying as a figure on a
contrasting background defines a simple field of
space. This field can be visually reinforced in
several ways.

1. BASE PLANE
For a horizontal plane to be seen as a
figure, there must be a perceptible
change in colour, tone or texture
between its surface and that of the
surrounding area.

The surface articulation of the ground plane/floor plane is often used in

architecture to define a zone of space within a larger context. This type
of spatial definition can be used to:
To differentiate between a path of movement and places of rest
Establish a field from which the form of a building rises out of the
ground
Articulate a functional zone within a one room living
environment

1.BASE PLANE

Parterre de Broderie,
Versailles, France, 17th century,
Andre Le Notre
Interior of Glass House, New
Canaan, Connecticut, 1949,
Philip Johnson

2. ELEVATED BASE PLANE

A horizontal plane elevated above the ground plane
establishes vertical surfaces along its edges that reinforce the
visual separation between its field and the surrounding ground.

2. ELEVATED BASE PLANE

Elevating a portion of the base plane
creates a specific domain within a
larger spatial context.
The changes in level that occur along
the edges of the elevated plane define
the boundaries of its field and
interrupts the flow of space across its
surface.
The field will become a plateau that is separate and distinct from its
surrounding

2. ELEVATED BASE PLANE

Fatehpur Sikri, Palace Complex of

Akbar the Great, Mogul Emperor of India,
1569-74

The elevated ground plane can be

pre-existing or artificially constructed
above the surrounding context to
enhance its image in the landscape

Pavilion of Supreme Harmony (Taihe

Dian), in the Forbidden City, Peking
(Beijing), 1627

2. ELEVATED BASE PLANE

High Altar , Cisterian Monastery of La

Tourette, Lyons, France, 1956-59, Le
Corbusier

Raised space can serve as a retreat

from the activity around it. It can also
demarcate a sacred, holy or
consecrated place.

Farnsworth House, Plano, Illinois, 1950,

Mies van der Rohe

The elevated floor plane defines a

volume of space above the surface of its
site

3. DEPRESSED BASE PLANE

A horizontal plane depressed into the ground plane utilises
the vertical surfaces of the lowered area to define a volume of
space.

3. DEPRESSED BASE PLANE

Lowering a portion of the base plane
isolates a field of space from a larger
context.
The vertical surfaces of the depression
establish the boundaries of the field.
The field of space can be further
articulated by contrasting the surface
treatment of the lowered area and that
of the surrounding base plane.
Creating a stepped, terraced or ramped
transition from one level to the next helps
promote continuity between a sunken
space and the area that rises around it

Theatre at Epidauros,
Greece, c. 350 B.C., Polycleitos

3. DEPRESSED BASE PLANE

Waterfront Celebrity Loft, Indiana

An area within a large room can be

sunken to reduce the scale of the room
and define a more intimate space
within it.

Lower Plaza, Rockefeller Center New

York City, 1930, Wallace K. Harrison &
Max Abramovitz

An outdoor cafe in summertime and a

skating rink in the winter can be viewed
from the upper plaza while shops open
onto it at the lower level

4. OVERHEAD PLANE
A horizontal plane located overhead defines a volume of
space between itself and the ground plane.

4. OVERHEAD PLANE
An overhead plane defines a field of
space between itself and the ground
plane.
Since the edges of the overhead plane
establish the boundaries of this field, its
shape, size and height above the ground
plane determines the formal qualities of
the space.

An overhead plane has the

ability to define a discrete
volume of space virtually by
itself.

Tensile Structure, National

Garden Show, Cologne, Germany,
,1957
Frei Otto & Peter Stromeyer

4. OVERHEAD PLANE

Neu National Gallery, Berlin, Germany,

1968, Mies van der Rohe

The roof plane can visually express

how its pattern of structural members
resolves forces and transfers loads to a
system of support

Center Le Corbusier, Zurich, 1963-67,

Le Corbusier

The roof plane can be the major space

defining element of a building and
visually organise a series of forms and
spaces beneath its sheltering canopy

4. OVERHEAD PLANE

Surrey City Center Library, Vancouver,

Canada, to be completed summer 2011, Bing
Thom Architects

Tree House, Tokyo, Japan,

2009, Mount Fuji Architects
Studio

Well defined negative areas within an overhead

plane can be seen as positive shapes that
establish the presence of spatial fields below
their openings

Vertical Elements
Defining Space

SUBTOPICS>>

1.Vertical Linear Elements

2.Single Vertical Plane
3.L-shaped Plane
4.Parallel Planes
5.U-shaped Plane
6.Four Planes (Closure)

1. Vertical Linear Elements

Vertical linear elements
define the perpendicular
edges of a volume of space.

2. Single Vertical Plane

A single vertical
plane articulates
the space on
which it fronts.

3. L-shaped Plane
An L-shaped configuration of
vertical planes generates a field of
space from its corner outward
along a diagonal axis.

4. Parallel Planes
Two parallel vertical planes define a
volume of space between them that is
oriented axially toward both open ends
of the configuration

5. U-shaped Plane
A U-shaped
configuration of
vertical planes
defines a volume of
space that is
oriented primarily
toward the open end
of the configuration.

6. Four planes- Closure

Four vertical
planes establish
the boundarized
of an introverted
space and
influence the field
of space around
the enclosure.

End of Chapter 4:

Form & Space

Next Topic:
Organization of Form & Space
Spatial Relationship

Good Luck & Thank you.