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Architectural Basics Design I - Lecture 02

The document discusses the concepts of figure and ground in shape perception. It defines figure as the primary subject that draws our attention, while ground refers to all other elements in the visual field. Figures are defined by having distinct outlines and values that contrast with their background. Shape perception depends on the degree of contrast between a figure and its surrounding ground. The relationship between figure and ground is fundamental in design as the figure defines the ground and vice versa. They form an inseparable unity.

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Sani Mohammed
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23 views

Architectural Basics Design I - Lecture 02

The document discusses the concepts of figure and ground in shape perception. It defines figure as the primary subject that draws our attention, while ground refers to all other elements in the visual field. Figures are defined by having distinct outlines and values that contrast with their background. Shape perception depends on the degree of contrast between a figure and its surrounding ground. The relationship between figure and ground is fundamental in design as the figure defines the ground and vice versa. They form an inseparable unity.

Uploaded by

Sani Mohammed
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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READING SPACE

SPATIAL FIGURE ‐ GROUND


SHAPE
Definition :Shape=[noun]

1 tli
1.outline: th outline
the tli off something's
thi ' form
f
His face has a square shape.

2.MATHEMATICS geometric form: a geometric form,


e.g. a square, triangle, cone, or cube

3.general character of something:


the
h broad
b d character
h that
h something
h h has
the overall shape of the proposals

4.mold for something:


a mold or p
pattern for makingg somethingg or
giving something its form
Shape:

Refers to the characteristic outline of a plane


figure or the surface configuration of a
volumetric form
• Form,,
Organic, regular‐geometric
It is the primary means by which we recognize,
identify and characterize particular figures and
forms.
A fundamental question in perception
research is:

how do people perceive shapes?


Our perception of shape depends on the
degree of visual contrast
that exists along the contour separating
FIGURE from its GROUND
or
between a form and its field.
Shape perception is complexly interwoven
with FIGURE‐GROUND perception.
FIGURE
The part of a composition that we pay
attention to is called figure.
figure

Recognizable objects (subject matter)


are easy to
t see as fi
figure.
The most interesting at any moment is the figure.
GROUND
Everything that is not figure is
GROUND.
As attention shifts from figure to figure
the ground also shifts so that an object
can go from figure to ground and back.
Ground is sometimes thought of
d but
as background
b k b this
hi is
i not always
l true. In a
flat composition there is nothing behind the figure (if there was there would
be the illusion of depth). The shapes are side by side.
In simplest terms the figure is what you
notice and the ground is everything else
To better comprehend the structure of a visual
field, we tend to organize
g its elements into two
opposing groups:

positive elements which are perceived as


FIGURES and
negative elements which provide a
BACKGROUND for the figures.
The figure
The ground
The figure The ground
A figure is seen as a figure because its profile is
distinct, its value contrasts with that of its
b k
background, d andd it
its placement
l t iisolates
l t it ffrom
its context/surrounding.
As the figure grows in size relative to its field,
field
the context will start to compete for our
attention as figures.
figures
At times,
times the relationship between figures and
their background is so ambiguous that we
visually
i ll switch
it h their
th i identities
id titi back
b k and
d forth
f th
almost simultaneously.
The classic face/vase illusion forces the viewer to shift from one figure
to the other but not to see both as figure at the same time.
time When you
see the faces as figure, the vase is the ground.
When you see the vase as figure, the faces are the ground.
The relationship between figure and ground is
one of the most important relationships in
design.
design
The figure always defines the ground and the
ground defines the figure.

Theyy are inseparable


p ‐‐ yyou can not have one
without the other.

If you draw the figure in a composition, you are


drawing the ground at the same time.

The edges of one are the edges of the other.


figures could
fi ld nott exist
i t without
ith t a contrasting
t ti
background.

Figures and their background


background, therefore,
therefore are
more than opposing elements.
Together,
h they
h form
f an inseparable
bl reality‐
l a
unity of opposites –just as the elements of form
and space together form the reality of
architecture.
the iintersections
th t ti is
i att ti
times more
important [the in‐betweens]

balance between the positive and negative, the


figure and the ground, container and the
contained, the event and the host
CONTAINER AND CONTAINED
EVENT HOST
The container and the contained
• The personality/character of the contained
Architectural form occurs at the junction
between MASS and SPACE.
SPACE

In executing and reading design drawings, we should


be concerned with both the form and the mass
containing a volume of space as well as the form of
the spatial volume itself.
itself
Task of the day:

Reading the in‐between spaces


space
As
Gymnastics
of

Point
Line
Plane
Volume

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