DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE I 1ST YEAR 1ST SEMESTER 01/08

LECTURE 06 ARC 125 I DESIGN THEORY-I: BASIC DESIGN THEORY

ARCHITECTURE I Concepts in Architecture

ARCHITECTURE I Concepts in Architecture

 Concepts and Architectural Design
 Concept Hierarchies
 Types of Concepts

A simple definition of a concept suggests that these are ideas that integrate various elements into a whole
– these elements can be ideas, notions, thoughts, and/or observations. In the study and practice of
architecture, a concept suggests a specific way that programmatic requirements, contexts, and beliefs can
be brought together. Thus concepts are an important part of the architectural design process.
DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE I 1ST YEAR 1ST SEMESTER 02/08

LECTURE 06 ARC 125 I DESIGN THEORY-I: BASIC DESIGN THEORY

ARCHITECTURE I Concepts in Architecture

Concepts do not have to be „invented‟ by the architect. Probably the best example of a response to a
concept already stated in the client‟s program is Le Corbusier‟s design for the Carpenter Center of the
Visual Arts at Harvard University. The Center for the Visual Arts is an undergraduate division of the
university and is open to all students, not just art majors. The Concept in the program was that if more
students were aware of the programs, and if they could see the activity and life of the Center, then they
would be more likely to enroll in the Center‟s classes. Le Corbusier‟s response was to make a ramp out of a
pedestrian circulation path that already passed through the site, to have it tunnel through the middle of the
building, providing views into many of the studios and workshops.

Carpenter Center of the Visual Arts, US

Le Corbusier (1963)

The following six synonyms have been commonly used by various design professionals to describe their
search for concepts – architectural ideas, themes, superorganizing ideas, parti and esquisse, and literal
translations.

Architectural ideas are concepts that have been reduced to a formal architectonic concern like daylight,
space, sequence of spaces, integration of structure and form, and siting in the landscape, and so on. Each
can influence the general design of a building. The specific architectonic concern is then used as the basis
for the design decisions that follow. A theme is a specific pattern or idea that recurs throughout the design
of the project. It can be narrow in intention, like a specific geometric theme that appears throughout the
project, or it can be more general. The title of a booklet on Louis I. Kahn‟s Kimbell Art Gallery in Fort Worth,
Texas is: „Light is the Theme‟. Kahn argues that the changing mood of daylight over the seasons, as well
as during a single day, is the key to complementing a great work of art. In designing the gallery he
concentrated on bringing that changing quality of daylight into the building.

Superorganizing ideas refer to the general geometric configurations or hierarchies that the parts of a project
should respect. Urban design and campus planning provide some clear examples in which an overall
organizing pattern is established and the pattern filled in. A superorganizing idea allows variations among
the parts, just as long as they reinforce the overall pattern. Thomas Jefferson‟s plan for the campus of the
University of Virginia is a good example. The goal of the superorganizing idea was to give enough structure
to the pattern so that the individual parts could be developed with their own idiosyncrasies and still support
the whole. This was true in Jefferson‟s design, where there is a clear overall pattern yet the individual
houses have their own identities.
DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE I 1ST YEAR 1ST SEMESTER 03/08

LECTURE 06 ARC 125 I DESIGN THEORY-I: BASIC DESIGN THEORY

ARCHITECTURE I Concepts in Architecture

The parti (scheme) and esquisse (sketch) are the conceptual and graphic products of a particular method
of instruction developed in the Beaux Arts Schools of France during the nineteenth century. This method
demanded that students develop their conceptual skills to a high level. They were expected to develop a
concept and preliminary sketch of the building configuration in the first few hours of work on a project and
to hold to that parti throughout the project. Literal translation is a phrase used by Edward Larrabee Barnes
to describe the goal of developing a concept and diagram that can become the simplified plan for the
project. To Barnes, the concept for a project should be expressible in the kind of sketch one might do on a
napkin. Presumably, that original diagram would be just as visible and identifiable in the finished building as
it was on the napkin.

Concepts are the antithesis of notions, which do not make any pretense about being appropriate. A notion
for the design of a bird cage at a zoo might be that of a bird in flight, in literal translation. The fact that the
design might not have enough unobstructed space in it to actually allow the birds to fly and get the exercise
they need would be of no concern. As a notion the idea would be acceptable, and perhaps, amusing; as a
concept, it would not be appropriate. Therefore, a concept implies appropriateness; it supports the main
intentions and goals of a project and respects each project‟s unique characteristics and restrictions.

CONCEPTS AND ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN

Concept formulation is not an automatic activity. It takes a concentrated effort to develop a concept that
appropriately integrates things not previously brought together. Bringing things together is a creative act –
one that designers, architects, critics, artists, musicians, and writers have identified as being about 10
percent inspiration and genius and 90 percent hard work. Concept formulation is an unfamiliar activity for
most people, and students of architecture have as much trouble mastering it as they do other aspects of
design. Three problems block skill development in conceptualizing – the first block deals with problems of
communication, the second with inexperience, and the third with the problems of generating the concept
hierarchies.

The first problem the student encounters is communication. Surprisingly, the most difficult communication
problem is not in explaining our concept to others, but in explaining our ideas to ourselves. Designers learn
to develop a dialogue within their own minds as a prelude to explaining ideas to others. Another
communication problem that influences concept formulation is graphic communication. Ironically, many
students are hesitant to sketch as part of their process of developing concepts. In architecture, everything
must get drawn if it is to be built, and drawings comprise half of the contract documents for building. The
process of sketching should begin early so that the proposal and its concept can continually be criticized
and improved.

The second problem area of unfamiliarity is an extension of the first, i.e. inexperience. Concepts are difficult
to invent if they are an unfamiliar aspect of architecture. Since many buildings are built without the benefit
of a concept, and since most critics and many architects avoid writing about them, it is relatively easy for
the beginning designer to have no ambitions for concepts and no understanding of the role they play in
building design. The third problem area can be simplified as the problem of identifying appropriate concept
hierarchies. This is especially a problem for the beginning student who, because of lack of experience, has
difficulty deciding if an idea is a brilliant concept or an awful one.
DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE I 1ST YEAR 1ST SEMESTER 04/08

LECTURE 06 ARC 125 I DESIGN THEORY-I: BASIC DESIGN THEORY

ARCHITECTURE I Concepts in Architecture

An understanding of the relationships among ideas, notions, and concepts can help resolve all three
problems:

Ideas |01
Ideas are specific, concrete thoughts we have as the result of an understanding, insight, or observation. In
architecture we have ideas about many things, including ways to orient a building, the placement of a
kitchen, the best means to benefit from the natural ventilation, the value of energy conservation, the
importance of durable materials, transitions between forms, the best way to develop spatial sequence, and
the like. Buildings and building design are composed of many small decisions, and it is important to develop
skills in generating ideas and concepts that respond to the wide variety of issues that emerge. In each case
the conceptual likings are left to the individual designer or builder.

Notions |02
Notions are very similar to ideas except that there is a connotation of randomness. Notions are ideas that
are presumed to be insubstantial, unsubstantiated, and often trivial when tested against other ideas. Still,
there is always a possibility that there is an important germ of truth hiding in even a glib remark. Given this
definition of notion, one might expect that notions have no role to play in concept formulation. This is not
the case. One of the basic tenets of scientific problem solving, or synectics, is random idea generation, i.e.
developing notions. When one is working on a problem that has evaded resolution, any idea or notion might
contain the germ of the solution. Synectics and other idea-generation techniques depend on the ability of a
small group of people to generate many ideas – some of them apparently absurd, irrelevant, and notional –
as the initial and critical step in a process aimed at resolving the problem. In architecture, an appropriate
concept for a project may persistently resist articulation, and it may be necessary to invent notions as a
step in formulating as appropriate concept, both as a key technique in conceptual blockbusting, and as a
necessary result of inexperience in design and concept formulation. Students can expect to be inventing
notions when they wish they were inventing concepts.

Concepts and Ideas |03

Concepts are similar to ideas, in that they are specific thoughts we have as a result of an understanding,
except that a concept has this particular characteristic: it is a thought concerning the way several elements
or characteristics can be combined into a single thing. In architecture, a concept also identifies how various
aspects of the requirements of a building can be brought together in a specific thought that directly
influences the design and its configuration. A concept in architecture is an ambitious thing, the result of a
concentrated and imaginative effort to bring apparently dissimilar things together.

Conceptual Scenarios |04

Given that the requirements for a building can number in the hundreds, supplemented by additional
requirements and goals that the architects themselves incorporate, it should be apparent that a single
concept statement that ties all the elements together could be both ambitious and elusive. Architects, in
their writings and lectures about the concepts behind their designs, often offer short essays or scenarios
that tie together all the important factors and ideas that influenced their solution. The conceptual scenario
expands the concept statement, turning it into a short essay that includes more than one major issue and
identifies more than one set of visual images for the project. The conceptual scenario can be used to
identify how all the important ideas and issues that might be left out in a briefer conceptual statement could
be brought together in a broader statement.
DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE I 1ST YEAR 1ST SEMESTER 05/08

LECTURE 06 ARC 125 I DESIGN THEORY-I: BASIC DESIGN THEORY

ARCHITECTURE I Concepts in Architecture

CONCEPT HIERARCHIES

An understanding of the hierarchical relationship between notion, idea, concept, and conceptual scenario
becomes the foundation for developing a process for generating appropriate concepts for buildings. The
sequence is ordered as: notion, idea, concept, and scenario. This is based on a pattern of increasing
complexity, appropriateness, and depth of thought. In the early stages of a project, ideas have a good
chance of being notionable, especially if minds are open to innovative, unusual, and imaginative thoughts
that might help resolve unique or difficult design and programmatic requirements. At some point architects
become more informed and familiar with the project and begin to identify some notions as more important
and more appropriate than others. Finally, similarities, potential interactions, and groupings of ideas
become apparent. These observations create the base from which a sustained argument for doing things is
developed.

The problem of choosing an appropriate form of concepts – whether metaphors, analogies, or scenarios –
is less important than the self-criticism applied to those concepts as they are formulated. The key question
in critical dialogue is still, “Is this idea appropriate to the project?” Both the concept and the solution should
ultimately be appropriate and integrated with problems and activities of the building.

TYPES OF CONCEPTS

There are five types of concepts: analogies (looking at other things), metaphors (looking at abstractions),
essences (looking beyond the programmatic needs), programmatic concepts (looking at the stated
requirements), and ideals (looking at universal values).

Analogies |01
Of the five categories analogies are probably the
most frequently used device for formulating
concepts. Analogies identify possible literal
relationships between things. One thing is identified
as having all the desired characteristics and thus it
becomes a model for the project at hand. Until the
rise of the modern movement in the first half of the
twentieth century, it is assumed by clients and
St. Peter‟s Basilica, Vatican City architects alike that all the great architecture of the
The Capitol Building, Washington DC world had already been built. The task of the
architect was to figure out which previous building
was the appropriate model for the new building
being designed. At one point the initial assumption
was that Gothic was the appropriate model for the
churches, colleges and universities. Greek Doric
was the appropriate model for banks, and St.
Peter‟s Basilica was the appropriate model for
capitols from Washington, DC to Madison,
Wisconsin, and so on.
DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE I 1ST YEAR 1ST SEMESTER 06/08

LECTURE 06 ARC 125 I DESIGN THEORY-I: BASIC DESIGN THEORY

ARCHITECTURE I Concepts in Architecture

Metaphors and Similes |02

Like analogies, metaphors identify relationships
between things. However, the relationships are
abstract rather than literal. Similes are metaphors
that use the words „like‟ or „as‟ to express a
relationship. Metaphors and similes identify
possible patterns of parallel relationships while
Geode rock formation analogies identify possible literal relationships.

Architect Charles Moore, in discussion of his

interests, suggested that he likes buildings to be
like geodes. The geode is a conceptual metaphor
that suggests how the building could have two
simultaneous images. When viewed from the
outside, the building could have an image that
would match the image of the neighborhood. It
could have a different image on the inside, such as
Piazza d‟Italia, US an entertaining, theatrical, and dramatic
Charles Moore (1974) environment appropriate to a resort.

Essences |03
Essences distill and concentrate aspects of more complex issues into terse, explicit statements. Essence
connotes insights into the most critical and intrinsic aspects of the thing being analyzed. A statement of the
essence of something can also be the result of discovering and identifying the roots of an issue. Designers
have developed several methods for searching for the essence of a project and for transforming it into
concept statements. The search is to identify ideas that tie together the various parts of the building and, as
Kahn has suggested, that allow the designer to overcome the circumstances of each project and to
accomplish what is really important to accomplish. A pragmatic method of identifying the essence of a
project is to analyze the program and identify a hierarchy of issues for the project. The assumption is that
the most important things are the most essential. This search can be an analysis of the program or it can
be a graphic analysis in which the project is diagramed in different ways.

Kahn‟s gathered/collective essence from Stubbins‟

Medical School Library at Harvard, US
DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE I 1ST YEAR 1ST SEMESTER 07/08

LECTURE 06 ARC 125 I DESIGN THEORY-I: BASIC DESIGN THEORY

ARCHITECTURE I Concepts in Architecture

Placing emphasis on essences and roots runs contrary to the one other major philosophical approach to
creativity and architecture popular almost everywhere in the world. This philosophy is based upon the idea
that each individual architect has a unique, innovative contribution to make.

Architect Louis I. Kahn unabashedly identified the architecture of ancient Rome and the work of Le
Corbusier as his major inspirations. The general willingness to use/acknowledge precedent – whether
historical or recent – other than vernacular sources has only regained respectability since Kahn‟s
emergence as a form-giver in the 1960s. While not always candid about his contemporary sources, Kahn
did modestly suggest, in the middle of designing the library at Phillips Exeter Academy, that Hugh Stubbins‟
Medical School Library at Harvard was a „very good library‟. A comparison between the basic drawings and
interior spaces shows a remarkable similarity.

Direct Responses and Problem Solving |04

Not all concepts capture the essence of a project, nor do they all symbolize the function of all the activities
in a building. Concepts can be developed around more pragmatic issues often explicitly identified in the
building program. While many architects take pride in their ability to solve client‟s problems, only a few
actually make a pragmatic approach sound inspiring and many designers inadvertently avoid working on
the problem at hand while trying to be creative.

National Air and Space Museum, US Architect Gyo Obata, in discussing his proposal for
Gyo Obata (1972) the Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC
identified the importance of knowing what kinds of
problems to attack in large projects. This is
especially important when economics are crucial
and cost increases due to inflation alone can kill a
project if it is not designed quickly enough. The
major problem area that was identified in this
project was circulation and orientation for a very
large number of visitors. The concept developed in
response was a two-level street that connects a
series of enclosed theme exhibit rooms. Three
open multistory halls are located at intervals along
the street, both to display the prime attractions and
to entertain the viewer moving from one theme
exhibit room to another. Visitors to the building
have a choice of viewing order, because the
collection is simply too large to be taken in at one
time. The concept of a double-level, streetlike
circulation pattern that would disperse people to all
the various theme rooms was tested in the first few
months of use. In fact, more than twice the
projected number of visitors visited the museum in
its opening year. Without a clear concept of
circulation as a prime issue, the whole building
would have been less useful to its users.
DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE I 1ST YEAR 1ST SEMESTER 08/08

LECTURE 06 ARC 125 I DESIGN THEORY-I: BASIC DESIGN THEORY

ARCHITECTURE I Concepts in Architecture

Ideals |05
National Gallery, Berlin In contrast to the previous categories of concepts,
Mies (1968) which suggest that the architect look inside the
problem or at a similar problem to discover
appropriate concepts, ideal concepts are those that
architects bring to the problem. If architects bring
the right concept to the project, they are praised for
their genius. If their choice is inappropriate, it
becomes a preconception and their basic
competence is questioned. Ideal concepts
represent the highest aspirations and goals of the
architect.

Architect Mies van der Rohe developed the

concept of an ideal building based upon large,
open, unpartitioned spaces he called „universal
space‟. Mies thought it was basically appropriate
for each project he designed. Student unions,
libraries, classroom buildings, and offices were
expected to work best as versions of such universal
spaces.

Further Reading

Ching, Francis D.K. (2007); Architecture – Form, Space, and Order; John Wiley and Sons; Boston
Fleming, William (1994); Arts and Ideas; Wadsworth Publishing; Boston
Norberg-Schulz, Christian (1965); Intentions in Architecture; MIT Press; Cambridge
Intentions in Architecture; Shultz N
Snyder, James C. and Catanese, Anthony J. (1979) eds.; Introduction to Architecture; McGraw-Hill Publishing Company; NY
Unwin, Simon (2009); Analysing Architecture; Routledge; London
K. Taufiq Elahi I Assistant Professor, Department of Architecture, SUST