1.

Fundamentals and Influence of

Architecture.
Topic 2. Basic principle of Architecture
Unitas, Firmitas and Venustas.
review 3. Influence on Architectural Design
a) General Influence
b) Influence of Nature
c) Influence of Man
 THEORY OF
ARCHITECTURE 1
Lesson 2: Design essentials of the structure
 Invisible Structure

Topic Visible Structure

overview • Mass or volume

• Surface

Form, Surface, Texture, Tone,

and Color
I. Invisible
Structure
The plan is the beginning of a
building
The arrangement of the rooms,
which is called the plan. Thus,
there exist the invisible and visible
structures, or the plan pattern and
the apparent volume.
II. Visible Structure
By enclosing space, volume or mass is created. Visible structure are
composed of form and surface as follows:

1. Mass or volume – Three dimension

a) Direction
b) Shape
II. Visible Structure
By enclosing space, volume or mass is created. Visible structure are
composed of form and surface as follows:

2. Surface
a) Area – surface with two dimensions.
• Texture - surface treatment
• Tone - light and shade
• Color - inherent or applied color.
III. Form, Surface, Texture, Tone, and Color

“Architectural form is the point of contact between mass and space.

Architectural forms, textures, materials, modulation of light and shade,
color, all combine to inject a quality or spirit that articulates space. The
quality of the architecture will be determined by the skill of the designer
in using and relating these elements, both in the interior spaces and in
the spaces around buildings.”
Edmund N. Bacon the Design of Cities 1974
III. Form, Surface, Texture, Tone, and Color

What is form?
• Deals with shape and when the figure is three dimensional.
• Includes a sense of three-dimensional mass or volume; shape.

Mass + Volume = Form (Three-dimensional)

A. Form
Mass
In order that mass may be decisive, it
should be directional.

Volume
A plane extended in a direction other
than its intrinsic direction becomes a
volume.
A. Form

a volume can either be solid, space

displaced by mass, or void, space
contained or enclosed by planes.
A. Form
The primary identifying characteristic of a
volume, it is determined by the shapes and
interrelationships of the planes that describe
the boundaries of the volume.

1. Visual properties of form

2. Forms in shape
3. Transformation of form
4. Articulation of form
Articulation of form: Edge and corners
Articulation of form: Surface
A. Form
Visual properties of form

a. Shape
b. Size
c. Color
d. Texture
A. Form
Visual properties of form

e. Position
f. Orientation
g. Visual Inertia
A. Form
Forms in shape
Primary shapes
a. Circle
b. Triangle Regular forms – refer to those whose parts
are related to one another in a consistent and
c. Square
orderly manner
d. Sphere
e. Cylinder Irregular forms - those whose parts are
f. Cone dissimilar in nature and related to one
g. Pyramid another in an inconsistent manner.
h. Cube
TOA EDITION 16 players
 a.Circle
b.Square
c. Cube

Guess the shape!

Hanselmann House, Fort Wayne, Indiana,
1967, Michael Graves
 a.Circle
b.Square
c. Cube

Guess the shape!

Hanselmann House, Fort Wayne, Indiana,
1967, Michael Graves
a.Cylinder
b.Circle
c. Cone

Guess the shape!

Chapel, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1955,
Eero Saarinen and Associates
a.Cylinder
b.Circle
c. Cone

Guess the shape!

Chapel, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1955,
Eero Saarinen and Associates
 a.Pyramid
b.Triangle
c. Cone

Guess the shape!

The Louvre by I. M. Pei. 
 a.Pyramid
b.Triangle
c. Cone

Guess the shape!

The Louvre by I. M. Pei. 
 a.Pyramid
b.Triangle
c. Cone

Guess the shape!

St. Pierre, Firminy-Vert, France, 1965, Le Corbusier
 a.Pyramid
b.Triangle
c. Cone

Guess the shape!

St. Pierre, Firminy-Vert, France, 1965, Le Corbusier
Which is which?

Coonley Playhouse, Riverside, Illinois by Frank Lloyd Wright

Regular or Irregular?
Which is which?

Coonley Playhouse, Riverside, Illinois by Frank Lloyd Wright

Regular or Irregular?
Which is which?

Regular or Irregular?

Philharmonic Hall, Berlin, 1956–1963, Hans Scharoun

Which is which?

Regular or Irregular?

Philharmonic Hall, Berlin, 1956–1963, Hans Scharoun

Which is which?

Regular or Irregular?

Mosque of Sultan Hasan, Cairo, Egypt

Which is which?

Regular or Irregular?

Mosque of Sultan Hasan, Cairo, Egypt

A. Form
The transformation of form

1. Dimensional transformation altering

one or more of its dimensions. It can be
compressed into a planar form or be
stretched out into a linear one
2. Subtractive transformation subtracting
a portion of its volume.
3. Additive transformation - the addition
of elements to its volume.
TOA EDITION
Which is which?

a) Subtractive
b) Additive
c) Dimensional

Unité d’Habitation, Firminy-Vert by Le Corbusier

Which is which?

a) Subtractive
b) Additive
c) Dimensional

Unité d’Habitation, Firminy-Vert by Le Corbusier

Which is which?

a) Subtractive
b) Additive
c) Dimensional

Gwathmey Residence, Amagansett by Charles Gwathmey

Which is which?

a) Subtractive
b) Additive
c) Dimensional

Gwathmey Residence, Amagansett by Charles Gwathmey

Which is which?

a) Subtractive
b) Additive
c) Dimensional

Il Redentore, Venice by
Andrea Palladio
Which is which?

a) Subtractive
b) Additive
c) Dimensional

Il Redentore, Venice by
Andrea Palladio
Which is which?

a) Subtractive
b) Additive
c) Dimensional

Project for Yahara Boat Club, Madison, Wisconsin, Frank Lloyd Wright
Which is which?

a) Subtractive
b) Additive
c) Dimensional

Project for Yahara Boat Club, Madison, Wisconsin, Frank Lloyd Wright
A. Form
The transformation of form (Additive)
Additive form is produced by relating or
physically attaching one or more
subordinate forms to its volume.

1. Spatial tension - sharing of a

common visual trait.
2. Edge to edge contact - forms share a
common edge.
A. Form
The transformation of form (Additive)

3. Face to face contact - two forms have

corresponding planar surfaces.
4. Interlocking volumes - Interpenetrate
each other’s space.
A. Form
The transformation of form (Additive)

Additive forms resulting from the accretion

of discrete elements can be characterized by
their ability to grow and merge with other
forms.

1. Centralized forms - central parent-form

2. Linear forms - sequentially in a row
3. Radial forms - extending outward
A. Form
The transformation of form (Additive)

4. Clustered forms - common visual trait

5. Grid forms - set of modular forms
TOA EDITION
Which is which?

a) Centralized forms
b) Linear forms
St. Maria Della Salute, Venice by Baldassare Longhena c) Radial forms
Which is which?

a) Centralized forms
b) Linear forms
St. Maria Della Salute, Venice by Baldassare Longhena c) Radial forms
Which is which?

a) Centralized forms
b) Linear forms
c) Radial forms
Secretariat Building, UNESCO Headquarters,
Paris by Marcel Breuer
Which is which?

a) Centralized forms
b) Linear forms
c) Radial forms
Secretariat Building, UNESCO Headquarters,
Paris by Marcel Breuer
Which is which?

a) Centralized forms
b) Linear forms
Henry Babson House by Louis Sullivan
c) Radial forms
Which is which?

a) Centralized forms
b) Linear forms
Henry Babson House by Louis Sullivan
c) Radial forms
Which is which?

a) Centralized forms
b) Linear forms
c) Radial forms
Runcorn New Town Housing, England by James Stirling
Which is which?

a) Centralized forms
b) Linear forms
c) Radial forms
Runcorn New Town Housing, England by James Stirling
Which is which?

a) Clustered
b) Grid forms
c) None of the above
Habitat Montreal by Moshe Safdie
Which is which?

a) Clustered
b) Grid forms
c) None of the above
Habitat Montreal by Moshe Safdie
Which is which?

a) Clustered
b) Grid forms
c) None of the above
Nakagin Capsule Tower, Tokyo, Kisho Kurokawa
Which is which?

a) Clustered
b) Grid forms
c) None of the above
Nakagin Capsule Tower, Tokyo, Kisho Kurokawa
A. Form
Articulation of forms
Articulation refers to the manner in which the surfaces of a form come together to
define its shape and volume. The formation of clear and distinct.

Articulated by four ways:

1. Differentiating adjacent surfaces with a change
in material, color. texture or pattern.
2. Developing the corner as a distinct linear
element independent of the surfaces.
A. Form
Articulation of forms
Articulation refers to the manner in which the surfaces of a form come together to
define its shape and volume. The formation of clear and distinct.

Articulated by four ways:

3. Removing the corner to physically
separate adjacent planes.
4. Lighting the form to create sharp
distinctions of light and dark at its corners.
A. Form
Articulation of forms: Edge and corners

1. A corner condition can be visually reinforced.

2. If an opening is introduced to one side of the
corner, one of the planes will appear to
bypass the other.
 
A. Form
Articulation of forms: Edge and corners

3. To define the corner, a volume of space is

created to replace the corner.
4. Rounding off the corner emphasizes the
continuity of the bounding surfaces of a form.
 
A. Form
Articulation of forms: Surface

Our perception of the shape, size, scale, proportion,

and visual weight of a plane is influenced by its
surface properties as well as its visual context.

1. Distinct contrast can clarify the shape

2. Frontal view reveals the true shape of a plane;
obliques view distorts it.

 
A. Form
Articulation of forms: Surface

3. Known size can aid our perception of its

size and scale
4. Texture and color together affect the visual
weight and scale of a plane.
5. Directional or oversized optical patterns can
distort the shape.

 
A. Form
The primary identifying characteristic of a
volume, it is determined by the shapes and
interrelationships of the planes that describe
the boundaries of the volume.

1. Visual properties of form

2. Forms in shape
3. Transformation of form
4. Articulation of form
Articulation of form: Edge and corners
Articulation of form: Surface
 Invisible Structure

Topic Visible Structure

overview • Mass or volume

• Surface

Form, Surface, Texture, Tone,

and Color