THEORY OF ARCHITECTURE 1 | MODULE 2: ARCHITECTURAL FORM ARTICULATION

FORM ✓ Circle - A plane curve every point of which is

equidistant from a fixed point within the cur
✓ Recognized external appearance.
✓ A condition that something manifests.
✓ In art and design, the manner of arranging and coordinating the
elements and parts of a composition so as to produce a coherent
image
✓ Form Articulation - A method or manner of jointing that makes the ✓ The circle is a centralized, introverted figure that is
united parts clear, distinct, and precise in relation to each other. normally stable and self-centering in its environment.
✓ A. Visual Properties:
1. Shape - The characteristic outline or surface configuration of Placing a circle in the center of a field reinforces its
a particular form; Shape is the principal aspect by which we inherent centrality.
identify and categorize forms.
Associating it with straight or angular forms or placing
an element along its circumference, however, can
induce in the circle an apparent rotary motion.

In architecture we are concerned with the shapes of:

▪ Floor, wall and ceiling shapes
▪ Door and window openings
▪ Silhouettes and contours of building forms
From geometry we know the regular shapes to be the circle,
and the infinite series of regular polygons that can be
inscribed within it.
✓ Triangle - A plane figure bounded by three sides and
having three angles. The triangle signifies stability.
When resting on one of its sides, the triangle is an
extremely stable figure.
When tipped to stand on one of its vertices, however,
it can either be balanced in a precarious state of
equilibrium or be unstable and tend to fall over onto
one of its sides.

PREPARED BY: AR. JOANNA PATRICIA GRANDE, CUAP 1

THEORY OF ARCHITECTURE 1 | MODULE 2: ARCHITECTURAL FORM ARTICULATION

✓ Square - represents the pure and the rational. It is a PARTS OF COLOR:

bilaterally symmetrical figure having two equal and
perpendicular axes. All other rectangles can be
considered variations of the square—deviations from
the norm by the addition of height or width.
Like the triangle, the square is stable when resting on
one of its sides and dynamic when standing on one of
its corners.
When its diagonals are vertical and horizontal,
however, the square exists in a balanced state of
equilibrium.
2. Size - The physical dimensions of length, width, and depth of a
form. While these dimensions determine the proportions of a
form, its scale is determined by its size relative to other forms
in its context.
• Hue: another word for color; Dominant color family.
• Value: describes how light or dark the color is; You can
find the values of a color by making its tints and shades.
1. Tint - refers to any hue or mixture of pure colors
to which white is added.
2. Tone - is a hue or mixture of pure colors to which
only pure gray is added (equal amounts of black
and white).
3. Shade - is a hue or mixture of pure colors to
which only black is added. It contains no white or
gray.

3. Color - A phenomenon of light and visual perception that may

be described in terms of an individual’s perception of hue,
saturation, and tonal value. Color is the attribute that most
clearly distinguishes a form from its environment. It also
affects the visual weight of a form.

Color is a very general term used to describe every hue, tint,

tone, or shade we can see. Hue refers to the dominant color
family.

PREPARED BY: AR. JOANNA PATRICIA GRANDE, CUAP 2

THEORY OF ARCHITECTURE 1 | MODULE 2: ARCHITECTURAL FORM ARTICULATION

• Temperature: relates to the feeling of warmth or 4. Texture - The visual and especially tactile quality given to a
coolness the color evokes; and surface by the size, shape, arrangement, and proportions of
the parts. Texture also determines the degree to which the
surfaces of a form reflect or absorb incident light.

✓ B. Relational Properties of Form:

1. Position - The location of a form relative to its environment or

the visual field within which it is seen.
• Intensity: measures the range of a color from dull to
vivid. Also called chroma and saturation.

2. Orientation - The direction of a form relative to the ground

plane, the compass points, other forms, or to the person
viewing the form.

PREPARED BY: AR. JOANNA PATRICIA GRANDE, CUAP 3

THEORY OF ARCHITECTURE 1 | MODULE 2: ARCHITECTURAL FORM ARTICULATION

3. Visual inertia - The degree of concentration and stability of a 2. Subtractive Transformation

form. The visual inertia of a form depends on its geometry as
▪ A form can be transformed by subtracting a portion of
well as its orientation relative to the ground plane, the pull of
its volume.
gravity, and our line of sight.
▪ Depending on the extent of the subtractive process,
the form can retain its initial identity or be transformed
into a form of another family.

TRANSFORMATION OF FORM
✓ All other forms can be understood to be transformations of the
primary solids, variations which are generated by the manipulation
of one or more dimensions or by the addition or subtraction of
elements.

1. Dimensional Transformation
▪ Form can be transformed by altering one or more of its
dimensions.
▪ Still retain its identity as a family of form even after
transformation.

PREPARED BY: AR. JOANNA PATRICIA GRANDE, CUAP 4

THEORY OF ARCHITECTURE 1 | MODULE 2: ARCHITECTURAL FORM ARTICULATION

3. Additive Transformation
▪ Form can be transformed by the addition of elements
to its volume.
▪ The nature of the additive process and the number and
relative sizes of elements being attached determine
whether the identity of the initial form is altered or
retained.

“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of

God, that giveth to all men liberally, and
upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”
James 1:5 KJV

GOD BLESS!!!

PREPARED BY: AR. JOANNA PATRICIA GRANDE, CUAP 5