University of Duhok

Collage of Engineering
Architecture Department

Architectural Theory
Introduction to Architectural Theory

Architecture Department- UOD

A
A Assistant. Lecturer. Ahmed Mohamad Ahmed
27/9/2021

Lecture :2
 What is Architectural Theory?
Before we can say what architectural theory is we must
define its two sub-components, architecture and theory.

Architectural discourse from the illustrated French

Dictionary of Architecture (1856) by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc

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What is Architecture?
Etymologically, Architecture comes from the Latin
word Architectura which comes from the Greek Architéktōn.

Architéktōn is composed of two parts:

1- Archi: to be the first, who commands, and

2- Tecton: creator, mason, builder.
That is, the boss who sends the masons (chief builder, master
builder).

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The definition of Architecture
…the proper definition of architecture, as distinguished from a piece of
sculpture, is merely "the art of designing sculpture for a particular place,
and placing it there on the best principles of building." John Ruskin.
1854

What is architecture? Will I define it with Vitruvius as the art of

building? No. This definition contains a crass error. One must conceive
in order to make. Our forefathers only built their hut after they had
conceived its image. This production of the mind, this creation is what
constitutes architecture, that which we can now define as the art to
produce any building and bring it to perfection. The art of building
is thus only a secondary art that it seems appropriate to call the
scientific part of architecture. Etienne-Louis Boullée.

•The reference: The Theory of Architecture, Concept themes & Practice, Paul-Alan Johnson. 4
The definition of Architecture
…for architecture is an undeniable event that arises in that instant of
creation when the mind, preoccupied with assuring the firmness of a
construction, with desires for comfort, finds itself raised by a higher
intention than that of simply being useful, and tends to show the
poetic powers that animate us and give us joy.
Le Corbusier.

A bicycle shed is a building; Lincoln Cathedral is a

piece of architecture. Nearly everything that encloses space on a
scale sufficient for a human being to move in is a building; the term
architecture applies only to buildings designed with a view to aesthetic
appeal. Sir Nikolaus Pevsner. 1943

•The reference: The Theory of Architecture, Concept themes & Practice, Paul-Alan Johnson. 5
The definition of Architecture
...architecture really does not exist. Only a work of architecture exists.
Architecture does exist in the mind. A man who does a work of
architecture does it as an offering to the spirit of architecture... a spirit
which knows no style, knows no technique, no method. It just waits for
that which presents itself. There is architecture, and it is the
embodiment of the unmeasurable. Louis Kahn. 1964.

•The reference: The Theory of Architecture, Concept themes & Practice, Paul-Alan Johnson. 6
Architecture can mean:
1. The art and science of building. A building in simple terms is any construction for habitation.
The art and science of designing
buildings (Oxford English Dictionary)

2.The style of design and method of

construction of buildings and other
physical structures.

3.The knowledge of art, science,

technology and humanity.

4.Architecture should be considered

both an art and a science. It is an
artistic discipline that seeks to invent
through design. It is also a technical
profession that relies on specific
techniques of building construction.
(Francis D. K. Ching)
In their (book) What is Philosophy?, Deleuze and Guattari
defined art and science as follows: Art is the erection of
something that lasts, monuments, in order to make
assemblages of bodily sensations endure, while science is the
construction of states of affairs using mathematical functions
and planes of reference.
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The two sides of architecture
Intuitive and Academic
Francis D. K. Ching

Many of the architect’s ideas occur spontaneously, or through the act of

making a drawing or model. Many also come from study and research and the
accumulation of knowledge over time.
The Ancient Greeks called these two sides of architecture episteme and techne.
1. Episteme is the pursuit of knowledge.
2. Techne is a craft or artistic pursuit.
To understand architecture one must realize that these two notions are
intertwined and are often overlapped in ways that make them interchangeable.
The two parts of architecture are realized through what
architects refer to as “the design process.” The design process is the series of
steps that are taken to develop a building from initial idea through the final Episteme Techne
proposal. While designing, architects must continually move back and forth
between the creative act of architecture and the technical understanding of how
The reference: Introduction to Architecture by Francis
a building is built. D. K. Ching, James F. Eckler 8
Episteme

Architectural episteme lies in the inquiry that is intrinsic to the design

process. In the design process, many questions are asked. Those questions
define the problem that a design is meant to solve. To answer these questions,
the architect must rely on a body of knowledge to inform design decisions. In
designing a building, the architect tries many different versions of an idea in
order to test and refine it. Through this process, new ideas can be generated as
discoveries are made—many of which are unexpected but can still be traced
to a fundamental knowledge of architecture and its contributing disciplines.

The following are aspects of architecture that refer to a pursuit of

knowledge:
S. Maria Novella, Florence, Italy
• History Leon Battista Alberti designed the Renaissance facade
(1456–1470) to complete a Gothic church (1278–1350).
• Theory
• Human behavior
• Human perception

The reference: Introduction to Architecture by Francis

D. K. Ching, James F. Eckler 9
Techne

Architectural techne lies in the craft of building and the application of

technique in design. It is the art and craft of building. In the design
process, discoveries are made through the act of making. The architect
must know how to draw and represent an idea before he or she can see
if it adequately solves the design problem. Different techniques for
representing an idea can allow the architect to investigate it in a variety
of ways and better understand how it works. Additionally, an
understanding of construction techniques and technologies can yield a
more feasible building at the end of this process. Structural elements and construction assembly

The following are elements of architecture that refer craft or

technique:
• Construction methods
• Material attributes
Mechanical and electrical systems maintain
• Building technology necessary conditions of comfort, health, and
• Representation and communication (through drawing or model) safety for the occupants of a building.

The reference: Introduction to Architecture by Francis

D. K. Ching, James F. Eckler 10
The levels at which we tend to
talk, think and do architecture

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What is Theory?

Etymologically:
The Greek word thea means a view, a spectacle, so theoria means
viewing a spectacle. Theoria in its social context was the entire journey to
a foreign sanctuary and the return home to explain what had taken place.

The Latin word theoria means spectator. And its base theasthai means to
look upon contemplate, while the modem use of the word means a
systematic statement of rules or principles to be followed

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What is Theory?
If we look up the Oxford English Dictionary we find two very different
definitions for what theory is:

First definition:
Theory is what we normally mean by theory, a set of mental explanations,
contemplations, generalizations, or merely a hypothesis, that accounts for a
wide variety of known facts. In other words, a mental model used to explain
the workings of a range of things in the physical world.

The second definition:

Theory means, in Ancient Greece, a group of theors (official state witnesses)
sent to observe a religious festival in a foreign land.

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What is theory in any discipline?

An architect does not arrive at his finished product solely by a

sequence of rationalizations, like a scientist, or through the
workings of the Zeitgeist. Nor does he reach them by
uninhibited intuition, like a musician or a painter. He thinks of
forms intuitively, and then tries to justify them rationally; a
dialectical process governed by what we may call his
theory of architecture, which can only be studied in
philosophical and ethical terms. Peter Collins. 1965

For me theory is the understanding of the use and meaning of

objects, their idiosyncracies, characteristics and effects. Rob
Krier. 1988

• The reference: The Theory of Architecture, Concept themes & Practice, Paul-Alan Johnson. 14
What is Theory?

…theory seeks to discover by critical inquiry what actually

happens, to show how things work… theory is disinterested and
does not seek to persuade people to do this or that, though in the
course of showing how things work it will certainly show that
certain ways of doing things do not work, do not actually
happen or do not produce the results which they are claimed to
produce...Tom Heath. 1991

• The reference: The Theory of Architecture, Concept themes & Practice, Paul-Alan Johnson. 15
What is Theory?
A theory in any discipline is a general framework that:

1- Explains observed phenomena;

2- Predicts effects that appear under specific circumstances; and
3- Enables one to create new situations that perform in a way predicted by the theory.

In architecture, a theoretical framework ought to explain 1- why buildings

affect human beings in certain ways, 2- and why some buildings are more successful
than others, both in practical as well as in psychological and aesthetic terms. Salingaros

One important requirement of an architectural theory is to coordinate and make sense Nikos A. Salingaros
of scattered and apparently unrelated observations of how human beings interact with
built form. Another is to formalize those observations into an easy-to- apply framework
that can be used for design. Salingaros

• The reference: Unified Architectural theory form, languages, Complexity, Nikos A. Salingaros. 16
What is Architectural Theory
Kruft writes: …Architectural theory comprises any
written system of architecture, whether comprehensive
or partial, that is based on aesthetic qualities.

Kruft is described Architectural theory as being

primarily the written description of what makes a
beautiful building abstracting universal harmonies from
the chaos of our built environment.

Architectural theory is the act of thinking, discussing,

and writing about architecture.
While learning architectural theory, we often
start from the theory of design, which is a basic
understanding of tectonic language, and slowly
expanding to architectural theory with larger
questions.
• The reference: A History of Architectural Theory From Vitruvius to the Present, Hanno-Walter Kruft. 17
 Heuristic comparison of
history, theory, and criticism
“Within the discipline of architecture, theory is a
discourse that describes the practice and production
of architecture and identifies challenges to it.
Theory overlaps with but differs from architectural
history, which is descriptive of past work, and from
criticism, a narrow activity of judgment and
interpretation of specific existing works relative to
the critic’s or architect’s stated standards. Theory
differs from these activities in that it poses
alternative solutions based on observation of the
current state of the discipline, or offers new thought
paradigms for approaching the issues. Its
speculative, anticipatory, and catalytic nature
distinguishes theoretical activity from history and
criticism”. Nesbitt

• The reference: Theorizing a New Agenda for Architecture: An Anthology of Architectural Theory, Kate Nesbitt 18