Such regularity communicates reassurance.

The design of buildings is often intended to

reassure us about the stability and durability of
the structure. Stability was so important to the
ancient Romans that when the builders finally
removed the temporary support structures
for archways, the architects who had designed
them were made to stand underneath. If the
arch failed, the architect would be crushed. In
common with Roman architects, we also want
reassurance that our structures will endure.
For this reason, architectural designs often
incorporate simple repetition.
The main hall of the Great Mosque of
Córdoba in Spain is full of seemingly endless
rows of identical columns and arches made
from alternating red and white voussoirs
(stone wedges that make up the arch) (1.9.9). Each
of these repeating elements—columns, arches,
and voussoirs—creates its own simple rhythm.
The accumulation of these simple repetitions
also enhances the function of the space and
becomes a part of the activity of worship, like
prayer beads, reciting the Shahada (profession
of faith), or the five-times-a-day call to prayer.
Our trust in the permanence of architecture is
combined with the timelessness of prayer in the
repetitions of the Great Mosque of Córdoba.
1.9.10 Edward Weston,
Artichoke Halved, 1930.
Silver gelatin print,
73⁄8 × 93⁄8". Collection
Center for Creative
Photography, University
of Arizona, Tucson
1.9.9 Great Mosque of
Córdoba, prayer hall of
Abd al-Rahman 1, 784–86,
Córdoba, Spain
Progressive Rhythm
Repetition that regularly increases or decreases
in frequency creates a progressive rhythm as the
eye moves faster or slower across the surface of
the work. In the photograph Artichoke Halved,
by American Edward Weston (1886–1958), the
outer layers (bracts) of the artichoke bud are
closer together nearer the center (1.9.10).
Then, as they form the triangular center of
the bud, a second progressive rhythm begins