Theory of Architecture 1

Introduction to Architecture
Architecture
• Originated from the
Greek word Architekton
• Archi – great
• Tekton – builder
• Architecture is the art and
science of building
• It is the conscious
creation of utilitarian
spaces with the
deliberate use of material
• Architecture should be
technically efficient and
aesthetically pleasing.
Other Definitions

Architecture can be defined

as durability (firmitas), utility
(utilitas) and beauty
(vernustas) at the right time
and at the right cost.

Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

(De architecture or On
Architecture)
Other Definitions

Architecture can be defined

as durability (firmitas), utility
(utilitas) and beauty
(vernustas) at the right time
and at the right cost.
Le Corbusier
Other Definitions

Architecture is discipline, a
profession and a state of
mind.
Archtecture is a cultural index
that takes different forms in
Anthony Antoniades
different civilizations and
(Poetics of
Architecture) political settings.
 Architecture
Architecture – a manifest order appropriately
conceived logically developed conditions and
disciplined coherent through consistency.
 INFLUENCES ON ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN
I. GENERAL INFLUENCES
NEEDS OF MAN
1. Physical Needs
a. Self Preservation
b. Reproduction
The modern Man’s shelter shall have:
a. Necessities
b. Conveniences
c. Comforts
2. Emotional Needs
3. Intellectual Needs
 GENERAL INFLUENCES
ACTIVITIES OF MAN
Desire for Preservation - in obtaining food, shelter,
clothing and security, civilized man must have
commerce, government and religion.
Desire for Recognition - a desire for prestige, pride and
ambition, social status, physical supremacy, intellectual
attainment, personal or civic, result in the struggle for
position.
Desire for Response - This arises from the gregarious
nature of man, from his wish for love, friendship, and
sociability.
Desire for Self-Expression - the urge of man to assert
himself as an individual
 II. INFLUENCES OF NATURE
Climate and topography influence the life and
habits of a nation.
A. CLIMATE
Effect on Architecture
1. Plans
• warmer climates - The plans are more open
and often include courts or
patios.
• colder climates - More compact in arrangement.
 INFLUENCES OF NATURE
2. Structural Elements
walls were loaded bearing, wall thickness were
thick, to carry the load of the floors and the roof
and also to resist the extremes of temperature and
to protect.

3. Protective Elements
• warmer climates - The roofs are usually rather
flat and colorful.
• colder climates - More compact in arrangement
 INFLUENCES OF NATURE
4. CIRCULATORY ELEMENTS
Windows - permit the entrance of light and
circulation of air Doors, stairs,
corridor – circulation of human traffic and
materials.

• warmer climates - Windows are usually small in order not

to admit too much light, which produces excessive heat
and glare.

• colder climates - Windows are usually large in order to

capture the greatest amount of light, and heat the interior.
 INFLUENCES OF NATURE
5. DECORATIVE ELEMENTS

• warmer climates - With brilliant sunshine, pronounced

mouldings are unnecessary and undesirable. When
mouldings are used, the curves should be flatter and
more subtle.

• colder climates - Sculpture are usually deeply curved and

undercut to catch the maximum amount of light.
 INFLUENCES OF NATURE
B. TOPOGRAPHY
In the earliest periods of civilization, the elements of
topography – mountains, deserts and seas –
constituted barriers to migration. This retarded the
intermingling of people and the cross – fertilization of
cultures. Ideas traveled slowly, and the customs and
arts of different countries assumed definite national
patterns.

Topography, in its broadest sense, may mean the general

terrain or contour of the surface of the entire country.
 INFLUENCES OF NATURE
MOUNTAIN REGIONS
In a setting of rocks and
cliffs with violent changes
in the direction of the
contour of the site,
• building should appear
to grow out of its
surroundings.
• buildings should be
‘informal’.
• LEVEL COUNTRY
• While an unsymmetrical
or informal plan is
possible on such a site.
‘Formal’ or balanced
scheme is more
satisfactory.
 INFLUENCES OF NATURE
C. MATERIALS
The gifts of nature for the structures of man are
limestone, marble, pine and mahogany, etc. (timber)
clay for brick and ore for metals.

In the past, certain materials have had a local use and

have influenced the development of an indigenous
architecture. Since there was lack of methods of
conveyance.
 III. INFLUENCES OF MAN
1. SOCIAL CONDITIONS
Architecture, because it is the most permanent and
cumulative-reflects the social structure of the
period in which it is developed. The interests of the
people dictate the type and appearance of its
buildings.
1. Periods - The different architectural characters in
the different periods of architecture is shown in the
interests of man at that time as shown in their
buildings.
 III. INFLUENCES OF MAN
2. Man's Personality.
By his appearance, something is known of his
interests from the type of house in which he lives. In
a similar manner, it is possible to trace a comparison
between the personality of a nation as reflected in its
clothing and its attitude toward architecture as seen
in its buildings.
GREEK………………………………………DIGNITY
Scholarly and philosophical refinement was
characteristic of the lives of people, we find
the costume consisted of a simple, flowing
robe.
 III. INFLUENCES OF MAN
FRENCH RENAISSANCE
This was a period of multiplicity of detail in court
life, in dress and in architecture. Social etiquette
was so complicated that all naturalness was aban-
doned.

VICTORIAN
The flowing whiskers, beribboned bonnets,
mutton —leg sleeves, and bustles were
simply a reflection of the jig-saw ornament
and sheet-metal cornices of the buildings of
that period.
 III. INFLUENCES OF MAN
CONTEMPORARY
Although present-day civilization is complex,
we have been blessed with simple attire for
both men and women.

VICTORIAN
The flowing whiskers, beribboned bonnets,
mutton —leg sleeves, and bustles were
simply a reflection of the jig-saw ornament
and sheet-metal cornices of the buildings of
that period.
 III. INFLUENCES OF MAN
3. Man's Interests.
It has been pointed out that the activities
and interests of man are directly
responsible for the type of architecture
which he develops.
• House - which provides shelter for man
during his hours of rest.
• Factory - offers a place in which to work
and to produce a commodity of exchange.
• Church - affords spiritual relaxation and
opportunity for worship.
 20th CENTURY ARCHITECTURE

The present century has brought countless

inventions and discoveries. Old standards of
thought and living have been modified or
abandoned. New activities have called for struc-
tures to house them, and new materials and
types of construction have made these buildings
possible.
 20th CENTURY ARCHITECTURE
a. TRANSPORTATION - made possible the carrying
of all kind of building materials from one end of
the earth to the other and has created structures
unknown a few generations ago.
b. COMMERCE - large, complex and taller buildings
are constructed to house the new business
activities like banking, finance, etc.
c. EDUCATION - with mass education, schools and
colleges are scientifically planned, and their
functions are numerous and involved.
d. REHABILITATION - labor-saving devices have
brought about time for leisure and the need for
recreation. There is a universal interest in sports
and entertain.
 20th CENTURY ARCHITECTURE
ECONOMIC CONDITIONS:
The social life of a nation and the resulting
architecture are linked closely with the
economic conditions under which people live.

The nature of trade, commerce, industry and

agriculture determines to a large extent the
occupations and standards of living within a
particular country.
 20th CENTURY ARCHITECTURE
A PREVIEW OF THE COMING OF THE 21st CENTURY
At this time, man has already reached the moon,
our transportation has brought us to space. Man
has developed computers to solve in an instant
whet has been solved in the past for hours, days or
even months.

FUTUREHOME by Elizabeth Pennisi

For Portia Isaacson, a computer scientist, future
home is a fantasy come true. The white, two storey,
stucco, suburban Dallas home, will be an electronic
showcase, but with spiral staircase, hot tub, art
gallery and style.
 20th CENTURY ARCHITECTURE
‘SMART HOUSES’ OF THE FUTURE
By RAJ GOPAL VERMA
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
The various periods of historic developments have left to
this age buildings which may be identified as temples,
cathedrals, factories and bungalows. These have been
built to house the activities of man, and to these
structures has been given the name of architecture.
Architecture may be a group of buildings or a profession.
The term "architecture" is an inclusive one. It may refer
to the process of designing a building and supervising its
erection. It may also be regarded as the procedure
assisted with the conception of an idea and its realization
in terms of building materials.
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
THE INVISIBLE STRUCTURE
• The plan is the beginning of a building.
• It is the foundation upon which the scheme of
the structure rests.
• It relates the various units to each other. It is
the most important element of volume and
should receive early consideration whenever
the solution of a problem is attempted.
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
THE VISIBLE STRUCTURE
By enclosing space, volume or mass is created. If this space has no relation to
the activities of man, there exist only the simple geometric forms of the cube,
the pyramid or the sphere.
1. FORM
MASS or volume or evidence of the 3 dimension
• direction —vertical or horizontal axis of the mass
• shape —geometric qualities

2. SURFACE
AREA—surface with two dimensions as in a facade of a building
• texture—surface treatment identified with materials whether rough or
smooth
• tone —light and shade caused by openings, projections
• color—inherent or applied color caused by spectrum hues
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
FORM
In an architectural discussion the accepted
definition of form deals with shape and when
the figure is three dimensional, it becomes
mass.
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
MASS
• can be vigorous or weak;
• it can have vitality and strength, or it may be
indecisive and faltering.
• If it is correctly composed in an arresting
manner, mass alone will arouse a definite
emotional reaction.
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
VOLUME:
• A plane extended in a direction other than its
intrinsic direction becomes a volume.
• Conceptually, a volume has three dimensions:
a. length,
b. width and
c. depth.
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
FORM
The primary identifying characteristics of a
volume, it is determined by the shapes and
interrelationships of the planes that describes
the boundaries of the volume.
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
1. VISUAL PROPERTIES OF FORM
a. Shape – The principal identifying
characteristics of form. Shape results from
the specific configuration of a form’s surfaces
and edges.
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
b. Size – The real dimensions of form, its
length, width and depth; while these
dimensions determine the proportion of a
form, its scale is determined by its size
relative to other forms in its context.
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
c. Color – The hue, intensity, and total value
of a form’s surface; color is the attribute that
most clearly distinguishes a form from its
environment. It also affects the visual weight
of a form.
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
d. Texture : The surface characteristics of a
form; texture affects both tactile and light-
reflective qualities of a form’s surfaces
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
e. Position: A form’s location relative to its
environment or visual field.
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
f. Orientation: A form’s position relative to
the ground plane, the compass points or to
the person viewing the form.
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
g. Visual Inertia : The degree of
concentration and stability of a form; the
visual inertia of a form depends on its
geometry as well as its orientation relative to
the ground plane and our line of sight.
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
*All of these visual properties of form are in
reality affected by the conditions under which
we view them:
1. our perspective or angle of view
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
2. our distance from the form
3. lighting conditions
4. the visual field surrounding the form
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
SHAPE
• Shape is a plane's primary identifying
characteristic.
• If refers to the edge contour of a plane or the
silhouette of a volume.
• It is the primary means by which we recognize
and identity the form of an object.
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
In Architecture, we are
concerned with the shapes
of:
1. planes (floor, walls, ceiling)
that enclose space
2. openings (windows, doors)
within a spatial enclosure
3. the silhouettes of building
forms
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
PRIMARY SHAPE
Should be viewed as it is distorted in
perspective.
a. the circle: a series of points arranged equally
and balanced about a poi
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
b. the triangle: a plane bounded by three sides,
and having three angles.

c. the square : a plane figure having four equal

sides and four right angles.
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
CIRCLE:
the circle is a centralized, introverted figure that
is normally stable and self-centering in its
environment, Placing a circle in the center of a
field will reinforce its natural.
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
Placing an element along its circumference, can
induce in it an apparent rotary motion.
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
Composition of circles and circular segments
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
TRIANGLE: …….signifies when resting on one of
its sides, the triangle is an extremely stable
figure.
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
SQUARE: -----represents the pure and the
national. It is a static and neutral figure having
no preferred direction.
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
PLATONIC SOLIDS
The primary shapes can be extended or rotated to
generate volumes whose forms are district, regular and
easily recognizable. These forms are referred to as the
platonic solids.
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
The CYLINDRICAL is a centralized about the axis
defined by the centers of its two circular faces.
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
The CYLINDRICAL is a centralized about the axis
defined by the centers of its two circular faces.
The cylinder is a stable form, if it rests on one of
its circular faces; it becomes unstable when its
central axis is inclined.
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
The CONE is generated by rotating equilateral
triangle about its vertical axis.
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
The PYARAMID ….. has properties similar to
those of the cone. The pyramid can rest in a
stable manner on any of its faces. While the
cone is a soft form, the pyramid is relatively hard
and angular.
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
The CUBE ---- is a prismatic form that has six
square faces of equal size, and twelve edges of
equal length.
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
REGULAR FORMS
Refer to those whose parts are related to one
another in a consistent and orderly manner.
They are generally stable in nature and
symmetrical about one or more axes. The
platonic solids prime examples of regular axes.
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
Forms can retain their regularity even when
transformed dimensionally, or by and the
addition or subtraction of elements.
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
IRREGULAR FORMS
Those whose parts are dissimilar in nature and
related to one another in an inconsistent
manner. They are generally asymmetrical and
more dynamic than regular forms.
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
Since we deal with both solids and voids in
architecture, regular forms can be contained
within irregular forms. Similarly, irregular forms
can be enclosed by regular forms.
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
THE TRANSFORMATION OF FORM
All other forms can be understood to be
transformations of the platonic solids, variations
that are generated by the manipulation of their
dimensions, or by the subtraction or addition of
elements.
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
1. DIMENSIONAL TRANSFORMATIONS:
A form can be transformed by altering one or
more of its dimensions and still retain its
family identity.
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
A spherical form can be transformed into any
number of ovoid or ellipsoid forms by elongating
it along an axis.
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
A pyramidal form can be transformed by altering the
dimensions of its base, modifying the height of its apex,
or by moving the apex off of its normal vertical axis.
A cube can be
transformed into
other rectangular
prismatic forms by
shortening or elongating
its height, width or
depth.
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
2. SUBTRACTIVE TRANSFORMATIONS:
A form can be transformed by subtracting a
portion of its volume.
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
ESSENTIALS OF THE STRUCTURE
SUBTRACTIVE FORMS:
We search for regularity and continuity in the
forms we see within our field of vision.