2-SORTING THROUGH IDEAS Figure9:Analysis of the organizational geometry ofan elevation led to this diagram. Proposed changes attempt to unify the visual character of the entrance. appropriateness and requirements.Design is not about style:it is either com- petent,or it is hapless. Form and order interact in a way similar to language and syntax.Informed practice in both defines competence.It does not embrace either formalism or pedantry.The suggestion that canonic knowledge limits personal expres- sion may be understandable,but it remains an error.Acquiring ability through thoughtful structure defines the possibilities of invention.Accidents may occasionally be happy,but only if seen in the context of intent. Our collective experience teaching beginning designers affirms the pos- sibility and need for shared practice and principles.In an era where architec- ture increasingly arrives via pixels and 3D printers,common practice becomes more difficult to discern.Along with the ultimate possibilities that the com- puter appears to open up,the prescriptive tools nested in software often reduce design choices to procedures bought blindly off the shelf.In response, we advocate restoring a frame of reference to the discipline of architecture as a means to foster,rather than hinder,personal expression. As teachers,we believe it essential for students to question their work in new media relative to traditions that constitute the practice of architecture. Techno-pop is still music;it still bears relation to music's practical history. Moreover,just as music has keys and chords,architecture has proportion and order.For students to learn the craft of the diagram is to empower them to amend and augment the practice of architecture.Making buildings without making diagrams is certainly possible.Designing architecture within the tradi- tion of the diagram is preferable. 25
– Figure 9: Analysis of the organizational geometry of an elevation led to this diagram. Proposed changes attempt to unify the visual character of the entrance. appropriateness and requirements. Design is not about style: it is either competent, or it is hapless. Form and order interact in a way similar to language and syntax. Informed practice in both defines competence. It does not embrace either formalism or pedantry. e suggestion that canonic knowledge limits personal expression may be understandable, but it remains an error. Acquiring ability through thoughtful structure defines the possibilities of invention. Accidents may occasionally be happy, but only if seen in the context of intent. Our collective experience teaching beginning designers affirms the possibility and need for shared practice and principles. In an era where architecture increasingly arrives via pixels and printers, common practice becomes more difficult to discern. Along with the ultimate possibilities that the computer appears to open up, the prescriptive tools nested in software often reduce design choices to procedures bought blindly off the shelf. In response, we advocate restoring a frame of reference to the discipline of architecture as a means to foster, rather than hinder, personal expression. As teachers, we believe it essential for students to question their work in new media relative to traditions that constitute the practice of architecture. Techno-pop is still music; it still bears relation to music’s practical history. Moreover, just as music has keys and chords, architecture has proportion and order. For students to learn the craft of the diagram is to empower them to amend and augment the practice of architecture. Making buildings without making diagrams is certainly possible. Designing architecture within the tradition of the diagram is preferable
GLOSSARY OF TERMS ATTRIBUTES:Qualities or characteristics inherent in any composition. BALANCE:A distribution of elements visually equal to each other.Balance may be symmetrical or asymmetrical. 4 SYMMETRICAL balance is equal in weight and tone on both sides of a composition. ASYMMETRICAL balance is unequal in position or intensity using the tension between positive elements and negative space to achieve parity. CENTER:A point equally distant from all sides,the middle point. COLOR and SURFACE:Properties that characterize objects and shapes. CoMPOSITION:The elements that comprise any intentional arrangement,form or shape.The formal configuration of parts within a whole. CONTEXT:In architecture,the circumstances of a form or design,may include environment,setting or formal composition. CONTRAST:An abrupt shift in weight and/or intensity. *ABOUT EDGE EDGE:The outside limit of an object,area,or surface farthest away from the cen- A BORDER is that part of a surface nearest to its ter.Often synonymous with BORDER.' boundary.It may also refer to the boundary line ELEMENTS:The major components of a composition:color,value,line,shape, itself. form,texture,and space. A MARGIN is a border of a definite width usually dis- GESTALT:In psychology,an ordered whole that we perceive as greater than the tinct in appearance from what it encloses.Distinct sum of its parts.The overall form that we perceive rather than the compo- from border,it commonly refers to a void around a nents that we assess. shape or form such as the margin on a page. LINE:A long narrow mark that divides,penetrates,encloses,or defines form or Both terms refer to something circumscribed,while space. edge refers to only a part of a perimeter,or the line MAss:The visual or physical weight of an element or the collective weight of a where two planes converge group of elements. MODEL:A translation of an idea or object into another medium of particular char- acteristic for the purposes of study and analysis.For those purposes models place select properties into an appropriate framework. ORGANIZATION:The structure or arrangement of objects in a group or system. Related to COMPOSITION. PATTERN:The repetition of any element in sequence or arrangement in a design PLAN,SECTION and ELEVATION:Three drawing types commonly used in architec- ture,see main glossary for more specific definitions. POSITION:The placement of elements in a specific area.Position demands an understanding of space as an organized total to which elements are applied according to the various principles of design. PROPORTION:The relationship of one thing to another in terms of quantity,size, or number;the ratio.The comparative measurement of parts to a whole. RELATIONSHIP:The connecting principle shared between or among elements. REPRESENTATION:A description or portrayal of something in a particular way. A depiction in a picture or model in a visual medium. **ABOUT SHAPE A likeness or reproduction of something. SHAPE and FORM,commonly used interchangeably, SHAPE:The outline of an area or figure(compare to FORM). usually refer to two-and three-dimensional objects SOLID:Any unbroken area that has a definite shape. respectively. SPACE:The area in which all elements act and occur. AREA refers to the defined interior of a shape, SYMMETRY:Exactly similar parts facing each other or around an axis. whereas VOLUME refers to the spatial content found TEXTURE:Interwoven patterns of tones or surfaces. in a three-dimensional form. TINT,TONE and SHADE:In printing,tint refers to the addition of white to a color. MAsS,in contrast,refers to the solid content of a Tone is the addition of black and shade is the addition of gray.In conversa- form. tion,all three may refer to degrees of light and dark. 26
* · A is that part of a surface nearest to its boundary. It may also refer to the boundary line itself. · A is a border of a definite width usually distinct in appearance from what it encloses. Distinct from border, it commonly refers to a void around a shape or form such as the margin on a page. · Both terms refer to something circumscribed, while edge refers to only a part of a perimeter, or the line where two planes converge. ** · and , commonly used interchangeably, usually refer to two- and three-dimensional objects respectively. · refers to the defined interior of a shape, whereas refers to the spatial content found in a three-dimensional form. · , in contrast, refers to the solid content of a form. GLOSSARY OF TERMS : Qualities or characteristics inherent in any composition. : A distribution of elements visually equal to each other. Balance may be symmetrical or asymmetrical. · balance is equal in weight and tone on both sides of a composition. · balance is unequal in position or intensity using the tension between positive elements and negative space to achieve parity. : A point equally distant from all sides, the middle point. and : Properties that characterize objects and shapes. : e elements that comprise any intentional arrangement, form or shape. e formal configuration of parts within a whole. : In architecture, the circumstances of a form or design, may include environment, setting or formal composition. : An abrupt shift in weight and/or intensity. : e outside limit of an object, area, or surface farthest away from the center. Often synonymous with .* : e major components of a composition: color, value, line, shape, form, texture, and space. : In psychology, an ordered whole that we perceive as greater than the sum of its parts. e overall form that we perceive rather than the components that we assess. : A long narrow mark that divides, penetrates, encloses, or defines form or space. : e visual or physical weight of an element or the collective weight of a group of elements. : A translation of an idea or object into another medium of particular characteristic for the purposes of study and analysis. For those purposes models place select properties into an appropriate framework. : e structure or arrangement of objects in a group or system. Related to . : e repetition of any element in sequence or arrangement in a design. , and : ree drawing types commonly used in architecture, see main glossary for more specific definitions. : e placement of elements in a specific area. Position demands an understanding of space as an organized total to which elements are applied according to the various principles of design. : e relationship of one thing to another in terms of quantity, size, or number; the ratio. e comparative measurement of parts to a whole. : e connecting principle shared between or among elements. : A description or portrayal of something in a particular way. · A depiction in a picture or model in a visual medium. · A likeness or reproduction of something. : e outline of an area or figure (compare to ).** : Any unbroken area that has a definite shape. : e area in which all elements act and occur. : Exactly similar parts facing each other or around an axis. : Interwoven patterns of tones or surfaces. , and : In printing, tint refers to the addition of white to a color. Tone is the addition of black and shade is the addition of gray. In conversation, all three may refer to degrees of light and dark
2-SORTING THROUGH IDEAS DESCRIPTION 2 The essential hut Indigenous diagrams The origins of architecture have long fascinated designers and historians. Many have studied primitive dwellings in an attempt to yield evidence of principles fundamental to architecture.The mid-eighteenth-century theorist Marc-Antoine Laugier illustrated his notion of the natural origins of architec- ture by describing a primitive hut formed by the trunks and woven branches of a quartet of closely spaced oaks.Nearly a century later,architectural his- torian Gottfried Semper similarly used a 'primitive'dwelling as the principal archetype of his Four Elements of Architecture().For Semper,this vernacular Trinidadian hut came to represent a distillation of those four essential ele- ments:the hearth,the mound,the roof and the partition. For our purposes,we draw attention to minimal dwellings because they reveal fundamental principles of architectural order.In Semper's hut,for instance,we witness a simple yet nuanced hierarchy of spatial thresholds. Figure 1:Semper's Essentia/Hut,a Caribbean dwelling he first saw housed Approaching it,we first encounter the edge of the low podium upon which the within the Crystal Palace,London,at the Great Exhibition of 1851. dwelling sits.The covered porch provides an intermediate threshold to the more fully enclosed portion of the hut.The open hearth,covered yet placed outside the interior in the balmy Caribbean climate,establishes an additional threshold,separating an open space equal in size to the sleeping cell,and an entrance hall'centered between the two larger,square spaces.A doorway centered on the adjoining wall provides an additional threshold,followed by another around the raised platform within.If we examine the plan for axial relationships,we immediately recognize two:the centered alignment of the Diagram1:Plan diagram of axes and paths. hearth with the doorway between porch and interior and a perpendicular access centered on the porch hall',balancing the equal spaces on either side. At first glance,Semper's hut appears to share little with the circular dwell- ings-C.4500 BCE-excavated at the Yanshao settlement of Banpo,near the modern-day city of Xi'an(2).Upon closer analysis,we begin to recognize the pattern.Built upon a low earthen podium,the Banpo hut offers up yet another set of thresholds.The circumferential wall folds in on itself,providing a covered exterior vestibule.Beyond,the four-square arrangement of posts -0 Diagram 2-1:Perimeter and Diagram 2:Hearth and Diagram2:Axis and spatial Figure 2:Cutaway view of Banpo Hut showing entrance,hearth and axis. flooring schema. spatial scheme. features. 27
– Figure 1: Semper’s Essential Hut, a Caribbean dwelling he rst saw housed within the Crystal Palace, London, at the Great Exhibition of 1851. DESCRIPTION The essential hut Indigenous diagrams e origins of architecture have long fascinated designers and historians. Many have studied primitive dwellings in an attempt to yield evidence of principles fundamental to architecture. e mid-eighteenth-century theorist Marc-Antoine Laugier illustrated his notion of the natural origins of architecture by describing a primitive hut formed by the trunks and woven branches of a quartet of closely spaced oaks. Nearly a century later, architectural historian Gottfried Semper similarly used a ‘primitive’ dwelling as the principal archetype of his Four Elements of Architecture (). For Semper, this vernacular Trinidadian hut came to represent a distillation of those four essential elements: the hearth, the mound, the roof and the partition. For our purposes, we draw attention to minimal dwellings because they reveal fundamental principles of architectural order. In Semper’s hut, for instance, we witness a simple yet nuanced hierarchy of spatial thresholds. Approaching it, we first encounter the edge of the low podium upon which the dwelling sits. e covered porch provides an intermediate threshold to the more fully enclosed portion of the hut. e open hearth, covered yet placed outside the interior in the balmy Caribbean climate, establishes an additional threshold, separating an open space equal in size to the sleeping cell, and an entrance ‘hall’ centered between the two larger, square spaces. A doorway centered on the adjoining wall provides an additional threshold, followed by another around the raised platform within. If we examine the plan for axial relationships, we immediately recognize two: the centered alignment of the hearth with the doorway between porch and interior and a perpendicular access centered on the porch ‘hall’, balancing the equal spaces on either side. At first glance, Semper’s hut appears to share little with the circular dwellings – . – excavated at the Yanshao settlement of Banpo, near the modern-day city of Xi’an (). Upon closer analysis, we begin to recognize the pattern. Built upon a low earthen podium, the Banpo hut offers up yet another set of thresholds. e circumferential wall folds in on itself, providing a covered exterior vestibule. Beyond, the four-square arrangement of posts Diagram 1·1: Plan diagram of axes and paths. Diagram 2·1: Perimeter and ooring schema. Diagram 2·1: Hearth and spatial scheme. Diagram 2·1: Axis and spatial features. Figure 2: Cutaway view of Banpo Hut showing entrance, hearth and axis
THE ESSENTIAL HUT supporting the raised center of the roof provides a second space,nearly iden- tical in shape,separating the entrance vestibule from the further recesses of the interior.An open hearth at the center of this interior vestibule further divides into fore and aft halves.The hearth lies,by extension,at the center of the larger cylindrical volume defined by the circuit of the enclosing wall. Half a world away,the eighth-century BCE settlements excavated atop the Palatine Hill in Rome reveal distinct similarities with the Banpo dwellings (3).Here the ridge beam is held aloft by a single central post rather than the quartet we see at Banpo,but the axis of clerestory openings,hearth and door- way remains the same.As with both the Banpo and the Trinidadian huts,the entire enclosure sits upon a low podium of hardened earth protected by the overhang of the roof.An entrance vestibule frames a further threshold.The Roman penchant for establishing overt alignment with the cardinal axes in their settlements,through the ritual act of inauguratio discussed in the pre- vious chapter,is mirrored by the cruciform arrangement of the center and perimeter posts of the Palatine hut.This practice establishes a clear visual Figure 3:Palatine Hut showing frame,hearth and axis. correspondence between even the earliest Roman settlement and the cosmic order denoted by four-square division of cardo and decumanus. For a more modern,if equally minimal and ostensibly 'primitive'dwelling, we might study Henry David Thoreau's design for the cabin he constructed near Walden Pond (4).Here we find a relatively modern shelter devoted to sustaining the basic requirements of shelter and sustenance.Yet,apart from the replacement of hand-hewn timber by milled dimensional lumber,Tho- -- reau's cabin contains many of the same fundamental attributes of its ancient forebears.The parallel ridge of the roof overhead reinforces the axial align- Diagram:Palatine Hut Diagram 3-2:Axes,columns, ment of doorway and hearth.The arrangement of windows centered within showing walls,hearth and axis. perimeter and roof. the fanking walls establishes a significant cross-axis.Built for a distinctly northern climate and therefore understandably devoid of any open-air appendages,the single-room cabin still manages to articulate a series of dis- tinct thresholds and spatial divisions.The sill of the door rests two steps up from the ground.The single doorway provides the most significant threshold, while framing a view of the fireplace centered in the wall opposite.The posi- tions of the two largest objects in the room-a bed and table-reinforce the centered openings of the windows to either side of the cabin. Diagram 4-1:Walden Cabin structural scheme. Figure 4:Thoreau's Cabin at Walden Pond,showing the framing scheme. Diagram s-1:Walden Cobin Figure s:Cabin at Walden Pond cutaway view with the axis for entrance occupation scheme. and hearth. 28
supporting the raised center of the roof provides a second space, nearly identical in shape, separating the entrance vestibule from the further recesses of the interior. An open hearth at the center of this interior vestibule further divides into fore and aft halves. e hearth lies, by extension, at the center of the larger cylindrical volume defined by the circuit of the enclosing wall. Half a world away, the eighth-century settlements excavated atop the Palatine Hill in Rome reveal distinct similarities with the Banpo dwellings (). Here the ridge beam is held aloft by a single central post rather than the quartet we see at Banpo, but the axis of clerestory openings, hearth and doorway remains the same. As with both the Banpo and the Trinidadian huts, the entire enclosure sits upon a low podium of hardened earth protected by the overhang of the roof. An entrance vestibule frames a further threshold. e Roman penchant for establishing overt alignment with the cardinal axes in their settlements, through the ritual act of inauguratio discussed in the previous chapter, is mirrored by the cruciform arrangement of the center and perimeter posts of the Palatine hut. is practice establishes a clear visual correspondence between even the earliest Roman settlement and the cosmic order denoted by four-square division of cardo and decumanus. For a more modern, if equally minimal and ostensibly ‘primitive’ dwelling, we might study Henry David oreau’s design for the cabin he constructed near Walden Pond (). Here we find a relatively modern shelter devoted to sustaining the basic requirements of shelter and sustenance. Yet, apart from the replacement of hand-hewn timber by milled dimensional lumber, oreau’s cabin contains many of the same fundamental attributes of its ancient forebears. e parallel ridge of the roof overhead reinforces the axial alignment of doorway and hearth. e arrangement of windows centered within the flanking walls establishes a significant cross-axis. Built for a distinctly northern climate and therefore understandably devoid of any open-air appendages, the single-room cabin still manages to articulate a series of distinct thresholds and spatial divisions. e sill of the door rests two steps up from the ground. e single doorway provides the most significant threshold, while framing a view of the fireplace centered in the wall opposite. e positions of the two largest objects in the room – a bed and table – reinforce the centered openings of the windows to either side of the cabin. Figure 3: Palatine Hut showing frame, hearth and axis. Diagram 3·1: Palatine Hut showing walls, hearth and axis. Diagram 3·2: Axes, columns, perimeter and roof. Figure 4: Thoreau’s Cabin at Walden Pond, showing the framing scheme. Figure 5: Cabin at Walden Pond, cutaway view with the axis for entrance and hearth. Diagram 5·1:Walden Cabin occupation scheme. Diagram 4·1:Walden Cabin structural scheme.
2-SORTING THROUGH IDEAS □+ DEMONSTRATION2·1 Figure 1:Gestalt combination diagram;path display. Diagrams and context Combining simple diagrams Diagrams can take many forms depending on their intended use.In plan,the most common starting point is enclosure followed by the logic of path or cir- culation.In the first three illustrations to the right,we see evolution of the += same basic idea:a simple perimeter and cross-axis openings(1-3).Each dia- gram offers the same combination but presented using different means. The first diagram shows the simple removal of perimeter to display open- Figure 2:Gestalt combination diagram;path display #2. ings on axis (1).The next illustration adds a sense of movement,emphasiz- ing circulation through the center(2).The third image adds representation of thresholds and reduces the visual emphasis on the motion along the path.In its place,the center appear as a static locale(3). Symbols and ensigns can also exhibit variations that reflect context of pur- pose.An arrow can remain simple,become volumetric or transform into a sign (4).In this,the arrow mimics certain figure-ground diagrams(5)and care must be taken to avoid confusion as diagrams evolve toward complexity.The illustrations of a simple entrance way plan show several common additions Figure3:Gestalt combination diagram;path display#3. to reduced plan diagrams(6).The arrow defines egress rather than entry.The gradient path shows the transition from light to dark without demonstrating preference.The cast shadow suggests both volume and general orientation without being precise about either. The final diagram(7)includes information of preferred direction(the arrow),orientation,and shade and shadow,added to a display of organiza- tional geometry. Figure 4:Ensign based diagrams:arrows. Figure 7:Diagram demonstra- tion induding abstractions for path,spatial hierarchy and Figure s:Figure-ground based diagrams,various solarorientation. Figure 6:Gestalt based diagrams marking path,entrance and transparency. 29
– + = + = + = DEMONSTRATION Figure 1: Gestalt combination diagram; path display #1. Diagrams and context Figure 2: Gestalt combination diagram; path display #2. Figure 3: Gestalt combination diagram; path display #3. Figure 4: Ensign based diagrams: arrows. Figure 5: Figure-ground based diagrams, various. Figure 6: Gestalt based diagrams marking path, entrance and transparency. Figure 7: Diagram demonstration including abstractions for path, spatial hierarchy and solar orientation. Combining simple diagrams Diagrams can take many forms depending on their intended use. In plan, the most common starting point is enclosure followed by the logic of path or circulation. In the first three illustrations to the right, we see evolution of the same basic idea: a simple perimeter and cross-axis openings (–). Each diagram offers the same combination but presented using different means. e first diagram shows the simple removal of perimeter to display openings on axis (). e next illustration adds a sense of movement, emphasizing circulation through the center (). e third image adds representation of thresholds and reduces the visual emphasis on the motion along the path. In its place, the center appear as a static locale (). Symbols and ensigns can also exhibit variations that reflect context of purpose. An arrow can remain simple, become volumetric or transform into a sign (). In this, the arrow mimics certain figure-ground diagrams () and care must be taken to avoid confusion as diagrams evolve toward complexity. e illustrations of a simple entrance way plan show several common additions to reduced plan diagrams (). e arrow defines egress rather than entry. e gradient path shows the transition from light to dark without demonstrating preference. e cast shadow suggests both volume and general orientation without being precise about either. e final diagram () includes information of preferred direction (the arrow), orientation, and shade and shadow, added to a display of organizational geometry