Analysing Architecture stage or terrace;it may be me- dium-sized-a table or altar;it may be small-a step or shelf. lowered area,or pit “ concentration is brought to bear.This might be a fireplace, but it could also be an altar,a throne,a work of art,even a distant mountain. barrier 汝： A pit is formed by excavation of the ground's surface.It cre- ates a place which is below the natural level of the ground.It may be a grave,or a trap,or even provide space for a sub- terranean house.It might be a sunken garden,or perhaps a swimming pool. A barrier divides one place from another.It could be a wall;but it marker might also be a fence,or a hedge. It could even be a dyke or a moat, or just the psychological barrier of a line on the floor. roof,or canopy A marker identifies a particu- lar place in the most basic way. It does so by occupying the spot and by standing out from the surroundings.It may be a tomb- The roof divides a place from stone,or a flag on a golf course; the forces of the sky,sheltering it might be a church steeple,or it from sun or rain.In so doing, a multistorey office block. a roof also implies a defined area of ground beneath it.A focus roof can be as small as a beam The word focus is the Latin for over a doorway,or as big as a hearth.In architecture it can vault over a football stadium. mean any element upon which Because of gravity a roof 20
Copyright ?1997. Routledge. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except fair uses permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law. Unwin, Simon(Author). Analysing Architecture. London, UK: Routledge, 1997. p 20. http://site.ebrary.com/lib/sjtu/Doc?id=10057283&ppg=21
Basic Elements osf Architecture needs support.This could be provided by walls,but it could be by... supporting posts,or columns and which allow passage of light and air. Other basic architecturalelements which identify places include: Historically,a more recent basic element is the glass wall, path which is a barrier physically but not visually. 洪 71 Another is the suspension rod or cable,which can support ...a place along which one a platform or roof,but which moves;which might be straight, also depends literally upon a or trace an irregular route structural support above. across the ground surface avoiding obstacles. A path might also be in- clined:as a ramp,a stair,or even a ladder.It might be for- mally laid out,or merely de- fined by use-a line of wear across the countryside. openings Basic elements such as these ...doorways through which one can be combined to create rudi- may pass from one place to an- mentary architectural forms. other,but which are also places Sometimes these combined ele- in their own right;and windows ments have names of their own, through which one can look, for example: 21
Copyright ?1997. Routledge. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except fair uses permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law. Unwin, Simon(Author). Analysing Architecture. London, UK: Routledge, 1997. p 21. http://site.ebrary.com/lib/sjtu/Doc?id=10057283&ppg=22
Analysing Architecture 洪 An ancient Greek temple consists of some of these basic elements,used in a clear and di- rect way to identify the place of a god. A bridge is a path,over a barrier;a platform;it can also be a roof. Barriers can be combined to form an enclosure,which de- fines an area by putting a wall around it. 洪 Walls and a roof create a 门 cell,defining a place separated from everywhere else. The building stands on a platform,and consists of walls which define a cell,which is sur- rounded by columns.The col- umns together with the walls of o the cell support the roof.The cell is entered through a door- 9 And giving a roof the supporting columns it needs, creates an aedicule(right). References for Greek temples: These basicelements and ru- dimentary forms recur again and A.W.Lawrence-Greek Archi- again in the examples in this book. tecture,1957. They are used in architecture of D.S.Robertson-Greek and all times and regions of the world. Roman Architecture,1971. 22
Copyright ?1997. Routledge. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except fair uses permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law. Unwin, Simon(Author). Analysing Architecture. London, UK: Routledge, 1997. p 22. http://site.ebrary.com/lib/sjtu/Doc?id=10057283&ppg=23
Basic Elements osf Architecture References for Villa Mairea: way,outside of which is a small This is the ground floor Richard Weston-Villa platform in the form of an al- plan of the Villa Mairea,a Mairea,in the Buildings in tar.Such a temple,often sited house designed by the Finnish Detail series,1992 on a hill,as a whole acts as a architects Alvar Aalto and his marker,which can be seen from wife Aino,and built in 1939. Richard Weston-Alvar far away.Together,the platform, Although it is not drawn Aalto,1995. walls,columns,roof,altar,iden- in three dimensions,you can see tify the place of the god,who is that the places which constitute represented by thecarved statue the house are defined by the within. basic elements of wall,floor, More complex and subtle roof,column,defined area,pit works of architecture are also (the swimming pool),and so composed of basic elements. on.Some places-the approach to the main entrance (indicated by an arrow)for example,and the covered area between the main house and the sauna-are identified by roofs (shown as dotted lines)supported by slen- der columns.Some places are identified by particular floor materials,timber,stone,grass, etc.Some places are divided by low walls(not hatched),others by full-height walls (hatched), or by glass walls Architecture is not just as easy as knowing the basic ele- ments.A large portion of its subtlety lies in how they are put together.In language,knowing all the words in the dictionary wouldn't necessarily make one a great novelist.Having a good vocabulary does however give greater choice and accuracy when one wants to say some- thing.In architecture knowing the basic elements is only the very first step,but knowing them gives one a choice of how to give identity to places in ap- propriate ways. 23
Copyright ?1997. Routledge. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except fair uses permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law. Unwin, Simon(Author). Analysing Architecture. London, UK: Routledge, 1997. p 23. http://site.ebrary.com/lib/sjtu/Doc?id=10057283&ppg=24
MODIFYING ELEMENTS OF ARCHITECTURE
Copyright ?1997. Routledge. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except fair uses permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law. Unwin, Simon(Author). Analysing Architecture. London, UK: Routledge, 1997. p 24. http://site.ebrary.com/lib/sjtu/Doc?id=10057283&ppg=25