Principles of Architecture Portfolio

Principles of Architecture (Somil Jain 19110027)

PORTFOLIO

FORM AND ITS ELEMENTS

Key architectural elements In the 3 dimensional space people can take up various positions from where they look towards things. These position are location and place inside a space and those positions are reffered as points.When we look at things we see their surface. The surface can flat, bend, round, and really can take any form or shape.

Everything that can been seen or noticed in a 3d space is either a point, line, plane or volume.

And every architecture or design of a structure or solution consists of points, lines, planes and volumes. That is why these four things are called the basic elements of architecture and design.

There is of course more, like architecture principles, design principles and units.

Point A point itself has no size. A point is drawn as dot on a design and interacts with its environment.

Every line consists out of points, so a point is the founding element of everything. A point indicates a position. For instance, the position of an eye-catcher, the positions of a person walking across a landscape or the positions a person has making use of functions of a structure

Line A line may be a combination of a series of dots that are continuous, with a particular distance in between each dot. They are variety of lines that are all around us, they vary from size of its thickness to the smoothness of the line: lines are often jagged, twisted, bold or anything. Line are often the outer layer of a form. It defines a shape and also space. Lines creates shapes, Lines could also show texture, lines creates patterns, Lines create color tones, lines create texture and space, line creates form and texture, line creates form and patterns and most significantly lines creates form and space.

By using the proper lines during a work, you're ready to create something that has all of the weather which include the above: form, texture, tone, pattern, space and movement.

Vertical – Represents dignity, formality, stability, and strength

Horizontal – Represents calm, peace, and relaxation

Diagonal – Represents action, activity, excitement, and movement

Curved – Represents freedom, the natural, having the looks of softness, and creates a soothing feeling or mood

Form and its elements Form is an inclusive term that has several meanings. It may refer to an external appearance that can be recognized, as that of a chair or the human body that sits in it. It may also allude to a particular condition in which something acts or manifests itself, as when we speak of water in the form of ice or steam. In art and design, we often use the term to denote the formal structure of a work—the manner of arranging and coordinating the elements and parts of a composition so as to produce a coherent image.

Shape The characteristic outline or surface configuration of a particular form.Shape is the principal aspect by which we identify and categorize forms.

Size The physical dimensions of length, width, and depth of a form.While these dimensions determine the proportions of a form, its scale is determined by its size relative to other forms in its context.

Color A phenomenon of light and visual perception that may be described in terms of an individual’s perception of hue, saturation, and tonal value.

Color is the attribute that most clearly distinguishes a form from its environment.It also affects the visual weight of a form.

Texture The visual and especially tactile quality given to a surface by the size, shape, arrangement, and proportions of the parts. Texture also determines the degree to which the surfaces of a form reflect or absorb incident light.

Form and space “We put thirty spokes together and call it a wheel; But it is on the space where there is nothing that the utility of the wheel depends. We turn clay to make a vessel; But it is on the space where there is nothing that the utility of the vessel depends. We pierce doors and windows to make a house; and it is on these spaces where there is nothing that the utility of the house depends. Therefore, just as we take advantage of what is, we should recognize the utility of what is not.�

GESTALT THEORY The basic idea of Gestalt law in terms of architecture is how we percieve form and space in such a way that we tend to simplify the complex forms or form elementsand organise them in a regular patterned strucutre. It says that learning is based on learning and memory.

Law of Closure This law states that our brain recognises familiar shapes and can visualise outlines that do not exist.Our mind, while looking at a complex set of visual elements, interprets it as a single recognisable pattern rather than separated objects. It tends to fill in the missing parts and form a complete image.

Eg.Church of the Light, Japan

Law of Symmetry and Order This law states that symmetry and order increase the likelihood that obects are grouped together.It says that our brain tends to see complex or ambiguous objects in as simple a manner as possible, breaking down each complexity into simplicity.

e.g. Petronas Twin Towers, Malasiya

Law of Common Fate This law states that people tend to group togther things that point to or are moving in the same direction. The importance of this principle in the field of design can’t be ignored. It states that elements moving in the same direction are perceived as more related than elements that are stationary or are moving in another direction.

e.g. Nariwa Museum, Japan

Law of Continuity This law states that the human eye will follow the smoothest path regardless of formatting of forms and oblects.we biased visual perception to notice objects in continuous shapes or forms rather than disconnected ones. It just allows our mind to have a continuous flow with help of paths, lines and curves of various things.

e.g. Petronas Twin Towers, Malasiya

Law of Proximity This law states that objects that are situated more closer appear more related anf objects further apart seem more separated. e.g. The Oval, Japan

Law of Similarity This law states that when forms seem similar to each other , our brains tend to group them together.similar elements are visually grouped, regardless of their proximity to each other. They can be grouped by color, shape, or size. Similarity can be used to tie together elements that might not be right next to each other in a design. e.g. 4Ă—4 House, Japan

ORDERING

PRINCIPLES

1.Balance Elements in your Design or composition should be equally distributed to create sense of stability.

Both Physical & Visual balance is required.

Symmetrical or formal Balance

A Design when divided from central point of Axis have two identical sides, then is would by Symmetrical.

Eg,In the given example you can see there is a clear symmetry along the centre line passing through Taj mahal.

Asymmetrical or informal Balance Asymmetrical Design occurs when we have different Visual elements to shown in either side of design, but still the composition looks balanced.

Eg. Dulles Airport, in this the elevated roof if left is balanced by tower in right of structure.

Radial Balance Radial Design occurs when elements radiate from common centre.Eg.Dome from the inside.

Vertical Balance Vertical Balance occurs when a composition can be divided vertically equally in two halves.

Eg.A Building that have line of symmetry can be considerd as part of verticle horizantal balance.

Horizontal Balance Horizontal Balance occurs when a composition can be divided horizontally equally in two halves.

Eg.Its mostly whem line of reflection in horizantal,i.e. in case of a house located at bank of a river etc.

2.Rhythm Repeated Use of lines, texture, colour or pattern in a composition is termed as Rhythm,in architecture, it primarily involves the progression of forms that cause the eye to follow a carefully orchestrated pattern of design.

Rhythm is established through the use of repeated forms. In architecture, repetition refers to a pattern in which an equivalent shape, size, or color is employed over and once again throughout the design. If that shape then changes but remains recognizable it demonstrates rhythm.

Random Rhythm Elements are repeated at irregular intervals in design.

Example: This is Walt Disney concert hall its is one of the best example of random rhythm, here curvilinear planes are element of rhythm.Its architect is Frank Gehry

Regular Rhythm An element is repeated at regular interval in design.

Example: During Egyptian and Greek period the colonades, and column embeded in buildings like colosseum show regular rhythm at fix intervals.

Gradated and Graduated Rhythm The repeated elements are identical, however it will be increasing or decreasing gradually with each repetition is known Gradated rhytm.

The repeated elements move closer or farther as they move is called Graduated rhythm.

3.Emphasis Emphasis is used to draw attention to a particular element is a design. The aim is to create a focal point in design.

Emphasis on an element can be achieved by using

Isolation

Contrast

Convergence

Uniqueness

Location

4.Datum A datum could also be a form which ties together or

anchors all other elements of the planning . It are often a line, kind of a road with houses arranged along its length, a flat plane, or maybe a 3D space,in architecture is an organizing element around which other elements are built around. It are often a linear datum, like an axis, or it are often circular or even amorphous in shape.What makes it a datum is that the undeniable fact that it is the one that organizes an random pattern of forms through its regularity and continuity. Visual continuity is vital to work out a datum.A datum must even have sufficient size and regularity to successfully . assemble other parts around its shape. Its ultimate purpose is to assemble, organize, and clarify an otherwise irregular composition of forms

5.Unity

Unity refers to how well the elements of a design work together. Visual elements should have clear relationships with each other in a design. Unity also helps ensure concepts are being communicated in a clear, cohesive fashion. Designs with good unity also appear to be more organized and of higher quality and authority than designs with poor unity.establishes an agreement between elements so that no individual element is viewed as more important than the design as a whole. Proximity is achieved, not necessarily by placing the elements together, but by connecting them visually refers to a sense that everything in the artwork belongs there, and makes a whole piece that, for instance, unity in a home design refers to the visual linking of various elements of the design. It is

achieved by the use of repetition and balance.For instance, a quiet passive home by the beach or in the middle of nature, would benefit from an extensive use of horizontal lines.

The Robie House on the University of Chicago campus designed by famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright; can you see how he creates a calming environment to go with quite surrounding nature by using many horizontal lines to create calming environment? This is unity and this is what good designers or architects do, they use design principals to invite peace.

6.Symmetry Symmetry has historically been one among the foremost widely used principles in architectural design. The balance of elements utilized in a symmetrical composition feels very natural and comforting to the human eye.Symmetry exists abundantly in nature, and no better example of that's the physical body . While not perfectly symmetrical, the physical body is balanced in composition.

In the same manner, symmetry are often achieved in buildings even when the weather aren't identical, but rather complementary to at least one another. Of course, exact symmetry also can be used in design, and sometimes is.There are two sorts of symmetry: bilateral where equivalent elements are arranged on opposite sides of an axis. Or radial, where elements radiate from a central point. An example of this is able to be the wheel of a bicycle with spokes.Symmetry helps bind various elements of a structure together into one , unified whole. it's also commonly wont to create a way of rational order and calm logic, a popular aesthetic of the traditional Greeks and Romans. we will check out symmetry on many scales, from the connection between single details, to the layout of the entire structure, and even to entire urban centers built on a symmetrical grid pattern.

Look at the image of the Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen. This is a highly symmetrical building, so it shouldn't take you too long to find the axis, the line separating mirroring components. Just imagine a vertical line straight down the middle of that central tower, from tip to base. That's our axis. The structure on the left of that axis perfectly mirrors the structure on the right of it. The colors are the same, the buildings are shaped in the same way, and they have the same number of windows of the same sizes. Each side is a prefect reflection of the other.

CASE STUDIES

Taj Mahal by Ustad-Ahmad Lahori The Taj Mahal is an ivory-white marble mausoleum located on the south bank of the Yamuna river in the Indian city of Agra. As a national symbol of India it is one of the most recognisible buildings in the world. The complex is actually made up of several buildings and gardens extending over 55.5 acres.

It was commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan to house the tomb of his favourite wife Mumtaz Mahal who died during childbirth. It was designed by Ustad Ahmad Lahauri, and is generally regarded as the best example of Mughal architecture, which is a blend of Indian, Persian and Islamic styles.

Form and Function The Taj Mahal’s uniqueness lies in someremarkable innovations administered by the planners and designers of Shah Jahan . One such great thinking is that the placement of tomb at one end of the quadripartite garden instead of within the precise centre, which added rich depth and perspective to the distant view of the monument. it's also, one among the simplest samples of raised tomb variety. The tomb is raised on a square platform along with four sides of an octagonal base of the minarets extended beyond the square at the corners. the highest of the platform is reached through a lateral flight of steps provided within the centre of the southern side. The bottom plan is in perfect balance of composition,with the octagonal tomb chamber in the centre, encompassed by the portal halls and thus the four corner rooms. The plan is repeated on the

upper floor. Tomb’s outside plan is square, with chamfered corners.The double storied domed chamber i.e houses of the cenotaphs of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan , is a perfect octagon in plan. The exquisite octagonal marble lattice screen encircling both cenotaphs may be a piece of superb workmanship. it's highly polished and richly decorated with inlay work. The frames border are inlaid with precious stones and gems representing flowers with wonderful perfection.

The hues and therefore the refore the reminder the stones wont to make the leaves and the flowers appear almost real. The cenotaph of Mumtaz Mahal is in perfect centre of the tomb chamber, placed on an oblong platform decorated with inlaid flower plant motifs. The cenotaph of Shah Jahan is bigger than Mumtaz Mahal and installed quite thirty years later by the side of the latter on its west.

The upper cenotaphs are only illusory and therefore the real graves are within the lower tomb chamber (crypt), a practice adopted within the imperial Mughal tombs.

The four free-standing minarets at the corners of the platform added a hitherto unknown dimension to the Mughal architecture. The four minarets provide not only a sort of spatial regard to the monument but also provides a three dimensional effect to the edifice.

The most impressive within the Taj Mahal’s most complexstructure next to the tomb, is that the most gate which stands majestically and massively at the centre of the southern wall of the forecourt. The gate is flanked on the north front by double arcade galleries. The garden before the galleries is subdivided into four quarters by two main walk-ways and each quarters successively subdivided by the narrower cross-axial walkways, on the Timurid-Persian scheme of the walled in garden. The enclosure walls on the east and west have a pavilion at the centre.

Symmetry and Axis

The Taj Mahal is perfectly symmetrical. Its minarets, walls, rooms and even gardens follow a perfect symmetry. Only the tombs of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal are not symmetrical. The architecture was to express this concept through perfect symmetry, harmonious proportional relationships, and the translucent white marble facing which gives the purity of the geometrical and rational planning the desired unworldly appearance. The mausoleum is raised over an enriched version of the nine-fold plan favoured by the Mughals for tombs and garden pavilions.

Bilateral symmetry expressed simultaneous ideas of pairing, counterparts and integration, reflecting intellectual and spiritual notions of universal harmony.

Hierarchy Hierarchical ordering of architecture is usually wont to emphasise particular elements of a design and to make drama. In the Taj Mahal , the hierarchy is symbolized by use of red sandstone and white marble that contributes manifold symbolic significance. The Mughals were elaborating on an idea which traced its roots to earlier Hindu practices, began within the Vishnudharmottara Purana, which recommended white stone for buildings for the Brahmins i.e. The highest caste in Hindus and red stone for members of the Kshatriyas i.e.Caste that supposed to be fighters. By building structures that employed such magnificient colours, the Mughals were able to identify themselves within the two leading classes of Indian social and political structure hence defined themselves as rulers in Indian terms back then.The Red sandstone also had plenty significance within the Persian origins of the Mughal empire where red uset to br the colour of imperial tents.

In the Taj Mahal the relative importance of every building within the complex is denoted by the quantity of white marble (or polished plaster) that's used.

Louvre Pyramid by I.M. PEI The structure of existing parts of the Château du Louvre’s construction,begun in 1546, byarchitect Pierre Lescotrepresents the newdesign vocabulary ofthe Renaissance. KingHenri IV added theGrande Galerie (it wasindeed Grand-morethan a quarter of a milelong and one hundredfeet wide) later in 16th Century, (which reminds one of the extension to the St. Peters) creating aforeground with the later additions of the eastern wing in the 17th century by architect Claude Perraul the additions to the Louvre did not stop here. The new wing of 1852 - 1857, (during the reign ofNapoleon III) by architects Visconti and Hector Lefuel, represents the Second Empire's version of Neo-Baroque, restlessly charged with detail everywhere and laden with sculpture .

Every new Emperor had his own vision of what is “Grand”,what is “Great”, and triedto convert his palace to that vision. Hadn’t it been true then, how can one explain the influence of renaissance architecture in the North of the France? To wit, all of the characteristic features of the renaissance (and Baroque) architecture, like the thick walls and flat roofs, narrow windows, pediments, colonnades andshaded passages, large open courts etc. are responses to the climate of southern Italy, and have norelevance to the temperate climate of North of France.It can inferred thus that in building the monuments, visual quality is the only issue and Climatecompatibility (or any other functional parameter) has no place.

Incase of Louvre, where the building was already there, functioning as a museum, though built as a palace.It was this anomaly, which made an intervention imperative, more than anything else

Functional Issues In a building designed and built as a palace, and converted as a museum; it is the organization of thenew circulation system which

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out-starting at one end of the Grand gallery, and continued through theentire palace through the passages, making it the most tiresome (if not slightly confusing) of all suchplaces.

The problem somehow was to re-organize the visitor traffic, without disturbing the historical character of the building, which, in fact was one of the main attractions of Louvre Palace. It was certain that a functional re-organization would mean disturbing the character of the place to some extent.

The question was, how much of the intervention is justifiable, and what would be the image of the new construction (if any) that would be required? It was the classical paradox of wishing improvematters without changing anything and then came I. M. Pei’s proposal for intervention is a beautiful combination of the functionalrequirements and the 20th centuryreverence to the historic structures. It canbe argued now, with hindsight, that noother solution would have been so apt

Form and Function

I.M. was awarded the Louvre commission in 1983, and the emergence of the solution was entirely his invention.For the entrance to the subterranean level, Pei wanted to avoid it looking like a mere subway station and he needed the right kind of building to draw visitors to the museum's entrance.  After studying the works of André Le Nôtre - France's great landscape designer - who strictly followed geometric patterns, Pei came up with the shape of a pyramid, which would form a beacon at the center of the courtyard. 

He opted for a glass cladding since this would be the least intrusive and

it would also allow light to enter the foyer below. It was important that the project had his singular vision and his decision of putting a pyramid in that courtyard was controversial, both politically but also architecturally as it many raised question that Pyramid are supposed to be place for dead and

have different materials and style, However I.M. replied that it will be made of glass,with all kinds of brighness and light and giving idea of living i.e. exactly opposite to Egypt’s pyramids.

Scale and propotion The Louvre Pyramid in Paris, France, has the same proportions as the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt. The width of the Louvre Pyramid is 35.42 meters, and the width of the Great Pyramid of Giza is 0.23033 kilometers.

Role of light and Diamant glass During idea of Louvre Pyramid, a new typology of glass was made, to which owes a great deal in playing with light inside as well surrounding to it.

Diamant glass have high transparency due to lower iron content as compared to normal glass.

Visual Comfort: The extra clear glass allows more daylight to pass through it by reducing sunlight absorption. This results in a clearer vision for the occupants.

Aesthetics: In large multi-layer glass structures, clear and ample daylight improves illumination and gives an ornamental appearance.

Environment friendly: No artificial light is required in the daytime, saving electricity consumption to a certain extent.

Sturdy: Even to this date no glass panel of the Louvre glass pyramid has shattered or cracked. This sturdiness results in low replacement costs.

Louvre Pyramid in day

Louvre Pyramid in night

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LouvrePyramid](https://www.notion.so/Louvre-Pyramid-48d36d9ca633484f9a90eee7d1 40d5ba)

Louvre-Pyramid-48d36d9ca633484f9a90eee7d140d5ba)

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