PRINCIPLES PRINCIPLES
OF ARCHITECTURE BY YUHAN (YONA) WANG
PREFACE This book will be discussing 20 principles of architecture through the works and sketches that I have done in my first semester. The principles are explained in relation to how light and shadow plays a crucial role in the designs of architecture.
TA B L E O F CONTENTS
3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17
ELEMENTS
LINES PLANES MASS STRUCTURE SPACE GRID GEOMETRY MATERIAL COLOR
21 23 SOLID/VOID 25 SYMMETRY 27 HIERARCHY 29 ORDER TRANSFORMATION 31 FORM
DATUM
READING
DECOMPOSITION ANALYSIS
33 35
REPRESENTATION CIRCULATION MOVEMENT ENVIRONMENT
37 39 41 43
LINES
Line is a fundamental element that helps to represent designs.
Dowel model photographed from a perspective that creates the least shadows.
Lines are two dimensional yet they are very often used in three-dimensional space or to represent three-dimensional objects. In the sketch below, shadows are represented simply by the stacking of lines which eventually creates an image that shows three-dimensional depth.
Schocken Department Store, Stuttgart, Germany. Designed by Erich Mendelsohn.
PLANES
Planes usually act as walls, ceilings and floors t hat defines an area of three dim ensional space.
Plane model built from folding and scoring a single sheet of bristol paper.
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Farnsworth House, Plano, IL, 1951
Planes generate relatively large areas of shadows during different times of the day, creating distinctive atmospheres that can be used for various purposes, such as study areas with open walls that allows light in during the day or rest areas that are shaded by roofs that shields the area from sunlight. My work on the left shows how light and shadow forms itself with both straight and curved planes. Curved planes’ shadows on another curved plane is not as solid as it would be on a flat surface because the distancing in between is constantly changing. In the image above, the indoor spaces are enclosed by glass walls on all four sides with only solid planes for the roof and the floor. This allows an abundant amount of light to enter the room during mornings and evenings but is able to create shadows for its residents during the warmest and brightest hours of the day.
Arranging different types of masses with the concept of LIFT.
MASS
Mass occupies three dimensional volume and creates stronger shadows than planes and lines.
In both my work and the photo below, spaces are creates through the levitation of mass. These objects create a sense of weight enclosing an area. As a result, the spaces are usually not as flexible with letting in light. However, the structure does allow for concrete shadows during brighter times of the day and an atmosphere of grandiosity.
Mendes da Rocha: Brazilian Museum of Sculpture, São Paulo, Brazil, 1988
Dom-Ino House, Le Corbusier, 1914–1915
The structure of a building usually take on the form of colums, beams, or pediment. These elements can be shown or hidden based on the designer’s taste. In both my work and the work above, the structure of the architecture is shown. Choosing for columns and beams to be shown can result in shadows that can allow a silhouette of the structure to be viewed when there is strong light.
STRUCTURE
Structure of a building is designed to carry weight and works in compression or tension.
Dowel structure combined with paper to explore shadows of lines and planes.
Architectural spaces are generated when there is some sort of enclosure. Without light, an area of space can sometimes feel two dimensional. Yet when light casts shadows of walls and roofs onto the graound and other surfaces, the space becomes more vivid. My work on the right would not show as much depth if it weren’t for the strong shadows. The image below is a space enclosed by half a sphere, the shadows of the spherical roof makes the space more interesting to view for bystanders as well as people within.
Etienne-Louis Boullée, Cenotaph for Newton, 1784
Zoomed in photo on the center of a paper project resembling an area of space.
SPACE
The feeling of space can be create through the enclosure of walls and/or shadows.
GRID
Grid is a fundamental device for organized architectural operations.
Grid design based on the section of a buidling (image to the right).
John Hejduk, Diamond House A, 1963-67
Grid acts as a organizational device which keeps the arrangement of the relationships of a design to be clear. Grids not only help design the distribution on plan layouts like the Diamond House, an organized grid in the vertical view can also help to control sizes of openings on walls and thus making sure that all inner spaces has reasonable and even/uneven lighting depending on varying demands.
Moshe Safdie, Habitat 67, Montreal, Canada, 1967
Geometric design of a structure means it will also cas geometric shadows. Patterns could be made on windows or walls to create interesting lighting on the interior of a building. In addition, these shadows would be different from what the actual design is based on the different angles that light shines on it from. The dowel model casts geometric shadows of straight lines on the surface which looks different from the model itself.
GEOMETRY
Geometry not only creates patterns in the design itself but also interesting shadows.
A three-dimensional model created based on a geometric grid.
MATERIAL
Light draws attention to the texture of the material of an object.
Clay model transformations from a cube.
Cristina Parreño Alonso, Wooden Bubble, 2019
The surface of different materials react very differently to light. Some textures may include smooth, transparent, reflective, and rough. The clay model does not reflect, when light is shone on it the uneveness of the surface is revealed. The sketch above is a model with its top portion made from glass and the bottom made from wood. The glass is transparent but unevenly molded and the interior of the glass refracts light so people are unable to see clearly to the other side. The wood is more opaque and cast a much stronger shadow than the glass.
Using three colors to represent an originally black and white photo.
Color does not always have to represent the true visualization of an object, instead color can be used to highlight light and shadow. Three analogous colors usually has a darker tone and a lighter tone. The piece above shows the use of yellow, orange, and dark orange to represent a three-dimensional photo. My work on the right was turned into black and white and yet the brightness and darkness relationship of the image can still be clearly viewed.
A color-block image turned black and white.
COLOR
Color plays a huge factor in the perception of design and spaces.
DATUM
Datum is an organizational device that ties together separate parts of a design.
Arrangement of objects into the shape of an X.
St. Peter’s Basilica, The Vatican, late 16th to early 17th century
My work on the left is oranized by an X shape that ties together the lose pieces of the composition. The St. Peter’s Basilica shown above has a datum of a cross. Datums can be revealed through not only itself but also its shadow.
In architectural deisgn, the decision of whether to make a space solid or void is always reoccuring. A void could be created intentionally to sepatate a large block of solid structure such as the decision that I made with my clay model. Having a void in the design of a building would also mean that there would be shadows. Solid facing the light draws attention while casting a shadow in the voids, which could be used for open spaces.
Guarino Guarini, Chiesa di San Filippo Neri, Turin, late 17th century
a
Clay cube carved then sliced.
SOLID VOID
Solid and void in a structure is most vividly represented by its shadows and highlights.
SYMMETRY
Symmetry in a structure more easily catches attention of the human eye.
Paper model built from folding and scoring a single sheet of bristol paper.
Jantar Mantar | New Delhi, India | 1724
Research shows that the human eye is programed to apprietiate beauty in symmetry. Symmetrical buildings usually have a centralized design, placing the most important or the most eye-catching subject in the center. However, a symmetrical structure during most times does not have a symmetrical shadow, because light is usually shone from one angle or another raither than striaght form the top. Yet this is what adds a little interesting twist to the deign that pulls the building out of complete symmetry.
Balls of paper lined up from large to small, close to far.
HIERARCHY
Hierarchy creates emphasis on an object in a composition.
My work uses hierarchy to attract attention to the largest ball. Because of its size and its closeness to the camera when the photo was taken, its highlights and shadows has the most clarity. On the other hand, the image below shows no clear hierarchy of any portion of the facade as all the windows are the same sizes.
Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, India, 1724
ORDER
Order helps to draw the eye of the audience to a specific part of a composition.
Balls of paper lined up from large to small, close to far.
Saloua Raouda Choucair, Poem of Nine Verses, 1966-68
Order in a composition has a huge impact on what the audience perceives. For example, my work on the left is photographed from a perspective where the square block is the most eye-catching and closest to the viewer in order, but when taken from another angle the focal point may be a different object. In the image above, the order of the blocks does not render any one of them larger than the other, so people would tend to look at where there are the largest shadings. Because it is darker than other parts of the sculpture, eyes get drawn ito it easier.
In my transformation of the clay cube, carving allowed texture to be revealed on the surface when light is shone on it; the split creates an open space in between the originally solid cube, developing shadows that make the object more interesting in three dimensional space. The split created a dark area that catches the eye on an originally flat surface. The shifts in the rectangular building below acts similarly to the split that I made in my work, it makes the facade uneven which creates shadows and depth of space.
Diller Scofidio & Renfro, Granoff Center, Providence, RI, 2011
Transformation of a clay cube using first Carving then Splitting.
TRANSFORMATION
Transformations of an architectural design allows an originally simple and rather boring shape to become more interesting.
Recomposition of the Sydney Opera House
Decomposition of architecutre breaks down parts of a structure to help better understand its design decisions and intentions. The Sydney Opera House was broken into the roof portion and the bottom structure. It was then recomposed with the shadows and organization of spaces in mind.
DECOMPOSITION
Light and shadow draws attention to the different forms of spaces when a structure is decomposed and recomposed.
Decomposition of the Sydney Opera House.
REPRESENTATION
The representation of a structure can take on many forms: plan, section, sketct etc..
Charcoal drawing of dowel model.
Michelangelo’s Basilica at San Giovanni dei Fiorentini, Rome, mid-16th century
A very effective form of representation is through shadows. My charcoal drawing is primarily represented by the shadow of the object rather than the outline. The sketch above shows the comparison between a three-dimensional drawing showing all shadows and highlights and a outline of the spaces in an architectural plan.
CIRCULATION
Circulation is responsible for controlling movement of the people within.
Charles Garnier, Palais Garnier, Paris, 1875
Andrea Palladio, Palazzo Antonini, Udine, 1556
Designing circulation is making decisions like where to build walls, insert hallways, or opening doors. A carefully thought circulation leads people to go to places where the architect want them to go, and makes sure that important public areas are easily accesible from other spaces. One way of leading a circulation could be through the manipulation of light or shadows. In a closed building, both light and darkness attracts attention as well as curiosity for visitors.
Lina Bo Bardi, SESC Pompéia São Paulo Recreation Center, Brazil, 1977
Movement can be suggested by static objects through flow of its shape. One example that is used the most to draw eye to movement of a buildidng or a photo is stairs. Stairs are most opten used to lead the movement of people inside a structure. Because of the change in altitude of stairs, its shadow is always interesting in a way that shows a consistent pattern with each shadow having a different shape and size from the previous.
MOVEMENT
Movement is suggested by outlines of objects and the light and shadow that is created revolving the outline.
Andrea Palladio | Palazzo Antonini, Udine | 1556
Rachel Whiteread, Untitled (Domestic), 2002
PLANLUX Lighting Design & Consultancy. How ramps affect shadows and distances between housing
Envrionment factors can include surrounding plants, buildings, water, and sunlight. There are two sketch of the Castelgrande Museum on the right, it is the same entrace but viewed from two different sides. The difference where the light comes from reverses where the shadows are andmakes it seem like two different locations.
Aurelio Galfetti, Castelgrande Museum, Bellinzona, Switzerland, 1981
ENVIRONMENT
Environment is the surrounding area and condition that a building is situated in.