Introduction to Architecture

Reading architecture requires us to allow buildings to

speak to us.

But how can inanimate objects speak to us?


Especially if those objects are not representational?
Pentre Ifan Burial Chamber, 2000 BCE
John Portman,
Bonaventure Hotel,
Los Angeles. 1976.
Richard Neutra,
Edgar J. Kaufmann House,
Palm Springs, 1946.
According to Vitruvius (Marcus Vitruvius
Pollio, 1
st
cent. BCE), in De Architectura a
building must be considered in terms of
three elements:
Utilitas
Firmitas
Venustas
Utilitas
need
function
plan
Firmitas
means
structure
section
Venustas
art
beauty
elevation

Utilitas
need
function
plan

Firmitas
means
structure
section

Venustas
art
beauty
elevation

Utilitas as Message:
TWA Terminal, JFK
Transamerica Bldg. SF, CA
Utilitas by Addition:
Louis Kahns Richards Medical Laboratory, University of Pennsylvania
Utilitas by Division:
Urge towards symmetry:
Firmitas/Stucture will always be a function of:
Advances in engineering
Availability and strength of
materials
Cost available for materials
Other historical and geographical
factors

Architecture is the adaptation of form to resist force. John Ruskin (19
th
c.)
All structures seek a balance between
tension and compression.

Traditionally there were two ways to
handle this:
through trabeated structures

or through arcuated structures.
Trabeated Structures
CANTILEVER
Milstein Hall, Cornell University (Rem Kolhaas)
Gale House, Oak Partk, IL (Frank Lloyd
Wright)
Villa Savoye, Poissy, France. LeCorbusier.
ARCUATED STRUCTURES
Colosseum, Rome.
Hagia Sophia, Instanbul
Venustas
art
beauty
elevation

Hertziana, Rome
Gugenheim Museum, Bilbao
What makes architecture good?
Does it express its function in a meaningful,
interesting, and appealing way?
Does it seem to fit its surroundings (by
complementing or contrasting with it in an
interesting and meaningful way)?
Is its design and execution structurally sound?
Does it create a meaningful (interesting,
surprising, enjoyable, delightful, disturbing etc.)
space?
Will it endure? Has it endured?

Analyzing a Building:
Space: Solids and Voids
Scale and Proportion
Weight & Mass
Basic Design Elements

Analyzing a Building:
Space: Solids and Voids
Symmetry
Asymmetry

Symmetry
Asymmetry
Analyzing a Building:

Weight & Mass:
Materials
Massing for Weight
Relationship to Ground (high or low?)
Texture
Color
Ornamentation
Light
Acoustics
Context
Basic Elements
Roof
Walls
Windows
Doorways
Orientation
Roof Types
Butterfly Roof
Butterfly w/Solar Panels
Barrel Vault Roof
Wall Types
Rusticated
Half-timbered
Clapboard
Board and Batten Siding

Wainscoting
Stucco Wall
Glass Wall
Window Types
Lancet
Palladian
Oeil-de-boeuf (ox-eye)
Double-hung window
Bay window
Ribbon Window
Casement window
Dormer
Doorways
Arched
Pedimented
Venetian Door
French Door
Sliding Door
Orientation
Aesthetic
Cultural
Ecological
The Getty Center
Richard Meier