Theory of Architecture – II I 18 ARC 46 I Apr - Aug 2021

ToA – II - Module - 1
VITRUVIUS Proportion is a balance among the measures of the
members of an entire work, and of the whole to a
Marcus Vitruvius Pollio (born c. 80–70 BC, died after c. certain part selected as standard.
15 BC), was a Roman author, architect, civil
engineer and military engineer during the 1st century Vitruvian theory is also described as anthropomorphic
BC, known for his 10 Books on Architecture titled De as he correlates ideas of ideal proportions with the
Architectura. human figure as the principal source of proportions for
architecture.
De Architectura, was written in 27 BC and is the only
book of its kind to survive from antiquity. According to This proportional aligning of architecture with the
Vitruvius: human figure, or more generally with the proportional
rules of nature, became the basis of classical theory.
The architect should be equipped with knowledge of
many branches of study and varied kinds of learning, The Vitruvian Man of 1487, drawn by Leonardo da
such as drawing, geometry, history, philosophy, music, Vinci depicting a male figure in two superimposed
medicine, law and astronomy. positions with his arms and legs apart and
simultaneously inscribed in a circle and square
An architect should have sound knowledge of practice describes this idea.
(fabrica) and theory (ratiocinato). Practice is the
manual activity associated with building and The subjects of Vitruvius Ten Books, using modern
construction. Theory rationally demonstrates and terminology, are:
explains conventions and proportional systems 1. Landscape architecture
governing design. 2. Construction materials
Architecture has two aspects: the thing signified, and 3. Temples (Part 1)
that which gives it its significance. That which is 4. Temples (Part 2)
signified is the subject of which we may be speaking; 5. Public places
and that which gives significance is a demonstration on 6. Private dwellings
scientific principles. 7. Finishes and colours
8. Water supply
The five fundamental principles of architecture are: 9. Sundials and clocks
1. Order gives due measure to the members of a 10. Mechanical engineering
work considered separately, and symmetrical
agreement to the proportions of the whole. It is in Vitruvius that we first see the classical orders of
architecture, where he attempted to formulate the
2. Eurythmy is beauty and fitness in the adjustments proportioning of their parts.
of the members. This is found when the members
of a work are of a height suited to their breadth, of He described:
a breadth suited to their length, and, in a word, - Doric order as man-like
when they all correspond symmetrically. - Ionic order as woman-like
- Corinthian order as maiden-like
3. Symmetry is a proper agreement between the
members of the work itself, and relation between The ‘Vitruvian Virtues’ or ‘Vitruvian Triad’ – Firmitas,
the different parts and the whole general scheme, Utilitas, Venustas refer to the assertions made by
in accordance with a certain part selected as Vitruvius that structures must be solid, useful and
standard. beautiful.
- Strength encompasses the soundness of the
4. Propriety is that perfection of style which comes
foundation, the building’s structure, and the
when a work is authoritatively constructed on
selection of materials
approved principles. It arises from prescription,
from usage, or from nature. - Utility concerns the convenient planning and social
appropriateness of the structure
5. Economy denotes the proper management of
materials and of site, as well as a careful balancing - Beauty is the building’s aesthetics that arises chiefly
of cost and common sense in the construction of out of proportional harmony.
works.

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Theory of Architecture – II I 18 ARC 46 I Apr - Aug 2021
ALBERTI
Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1472) was
an Italian humanist author, philosopher,
artist, architect, poet, priest, linguist, philosopher and
cryptographer.
Alberti is considered by many scholars to be the
quintessential Renaissance Man of learning. In
the Italian Renaissance, the idea of the polymath was
expressed by Leon Battista Alberti (1404–1472), in the
statement that "a man can do all things if he will".
Alberti’s three main architectural writings are On
Sculpture - ‘De Statua’, On Painting - ‘De Pictura’
(1435), ‘De Re Aedificatoria’ (1450) his theoretical
masterpiece.
De re aedificatoria (English: On the Art of Building) is
a classic architectural treatise written by
Alberti between 1443 and 1452.
Although largely dependent on Vitruvius' De
Architectura, it was the first theoretical book on the
subject written in the Italian Renaissance and in 1485
became the first printed book on architecture
Alberti sought to improve Vitruvius’s effort to provide
the Renaissance with a more coherent and logical basis
for theory.
Alberti’s grounding of Renaissance architecture in the
imitation of nature, his emphasis on its social or
cultural importance, his definition of it as a
professional discipline, and the pre- eminence he
placed on beauty and harmonic proportions
established the theoretical focus of the next four
centuries.
De re aedificatoria is subdivided into ten books :
Book I : Lineaments
Book II : Materials
Book III : Construction
Book IV : Public Works
Book V : Works of Individuals
Book VI : Ornament
Book VII : Ornament to Sacred Buildings
Book VIII: Ornament to Public Secular Buildings
Book IX : Ornament to Private Buildings
Book X : Restoration of Buildings
Alberti’s belief in an absolute numerical scheme for
beauty and proportion was perhaps his most
important contribution to Renaissance theory.
Alberti places emphasis on symmetry, proportion,
geometry and the regularity of parts as they are
demonstrated in the architecture of classical antiquity
and in particular ancient Roman architecture.
Alberti regarded mathematics as the common ground
of art and the sciences.
His treatise De Pictura, relied in its scientific content on
classical optics in determining perspective as a
geometric instrument of artistic and architectural
representation.
St. Andrea, Mantua - On the facade, Alberti combined
two of his favorite ancient images—the pedimented
temple front (pilasters, entablature, trabeation, and
triangular pediment) and the triadic triumphal arch
(arched central section and lower portals on either
side).
The height of the facade equals its width, but the barrel
vault of the nave reached well above the apex of the
pediment, which was also surmounted by a large
canopy over the nave window.
Santa Maria Novella (1458-71) - The façade of Santa
Maria Novella is considered Alberti’s greatest
achievement since it allows the pre-existing and newly
added parts of the building to merge into a clear
statement of his new principles
The facade reflects the influences of then recently
rediscovered geometric and mathematical studies
applied to nature and art
The Rucellai Palace (1446-1451)
Its façade proclaimed the new ideas of Renaissance
architecture based on the use of pilasters
and entablatures in proportion.
It demonstrates the impact of the classical but does so
in a manner which is full of Renaissance originality. The
grid-like facade, achieved through the application of a
scheme of trabeated articulation, makes a statement
of rational clarity.
The stone veneer of this facade is given a
rustication and serves as the background for the
smooth-faced pilasters and entablatures which divide
the facade into a series of three-storey bays.
The three storeys of the facade have different classical
orders, with the Tuscan order at the base, the Ionic
order at the second level, and a very
simplified Corinthian order at the top level.
Twin-lit, round-arched windows in the two upper
storeys are set within arches with highly
pronounced voussoirs. The facade is topped by a
boldly projecting cornice.
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Theory of Architecture – II I 18 ARC 46 I Apr - Aug 2021
ANDREA PALLADIO
Andrea Palladio 1508 – 1580 was an Italian architect
active in Venice. Palladio, influenced by Vitruvius, is
widely considered to be the most influential individual
in the history of architecture.
His teachings are summarized in the architectural
treatise, I Quattro Libri dell'Architettura - The Four
Books of Architecture.
Stuccoed brickwork was always used in his villa designs
in order to portray his interpretations of the Roman
villa typology.
Internal Harmony and Balance
1. The constituent parts must correspond to the whole
and to each other.
2. Varying the volumetric size of rooms
3. Varying the shape of individual rooms

- The first book includes studies of decorative styles,
classical orders, and materials.
- The second book included Palladio's town and
country house designs and classical reconstructions
- The third book has bridge and basilica designs, city
planning designs, and classical halls.
- The fourth book included information on the
reconstruction of ancient Roman temples.
Andrea Palladio began to develop his own architectural
style around 1541. The Palladian style, named after
him, adhered to Classical principles, which he
rediscovered, applied, and explained in his works.
The Palladian or Venetian Window or Motif features
largely in Palladio's work and is almost a trademark of
his early career.
It consists of a central light with semicircular arch over,
carried on an impost consisting of a small entablature,
under which, and enclosing two other lights, one on
each side, are pilasters.
Palladio used the motif extensively, most notably in
arcades and entrances.

Palladio's great feat of imagination was to combine his

knowledge of the ruins of ancient temples and civic
buildings with written information relating to antique
villas, and to adapt this synthesis to the practical needs
of the Venice landowner.

Palladio's 3-Part Solution: Drawing upon his own

insights and observations, upon the re-discovered
treatise of the Roman writer Vitruvius and the writings
of Alberti, Palladio's devised a solution with three
principal elements:

- Dramatic exterior motifs

- Economical materials
- Internal harmony and balance
Dramatic Exterior Motifs:
Type I - A loggia pierced by three openings
Type II - The Greek temple front
Type III - The double columned loggia

Economical Materials
Palladio's architecture was not dependent on
expensive materials, which must have been an
advantage to his more financially pressed clients.
Many of his buildings are of brick covered with stucco.

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FRENCH ACADEMIC TRADITION
French Academic Tradition and the theoretical
developments that led to the emergence of Neo-
Classicism in France were chiefly articulated Francois
Blondel & Claude Perrault
The founding of the Royal Academy of Architecture in
Paris in 1671 can be taken as the starting point for
architecture and modern European theory and
practice.
The purpose of the Academy was to codify the
principles of Classical Design and to adopt them in
practice, which it did by holding two public lectures a
week – one each in theory and technicalities of
architecture
Symbolically, the new academy represented a
declaration of independence from the Renaissance
tradition. In response to the architectural excesses of
the baroque period, the academy provided a forum for
the consolidation and rational reinterpretation of
traditional conventions to contemporary culture.
BLONDEL
François Blondel (1618 –1686) was a soldier, engineer
of fortifications, diplomat, civil engineer and military
architect best known for his teaching and writing.
Blondel was the first director of the Royal Academy of
Architecture. Blondel published his lectures on theory,
between 1675 and 1683 in two large volumes, Cours
d’architecture (Course of Architecture).
His teachings rested on the very traditional notion that
architectural beauty derives primarily from
proportions.
Blondel’s objective was to establish design principles
for domestic architecture that correspond to the
classical principles already in practice for civil structures
PERRAULT
Claude Perrault (1613 –1688) is best known as the
architect of the east wing of the Louvre Palace in Paris.
The simple character of the ground floor basement sets
off the paired Corinthian columns, modeled strictly
according to Vitruvius, against a shadowed void, with
pavilions at the ends. The façade, divided in five parts,
is a typical solution of the French classicism.
He also achieved success as a physician and anatomist,
and as an author, who wrote treatises on
physics and natural history.
Aside from his influential architecture, he became well
known for his translation of the Ten Books
of Vitruvius, the only surviving Roman work on
architecture, into French, and published in 1673.
His treatise on the five classical orders of architecture
followed in 1683 - Ordonnance For The Five Kinds Of
Columns After The Method Of The Ancients, tried
devising a uniform system for the proportioning of
columns by calculating the proportional or numerical
mean between the extremes.
Claude Perrault questioned the validity of the Classical
Vitruvian proportions to his time. He repeatedly
stressed the flexibility of Vitruvius and his openness to
innovation and change.
Firstly, Perrault argued there were no such things as
harmonic ratios; that is to say, the eye and ear function
on a physiological level in very different ways when
perceiving visual and audible harmonies. Second, he
insisted that proportions were by no means absolute,
but were rather based on custom or habit.
Instead, he elaborated his thesis of positive beauty and
arbitrary beauty, where positive beauty is the
normative role of standardization and perfection,
absolute beauty - its appreciation is universal. Positive
beauty relates only to obvious beauties upon which
everyone can agree, such as symmetry, the
magnificence of a building, its quality of execution, it is
necessary, and convincing beauty.
Arbitrary beauty, is a matter of custom, and here – in
the realm of relative beauty – is where proportions
reside. Arbitrary beauty refers to such expressive
function as may be required by a particular
circumstance or character.
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NEOCLASSICAL ARCHITECTURE
The movement concerned itself with the logic of entire
Classical volumes, unlike Classical revivalism, which
tended to reuse Classical parts.
Neoclassical architecture is characterized by grandeur
of scale, simplicity of geometric forms, Greek or Roman
detail, dramatic use of columns, and a preference for
blank walls.
The new taste for antique simplicity represented a
general reaction to the excesses of the Rococo style.
Neoclassical French architecture can be best described
as idealistic and civic-minded, for a new society.
MARC-ANTOINE LAUGIER
The abbé Marc-Antoine Laugier (1713 – 1769) was
a French Jesuit priest and an important architectural
theorist of Neo-Classicism.
Laugier is best known for his Essay on
Architecture published in 1753. In 1755 he published
the second edition with a famous, often reproduced
illustration of a primitive hut.
The Primitive Hut theory states that Ancient Greek
temples owed their form to the earliest habitations
erected by man. In the primitive hut, the horizontal
beam was supported by tree trunks planted upright in
the ground and the roof was sloped to shed rainwater.
Laugier's Primitive Hut is sometimes called The
Vitruvian Hut, because Laugier built on ideas of natural
proportion documented by Vitruvius.
According to Laugier, all architecture derives from
these three essential, primitive elements:
The column
The entablature
The pediment
Laugier's Primitive Hut is his representation of the
philosophy that all architecture derives from this
simple ideal.
Laugier's theory is a reaction against the
prevalent Baroque ornamentation. It established the
argument for Neoclassicism and trends towards
unadorned and smaller dwellings.
It interpreted Classicism as a logical, straightforward
expression of the need for shelter, derived from the
Primitive Hut of tree-trunks supporting a structure.
ÉTIENNE-LOUIS BOULLÉE
Étienne-Louis Boullée (1728–1799) was a
visionary French Neoclassical architect whose work
greatly influenced contemporary architects.
His book Essay on the Art of Architecture, arguing for
an emotionally committed Neoclassicism. Boullée
promoted the idea of making architecture expressive
of its purpose, and frequently employed symbolism
appropriate to the use of the building.
Boullée developed a distinctive abstract geometric
style inspired by Classical forms. His work was
characterized by the removal of all unnecessary
ornamentation, inflating geometric forms to a huge
scale and repeating elements. He theorized that the
abstract, geometric forms he used were the basis for
beauty through their regularity, symmetry, and
variety.
Boullée’s utopian designs were articulated by
perspective, polarity, relations and alternations
between light and shade, use of solids and voids,
absence of functionality concerning the use of the
buildings.
Boullée abstracted the geometric forms suggested by
ancient works of architecture into a new concept of
monumental building that combined the calm, ideal
beauty of classical architecture with considerable
expressive power.
The real importance of Boullée’s architectural ideas
and creations is that he is trying to overcome the
inherent limit of his discipline.
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CLAUDE-NICOLAS LEDOUX VISIONARY ARCHITECTURE

Claude-Nicolas Ledoux (1736 – 1806) was one of the Beyond their admiration for the Greek, Roman, and
earliest exponents of French Neoclassical architecture. Renaissance styles from which they drew their primary
Claude-Nicolas Ledoux developed an eclectic and inspiration, both Boullée and Ledoux were drawn into
visionary style combined with social ideals. utopian speculation.

In 1804, he published a collection of his designs under
the title L'Architecture considérée sous le rapport de
l'art, des mœurs et de la législation [Architecture
considered in relation to art, morals, and legislation].
Throughout his life, Ledoux designed simplified,
powerful geometric forms.
Ledoux’s formal sources and theoretical intentions
went beyond the revival of antiquity and infused his
designs with an expressive character appropriate to
their purpose. Ledoux pursued this attitude by
exploring typology and the ways by which
architecture can convey meaning.
In defiance of all the Vitruvian and Albertian rules on
feasibility and practicality, each drew up plans for
impossible structures.
Immersed as they were in an age of scientific,
intellectual, and political revolution, Boullée
and Ledoux each bore the influence of their times.
The radical ideas they encountered and revolutionary
events that they witnessed gave them both the
impression that a new world was forming before their
eyes, in which the space of limitless possibility could
open up.

In 1771, he was appointed as architect-engineer for the

saltworks (salines) in eastern France. From 1775 to
1780, Ledoux realized the Saline de Chaux, at Arc-et-
Senans.

Chaux is the model of a new social and urban

organization. The shape of the buildings indicates the
activity that takes place inside them. The shape of the
city is the community’s symbol, around a common
center.

He devised a radial concentric plan for the settlement,

with rings of workers’ dwellings enclosing a central salt-
extraction factory.

His master plan and architectural designs

systematically addressed the technical, social, and
symbolic dimensions of this important industry.

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19th Century Theory
QUATREMÈRE DE QUINCY
Antoine-Chrysostome Quatremère de Quincy (1755 –
1849) was a French archaeologist, architectural
theorist, effective arts administrator and influential
writer on art.
Quatremère de Quincy was the author of numerous
articles and books. Between 1788 and 1825 he edited
the Encyclopédie Méthodique, to which he contributed
much of the text. His Dictionnaire historique de
l'Architecture was published in 1832-33.
Quatremére de Quincy’s idea of type was explicitly and
systematically theorized for the first time in the history
of architecture in 1789.
Quatremére de Quincy’s conceptualization of type was
based on three concepts: origin, transformation and
invention.
Quatremére de Quincy’s aim was to make type more
practical by putting it into the context of use, need, and
custom.
Quincy believed that architecture was imitative of
nature:
- In the details of nature – like the certain
characteristics of an individual
- In nature as a collective whole like referring to a
specific species
Also theorized that architecture was one of three
original architectural types:
1. Hut - Post and lintel construction, transposed into
stone and became a model for Greek architecture
2. Cave - Heavy dark interiors marked religious
architecture of the Egyptians
3. Tent - Light and mobile structure shows traces in
wooden structures of the Chinese.
TYPE – Type, is the basis for the conception of works,
which bear no resemblance to one another. The
architectural ‘type’ was at once ‘pre-existent germ,’
origin and primitive cause.
MODEL –The model is a form to be copied, repeated or
imitated.
CHARACTER – implies something more expressive than
type.
1. Essential Character – natural character, the purest
simplest essence
2. Distinctive Character – refers to a building’s
dominant quality
3. Relative Character – comparison of parts of the
same structure
GOTTFRIED SEMPER
(1803 – 1879) was a German architect, art critic and
professor.
Semper wrote extensively about the origins of
architecture, especially in his book The Four Elements
of Architecture from 1851.
Semper was one of the major figures in the
controversy surrounding the polychrome
architectural style of ancient Greece.
Style in the Technical and Structural Arts, or Practical
Aesthetics—1861–3, Discusses extensively the use of
materials within arts, crafts, and architecture. Analyses
architectonics in antiquity and current architecture.
In architecture, he noted how traditional and familiar
forms retained traces of very early, primitive uses.
Semper rather than describing one building typology as
being the beginning, he considers what assemblies and
systems are universal in all indigenous primitive
structures.
The Four Elements of Architecture, stressed on
functionalism as a prerequisite to intention and
conceives four essential categories of making artefacts:
• Weaving - producing textiles and patterns
• Moulding - creating pottery from clay
• Carpentry - providing structures of timber,
especially walls, partitions and roofs
• Masonry - involving building with stone for hearth,
walls, piers, etc.
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To the four processes, he added metal work, and
concluded that the forms used in architecture
originated in these processes themselves. Thus,
dividing architecture into four distinct elements: the
hearth, the roof, the enclosure and the mound.
From these he derived his theory of style, and argued
that architecture was reducible to its materials and
processes.
19th Century Theory – Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian
Gothic, Neo-Gothic or Collegiate Gothic) is
an architectural movement that began in the late
1740s in England.
The Gothic Revival movement roots were intertwined
with deeply philosophical movements associated with
a re-awakening of High Church concerned by the
growth of religious nonconformism.
Gothic Revival architecture varied considerably in its
faithfulness to both the ornamental style and
principles of construction of its medieval original,
sometimes amounting to little more than pointed
window frames and a few touches of Gothic
decoration on a building otherwise on a wholly 19th-
century plan and using contemporary materials and
construction methods.
Associated with the Middle Ages in Europe and lasting
until the early 17th century, Gothic is the architecture
of the pointed arch, the rib vault, the flying buttress,
window tracery, pinnacles and spires. Walls are
reduced to a minimum by large arcades and there is
an emphasis on verticality.
Gothic was most commonly used in church
architecture during this period, but also in collegiate
architecture, notably at Oxford and Cambridge.
The Gothic Revival occurred as industrialization
progressed, in part because there was a reaction
against the use of machinery and factory production.
A. W. N. Pugin was a prominent architect, designer,
artist, and critic involved with Gothic Revival.
JOHN RUSKIN
(1819 –1900) was an English art critic, art patron,
draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social
thinker and philanthropist. He wrote on subjects as
varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology,
literature, education, botany and political economy.
John Ruskin rebelled against formal, classical art and
architecture. His writings heralded the Gothic Revival
movement in Britain and paved the way for the Arts &
Crafts movement in Britain and the United States.
Ruskin argued that the technical innovations of
architecture since the Renaissance and particularly
the Industrial Revolution, had subsumed its spiritual
content and sapped its vitality. Practically, he
suggested an 'honest' architecture with no veneers,
finishes, hidden support nor machined moldings and
that beauty must be derived from nature and crafted
by man.
The Seven Lamps of Architecture (1849)
This was both an aesthetic attack on, and a social
critique of the division of labour in particular,
and industrial capitalism in general. The most
important premise of this book is the idea that
architecture is closely related to the moral state of a
nation or city.
The 'lamps' of the title are Ruskin's principles of
architecture, they codified some of the contemporary
thinking behind the Gothic Revival. The essay is
structured an introduction and one chapter for each of
the seven 'Lamps', which represent the demands that
good architecture must meet.
• Sacrifice – dedication of man's craft to God, as
visible proofs of man's love and obedience
• Truth – handcrafted and honest display of materials
and structure. Truth to materials and honest display
of construction
• Power – buildings should be thought of in terms of
their massing and reach towards the sublimity of
nature by the action of the human mind upon them
and the organization of physical effort in
constructing buildings.
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• Beauty – aspiration towards God expressed in
ornamentation drawn from nature, his creation
• Life – buildings should be made by human hands, so
that the joy of masons and stonecarvers is
associated with the expressive freedom given them
• Memory – buildings should respect the culture from
which they have developed
• Obedience – no originality for its own sake, but
conforming to the finest among existing values
The Stones of Venice (1851–53) - Developing from a
technical history of Venetian architecture, it acted as a
warning about the moral and spiritual health of society.
Ruskin argued that Venice had slowly deteriorated. Its
cultural achievements had been compromised, and its
society corrupted, by the decline of true Christian faith.
Instead of revering the divine, Renaissance artists
honoured themselves, arrogantly celebrating human
sensuousness.
Praising Gothic ornament, Ruskin argued that the
worker must be allowed to think and to express his own
personality and ideas, ideally using his own hands, not
machinery and identified ‘imperfection’ as an essential
feature contrasting it with the mechanical regularity of
modern mass production.
VIOLLET-LE-DUC
Eugène-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc, (1814-
1879), French Gothic Revival architect, restorer of
French medieval buildings and theorist.
He defined architecture as a response to a structural
problem, set by functional needs. His writings
centered on the idea that materials should be used
'honestly'.
He believed that the outward appearance of a building
should reflect the rational construction of the
building, rather than a concern for aesthetic or
iconographic design.
His two architectural theoretical works Reasoned
Dictionary of French Architecture 11th-16th
Century (1854) and Discourses on Architecture (1863)
provided the necessary intellectual impetus for the
French Gothic Revival movement.
In Discourses on Architecture, he discusses three
emergent models: the Greek Doric temple, the
complex structures of imperial Rome, and the Gothic
cathedrals of medieval France.
Viollet-le-Duc's studies of nineteenth-century iron
structures greatly informed his emerging
interpretation of the Gothic as a rational scheme of
skeletal forms designed to bear the weight of the
increasingly taller vaults.
The simultaneous functionality and visibility of these
skeletal elements, namely the ribs, arches, and vertical
supports, was essential to his understanding of Gothic
architecture.
He claims that the impetus for Gothic architecture,
both structural and decorative, developed out of
functional necessity and the state of medieval building
techniques and materials. In essence, form followed
function.
In his Entretiens he suggested similarities between
iron structures and Gothic systems, and proposed
iron for the framework in order to allow areas of
transparency as in Gothic architecture.
His theory envisioned the restoration of buildings as a
kind of re-imagination of the original, informed not
only by the existing structure and its many layers, but
also by an individual knowledge of history and form,
site of change and adaptation, rather than as a static
and immutable monument, coupled with a
nineteenth-century understanding of the Middle Ages.
As a restorer and theorist, Viollet-le-Duc championed
the use of new materials both for contemporary
architecture and for his restorations.
This emphasis upon function, rationality, and
transparency in both structure and purpose, drawn
from the medieval world, would ultimately serve as
the basis for his conception of a modern architecture.
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ToA – II - Module - 2 from (i) historic architecture and responded to the
(ii) context of the American city.
POSTMODERNISM
Postmodern architecture began as an international
Venturi's buildings typically juxtapose architectural
style the first examples of which are generally cited as
systems to acknowledge the conflicts often inherent in
being from the 1950s, but did not become a
a project or site
movement until the late 1970s

Robert Venturi is known for incorporating stylized

Postmodernity in architecture is said to be heralded by
cultural icons into his buildings. Venturi believes that
the return of ‘wit, ornament and reference’ to
structure and decoration should reflect the culture in
architecture in response to the formalism of
which it exists.
modernism.

Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture, 1966

Architects rediscovered past architectural ornament
Venturi re-assessed architecture to stress the
and forms which had been abstracted by the
importance of multiple meanings in appreciating
Modernist architects.
design.

Modernists believed that a work of art bears a

The book demonstrated, through countless examples,
universal truth or meaning. Postmodernists believe
an approach to understanding architectural
that works of art are open to many different
composition and complexity, and the resulting
interpretations.
richness and interest.
- Visual preferences in opposition to modernism
Characteristics of Post-modernism
- Complexity and contradiction VS Simplification
1. Emphasis on Eclecticism
- Ambiguity and tension rather than
2. Recycling past cultures and styles - Pastiche
straightforwardness
3. Playful use of ‘useless’ decoration
- ‘Both-and’ rather than ‘either-or’
4. Celebration of complexity and contradiction
- Hybrid rather than pure elements
5. Sensitivity to subtleties of image, language & signs
- Messy vitality rather than obvious unity
6. Intermixing – different styles – Collaging
7. Rejection of monolithic definitions of culture –
Learning from Las Vegas, 1972
celebrate pluralism and diversity
Robert Venturi, Denise Scott Brown and Steven
8. Scepticism towards ‘absolutism’ - Decline of the
Izenour began a study of Las Vegas architecture - their
idea of only one source of meaning
effort was to categorize and classify architecture.

ROBERT VENTURI Learning from Las Vegas was a criticism of orthodox

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in (1925-2018). He
graduated from Princeton University and worked with
Eero Saarinen and Louis I. Kahn before he founded his
own practice in 1958.
He is also known for coining the maxim "Less is a
bore" as antidote to Mies van der Rohe's famous
modernist dictum "Less is more”.
Architecture of Robert Venturi helped redirect
American architecture to a more exploratory and
eclectic, design approach that openly drew lessons
modernism and its elite style. Their book based on
these studies suggested that ‘low art’ such as
supermarkets, parking lots commercial strips &
casinos offered lessons in planning, urban design &
architecture
The project studied architecture and the role its signs
played in creating the urban landscape. It became a
call to re- introduce symbolism into architectural
design. These varied sources helped them to
rediscover what they called the forgotten symbolism
of architecture, a concept that modern architects had
rejected in favor of an abstract aesthetic.
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Theory of Architecture – II I 18 ARC 46 I Apr - Aug 2021
Duck & Decorated Shed
Duck is referred to a building whose space, structure
and program represent an overall symbolic form and
gives a clear message of the functions of the
structure. Decorated Sheds are more like simple
structures which cannot exist without signs and other
applied ornamentation, which may be cultural
symbols or even written words telling the purposes or
functions of the building. Decorated shed can be
modified, can be transformed, and might last longer
in the functional term.
VANNA VENTURI HOUSE
One of the first prominent works of the postmodern
architecture movement. Located in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, constructed between 1962 -1964.
Architecturally, elements of the house are a reaction
against modernist elements:
- The five-room house stands only about 10m tall at
the top of the chimney
- Monumental front facade
- Pitched roof rather than flat roof
- Emphasis on central hearth & chimney along with
the staircase
- Closed ground floor
- On the front elevation the broken pediment & a
non-structural, purely ornamental appliqué arch
- ‘Hole in the wall’ windows
- House is a composition of rectangular, curvilinear,
and elements coming together
GUILD HOUSE
This apartment building is for low-income elderly
housing. Like ordinary structures in this neighborhood,
it has a facade of red brick and conventional double-
hung metal windows.
The Guild House has a six-story entrance facade and
stepped back sides which allows for more windows.
It is contextual, relating to the architecture of the
neighborhood.
The entrance has a white brick base and the
fenestration terminates in an arched window,
illuminating the common room on the top floor.
The angled recessed opening and the oversized black
granite column are important features
CHARLES JENCKS
(1939-2019) architecture theorist, critic, landscape
architect and designer. His has widely written on the
history & criticism of modernism and postmodernism.
He proclaimed the ‘Death of Modern Architecture’ -
“Modern Architecture died in St. Louis, Missouri on
July 15, 1972 at 3:32 PM (or thereabouts) when the in-
famous Pruitt-Igoe scheme, or rather several of its slab
blocks, were given the final coup de gráce by
dynamite.” ~ Charles Jencks (1987)
Important Publications:
- The Language of Post-Modern Architecture, 1977
- Critical Modernism - Where is Post-Modernism
Going?, 2007
- What is Post-Modernism?
- Towards A Symbolic Architecture
1. Multivalence is preferred to univalence
2. ‘Complexity and Contradiction’ over ‘Minimalism’
3. Memory and History are inevitable
4. All architecture is invented and perceived through
codes, hence the languages of architecture and
symbolic architecture, hence the double-coding of
architecture within the codes of both the
professional and populace.
5. Architecture must crystallise social reality, means
the pluralism of ethnic groups; hence participatory
design and pluralist culture for a design
6. Architecture is a public language, hence the need
for a Post- Modern Classicism which is based on
architectural and changing technology.
7. Architecture necessitates ornament (or patterns)
which should be symbolic.
8. Architecture necessitates metaphor and this should
relate us to natural and cultural concerns.
9. Architecture must form the city, hence context and
mixed uses and ages of buildings should be
considered.
10. Architecture must confront the ecological reality
and that means sustainable development, Green
architecture and cosmic symbolism.
11. Architecture which celebrates criticism, process
and humour.
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Theory of Architecture – II I 18 ARC 46 I Apr - Aug 2021
DECONSTRUCTION
Deconstructivism in architecture, also
called Deconstruction, is a development of
postmodern architecture that began in the late 1980s.
Deconstructivism rejects the postmodern acceptance
of historical references and the idea of ornament as
an after-thought or decoration.
It is characterized by ideas of:
- Fragmentation
- Manipulating ideas of structure and/or skin
- Non-rectilinear shapes
- Distortion and dislocation of structure and envelope
- Destroys the dominance of the right angle
The main channel from Deconstructivist philosophy to
architectural theory was through the philosopher
Jacques Derrida.
Characteristics from Philosophy:
- Metaphysics of presence
- Architecture communicating meaning and
treatments by methods of linguistic philosophy
Any architectural deconstruction according to Derrida
requires the existence of a particular
generic construction, a strongly-established
conventional expectation to play flexibly against.
Important events in the history of the Deconstructivist
movement include:
1982 - Parc de la Villette architectural design
competition (especially the entry from Jacques
Derrida and Peter Eisenman and Bernard Tschumi's
winning entry)
1988 - Mark Wigley and Phillip Johnson curated the
Museum of Modern Art exhibition, Deconstructivist
Architecture, which crystallized the movement, and
brought fame and notoriety to its key practitioners.
The architects presented at the exhibition were Peter
Eisenman, Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, Coop
Himmelblau, Rem Koolhaas, Daniel Libeskind, and
Bernard Tschumi.
1989 - Opening of the Wexner Center for The Arts in
Columbus, designed by Peter Eisenman.
The appearance of buildings and spaces provokes
shock, uncertainty, unease, disquiet, disruption,
distortion. The attempt in deconstructivism in
architecture was to move away from the constricting
"rules" of modernism such as :
- Form Follows Function
- Purity Of Form
- Truth To Materials
Deconstruction :
- Challenged familiar ideas about space, order and
regularity in the environment.
- Rejects the idea of relationship between form and
function.
Computer aided design (CAD) today, is especially
pertinent to the nature of Deconstructivism:
- 3D modeling and animation for conception and
construction of complex spaces
- For manufacturing of different modular elements
and mass production.
PETER EISENMAN
Born in Newark, New Jersey in 1932. He graduated
from Cornell and obtained his Post-Graduation from
Columbia University.
Eisenman first rose to prominence as a member of the
New York Five (Charles Gwathmey, John Hejduk,
Michael Graves and Richard Meier).
Eisenman has always drawn parallels between his
architectural works and philosophical theory.
His earlier works were ‘generated’ from a
transformation of forms related with language as an
underlying structure.
He served as a Lieutenant in the Korea war (1956-
1957) and while at the war, he realized how
passionate he was for Architecture.
He worked for Walter Gropius and in the 1980s,
Eisenman established his own architectural practice in
New York
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Theory of Architecture – II I 18 ARC 46 I Apr - Aug 2021
Recurrent Themes:
- Architecture of memory
- Place-oriented or textual architecture
- Experience difficult to express of space and time
- ‘Unlink’ function from the form
Concepts:
- Tracing
- Layering
- Deformation
Techniques:
- Shear
- Intersection
- Distortion
- Scaling
- Diagrammatic image
- Superposition
MEMORIAL TO THE MURDERED JEWS
Also known as the Holocaust Memorial, is a memorial
in Berlin to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Peter
Eisenman won the competition and construction of
project started in April 2003. It was inaugurated on
May 10 2005, sixty years after the end of World War II.
The underlying idea the memorial was to show the
absence of meaning in the experience similar to
absence of meaning in executions carried out in
camps.
The memorial is an analogy to experience the camps
and also to the idea of breaking down the relationship
between experience and understanding.
According to Eisenman remembering the Holocaust
can only be a living condition in which the past
remains active in the present.
- Breaks the notion of comfort and induces instability
- Scheme drawn from philosophy and linguistics
- Scheme suggests a psychological void provoking
individual & cultural anxiety and dislocation
Often referred to as a ‘field of stelae’, the memorial
consists of 2711 concrete stelae (0.95 m x 2.37 m),
with heights varying from less than a meter to 4m.
The stelae are separated by a space equal to the width
of an individual stele.
The strategies used in the organisation of the stelae to
enforce instability, disorientation, anxiety and
dislocation are:
- Undulating ground surface that defeats the sense of
grid
- Confined spaces
- Consistently different views
- Unpredictability of the heights
- No signs or symbols
The Information Centre beneath the Field of Stelae
documents the ill-treatment and destruction of the
Jews of Europe and the historical sites of the crimes.
The focus of the exhibition lies on the personalisation
of the victims and on the geographical dimension of
the Holocaust.
WEXNER CENTER OF ARTS
Location: Ohio State University,Ohio
Building Type: University Arts Center.
Construction System: Steel, Concrete, Glass.
Program: Included in the Wexner Center space are a
film and video theater, a performance space, a film
and video post-production studio, a bookstore, café,
and 1,100m² of galleries.
Peter Eisenman won the design competition for
Wexner Center of Arts resulting in one of the first
large scale constructions of Deconstructivist
Architecture. A major part of the project is not a
building itself, but a non-building.
Eisenman uses his characteristic operations.
- Identification of the grids from conditions that
exist at the edge of the site
- Rotates the grid by 12.5º
- Grafting one grid on top of the other to seek
potential connections at the urban, local and
interior level.
- Scalar operations are performed as a means of
mediating the scale of the urban grid towards a
human scale to serve as a map that is used to
locate program, pathways, structure, interior, and
views.
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Theory of Architecture – II I 18 ARC 46 I Apr - Aug 2021
Eisenman extended his grid abstractions with two
strategies that aim at linking the past & present.
- A scaled 3D scaffolding grid and integrates this into
the primary pathway of the building that is at a
human scale.
- Reconstruction of a part of the armoury that
occupied the site previously.

Running through the core Wexner Center is its most

recognizable feature: a 165m long ‘scaffolding’
structure that extrudes the grid into a three-
dimensional matrix.
- Exposed and partially unenclosed, it is meant to
look deliberately incomplete.
- It functions as an axis of circulation and an
important spatial role in delineating and organizing
spaces throughout the site.

The elevation is a series of fragments of red brick

turrets of the pre-existing armoury-like forms that
indicate the ‘essence’ of the armoury without
reproducing any of the original intricate detail while
dramatically clashing with the hyper-modern
aesthetic of the scaffolding.

The Wexner Center deconstructs the archetype of the

castle and renders its spaces and structure with
conflict and difference.

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Theory of Architecture – II I 18 ARC 46 I Apr - Aug 2021
ToA – II - Module - 3 - Low level - every day and instrumental meanings
2. Criticality and Choices- As the criticality increases
CONTRIBUTION TO ARCHITECTURAL THOUGHT
along different scales - climatic, economic,
technological, the fewer the choices to be taken.
AMOS RAPOPORT (1929, Warsaw) 3. Basic Needs –Family, Privacy, Position of Women,
His work has focused mainly on the role of: Relationship between House and Settlement
- Cultural variables 4. Sites and Choice - Religious and cosmological,
- Cross-cultural studies symbiotic and exploitative
- Theory development and synthesis 5. Constancy and Changes

His influential book House, Form & Culture (1969)
explores how culture, human behavior, and the
environment affect house form.
The foundation of the book was laid on the intellectual
debate between meaning and characteristics of folk,
primitive, or vernacular buildings and modern
buildings.
He noted that in the past there were hierarchies in
society which were legible on built forms but at the
time of writing there was a general loss of hierarchies
within society, resulting in the reality that all buildings
tend to have equal prominence.
Building Tradition: Grand Design and Folk Design
Grand tradition - Buildings are monuments, made by
the most refined techniques and by distinct builders
or architects in a time so as to be able to be
distinguished from the rest of other buildings.
Folk tradition - Direct and subconscious translation
into physical form of a culture, its needs, values and
aspirations of its people. It is the ideal environment of
a people expressed in buildings and settlements, with
no designer, artist, or architect as form giver.

He termed ‘modifying factors’ to specify non-

architecture aspects that determine the architectural
form and functions. Two parts that he discussed:
1. Modifying Factors of House Form
2. Socio-cultural Factors and House Form

Modifying Factors of House Form:

1. Climate and the Need for Shelter
2. Materials, Construction and Technology
3. Site
4. Defense
a. To protect food storage
b. Against enemy or animals
c. Spiritual defense
5. Economics
6. Religion

Socio-Cultural Factors and House Form

1. Meaning in house
- High level meanings - cosmologies, cultural views,
world views, philosophical systems
- Middle level meanings - identity, power, status,
wealth

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Theory of Architecture – II I 18 ARC 46 I Apr - Aug 2021

KENNETH FRAMPTON 5. Culture Versus Nature: Topography, Context,

Is known for his writing on:
- 20th-century architecture and
- Development of architectural phenomenology
His books include:
- Modern Architecture: A Critical History (1980)
- Studies in Tectonic Culture (1995)
Critical regionalism is an approach to architecture that
strives to:
- Counter the place-lessness and lack of identity of
Modern architecture
- Rejects the whimsical individualism and
ornamentation of Postmodern architecture
- To provide an architecture rooted in the modern
tradition, but tied to geographical and cultural
context
- Mediate between the global and the local
languages of architecture.
Frampton achieved great prominence and influence
with his essay ‘Towards a Critical Regionalism: Six
points of an Architecture of Resistance’ (1983)
Climate, Light and Tectonic Form - Frampton
argues that it is necessary to adopt universal
values of modernism, by using contextual forces
to give a sense of place and meaning with
emphasis on topography, climate, light and local
tectonics.
6. The Visual Versus the Tactile - Substantiates the
priority of tectonic (construction) over the
visual(aesthetic). Reinterpreting vernacular
elements.
Critical regionalism tries to address this problem, in a
critical sense to create an identity of a limited area.
Precondition for critical regionalism to exist are:
– Connection of the profession with the political
consciousness of the society
– A strong sense for creating a local identity
– Sufficient prosperity which is locally ‘grown’
Some of the qualities a building should evoke
‘sympathy’, ‘affinity’, ‘memory’ and ‘familiarity’

Common strategy adopted by the architects is; to

1. Culture & Civilization - Discusses the state of
building to be 'conditioned' by the building
industry to the point of restriction and more
concerned with utility rather than cultural
expression.
select, defamiliarize, and recompose regional
elements.
Working with the environmental constraints, and
resources has also been seen as critical regionalism.

2. The Rise and Fall of the Avant-Garde - As times

change the ability of the avant-garde to sustain
diminishes. Critical regionalism is an attempt to
preserve ideals of what has been or present
culture.

3. Critical Regionalism and World Culture - Critical

regionalism will mediate the spectrum between
universal civilization and the particularities of
place.

4. The Resistance of the Place-Form - Considering

the mediation of the impact of universal
technique and regional particularities, this section
suggests an aregional approach to defining form
based on a defined place.
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CHRISTOPHER ALEXANDER
Is an architect and educator noted for theories about
the nature of design and humane urban
environments.
His seminal works on architecture include:
Notes on the Synthesis of Form (1964)
The Oregon Experiment (1975)
A Pattern Language (1977)
The Timeless Way of Building (1979)
The Nature of Order (2002-2005)
Through these books, the Center for Environmental
Structure have built a movement with the idea that
people should design houses, streets, and
communities for themselves. Reasoning that users are
more sensitive to their needs than any architect
could be.
A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings,
Construction is a 1977 book on architecture, urban
design, and community livability. It was authored
by Christopher Alexander, Sara Ishikawa and Murray
Silverstein.
patterns should be applied to a design. Linkages are
critical for patterns to become a language, rather than
a collection of isolated standalone ideas for design.
Specifically, a pattern expresses a relationship among
parts that resolves problems that would exist if the
relationship were missing.
Each pattern is described in a similar way:
1. A picture shows an example of the pattern
2. A paragraph describes the context of the pattern
3. A bold headline gives the essence of the problem
4. A research-based exploration of the problem
5. Solution stated as an instruction
6. A diagram describing the solution
7. A paragraph describing smaller patterns that can
help this pattern
8. Each pattern also comes with a label signifying how
sure the authors are that this truly is a universal
pattern.

Patterns, or good solutions to generic problems,

should be available in a community encyclopedia. Care
should be taken to curb the economic and political
power of large monolithic projects. Places should be
shaped for people, to make them feel more whole,
and to nourish them. And people should be involved
in the construction of their community.

The book creates a new language, derived from 253

Patterns to form a generative grammar.

A pattern language consists of a hierarchy of parts,

linked together by patterns which solve generic
problems associated with the parts.

Each pattern has a title and collectively the titles form

a language for design. In a pattern language individual
patterns are not isolated.

The structure of the language is composed of the links

from larger patterns to smaller patterns, together
creating a network defining the order in which the
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Theory of Architecture – II I 18 ARC 46 I Apr - Aug 2021
GEOFFREY BROADBENT
Wrote ‘A Plain Man’s Guide to the Theory of Signs in
Architecture’ & Design in Architecture
According to Broadbent, any building will:
1. Enclose spaces for certain human purposes. The
actual division of spaces may facilitate or inhibit
specific human activities, it may also provide security.
2. Modify the external climate thus providing
conditions in which human beings may be more or less
comfortable, in visual, thermal and actual terms.
3. Act as a system of signs or symbols into which
people may read meanings
4. Modify the values of the materials from which it is
built, the land on which it stands and possibly of the
adjacent properties.
According to Broadbent, theory of architecture will be
theory of design-behaviour which predicts, with
probabilities, the ways in which architects try to
generate a 3- dimensional built form. Certain
mechanisms have been used by designers throughout
history; starting long before there were any
professional architects.
The four design processes can be classified under:
- Pragmatic design (culture, climate, resources)
- Iconic design (culture, climate, resources)
- Analogic design (ideas & simulation)
- Canonic design (ideas & simulation)
PRAGMATIC DESIGN
- Materials used by trial-and-error, until a form
emerges which seems to serve the function.
- Most primitive way of design. Conveys information
physically. Looks at architecture, as a sign of
system, affects those who use building – visual and
through senses. Practical and utilitarian. Ex. a
mammoth hunter's tent
- Available resources were allowed to determine the
form. Deals with the origins, uses and the effects
of signs within the behavior of the user.
- This mode of designing is still used whenever new
materials have to be used.
ICONIC DESIGN
- Members of a particular culture share a fixed
mental image of what the design should be like.
- The design process is by mutual adaption between
ways of life and building form. Eg. Eskimo's igloo
- Involves craftsmanship learned and perfected over
time and are hence difficult to abandon.
- User participation is the most important reason for
repetition of design icons.
ANALOGIC DESIGN
- Involves the comparison or using references of
analogies usually visual as solutions to design
problems.
- Sources of analogies vary from painting (Cubism,
De Stijl), sculpture (Constructivism); Biological
form (morphology/ biomorphism) to abstract,
philosophical concepts.
- Analogies may be direct (form oriented) or indirect
(philosophical/ experiential).
- Analogical design requires the use of a medium
such as a drawing/model for translating the original
into its new form.
- Any design analogue - a drawing, model, or even a
computer program, will influence the way they
design.
CANONIC DESIGN
- A canon is an accepted body of principles and
norms that uses specific criteria for making
judgements, hence a canonic design is one with
concerns of order and regularity. Eg. Proportioning
systems, Modular, Golden Section
- 20th century design has been based on similar
precepts; it is the basis of all modular systems,
dimensional co-ordination, prefabricated systems
building and so on.
- New mathematical/parametric techniques and
computer aids are likely to boost even further this
interest.
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Theory of Architecture – II I 18 ARC 46 I Apr - Aug 2021
ToA – II - Module - 4
ARCHITECTURAL THEORY
Creating Architectural Theory: The Role of the
Behavioral Sciences in Environmental Design 1987 by
Jon Lang.
Architectural theory – the set of principles that guides
the architect in making decisions about the complex
problems that arise in translating a brief into the
design of a building.
A theory is a general framework that:
- Explains observed phenomena
- Predicts effects that appear under specific
circumstances
- Enables to create new situations that perform in a
way predicted by the theory
Characteristics of Architectural Theory
- Translates conceptual and intellectual concerns
- Describes the practice and production of
architecture
- Identifies Challenges
- Poses alternate solutions based on the current
state
- Offers new thought paradigms
Concerns of Architectural Theory
- Issues of origin
- The requisite qualities of an architect
- The requisite qualities of architecture
- To understand processes including technique,
material, elements and construction
- Attitude to history
- Attitude to theory and practice
Theories categorized as Positive and Normative
Theories. Both of which are further categorized as:
Substantive (Subjective) theory – phenomena,
environmental qualities, functions, aesthetics,
behavior.
Procedural (Objective) theory – design methodology
dealing with creativity, analysis, synthesis, evaluation
and research.
Characteristics of Positive Theory
- Describes and explains a phenomenon
- Can be tested using scientific methods
- Identify causal links – cause and effect
- Predict future behavior
- Basis for research in design
- Separates fact from value
- Tentative and subject to revision
Normative theories are based on empirical
assumptions to interpret how or what the world
should be encompassing the social value systems or
morals judgments.Normative means relating to an
ideal standard or model, or being based on what is
considered to be the normal or correct way of doing
something
Characteristics of Normative theories
- Intellectual constructs of attitudes to how the
world works
- Conventional ideas, rule of thumb, withstood the
test of time
- Testable by means of professional acceptance or
longevity
- Less logical rigor
- Guide and simplify design decisions
- Cultural opinions
- Action prescribers – manifestos, design principles,
standards based on ideological positions
According to Lang positive theories should lead to
normative theories. Normative theories need to be
re-examined to become positive theories in respond
to current issues. Research needs to be conducted to
develop a logical normative theory and understand its
limits to be dealt with in due course. Hence, for
sensitive design practice, theory needs to re-
evaluated with changing needs.
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Theory of Architecture – II I 18 ARC 46 I Apr - Aug 2021

ARCHITECTURAL CRITICISM Wayne Attoe derives normative criticism from

judgment or evaluation and differentiates non-
Criticism can be described as an interpretation made evaluative criticism into two categories: descriptive
by judging wisely and objectively, either of an and interpretive criticism, which are distinguished by
evaluative judgment, or a non-evaluative description. their respective goals. Attoe’s categorization of
criticism:
Objectives and Characteristics according to
Wayne Attoe, - Architecture and Critical 1. Normative criticism
Imagination,1978 - Doctrinal criticism
1. Should be positive and constructive, not - Systematic criticism
threatening or intimidating - Typal criticism
2. A tool for communicating significant content, - Measured criticism
responding to or effecting the built and un-built
environment 2. Interpretative criticism
3. Descriptive tool used to facilitate understanding - Advocatory criticism
4. Focus on how things in the past and present can - Evocative criticism
teach us how better to handle the future - Impressionistic criticism
5. Provoking and stimulating opinion affecting the
character of the existing environment 3. Descriptive criticism
6. Awareness of the methods of criticism to - Depictive criticism
improve quality of the physical environment - Biographical criticism
7. Criticism is more about the critic than the object - Contextual criticism
being criticized
8. Impact not only on the individual career but also Normative criticism is grounded in the belief that
on collective future there is a model, pattern, standard, or principle
against which its quality or success may be assessed.
Sources of Criticism Prescriptions and judgments are made using the
- Building Occupants standards indicated.
- Owners
- Contractors - Doctrinal criticism has as its basis in the belief that
- Financiers there is a single approach for accomplishing our
- Neighbours purposes and a single standard for measuring our
- General Public achievements
- Professional Peers
- Design Connoisseurs - Systematic criticism is an alternative to the single
- Recognized Critic doctrine it is an interwoven assemblage of principles
or factors, a system for judging
Medium of Criticism
1. Written word - Typal criticism is based upon structural, functional,
2. Photographs and form types.
3. Cartoons / Memes
4. Oral – Discussions, Opinions - Measured criticism assigns numerical standards to
5. Modification of buildings provide the norms against which something is
6. Vandalism judged.

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Theory of Architecture – II I 18 ARC 46 I Apr - Aug 2021
Interpretative criticism, is highly personal as the
interpretative critic seeks to mould others’ vision to
make them see as he does. Interpretive criticism is not
concerned with evaluation and judgment, but
attempts to make us see the environment in a
particular way.
- Advocatory criticism aims to provide a new
perspective, particularly an advocatory view, on an
object, a building, or an environment. It is
employed by a critic who is an advocate of a
building or place and is concerned primarily with
getting appreciation, not with passing judgment
- Evocative criticism uses whatever means are
needed to arouse similar feelings in the
reader/viewer. The evocative critique is not right or
wrong, but a surrogate experience.
- Impressionistic criticism uses the space or building
as a foundation on which the critic then constructs
his own work of art.
Descriptive criticism either depicts physical
phenomena, recounts pertinent events in the life of
the designer, tells us about the historical context of
the design process and construction insofar as the
context influenced design decisions, or details the
design process itself.
Descriptive criticism, either pictures a building or the
process of its generation, or is biographical or
contextual in character.
Descriptive criticism seeks to be factual and non-
judgmental.
- Depictive criticism does not judge, but merely
depicts what exists; such as, how people move
through a space.
- Biographical criticism provides others with and
understanding of the artist in order to allow a
better understanding of their intentions.
- Contextual criticism provides information about
the social, political, and economic context in
which something was designed.
21