PRIMARY ELEMENTS

Each element is first considered as a conceptual element, then

as a visual element in the vocabulary of architectural design.
PRIMARY ELEMENTS

POINT
PRIMARY ELEMENTS

POINT
Piazza del Campidoglio, Rome
NATIONAL MALL, Washington, D.C.
PRIMARY ELEMENTS

LINE
PRIMARY ELEMENTS

PLANE
PRIMARY ELEMENTS

VOLUME
ACTIVITY 2

FINDING PRIMARY ELEMENTS:

NCST Campus Edition

Instruction:
1. Find any building/s or structure/s in our campus.
2. Sketch the building and identify the primary elements it has.
3. Explain the characteristics of the building why and which it possesses the
primary elements
4. Make the activity presentable.

To be submitted today!
Sample 1 Sample 2
Do you ever feel overwhelmed in a space
because of the design?

Do you wonder why Roman architecture seems so

appealing to you?
SCALE &
PROPORTION
scale alludes to the size of something compared
to a reference standard or to the size of something else,

proportion refers to the proper or

harmonious relation of one part to another or to the whole.
3 Types of Proportion
1. MATERIAL PROPORTIONS
2. STRUCTURAL PROPORTIONS
3. MANUFACTURED PROPORTIONS
1. MATERIAL Proportion
All building materials in architecture have distinct properties of elasticity,
hardness, and durability. And they all have an ultimate strength beyond which
they cannot extend themselves without fracturing, breaking, or collapsing.
2. STRUCTURAL Proportion
The size and proportion of structural elements are directly related to the
structural tasks they perform and can therefore be visual indicators of the size
and scale of the spaces they help enclose.
Schwartz House
3. MANUFACTURED Proportion
Materials and building elements sized and proportion by the process of
manufacturing.
The sense of proportion has been created through people’s experiences,
through their learning about human anthropology, nature, animals, and
landscapes. The human body is often considered the main reference when it
comes to measuring elements of space in architecture. Buildings, like the
human body, have parts, and the parts in architecture can be linked together in
a number of ways.

As a result of the development of proportioning systems, it has become evident

that proportion can be the aiding factor for the perceptions of buildings,
providing an aesthetic rationale for the dimensions of form and space.
Proportions can be used visually to unify the multiple elements of an
architectural design. There have been numerous theories of proportion
developed throughout history