Design Processes in Allied Arts Question Bank

10. Give applicability of metal crafts in architecture. Illustrate with examples.

- Pradnya Bhide
Answer:
Metal is a versatile medium that has an equal place in both architecture and art. In the history
of architecture, metals began by playing a supplementary role and were primarily used for
bonding masonry (dowels and clamps), for tension members (chains strengthening domes, tie
rods across arches to reinforce the vaults), and for roofing, doors, windows. Otherwise,
metals served purely decorative purposes, adorning windows, doors and walls as rivets,
hinges and handles.
Metal is the backbone of modern construction with
 Cast iron was the first metal that could successfully be substituted for traditional
structural materials. Regularly used in bridge building, its strength, adaptability and
resistance to corrosion quickly encouraged its architectural application. Combined
with wrought-iron features, cast iron was commonly used as columns and arches in
many buildings.
The industrial revolution in the 19th century led to the increased demand for metal and, in
turn, metal structures.
 Steel, with its workable, flexible and easily manufactured properties became the metal
of choice for architecture. There are over 200 kinds of stainless steel composition and
there are new ones being developed each year. It’s being used as roofing material, for
window walls, fire-resisting spandrels and panels, for
building interior decorations such as railings and staircases, for flooring in raised
floors and walkways. It is also used for structural work in building
 Nowadays various types of Alloy steels are made by combining carbon steel with one
or several alloying elements, such as manganese, silicon, nickel, titanium, copper,
chromium enhancing its properties. A harder, stronger and more heat resistant
stainless steel is now used widely in architectural practice.
 Copper being used for on building exteriors, copper cladding sheets, shingles, and
pre-fabricated panels shield ,whereas interior applications include lobby walls, soffits,
column facings, and interior walls of elevator cabs.
 Copper alloys such as Brass is being used for Architectural ironmongery or
for hardware such as door knobs, finger plates and other door furniture , for
Plumbing materials such as pipes, joints, taps, stopcocks, for Screws, nails and
other fastening devices and Furniture, clocks, decorative objects etc.
 Copper alloys such as Bronze is being used for casting sculptures and is often
incorporated into doorways, columns, commemorative plaques and other
decorative components. It is also a common material in the production
of hardware, springs and furniture trim
 Aluminium being used for roofing, flashing, gutters, downspouts, wall panels, and
spandrels, for decorative features, such as the entrances, elevator doors, ornamental
trim.
Architects now have a huge variety of metals to choose from in their projects, allowing for
the construction of taller, stronger and more unique structures, and expanding the range of
metallic finishes that infuse interior spaces with distinct characters. The past technological
improvements have turned metals into a practical solution for interior designers. New metal
finishes, designs, and coatings are available in the market to match varied architectural
styles. A variety of metals played a large role in several notable pieces of architecture that are
still known today.
Examples,
 The Gates of Time at The Oklahoma City National Memorial made in 1997 has two
bronze gates.
 The Empire State Building in New York City Made back in 1931 has steel-
framed structure where Steel columns and beams form a stable 3-D grid throughout
the entire structure. Building’s façade has steel frame windows with cast aluminium
spandrel panels.
 The Eiffel Tower in Paris, France is made up of open-lattice wrought iron. The metal
bars makes triangles and four legs to make it stable.
 Museum of Medical History and Innovation at Massachusetts General Hospital,
Boston has used recycled copper cladding for the hospital’s on-site museum, with
the second-story windows made of a copper compound, called copper frit.
20. Which approach is effective and efficient in conceptualizing design ideas in
architecture: 'form follows function' or 'function follows form'?
- Pradnya Bhide
Answer:
 “Form follows function' is a principle that proposes a building's purpose should be
the starting point for its design rather than its aesthetics. The outer appearance of a
building should reflect what happens on the interior.
 Where 'function follows form'
 Form refers to the aesthetic design of a building, form is the visual appearance of a
building – line, outline, shape, composition.
 Function refers to the practicality of the spaces created, the structural and functional
requirements of a building – construction, shelter, program, organization, use,
occupancy, materials.
 In Classical period function determined architectural form. Throughout the ages,
edifices of all types -- fortresses, temples, palaces, markets, hospitals, houses -- were
configured primarily to meet the needs of those who built, owned and used them.
 During Modernism, Tthe dictum form follows function was coined by the American
architect Louis Sullivan in his article "The Tall Office Building Artistically
Considered “published in 1896
o Sullivan mentored Frank Lloyd Wright, who extended the idea to argue that
form and function are one.
o Antonio Gaudi said "Form does not necessarily follow function"
o Ecro Saarinen said "Function influence but does not dictate form"
o Oscar Niemeyer said "my work is not about ‘form follows function’, but ‘form
follows beauty’ or, even better, ‘form follows feminine".
 With regard to design, function and form coexist and which one is emphasized first
depends on the design environment. Variation is the mechanism for producing many
form variants and creativity can be very important. Function requires a selection
process that decides fitness to the task at hand and a scientific method for judging
fitness is needed. Due to the dependence on environment, what is an optimal balance
between form and function can change when the environmental conditions change.
 In the 18th and 19th centuries, some architects began aggressively pursuing form for
its own sake and explored the notion that function could follow form. Defying and
threatening established architectural norms, advocates of form for form's sake
naturally encountered opposition.

 In the 20th century, architectural form and function debates intensified as designers
embraced new pronouncements. For example, by combining "form follows function"
with "ornament is a crime" and "less is more," architects gave birth to the
International Style, a movement yielding minimally detailed glass, metal and masonry
boxes that proved unlovable to many.

 Then came the declaration that "less is a bore," and architects again felt liberated to
pursue form for form's sake, although often through superficial ornamental gestures.
Strip away superficial decorative motifs, and you again discover that, most of the
time, form continued following function.
  In 21st-century architects have learned that most design axioms are overly simplistic.
They acknowledge that, too often, designers interpreted "form follows function" to
mean that form should be determined solely by function. They understand that
responding to functional needs is necessary but not sufficient. A wiser, more inclusive
interpretation now holds sway: Form can follow function and many other things as
well.

Examples for 'Form follows Function'

1. The Wainwright Building, is example of form follows function here a
skyscraper's exterior design reflects the different interior functions.
2. Barcelona Pavilion by Mies Van Der Rohe is example of theory form follows
function. Mies also believed in the theory of less is more and used the phrase
skin and bones to explain his projects. Barcelona Pavilion, has a simplistic design
with materials like steel, glass, and different varieties of marble. With a simple
fluid plan and freestanding walls, symmetrical views have made this design
functional. The placement of the columns and the roof are connected in such a
way that it creates an illusion of resting on the walls. The layout is composed in
such a way that symmetry is felt along with coherence.

Examples for 'Function follows Form',

1. Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, designed by Frank Gehry, could be a
museum, a library or a church, because it’s external form does not proclaim
"concert hall." Only inside, beyond the curving surfaces of reflective sheet metal
of the exterior, do functional requirements manifest themselves visually. The
arrangement and shape of the hall's interior spaces respond directly to the
building's complex program and technical demands, especially within the concert
hall itself, where acoustics, seating layout, audience sight lines, circulation and
spatial ambience are paramount.
2. Sydney Opera House, designed by Jorn Utzon continues to perform its function as
a world-class performing arts centre. The form of building is a modern
expressionist design, with a series of large precast concrete "shells", each
composed of sections of a sphere, forming the roofs of the structure, set on a
monumental podium. Its function is that of a performance space with several
varying sized theatres for operatic, lyric and theatrical productions as well as
reception areas for people to interact.