Architecture

Form, Space, and Order

Francis D. K. Ching

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781118745137
• Edition: 4
• Topic: Architecture
• Subtopic: Architecture Design

The revered architectural reference, updated with contemporary examples and interactive 3D models

The Interactive Resource Center is an online learning environment where instructors and students can access the tools they need to make efficient use of their time, while reinforcing and assessing their understanding of key concepts for successful understanding of the course. An access card with redemption code for the online Interactive Resource Center is included with all new, print copies or can be purchased separately. (***If you rent or purchase a used book with an access code, the access code may have been redeemed previously and you may have to purchase a new access code -ISBN: 9781118986837).

The online Interactive Resource Center contains resources tied to the book, such as:

• Interactive Animations highlighting key concepts
• Photo Gallery of architectural precedents illustrated in the book
• Flashcards for focused learning

Architecture: Form, Space, and Order, Fourth Edition is the classic introduction to the basic vocabulary of architectural design, updated with new information on emerging trends and recent developments. This bestselling visual reference helps both students and professionals understand the vocabulary of architectural design by examining how space and form are ordered in the environment.

Essential and timeless, the fundamental elements of space and form still present a challenge to those who crave a deeper understanding. Taking a critical look at the evolution of spaces, Architecture distills complex concepts of design into a clear focus that inspires, bringing difficult abstractions to life. The book is illustrated throughout to demonstrate the concepts presented, and show the relationships between fundamental elements of architecture through the ages and across cultures. Topics include:

• Primary elements and the principles of space design
• Form and space, including light, view, openings, and enclosures
• Organization of space, and the elements and relationships of circulation
• Proportion and scale, including proportioning systems and anthropometry

Chapter 1
Primary Elements

“All pictorial form begins with the point that sets itself in motion… The point moves … and the line comes into being—the first dimension. If the line shifts to form a plane, we obtain a two-dimensional element. In the movement from plane to spaces, the clash of planes gives rise to body (three-dimensional) … A summary of the kinetic energies which move the point into a line, the line into a plane, and the plane into a spatial dimension.”

Paul Klee
The Thinking Eye: The Notebooks of Paul Klee
(English translation)
1961

PRIMARY ELEMENTS

This opening chapter presents the primary elements of form in the order of their growth from the point to a one-dimensional line, from the line to a two-dimensional plane, and from the plane to a three-dimensional volume. Each element is first considered as a conceptual element, then as a visual element in the vocabulary of architectural design.

As conceptual elements, the point, line, plane, and volume are not visible except to the mind’s eye. While they do not actually exist, we nevertheless feel their presence. We can sense a point at the meeting of two lines, a line marking the contour of a plane, a plane enclosing a volume, and the volume of an object that occupies space.

When made visible to the eye on paper or in three-dimensional space, these elements become form with characteristics of substance, shape, size, color, and texture. As we experience these forms in our environment, we should be able to perceive in their structure the existence of the primary elements of point, line, plane, and volume.

As the prime generator of form, the

POINT

A point marks a position in space. Conceptually, it has no length, width, or depth, and is therefore static, centralized, and directionless.

As the prime element in the vocabulary of form, a point can serve to mark:

• the two ends of a line
• the intersection of two lines
• the meeting of lines at the corner of a plane or volume
• the center of a field

Although a point theoretically has neither shape nor form, it begins to make its presence felt when placed within a visual field. At the center of its environment, a point is stable and at rest, organizing surrounding elements about itself and dominating its field.

When the point is moved off-center, however, its field becomes more aggressive and begins to compete for visual supremacy. Visual tension is created between the point and its field.

POINT ELEMENTS

Piazza del Campidoglio, Rome, c....