101 Things I Learned in Architecture School

 Matthew Frederick

Solid-void theory holds that the volumetric spaces shaped or implied by the placement of solid objects are as important as, or more important than, the objects themselves.  

 

The shapes and qualities of architectural spaces greatly influences human experience and behavior, for we inhabit the spaces of our built environment, and not the solid walls, roofs, and columns that shape it. 

 

A three-dimensional space is considered a "positive space" if it has a defined shape and a sense of boundary or threshold between in and out.  

 

We move through negative spaces and dwell in positive spaces  

 

Suburban buildings are freestanding objects in space. Urban buildings are often shapers of space.  

When we create buildings today, we frequently focus our efforts on their shapes, with the shape of outdoor space a rather accidental leftover. These outdoor spaces, such as those typically found in suburbs, are negative spaces because the buildings aren't arranged to lend shape to the spaces in between.  

Urban buildings, however, are often designed under the opposite assumptions: building shapes can be secondary to the shape of public space, to the extent that some urban buildings are almost literally "deformed" so that the plazas, courtyards, and squares that abut them may be given positive shape.  

 

 

"architecture is the thoughtful making of space"  - Louis Kahn 

 

Our experience of an architectural space is strongly influenced by how we arrive in it  

 

A monumental or sacred space will feel more significant when placed at the end of a sequence of lesser spaces. 

 
A room with south-facing windows will be more strongly experienced after one passes through a series of north facing spaces 

 

Being nonspecific in an effort to appeal to everyone usually results in reaching no one. Design a flight of stairs for the day a nervous bride descends them. Shape a window to frame a view of a specific tree on a perfect day in autumn. Make a balcony for the worst dictator in the world to dress down his subjects. Create a seating area for a group of surly teenagers to complaint about their parents and teachers.  

 

Any design decision should be justified in at least two ways. A window can frame a view, bathe a wall with light, orient a building user to the exterior landscape, express the thickness of the wall,  describe the structural system of the building, and acknowledge an axial relationship with another architectural element.  

 

"A proper building grows naturally, logically, and poetically out of all of its conditions" - Louis Sullivan  

 

Any aesthetic quality is usually enhanced by the presence of a counterpoint: When seeking to bring a particular aesthetic quality (bright, dark, tall, smooth, straight, wiggly, proud, and the like) to a space, element, or building, try including an opposite or counterposing quality for maximum impact. If you want a room to feel tall and bright, try designing an approach through a low, dark space. If you want to emphasize the richness of a material, counterpose it with a humble, less refined product.  

 

The cardinal points of the compass offer associations of meaning that can enhance architectural experience. 

• East: youthfulness, innocence, freshness  

• South: activity, clarity, simplicity  

• West: aging, questioning, wisdom 

• North: maturity, acceptance, death 

 

A static composition appears to be at rest. Statis compositions are usually symmetrical. At the their most successful, they suggest power, firmness, certainty, authority, and permanence. Less successful examples can be unengaging and boring.  

 

A dynamic composition encourages the eye to explore. Dynamic compositions are almost always asymmetrical. They can suggest activity, excitement, fun, movement, flow, aggression, and conflict. Less successful examples can be jarring or disorienting.  

 

(Moves and counterpoints) To create a dynamic, balanced composition in either 2D or 3D, make a strong initial design decision that is dynamic and unbalanced; then follow it with a secondary dynamic move that counterpoints the first move. Think of a counterpoint as a sort of aesthetic rebuttal. It is similar to but not quite the same as an opposite, as an infinite number of counterpoints can theoretically be made to a given move. A single, large swirl, for example, can be counterpointed by several small squares because "several" opposes "single" and "small" opposes "large." In the composition above, there are at least four different moves, each counterpointing all the other moves.  

It's the dialogue of the pieces, not the pieces themselves, that create aesthetic success.  

 

A good building reveals different things about itself when viewed from different distances.  

 

The top of a traditional building is symbolically a crown or hat that announces on the skyline the building's purpose or spirit  

 

ِA floor plan demonstrates the organizational logic of a building, a section embodies its emotional experience. 

 

The two most important keys to effectively organizing a floor plan are managing solid-void relationships and resolving circulation.  

 

Early American houses were colonial because the colonists were colonial. 

 

All design endeavors express the zeitgeist. Zeitgeist is a German word meaning, roughly, the spirit of an age. The zeitgeist is the prevailing ethos or sensibility of an era, the general mood of its people, the tenor of public discourse, the flavor of daily life, the intellectual inclinations and biases, that underlie human endeavor. Because of the zeitgeist, parallel (although not identical) trends tend to occur in literature, religion, science, architecture, art, and other creative enterprises.  

 

It's impossible to rigidly define the eras of human history; however, we can summarize the primary intellectual trends in the west as follows:   

• Ancient Era: a tendency to accept myth-based truth; 

• Classical (Greek) Era: A value of order, rationality, and democracy; 

• Medieval Era: A dominance of the truth of organized religion; 

• Renaissance Era: Holistic embracings of science and art;  

• Modern Era: A favoring of truths revealed by the scientific method; 

• Postmodern (Current) Era: An inclination to hold that truth is relative or impossible to know. 

 

Careful anchor placement can generate an active building interior. Anchors are program elements that inherently draw people to them. Department stores, for example, are located at opposite ends of a shopping mall because they draw many visitors. People walking between these large stores become window shoppers of the smaller stores in between. In this way, a seemingly inefficient relationship between the anchors stores fosters economic activity and interior street life. 

 

Always design a thing by considering it in its next larger context – a chair in a room, a room in a house, a house in an environment, an environment in a city plan.  

 

An architect must be knowledgeable in history, art, sociology, physics, phycology , materiality, symbology, political process, and innumerable other fields, and must create a building that meets regulatory codes, keep out the weather, withstands earthquakes, has functioning elevators and mechanical systems, and meets the complex functional and emotional needs of its users.