Balance and Gravitational Curve PDF

BALANCE AND GRAVITATIONAL CURVE Part One Theory of Architecture 1 – Ar. Diane A. Jose, MBA Design Elements and Principles Definition… BALANCE ¨ A condition in which different elements are equal or in the correct proportions. ¨ The concept of visual equilibrium, and relates to our...

BALANCE AND GRAVITATIONAL CURVE Part One Theory of Architecture 1 – Ar. Diane A. Jose, MBA Design Elements and Principles Definition… BALANCE ¨ A condition in which different elements are equal or in the correct proportions. ¨ The concept of visual equilibrium, and relates to our physical sense of balance. ¨ It is a reconciliation of opposing forces in a composition that results in visual stability. BALANCE Most successful compositions achieve balance in one of two ways: SYMMETRICALLY or ASYMMETRICALLY BALANCE Symmetrical Balance Symmetrical Balance Symmetrical Balance can be described as having equal "weight" on equal sides of a centrally placed fulcrum. It may also be referred to as formal balance. Symmetrical Balance When the elements are arranged equally on either side of a central axis, the result is Bilateral symmetry. This axis may be horizontal or vertical. Symmetrical Balance It is also possible to build formal balance by arranging elements equally around a central point, resulting in radial symmetry. BALANCE Asymmetrical Balance Asymmetrical Balance Asymmetrical balance, also called informal balance, is more complex and difficult to envisage. Asymmetrical Balance It involves placement of objects in a way that will allow objects of varying visual weight to balance one another around a fulcrum point. Asymmetrical Balance This can be best imagined by envisioning a literal balance scale that can represent the visual "weights" that can be imagined in a two dimensional composition. BALANCED COMPOSITION… In symmetrical designs we say that the design is right; with balanced compositions we can only say that a design feels or seems right. Balance In balanced compositions, the distribution of weight may be dominated by a single strong component; or several smaller components may be arranged in series or gradient from the most important to the least important. Balance ¨ Balance requires no aspect of symmetry: no matching pairs, no central emphasis. ¨ A centreline may be implied in balanced arrangements and such arrangements may have vertical or horizontal direction. Balance Balance as a compositional principle can be traced to an early proto-typical design. A limestone plaque found in Sumeria from about 2900 B.C. Balance The composition is almost entirely instinctive in its design. The positioning of the figures is done to tell a story (the function of the piece) & to control the aesthetic appearance in a manner that the artist felt was best. Balance ¨ Balanced compositions may be said to be a precept (a rule, instruction, or principle that guides somebody's actions, especially one that guides moral behaviour) of the whole modernism. ¨ In modern architecture, balance is the underpinning of the principle of organic unity, the theory of spatial organization developed by Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright. Balance In highly stylized 18th century Rococo interiors, French designers of the period planned overall interiors on symmetrical schemes. Balance Importantly, and according to such experts as Wylie Sypher, the surfaces of Rococo interiors use Occult Balance rather than Mathematical symmetry. Occult Balance - another word for asymmetrical, informal, active, or optical balance. The balance is not the same on each side but is achieved through arranging until the composition "feels right" and is therefore somewhat mysterious. Wylie Sypher Balance ¨ Sypher describes the interior architecture of Rococo interiors as basically GEOMETRICAL ABSTRACTION, while the face of the wall became ORGANIC. ¨ In interiors, from the 18th century forward, balance never disappeared as an organizational means. CASE STUDY Tugendhat House  TUGENDHAT HOUSE The historically significant 1930, Tugendhat House in Brno, Czechoslovakia, designed by Mies van der Rohe, brings the principle of balance to a high level of refinement. The main space of the ground floor is composed of an open plan of living, study and dining rooms.  Tugendhat House LIVING  Tugendhat House STUDY  Tugendhat House DINING  Tugendhat House DINING The three spaces are separated by screen-like walls—one a flat plane, the other circular. Furniture within the spaces is arranged in a delicate equilibrium within the open space. A few pieces of furniture stand in elegant isolation. Two furniture components find a center line: the dining table and the living room table find the middle of their respective spaces. However, balance is the underlying principle for the organization of the whole of the interior plan. Tugendhat House Tugendhat House