Ching, Architecture, Form, Space, and Order, Introduction, pp. IX-XIV.pdf

Architecture/Reference CHING THIRD EDITION...

Architecture/Reference CHING THIRD EDITION architecture A superb visual reference to the principles of architecture Now including interactive CD-ROM! or more than thirty years, the beautifully illustrated Architecture: Form, Space, F and Order has been the classic introduction to the basic vocabulary of architectural design. The updated Third Edition features expanded sections on circulation, light, views, and site context, along with new considerations of environmental factors, building codes, and contemporary examples of form, space, architecture and order. This classic visual reference helps both students and practicing architects understand the basic vocabulary of architectural design by examining how form and space are ordered in the built environment. Using his trademark meticulous drawing, Professor Ching shows the relationship between fundamental elements of architecture through the ages and across cultural boundaries. By looking at these seminal ideas, Architecture: Form, Space, and Order encourages the reader to look F O R M , S PA C E , A N D O R D E R AND ORDER F O R M , S PA C E , critically at the built environment and promotes a more evocative understanding of architecture. In addition to updates to content and many of the illustrations, this new edition INCLUDES CD-ROM includes a companion CD-ROM that brings the book’s architectural concepts to life through three-dimensional models and animations created by Professor Ching. FRANCIS D.K. CHING is the bestselling author of numerous books on architecture and design, including A Global History of Architecture, Architectural Graphics, A Visual Dictionary of Architecture, Interior Design Illustrated, and Building Construction F R A N C I S D. K. C H I N G Illustrated, all published by Wiley. He is a registered architect and Professor Emeritus THIRD at the University of Washington in Seattle. EDITION $45.00 US/$53.99 CAN/£27.99 UK INCLUDES CD-ROM ISBN: 0-471-75216-9 ARCHITECTURE Form, Space, & Order Third Edition ARCHITECTURE Form, Space, & Order Third Edition Francis D.K. Ching John Wiley & Sons, Inc. This book is printed on acid-free paper. ∞ Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved Wiley Bicentennial Logo: Richard J. 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Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. For more information about Wiley products, visit our web site at www.wiley.com. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Ching, Frank, 1943- Architecture--form, space, & order / Francis D.K. Ching. -- 3rd ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-471-75216-5 (pbk.) 1. Architecture--Composition, proportion, etc. 2. Space (Architecture) I. Title. NA2760.C46 2007 720.1--dc22 2007002358 Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1  C ON T E N T S Preface vii Introduction ix 3 Form & Space 1 Primary Elements Form & Space: Unity of Opposites 96 Primary Elements 2 Form Defining Space 102 Point 4 Horizontal Elements Defining Space 103 Point Elements 5 Base Plane 104 Two Points 6 Elevated Base Plane 106 Line 8 Depressed Base Plane 112 Linear Elements 10 Overhead Plane 118 From Line to Plane 14 Vertical Elements Defining Space 124 Plane 18 Vertical Linear Elements 126 Planar Elements 20 Single Vertical Plane 134 Volume 28 L-Shaped Configuration of Planes 138 Volumetric Elements 30 Parallel Vertical Planes 144 U-Shaped Planes 150 2 Form Four Planes: Closure 156 Properties of Form 35 Summary Typology: Space-Defining Elements 160 Shape 36 Openings in Space-Defining Elements 162 Primary Shapes 38 Openings within Planes 164 Circle 39 Openings at Corners 166 Triangle 40 Openings between Planes 168 Square 41 Qualities of Architectural Space 170 Surfaces 42 Degree of Enclosure 172 Curved Surfaces 43 Light 174 Primary Solids 44 View 178 Regular & Irregular forms 48 Transformation of Form 50 4 Organization Dimensional Transformation 52 Organization of Form & Space 184 Subtractive Form 54 Spatial Relationships 185 Subtractive & Additive Forms 57 Space within a Space 186 Additive Form 58 Interlocking Spaces 188 Centralized Form 60 Adjacent Spaces 190 Linear Form 62 Spaces Linked by a Common Space 192 Radial Form 66 Spatial Organizations 194 Clustered Form 68 Centralized Organizations 196 Grid Form 72 Linear Organizations 206 Formal Collisions of Geometry 74 Radial Organizations 216 Circle & Square 76 Clustered Organizations 222 Rotated Grid 78 Grid Organizations 230 Articulation of Form 80 Edges & Corners 82 Surface Articulation 88 CO NTE NTS 5 Circulation Conclusion 406 Circulation: Movement through Space 240 A Selected Bibliography 409 Circulation Elements 241 Glossary 411 Approach 242 Index 419 Entrance 250 Configuration of the Path 264 Path-Space Relationships 278 Form of the Circulation Space 282 6 Proportion & Scale Proportion & Scale 294 Material Proportions 295 Structural Proportions 296 Manufactured Proportions 298 Proportioning Systems 299 Golden Section 302 Regulating Lines 306 Classical Orders 308 Renaissance Theories 314 Modulor 318 Ken 322 Anthropometry 326 Scale 329 Visual Scale 330 Human Scale 332 A Scalar Comparison 334 7 Principles Ordering Principles 338 Axis 340 Symmetry 348 Hierarchy 358 Datum 366 Rhythm 382 Repetition 383 Transformation 402  P RE FA C E The original edition of this study introduced the student of architecture to form and space and the principles that guide their ordering in the built environment. Form and space are the critical means of architecture that comprise a design vocabulary that is both elemental and timeless. The second edition continued to be a comprehensive primer on the ways form and space are interrelated and organized in the shaping of our environment, and was refined by editing the text and incorporating diagrams for greater clarity, adding selected examples of architectural works, expanding the sections on openings, stairways and scale, and finally, by including a glossary and an index to designers. This third edition continues to illustrate the ways the fundamental elements and principals of architectural design manifest themselves over the course of human history but adds an electronic component to introduce the aspects of time and movement to the exposition of elements and principles. The historical models in this book span time and cross cultural boundaries. While the juxtaposition of styles may appear to be abrupt at times, the diverse range of examples is deliberate. The collage is intended to persuade the reader to look for likenesses among seemingly unlike constructions and bring into sharper focus the critical distinctions that reflect the time and place of their making. Readers are encouraged to take note of additional examples encountered or recalled within the context of their individual experiences. As the design elements and principles become more familiar, new connections, relationships, and levels of meaning may be established. The illustrated examples are neither exhaustive nor necessarily the prototypes for the concepts and principles discussed. Their selection merely serves to illuminate and clarify the formal and spatial ideas being explored. These seminal ideas transcend their historical context and encourage speculation: How might they be analyzed, perceived, and experienced? How might they be transformed into coherent, useful, and meaningful structures of space and enclosure? How might they be reapplied to a range of architectural problems? This manner of presentation attempts to promote a more evocative understanding of the architecture one experiences, the architecture one encounters in literature, and the architecture one imagines while designing. P REFACE / V II ACKNO WLEDGEMENTS I am indebted to the following people for their invaluable contributions to the original edition of this work: Forrest Wilson, whose insights into the communication of design principles helped clarify the organization of the material, and whose support made its publication possible; James Tice, whose knowledge and understanding of architectural history and theory strengthened the development of this study; Norman Crowe, whose diligence and skill in the teaching of architecture encouraged me to pursue this work; Roger Sherwood, whose research into the organizational principles of form fostered the development of the chapter on ordering principles; Daniel Friedman, for his enthusiasm and careful editing of the final copy; Diane Turner and Philip Hamp, for their assistance in researching material for the illustrations; and to the editorial and production staff at Van Nostrand Reinhold, for their exceptional support and service during the making of the first edition. For the second edition, my appreciation goes to the many students and their teachers who have used this book over the years and offered suggestions for its improvement as a reference and tool for study and teaching. I want to especially thank the following educators for their careful critique of the first edition: L. Rudolph Barton, Laurence A. Clement, Jr., Kevin Forseth, Simon Herbert, Jan Jennings, Marjorie Kriebel, Thomas E. Steinfeld, Cheryl Wagner, James M. Wehler, and Robert L. Wright. In preparing this third edition, I am thankful to Michele Chiuini, Ahmeen Farooq, and Dexter Hulse for their thoughtful reviews of the second edition. While I have attempted to incorporate much of their wise counsel, I remain solely responsible for any deficiencies remaining in the text. I especially want to express my gratitude to the editorial and production staff at John Wiley & Sons for their invaluable support and encouragement, and to Nan-ching Tai for his creative contributions and technical assistance in preparing the electronic component of this third edition. To Debra, Emily, and Andrew, whose love of life it is ultimately the role of architecture to house. V III / A R C H I TE C TU R E : F O R M , S PA C E , & O R D E R  I N T RODUC T I ON Architecture is generally conceived—designed—and realized—built—in response to an existing set of conditions. These conditions may be purely functional in nature, or they may also reflect in varying degrees the social, political, and economic climate. In any case, it is assumed that the existing set of conditions—the problem—is less than satisfactory and that a new set of conditions—a solution—would be desirable. The act of creating architecture, then, is a problem-solving or design process. The initial phase of any design process is the recognition of a problematic condition and the decision to find a solution to it. Design is above all a willful act, a purposeful endeavor. A designer must first document the existing conditions of a problem, define its context, and collect relevant data to be assimilated and analyzed. This is the critical phase of the design process since the nature of a solution is inexorably related to how a problem is perceived, defined, and articulated. Piet Hein, the noted Danish poet and scientist, puts it this way: “Art is solving problems that cannot be formulated before they have been solved. The shaping of the question is part of the answer.” Designers inevitably and instinctively prefigure solutions to the problems they are confronted with, but the depth and range of their design vocabulary influence both their perception of a question and the shaping of its answer. If one’s understanding of a design language is limited, then the range of possible solutions to a problem will also be limited. This book focuses, therefore, on broadening and enriching a vocabulary of design through the study of its essential elements and principles and the exploration of a wide array of solutions to architectural problems developed over the course of human history. As an art, architecture is more than satisfying the purely functional requirements of a building program. Fundamentally, the physical manifestations of architecture accommodate human activity. However, the arrangement and ordering of forms and spaces also determine how architecture might promote endeavors, elicit responses, and communicate meaning. So while this study focuses on formal and spatial ideas, it is not intended to diminish the importance of the social, political, or economic aspects of architecture. Form and space are presented not as ends in themselves but as means to solve a problem in response to conditions of function, purpose, and context—that is, architecturally. The analogy may be made that one must know and understand the alphabet before words can be formed and a vocabulary developed; one must understand the rules of grammar and syntax before sentences can be constructed; one must understand the principles of composition before essays, novels, and the like can be written. Once these elements are understood, one can write poignantly or with force, call for peace or incite to riot, comment on trivia or speak with insight and meaning. In a similar way, it might be appropriate to be able to recognize the basic elements of form and space and understand how they can be manipulated and organized in the development of a design concept, before addressing the more vital issue of meaning in architecture. INTROD UCTION / IX INTR O DUCTIO N In order to place this study in proper context, the following is an overview In all cases, however, these elements and systems should be interrelated of the basic elements, systems, and orders that constitute a work of to form an integrated whole having a unifying or coherent structure. architecture. All of these constituents can be perceived and experienced. Some Architectural order is created when the organization of parts makes visible may be readily apparent while others are more obscure to our intellect and their relationships to each other and the structure as a whole. When these senses. Some may dominate while others play a secondary role in a building’s relationships are perceived as mutually reinforcing and contributing to the organization. Some may convey images and meaning while others serve as singular nature of the whole, then a conceptual order exists—an order that qualifiers or modifiers of these messages. may well be more enduring than transient perceptual visions. Architectural Systems The Architecture of Space organizational pattern, relationships, clarity, hierarchy Structure formal image and spatial definition Enclosure qualities of shape, color, texture, scale, proportion qualities of surfaces, edges, and openings Experienced through Movement in approach and entry Space-Time path configuration and access sequence of spaces light, view, touch, hearing, and smell Achieved by means of Technology structure and enclosure environmental protection and comfort health, safety, and welfare durability and sustainability Accommodating a Program user requirements, needs, aspirations sociocultural factors economic factors legal constraints historical tradition and precedents Compatible with its Context site and environment climate: sun, wind, temperature, precipitation geography: soils, topography, vegetation, water sensory and cultural characteristics of the place X / A R C H ITE C TU R E : F O R M , S PA C E , & O R D E R  I N T RODUC T I ON …& Orders Physical Form and Space Systems and organizations of solids and voids space interior and exterior structure enclosure machines Perceptual Sensory perception and recognition of the physical approach and departure elements by experiencing them sequentially in time entry and egress movement through the order of spaces functioning of and activities within spaces qualities of light, color, texture, view, and sound Conceptual Comprehension of the ordered or disordered images relationships among a building’s elements and systems, patterns and responding to the meanings they evoke signs symbols context SPACE FUNCTION FORM TECHNICS* * Technics refers to the theory, principles, or study of an art or a process. INTROD UCTION / X I INTR O DUCTIO N Spatial System Structural system The three-dimensional integration of program elements and spaces A grid of columns supports horizontal beams and slabs. accommodates the multiple functions and relationships of a house. The cantilever acknowledges the direction of approach along the longitudinal axis. Enclosure system Four exterior wall planes define a rectangular volume that contains the program elements and spaces. Villa Savoye, Poissy, east of Paris, 1923–31, Le Corbusier This graphic analysis illustrates the way architecture embodies the harmonious integration of interacting and interrelated parts into a complex and unified whole. XII / A R C H I TE C TU R E : F O R M , S PA C E , & O R D E R  I N T RODUC T I ON Circulation system Context The stair and ramp penetrate and link the three levels, and heighten A simple exterior form wraps around a complex interior organization the viewer’s perception of forms in space and light. of forms and spaces. The curved form of the entrance foyer reflects the movement of Elevating the main floor provides a better view and avoids the humidity the automobile. of the ground. A garden terrace distributes sunlight to the spaces gathered around it. “Its severe, almost square exterior surrounds an intricate interior configura- tion glimpsed through openings and from protrusions above.... Its inside order accommodates the multiple functions of a house, domestic scale, and partial mystery inherent in a sense of privacy. Its outside order expresses the unity of the idea of house at an easy scale appropriate to the green field it dominated and possibly to the city it will one day be part of.” Robert Venturi, Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture, 1966 INTROD UCTION / X III XIV / A R C H I TE C TU R E : F O R M , S PA C E , & O R D E R