Engage the Appropriate Language and Elements of Design
Last updated: 06-02-2009
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Overview
Detail of Louis Sullivan's Wainwright Building—St. Louis, MO
In the late nineteenth century, Chicago architect Louis Sullivan wrote, "Form follows function." This dictum became one of the rallying cries of twentieth century modern design, and remains one of the best known architectural aphorisms today.
What Sullivan implied was that architecture—or in his phrase, "form,"—is a natural consequence of meeting functional requirements. For many, particularly those uncomfortable with the subjective and decorative dimension of design, this was an appealing message.
But even a cursory look at Sullivan's own architecture reveals that his work is far from purely functional. Indeed, Sullivan is often described as one of the greatest ornamental detailers in American architectural history. It was this aspect of his work that attracted his most famous protégé, Frank Lloyd Wright.
Countering Sullivan's position, it has also been argued¹ that there is no such thing as a purely utilitarian object—that there are always multiple ways of meeting the same functional objective (for example, getting people from the first floor to the second; bringing light into a room; or making a hinge). Once a choice has been made, an aesthetic consideration has come into play.
The architect is responsible for integrating the design elements of the building and will make decisions and selections which support this integration. The point is that while it is appealing to reduce design decision making to a brief set of rules or axioms, nearly all designers agree it is impossible to do so.
The Language of Aesthetics
It is relatively easy to determine if a given design contains the right square footage or the right number of rooms. It can be more difficult to evaluate its aesthetic success. Complicated, and often conflicting, formal and compositional desires must be weighed in the light of technical, economic, and social constraints.
To assist in this process, like most professionals, architects and other designers share a language and vocabulary that helps them reduce complex ideas into short phrases or highly charged terms. An architectural language is a vocabulary of forms arranged according to a particular grammar. The particular forms used become the 'words' of the language and how those forms are put together is the 'grammar' of the language. To the uninitiated, the use of the language and terms can be dismissed as jargon. But, to the designer, this shared terminology is very much at the heart of aesthetic communication. Indeed, designers must be aware that no matter what design language is used, key players on the project team must be able to understand and communicate well with each other (visually and verbally) to produce successful solutions.
It is beyond the scope of the WBDG to provide a comprehensive list of design terms and their definitions. However, the fundamental visual elements of design that these terms describe are explained below.
Archetypical Building Elements
- Vertical:
- Wall, Arch, Beam Lintel, Quoin, Column, Orders
- Base: Shaft, Capital
- Openings: Window, Door
- Horizontal:
- Plinth, Floor, Roof
Style
A distinctive manner of expression or fashion. In architecture, historical styles are often dignified by a specific name such as the Baroque, the Victorian, or the International Style.
Form
Mass and shape define form. Mass refers to the volume defined by a structure relative to its surroundings and to its solidity and weight. Shape is the composition and complexity of the surface planes.
Materials
Both exterior and interior building materials should be selected based upon their appropriateness for the building type, durability, impact on the environment, climatic conditions, and the prevailing architectural design and character of the installation.
Major Resources
Useful introductions for the layman to architectural design, the design process, and design decision making include the following:
Publications
- Architecture For Dummies
by Deborah K. Dietsch and Robert A. M. Stern. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2002.
- Architecture: Form, Space, & Order, 3rd Edition
by Francis D.K. Ching. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2007.
- The Architecture of the Well-Tempered Environment by Reyner Banham. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1969.
- Experiencing Architecture by S.E. Rasmussen. London, England: Chapman & Hall Ltd, 1959.
- How Buildings Learn by Stewart Brand. New York, NY: Viking. 1994.
- The Nature of Design by David Pye. London, England: Studio Vista, 1964.
- A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander, Sara Ishikawa, Murray Silverstein, with Max Jacobson, Ingrid Fiksdahl-King, and Shlomo Angel. Oxford University Press, 1977.
- The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution by C.P. Snow. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 1959.
Glossary of Architecture Terms
- archiseek-online architectural resources
- Art & Architecture Thesaurus Online
- Illustrated Architecture Dictionary
