Language of Space and Form E-Book

James F. Eckler

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 523

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2012

Beschreibung

A unique graphical guide for using architectural terminology to jump-start the design process

This design studio companion presents architectural terms with special emphasis on using these terms to generate design ideas. It highlights the architectural thinking behind the terminology and helps readers gain a thorough understanding of space and form. Featuring double-page spreads with over 190 illustrated entries, the book fully explores, analyzes, and cross-references key elements and techniques used in architecture and interior design. Each entry first defines the common meaning of the term, then goes on to discuss in detail its generative possibilities. Scenarios involving the use of a design principle, or the way it might be experienced, further aid students in developing strategies for their own design.

In addition, Language of Space and Form:

• Divides entries into five categories for quick access to concepts, including process and generation, organization and ordering, operation and experience, objects and assemblies, and representation and communication

• Addresses studio practice from the ground up, encouraging readers to develop creativity and critical thinking as they develop a design process

• Offers supplemental online learning resources, including exercises that correspond to the book

A must-have reference for professionals and students in architecture and interior design, Language of Space and Form is destined to become a classic introduction to design thinking.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Acknowledgments

Introduction: On the Role of Words in the Design Process

Chapter 1: Terms of Process and Generation

Abstract

Additive

Analysis

Compose

Diagram

Generate

Graft

Inject

Intervene

Investigate

Iterate

Layer

Make

Mark

Obscure

Precedent

Process

Program

Respond

Retain

Reveal

Submerge

Subtractive

Suspend

Synthesis

Transform

Type

Chapter 2: Terms of Organization and Ordering

Anchor

Anomaly

Arrange

Associate

Axis

Boundary

Circuit

Datum

Delineate

Direction

Edge

Fabric

Field

Grain

Hierarchy

Juxtapose

Measure

Meter

Module

Moment

Network

Node

Order

Organization

Orientation

Position

Proximity

Relate

Rhythm

Structure

System

Zone

Chapter 3: Terms of Operation and Experience

Aperture

Approach

Barrier

Contain

Density

Encounter

Engage

Envelope

Event

Experience

Exterior

Interior

Interstitial

Itinerary

Materiality

Movement

Opacity

Operation

Path

Porous

Portal

Progression

Project

Sequence

Space

Threshold

View

Chapter 4: Terms of Objects and Assemblies

Assembly

Connection

Deformation

Detail

Form

Gesture

Material

Membrane

Object

Palimpsest

Pattern

Repetition

Residue

Shell

Skin

Surface

Tectonic

Volume

Chapter 5: Terms of Representation and Communication

Aesthetic

Archetype

Articulate

Code

Communicate

Context

Define

Dialogue

Graphic

Icon

Language

Manifest

Metaphor

Narrative

Proportion

Represent

Scale

Symbol

Translate

Bibliography

Index

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Copyright © 2012 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Eckler, James, 1982–

Language of space and form : generative terms for architecture / James Eckler.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-470-61844-8 (cloth) ; ISBN 978-1-118-10342-5 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-10343-2 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-10532-0 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-10533-7 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-10534-4 (ebk)

1. Architectural design—Terminology. I. Title. II. Title: Generative terms for architecture.

NA2750.E34 2012

720.1’4—dc22

2011010955

978-0-470-61844-8

Printed in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Acknowledgments

I would like to personally thank all of my colleagues at Marywood University and the University of Cincinnati, friends, and family that have helped and supported this effort. I would especially like to thank the institutions, faculty, and students that have contributed images to this project. It is through their talent and commitment to the discipline that such exemplary work has been produced to fill the pages of this text. Wherever possible, authors of works have been identified. Every reasonable attempt has been taken to identify and credit the owners of copyright. Any errors or omissions will be corrected in future editions.

Institutions and faculty whose students have produced work contributing to this text:

Arizona State University

Milagros Zingoni, Lecturer

Louisiana State University

Michael Hamilton, Assistant Professor

Jim Sullivan, Associate Professor

Louisiana Tech University

Tim Hayes, Associate Professor

Marywood University

James Eckler, Assistant Professor

Stephen Garrison, Assistant Professor

Reagan King, Adjunct Professor

Matthew Mindrup, Assistant Professor

Kate O’Connor, Adjunct Professor

Miami University

John Humphries, Assistant Professor

University of Cincinnati

James Eckler, Visiting Assistant Professor

John Humphries, Adjunct Professor

Karl Wallick, Assistant Professor

University of Florida

John Maze, Associate Professor

University of North Carolina, Charlotte

Peter Wong, Associate Professor

University of Southern California

Valery Augustin, Adjunct Assistant Professor

Lauren Matchison, Lecturer

Valencia Community College

Jason Towers, Adjunct Professor

Allen Watters, Professor

Introduction: On the Role of Words in the Design Process

What is a generative term? And what role does it play in the process of design?

Words are tools for architectural design. They engage each step of the design process—at the conception of intent, the generation of spatial conditions, the representation of elements, and the communication of ideas in a resolved project. In this way, they have the capacity not only to illustrate what has been done but also to generate the ideas that direct what is to be done.

The language of design is not one of identification, but of intention: what something does can be more important than what it is. This language has the ability to do more than just identify the components that make up our environment; it has the ability to challenge designers to consider the role those components play in the operation of space.

The words presented in this book are used frequently in the architectural design discipline. These words are intended to be a point of departure for two things: discussion and conception. Discussion is an avenue toward realizing the possibilities of design, and conception is a process of thought derived from that realization. It is through discussion (either the exchange of ideas among peers, or the introspective questioning of one’s own ideas) that the possibilities presented by various techniques, elements, or positions in architecture can be considered in the development of space. This is the foundation of architectural conception. These possibilities define a framework for study and testing. They also provide a trajectory for advancement through an iterative process of making. A word can define an intention for spatial operation or experience, a strategy for the development of spatial systems, or a technique for testing spatial qualities. The language of space and form is a language for architectural thinking.

How can a term be used as a design tool?

The terminology of design acts as a tool for the development of design intent or strategy. The language of space and form is a language that allows a designer to read and understand space, as well as to construct the ideas that drive its creation. The language of space and form is generative in that it does more than describe architectural gestures: it has the potential to be a foundation for their invention. A generative term is a catalyst for thought and inquiry, for exploration and discovery. A generative term is one that opens up possibilities for design and frames an intention for making space and crafting form. A generative term is a starting point—a position on what the architecture should be.

This book divides terms into five facets of architectural thinking: process and generation, organization and ordering, operation and experience, objects and assemblies, and representation and communication. These categories are not ordered to describe a sequence for the design process. Instead, they are to be considered, more often than not, as overlapping or interdependent. For instance, generative strategies can rarely be used independently of an ordering system to define limits. These categories become useful as a means of codifying design intent—for defining a role that a particular word might play in your own way of thinking about design. They speak to the various ways architects think of space and its creation, from the acts of thinking and making to the reading and interpreting of existing spaces. They are codified this way to act as guide for the development of the design process. Each word is a starting point for imagining and developing ideas for creating form and space.

The process and generation terms outline modes of thought or ways of making in the creation of form and space. For a designer, thinking and making go hand in hand. With that in mind, many of these terms will describe techniques for making that might be used to frame a process of thought. Others may refer to an intellectual strategy as a guide for the making of space. Use these terms to articulate a goal or intent for the space that is to be designed, or to formulate a strategy by which that goal can be achieved.

The organization and ordering terms refer to strategies for inventing relationships between forms and spaces. This could be a system for deciding which elements are more important than others in a design. Or it could be a system for arranging spaces, functions, or form to achieve a desired outcome. Terms that define techniques for organizing elements of a design can also bring clarity or resolution to an idea. Use these terms to define the ways in which different elements of a design might interact with one another—physically, spatially, or functionally.

The operation and experience terms describe ways that an occupant might perceive or interact with form and space, as well as design intention for creating spaces that facilitate that perception or interaction. These are the descriptors of architecture’s ability to engage the senses. They define the influence that sensory experience can have over design process and intent. Operation and experience represent specific aspirations of architecture. They have the potential to be catalysts for both thinking and making. They can direct the design process by establishing a set of conditions to be created in space and form. Utilize these terms as descriptors to generate the intent of a project, or even a single space. Use them as a way of directing conception of space as well as a means to evaluate results.

Objects and assemblies terms refer to strategies for the use of physical elements to construct or define space. These terms define formal typologies and form-based strategies for design. Additionally, they address joint-making and object relationships as components of the design process. Use these terms to describe the influence of formal qualities on the creation of space. They may also be used to explore the many possible roles that a joint might play in the creation of space, possibilities that move beyond the act of connecting one object to another.

The representation and communication terms present possible ways in which ideas of space and form are communicated through the act of making. These terms address the communication of ideas as a connection between the ways that form and space is understood and the ways that it is made. Use these terms to guide production of design so that in making space, you might better understand that space.

Process goes hand in hand with speculation. Questions test the possibilities of space, experience, operation, and construction. Questions lead the designer to discover what something can be instead of identifying what it is. A generative term is not a static definition, but a starting point for that speculation. Preconceptions in the reading of the built environment are undone through critical speculation. In keeping with this spirit of exploration and discovery, the words and categories presented here are by no means canonical or absolute. In many cases words may fit into multiple categories, as there may be multiple potential roles for them in a design process. In those instances other possibilities for the term are suggested.

There may also be (and should be) possibilities for a term that are not addressed here. There may be other categories, or subdivisions within a category, that evolve as students better understand their own way of thinking. To this end students should add their own notes, sketches, or additional entries to this text. This document, as well as the techniques and thoughts described within, should evolve with the student. New applications of a word to the process of making or conceiving of space should be recalled in later design efforts. As discoveries are made that relate to a word, they should be recorded for later use. This expansion in the understanding of a word’s ability to be applied to the generation of architecture is important to the advancement of a designer’s architectural process. Generative terminology is a guide for exploration as opposed to a reference to static preconceptions. Language is malleable.

This book is a guide for the development of design process and intended to follow students as they advance. It is a studio companion through the foundation levels and beyond. Every entry has multiple stages of information regarding the word at hand in order to engage students at multiple points in their academic careers. The entries will contain the definition of the word in the strictest sense in order to link the term to the common, conversational use that a foundation student might reference. Additionally, each entry will present a short narrative, and many are supported by images of student work to begin the process of exploring possibilities for that word in design. The images presented are those from design students in their first or second year of design studio education. They are meant to illustrate the use of the term as a design that other students can readily understand and access. Each entry will also have a text that will guide students in more advanced investigations of the term as they move beyond the foundation levels of design. It is intended to provide additional inspiration for continuing to test ideas related to the term, its connotations, or its previous manifestations. Principally, this is a field guide for architecture students, allowing them to explore new avenues for their creativity. These generative terms will become tools, among many others, that students will develop for conceiving and interpreting architectural space. Those tools will open up many possibilities for creating architecture. Generative terminology will contribute to a more versatile process of design.

Student: Cari Williams—Critic: James Eckler—Institution: Marywood University

Chapter 1

Terms of Process and Generation

Abstract

To represent a subject in a way that is not pictorial or responsible for documenting its actual existence

Abstraction: An interpretation of a subject based upon a study of particular characteristics

Generative Possibilities in Non-Figural Representation

The drawing was an abstraction of a real subject—in this case, the plan of a building. It didn’t look like the building; it didn’t seem to conform to the image of the building at all. Instead, it revealed how the designer was thinking about the structure. The intention behind its composition seemed to be to study organization or spatial relationships. Abstraction was used to document a process of thought that ultimately led to a new design. Even though a casual observer might not be able to understand it entirely, it was a useful tool for the designer, a tool used to understand the old and to create the new.

The origin of the word abstract is the Latin abstractus, which means “to draw away.” To make something abstract is to represent it in a nonliteral way: to deviate from the actual. Everything that designers produce, from conception to the development of a design, is a form of abstraction. Drawings, models, and diagrams reduce a reality into a representation, and therefore an abstraction.

How can design benefit from representation that moves away from actuality? Since each stage of a design process is an investigation that tests possibilities of space and form against a generating idea, abstraction is a means for defining the scope of the study. For instance, abstraction might be used to focus the study on one particular idea, composition, or set of relationships; it may be used to spotlight typology, configuration, or function, or to define a language for representing any of the above. It is a method that has the potential to exclude superfluous information so that the subject of study is not diluted in the information that is gained. As a method, it is able to frame a process of thought in a way that facilitates iteration. It is a way of simplifying complex information sets, or focusing a study on information of particular relevance.