101 things I learned

at the School of
Architecture
Matthew Frederick
THE MIT PRESS CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS LONDON, ENGLAND
Matthew Frederick
101 Things I Learned in
Architecture School
Y
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 1
How to draw a line
1 Architects use different lines for different purposes, but the type of line drawn is more
specific in architecture, with emphasis on the beginning and the end. This practice
anchors a line to the page and gives the drawing conviction and style. If the lines
drag off at the ends, the drawings tend to look fuzzy and vague. To train yourself to
make strong lines, practice making a small smudge or backslide at the beginning
and end of each movement.

2 Overlap lines slightly where they meet. This will prevent the corners from looking
improperly rounded.

3 When you draw, don't do it in a "feathers and fuzz" way, that is, don't make a vague
line that looks like many short strokes or overlapping segments. Instead, move the
pencil from start to finish in a controlled, fluid motion. You may find it helpful to draw
a thin guide line before drawing the final line. Don't erase the guide lines when the
drawing is complete, they lend it character and life.
Floor

Figures
 2

A figure is an element or shape located on a page,

canvas, or other background.
The Earth is the space of the page.

A figure is also called an object, shape, element, or positive form.

Soil is alternatively called space, residual space, blank space, or

field.
 4 figures arranged The same 4
randomly with the resulting numbers arranged to
negative space create positive space (the
The same 4 letter A)
numbers arranged
to create
positive space
(A triangle)
 3

Figure-ground theory is that the space

resulting from the placement of figures
should be considered as carefully as the
figures themselves.
Space is called negative space if it is shapeless after
the placement of figures.

It is positive space if it has a shape.

 4
When elements or spaces are not
explicit, but are evident - we can see
them even though we cannot see them -
they are said to be implicit.
 5
The Solid-Void Theory is the three-dimensional
counterpart to the Figure-Ground Theory. He
argues that volumetric spaces shaped or implied
in the placement of solid objects are as important
as, or more important than, the objects
themselves.
A three-dimensional space is considered a positive space if it has
a definite shape and a sense of boundary or threshold between
inside and outside. Positive spaces can be defined in an infinite
number of shapes of points, lines, planes, solid volumes, trees,
building edges, columns, walls, slopes, and countless other
elements.
 Negative space
Positive space (movement)
(permanence)

A college "patio" is often the preferred space on a campus for social interaction and hanging out.
 6
We move through negative spaces and inhabit
positive spaces.

The shapes and qualities of architectural spaces greatly influence

human experience and behavior, whereby we inhabit the spaces
of our built environment and not the solid walls, ceilings and
columns that shape it. Positive spaces are almost always
preferred by people for prolonged, social interaction. Negative
spaces tend to promote movement rather than insist on place.
Figure-ground plan of the medieval city Figure-ground plan for the Contemporary
neighborhood
 7
Suburban buildings are independent objects in
space. Urban buildings are often space-forming.
When we create buildings today, we often focus our efforts on their forms, with
the shape of the exterior space as a non-accidental residue. These exterior
spaces, such as those found in the suburbs, are negative spaces because the
buildings are not willing to lend shape to the spaces in between. Urban
buildings, however, are often designed under the opposite assumptions:
building forms can be secondary to the form of public space, to the extent that
some urban buildings are almost literally "deformed" so that the plazas,
courtyards and squares that abut them can be positively shaped.
 8

"Architecture is the careful realization of space."

—LOUIS KAHN
Vietnam Veterans War Memorial, Washington, DC,
1982Maya Lin, designer
 9
The sense of place

Genius loci literally means genius of the place. It is used

to describe places that are deeply memorable for their
architectural and experiential qualities.
 1
Our experience of an architectural space is 0
strongly influenced by the way we arrive at
it.
A tall, light-filled space will feel taller and brighter if
counterpointed by a softly lit, low ceiling. A high or sacred
space will feel more significant when placed at the end of
a sequence of lesser spaces. A room with windows facing
North (depending on the hemisphere) will be a stronger
experience if you then pass through a series of south-
facing spaces.
 1
Use “denial and reward” to enrich the journey through
the built environment.
1
As we move through buildings, towns and cities, we mentally connect to the visual cues of our
environment, our needs and expectations. The satisfaction and richness of our experiences are
largely the result of the way these connections are made.
Denial and reward can encourage the formulation of a rich experience. When designing tours,
try presenting users with a view of their target – a staircase, building entrance, monument, or
other element – then momentarily reframe the view as they continue their focus. Reveal the
goal a second time from a different angle or with a new and interesting detail. Divert users
down an unexpected path to create intrigue, an added sensation, or even momentary loss, and
then reward them with other interesting experiences or other views of your target. This extra
"work" will make the journey more interesting and the arrival more rewarding.
Guggenheim Museum, New York,
1959Frank Lloyd Wright, architect
 1
2
Designing an architectural space to accommodate
a specific program, experience, or intention.
Do not draw a rectangle - or any other arbitrary shape - on a plan
or level assuming it will be suitable for the intended use. Instead,
research the program requirements in detail to determine the
specifics of the activities that will take place there. Imagine
situations or experiences that will happen in those real spaces, and
design an architecture that accommodates and improves them.
Space planning is the organization or adaptation 1
of spaces to accommodate functional needs.
Space planning is a crucial skill for an architect, but organizing spaces to meet
3
functional requirements explains only part of what architects do. A space planner
addresses the functional problem of assembling a building on its site, an architect
also has to do with the meaning of a site and its buildings. A space planner
creates functional square footage for office workers, an architect considers the
nature of the work performed in the office environment, its meaning to workers,
and its value to society. A space planner provides spaces for playing basketball,
conducting laboratory experiments, manufacturing apparatus or staging plays; an
architect imbues the experience of these places with emotion, richness, fun,
beauty and irony.
 1
Architecture begins with an idea. 4
Good architectural design solutions are driven by underlying
ideas. An idea is a specific mental structure by which we
organize, understand and give meaning to experiences and
inform the project. Without underlying ideas to inform their
buildings, architects are nothing more than space planners.
Space planning with decoration applied to "dressing" it is not
architecture, architecture resides in the DNA of a building, of an
incorporated sensitivity that infuses its whole.
 Finger pushing
□na into the forest

Strange shapes
interfere with the
"pure" space
Radial scheme with the lack of spokes
L's in conflict

Core
Segregates public-private
Stolen box
 1
The party is the central idea or concept of a building.
A plan can be expressed in several ways, but most often it is expressed through a 5
diagram that shows the general layout of a building and, consequently, its aesthetic and
experiential sensibility. A party diagram can describe spatial form, entry, spatial hierarchy,
relationship to the site, location of cores, interior circulation, public/private zoning,
solidity/transparency, and many other architectural issues. The proportion of attention
paid to each factor varies from project to project. Parties to previously conceived projects
are unlikely, if not impossible, to successfully carry over a party from an old project to a
new project. The design process is the struggle to create a unique match appropriate for a
project. Some argue that an ideal match is all-inclusive – informing every aspect of a
building, from its overall configuration, structural system to the shape of doorknobs.
Others believe that a perfect match is neither attainable nor desirable.
 Finger pushing into the
forest
Ann
Strange shapes
interfere with the "pure"
space

Radial scheme with

L's in conflict the lack of spokes

Core
Stolen box Segregates
public-private
 1
The party derives from agreements that are not of
architecture and must be cultivated before the 6
architectural form can be born.
At its most ambitious, the party derives from issues more transcendent
than mere architecture. In the "L's in Conflict" example, for example,
there might be a suitable match for a new government building for two
warring factions once they have forged a new nation. "Finger poking in
the forest" may derive from an ecological belief about the relationship
between the countryside and the forest. "Lack of speech" might suggest
a philosophy that invites lost opportunities.
 1
The idea of a more specific design is likely to be its
biggest appeal. 7
If the idea is too non-specific, or too general, sometimes in an effort to appeal to
everyone, it results in reaching no one. However, based on a specific observation such
as a poignant statement, a piece of irony, a witty reflection, an intellectual connection,
a political argument or a peculiar belief in a creative work, can help you create
environments that others will identify with.
The design of a flight of stairs for the day when a nervous bride descends. The shape
of a window framing a specific view of a tree on a perfect fall day. Make a balcony for
the world's worst dictator, create a seating area for a group of surly teenagers to
complain about their parents and teachers. Designing with a specific idea will not limit
the ways people use and understand your buildings, but will give them license to bring
their own interpretations and idiosyncrasies.
Any design decision must 18
be justified in at least two ways.

A primary purpose of the staircase is to allow passage from floor to floor, but if well designed it
can also serve as a congregation space, a sculptural element, and an orientation device within
the building.
A window can frame a view, bathe a wall in light, orient a building user toward the outside
landscape, express wall thickness, describe the building's structural system, and acknowledge
an axial relationship to another architectural element. A row of columns can provide structural
support, define a circulation path, act as a "wayfinding" device, and serve as a rhythmic
counterpoint to more irregularly placed architectural elements. Opportunities for multiple design
justifications can be found in almost every element of a building. The more justifications you can
find or create for any element, the better.
 1
Draw hierarchically..
When drawing in any medium, never work at a "100% detail level" across the entire sheet. 9
Instead, start with the most general elements of the composition and gradually work your
way toward the more specific aspects of it. Start by placing the sheet. Use guide lines,
geometric alignments, visual controls, and other methods to check it against the
proportions, relationships, and placement of the elements you are drawing. When some
success has been achieved at this outline level, move on to the next level of detail. If you
find yourself focusing on details in a specific area of the drawing, indulge briefly, then move
on to other areas of the drawing. Evaluate your ongoing success, making local adjustments
in the context of the entire sheet.
 2
Engineers tend to be concerned with physical things
themselves. 0
Architects are more directly concerned with the human
interface with physical things.
An architect knows something about everything. 21
An engineer knows everything about one thing.
An architect is a generalist, not a specialist; he is the conductor of a symphony, not the
virtuoso who plays all the instruments perfectly. As a professional, an architect
coordinates a team that includes structural and mechanical engineers, interior
designers, building code consultants, landscape architects, specification writers,
contractors, and specialists from other disciplines. Typically, the interests of some team
members will compete with the interests of others. An architect must know enough
about each discipline to negotiate and synthesize demands while respecting the client's
needs and the integrity of the entire project.

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 2
Handwriting like an architect
Good architectural writing adheres to a series of principles and techniques: 1 Legibility 2
and coherence above all.
2 Use guide lines (real or imaginary) to ensure uniformity.
3 Emphasize the beginning and end of all paths, and overlap them slightly where they
meet—just like when drawing lines.
4 Give your horizontal strokes a slight upward tilt. If you tilt them down, your letters will
look tired.
5 Give it curved strokes like full balloons.
6 Pay special attention to the amount of white space between letters. An E, for
example, needs more space when it comes after an I than when it comes after an S or
T.
Several standard computer fonts are similar to architectural letters and can serve as
guides until you develop your manual lettering skills.
Objective participation of reality independent Subjective engagement of realitydirect
observation immersion
 2
Reality can be in two forms: subjective, because a
relationship with one's own interests is assumed, or
3
objective, because it is considered to be an absolute
truth.
Objectivity is the territory of the scientist, technician, mechanic, logician and
mathematician.
Subjectivity is the environment of the artist, musician, mystic and free spirit.
Citizens of modern cultures tend to value the objective of seeing and therefore that
may tend to be their worldview, but both modes of engagement are central to
understanding and creating architecture.
 2
"Science presumably works with bits and
pieces and pieces of things with 4
continuity, and [the artist] only
presumably works with the continuity of
things with the bits and pieces"
—ROBERT PIRSIG, ZEN AND THE ARTOF
MOTORCYCLE MAINTENANCE
Staircase through layers staircase parallel to the layers
 2
Use your party as a guide in designing the many
aspects of a building. 5
When designing a staircase, window, column, ceiling, lobby, central elevator, or any other
aspect of a building, always keep in mind how your design can express and reinforce the
essential idea of the building. Imagine, for example, a partition that is intended to express
a layered organization, with each layer having unique architectural qualities. A central
staircase within this building could be:
1 - oriented through the layers, so that one traverses the layers in stair trips;
2 - parallel to the other layers, i.e. a layer in and of itself;
3 - remains outside the layer system in order to preserve its purity;
4 - anything else that helps to say: "This building is about layers" (and nothing that says
anything contradictory)
 Week 7 Week 8 Week 10

Good designers are quick on their feet As the design process

progresses, complications inevitably arise - structural problems, fluctuating client
requests, difficulties in resolving shafts and vents, forgotten and rediscovered program
enclosures, a new understanding of old information, and much more. His party - once a
utopia - will be wonderful at facing failure.
A poor designer will try to hold on to a failed game and be a patch trying to fix problems,
thus losing the integrity of the whole. Others feel defeated and give up the search for an
integrated whole. However, a good designer understands game erosion as a useful
indicator to change direction and move on to the next step.
2
6
When complications in the design process ruin your plan, change is necessary -
abandoning your previous plan. But do not give up having a party, and do not entrench
yourself in the defense of a system that no longer works. Create another party that
comprehensively incorporates everything we now know about the background and
variables of the project.
 2
Soft ideas, soft lines;
tough ideas, tough lines. 7
Use appropriate drawing tools: grease pencils, charcoal, pastels, colored pencils,
watercolors, paints, soft pencils, thick markers… these loose or soft instruments are
valuable tools to explore good conceptual ideas and principles in the design process. By
their nature they tend to encourage broad thinking and deny fine-grained decisions. Fine-
tipped markers and sharpened pencils are more useful as the design process moves
toward a more highly resolved plan. Drawings with values can help express nuances and
subtleties.
Hard line drawings - drawings drawn to scale using a ruler or computer software - are best
for conveying information that is critical, specific and quantitative, such as final plans or
detailed sections. They can occasionally be useful in schematic design, such as when you
need to test the dimensional feasibility of a design concept. However, advanced computer
programming skills can encourage endless generation of options and foster a deeper
understanding of the design problem you want to solve.
 2
A good designer is not afraid to leave a good idea
out. 8
Just because an interesting idea occurs to you, doesn't mean it belongs in the
building you're designing. Subject all ideas, brainstorming, random reflections, to
deep critical consideration. Your goal as a designer should be to create an
integrated whole, not to incorporate all the best ideas, they may not work together.
Prioritize.
One must always rule over the others.
Think of a game as an author using a thesis or as a composer using a musical
theme: not all of a creator's ideas need to be used at once! Save your good but
poorly-suited ideas for your project for another time.
 2
Being process-oriented, NOT product-oriented, is
the most important and difficult skill to develop as 9
a designer.
Being process-oriented means:
1 Try to understand a design problem before pursuing solutions;
2 do not force old problems to adapt to new problems;
3 remove the obstacles that can slow down the processes yourself and be very
careful not to fall in love with your ideas;
4 conducting design research and making decisions comprehensively, holistically
(addressing several aspects of a design problem at once) rather than sequentially
(finalizing one aspect of a solution before investigating the next);
5 making conditional design decisions, that is, with the awareness that they may or
may not serve you as you move toward a final solution;
6 Knowing when to change and when to stick with previous decisions;
7 accept as normal the anxiety that comes from not knowing what to do;
8 work fluidly between the concept scale and the detail scale to see how each
communicates to the other;
9 always ask "What if." . . ? ", Regardless of your level of satisfaction with the
solution
 3
“A suitable building grows naturally, logically and
poetically from all its conditions. " 0
—LOUIS SULLIVAN, KINDERGARTEN
CHATS [PARAPHRASE]
 3
Having the best design process - and not a perfectly
executed project - is the most valuable thing you can 1
do.
he obtains his architectural studies.
Instructors, above all, want their students to develop a good process. If an
instructor gives a good grade to what appears to be a poor project, it is
probably because the student has demonstrated good process. Similarly,
you may see a seemingly good project that has received a mediocre rating.
Because? Because a project does not deserve a good grade if the process
that led to it was sloppy, poorly structured, or the result of a stroke of good
luck.
 3
Most of the most effective creatives engage in a
process of meta-thinking, or "thinking about 2
thinking."
Meta-thinking means that you are aware of what you are thinking, that you are
doing the thinking.
Meta-thinkers engage in an ongoing internal dialogue of evidence, observations,
criticisms, ideas, and reorient their thinking processes.
 3
If you want to imbue an architectural space or 3
element with a particular quality, make sure that
quality is actually there.

If you want a wall to feel thick, make sure it is THICK If a space is to feel tall,

make sure it really is TALL. Clearly demonstrating design intent is critical for
beginning designers.

Experienced designers often know how to make a big impact with subtle
differentiations.
 3
Frame the view, don't just display it. 4
Although a "window wall" or curtain wall may seem like the
best treatment for a spectacular view, the richest
experiences are often found in views that are discreetly
selected, framed, projected, boxed, or even negated. A
good designer carefully works on shape, size, location and
selects a specific view and experience that he wants to
highlight.
 3
5
"I like the view but I like to sit with my back to it. "
—GERTRUDE STEIN, THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY
OF ALICE B. TOKLAS
 3
Value drawings (light and shadow) tend to convey
emotions better than line drawings. 6
 3
Any aesthetic quality is usually enhanced by the 7
presence of a counterpoint.
When it comes to bringing a particular aesthetic quality (light, dark, tall, smooth, straight,
wavy, proud, and the like) to a space, element, or building, try to include an opposite or
counterposing quality for maximum impact. If you want a room to feel high and bright,
try designing focus through a dark, low space. If you want an atrium that feels like a
geometrically pure center, organize a defined center, with spaces around it randomly. If
you want to emphasize the richness of a material, contrast it with a simple or less
refined product. Every aspect of a building offers such opportunities: rough surfaces
contrasted with smooth surfaces, horizontal masses with vertical masses, repetitive
columns with continuous walls, linear arrangements with curves, large windows with
small ones, lighted upper spaces with shadowed side spaces, fluid spaces with
compartmentalized rooms, and so on.
 3
The cardinal points of the compass offer 8
associations of meaning that can enhance
the architectural experience.
EAST: youth, innocence, freshness
SOUTH: activity, clarity, simplicity
WEST: aging, questioning, wisdom NORTH: maturity, acceptance,
death
These associations, while not absolute, can help you decide where to
locate different spaces and activities on a site or in a building: What
might the compass orientation suggest about the placement of a
mortuary, a worship space, an adult education conference room, or a
child care center?
 3
A static composition appears to be at rest. 9
Static compositions are generally symmetrical. At their most
successful, they suggest power, firmness, conviction, certainty,
authority, and permanence. Less successful examples may suggest
monotonous and boring.
Y
o
 4
A dynamic composition encourages the eye 0
to explore.
Dynamic compositions are almost always asymmetrical.
They can suggest activity, excitement, fun, movement, flow, aggression,
and conflict.
Less successful examples may be jarring or disorienting.
 4
Movements and counterpoints
1
To create a dynamic, balanced composition, whether in 2D or 3D, make a strong initial
design decision that is both dynamic and unbalancing, and then follow up with a
secondary dynamic movement that counteracts the first step.
Think of a counterpoint as a kind of aesthetic refutation: it is similar but not exactly the
same as an opposite, since an infinite number of counterpoints can theoretically be made
for a given movement. A single, large whirlpool, for example, can be the counterpoint of
several small squares, because "several" is opposed to "one" and "small" is opposed to
"large." But that same swirl or a choppy zigzag can be counterpointed by a regular grid, a
grid-series of floating circles, and so on, because each movement struggles against
qualities that are in some way opposed or in conflict.
In the composition on the left, there are at least four different movements, each
counterpoint to the other movements.
 4
Those tedious first-year study exercises in lines
and dots and figures etc. actually have
2
something to do with architecture.
Many beginning architecture students grow bored and impatient with the two- and
three-dimensional design exercises commonly assigned at the beginning of design
studies. And upper-level students, grateful to have survived from design, often fail
to look back at their early design lessons to see how they can provide a foundation
for solving complex architectural problems.
If the instructor is not making the connection between 2D and 3D design and "real"
architecture easy, ask for examples. Or ask an instructor at a higher level studio. A
thorough grounding in the rudiments of 2D and 3D design will take you farther in
the long run through the complex field of architecture.
Study for a university campus
 4
When having difficulty solving a floor plan, site plan,
3 it
building elevation, section or building shape, consider
as a 2D or 3D composition.
This will encourage you to give balanced attention to form and space, help you integrate
disparate aspects of the scheme, and discourage you from focusing excessively on your
pet's features. Questions you can ask in 2D or 3D include:
• Please indicate whether the composition has a balance sheet?
• Is there a mix of elements of different sizes and textures to attract attention in different
ways and from different distances?
• Is there an important "step" and one or more counterpoints?
• Do any areas of composition seem to have been ignored?
 Color theory provides a framework for understanding
the behavior and meaning of colors.
44
Colors can be associated with the seasons of the year:
• WINTER: grey, white, ice blue, and similar colours
• AUTUMN: gold, reddish, olive, purple-brown, dull or muddy tones
• Summer: primary or bright colors
• Spring: pastel tones
Colors can be categorized as warm or cool. Cool colors tend to recede from the viewer,
meaning they appear to be farther away, while warm colors advance.
• Warm: reds, browns, yellows, olive greens
• Cold: blue, grey, blue-green
A color wheel, in which colors opposite each other are complementary, can be used to
organize colors. When paired together, for example, blue with orange can help create a
balanced color scheme.
 Three levels of knowledge
4
SIMPLICITY is the worldview of the child or uninformed adult, fully engaged with his or her
own experience and blissfully unaware of what lies beneath the surface of immediate reality. 5
COMPLEXITY characterizes the ordinary world view of adults. It is characterized by an
awareness of complex systems in nature and society, but an inability to clarify and discern
patterns and connections.

SIMPLICITY is an enlightened vision of reality. It is based on an ability to discern or create

clarifying patterns in complex mixtures. Pattern recognition is a crucial skill for an architect,
who must create a highly orderly building amidst many competing and often nebulous design
considerations.
 simplicity Complexity created through
excessive agglomeration
3 elements that
are used to create 3 12 elements needed to
create 12 spaces
space Complexity created through
informed simplicity 3
elements that
combine to create
12 spaces
Creating architectural richness through simplicity or
simple interaction rather than unnecessary
agglomerations.
46
Whether an architectural aesthetic aims to be minimalist or complex, its experience mysterious or
transparent, its spaces spartan or richly layered, a building must be a very ordered thing. Creating
patterns of simplification in a building is a way of providing order while allowing for multiple
readings and experiences.
Some examples of unnecessary complexity:
• make a dozen independent moves when three well-planned moves can accomplish so much;
• taking on a project with “gadgets” because it’s boring without them;
• agglomerate many unrelated elements without having to worry about their unity, since they are
interesting in themselves.
Square buildings, building wings, and rooms can be
difficult to organize.
47
Because a square is inherently non-dynamic, it does not naturally suggest movement.
This can make it difficult to establish adequate circulation paths in a floor plan. Additionally,
interior spaces in square buildings can be far from natural light and air.
Non-square shapes, such as rectangles, wedges, or more natural shapes accommodate
patterns of movement, gathering, and dwelling.
 But certainly a multiplicity of similarities would better reflect the
disturbance of modularity, given the particularity of the
This project
language established by axial relations.
wants to be of a
complexity of
If you can't explain your ideas to your grandmother in
terms she understands, you don't know your subject well
enough.
48
Some architects, teachers and students use overly complex (and often meaningless!)
language in an attempt to gain recognition and respect. You may have to let some of them
get away with it, but don't imitate them. Professionals who know their field well know how to
communicate their knowledge to others in everyday language.
The height, angle, and color of daylight varies
with compass orientation and time of day. In the
southern hemisphere:
48
South-facing windows tend to be shaded, diffused, and neutral or slightly grayish
most of the day and year round.

Summer from the EAST is strongest in the morning. It tends to be low-slung, with
long shadows, soft and gray-yellow in color.

NORTHERN summer is dominant from mid-morning to mid-afternoon. It tends to

reproduce colors accurately and cast strong, crisp shadows.

Westerly time is strongest in the afternoon and early evening and has a rich
golden-orange cast. It can penetrate deep into buildings and can sometimes be
hot and oppressive.
The windows look dark during the day.
When drawing an exterior view of a building, windows should be dark (except

50
where the glass is a reflection or a light-colored blind or curtain is behind the
glass) to add depth and realism.
Jaguar E-type>
Beauty is due more to the harmonious
relationships between the elements of a
composition than to the elements themselves.
Put on your favorite pants, sharpest shirt and jacket, cooler regardless of their
combination. Then walk down the street and try and suffer the laughter.
Build a car with the combination of the most beautiful features of the most
impressive cars ever made. See if your friends will ride it with you.
Create a dream lover's body parts of your favorite Hollywood beauties. See if you
are as excited by the sum of the parts as you were by the previous sets.
It is the dialogue of the pieces, not the pieces themselves, that creates aesthetic
51
success.
An appreciation of asymmetrical balance is 52
considered by many to demonstrate a
higher order thinking ability.
Whether creating a static or dynamic composition, an artist often tries
to achieve balance. Balance is inherent to a symmetrical composition,
but asymmetrical compositions can be balanced or unbalanced.
Consequently, asymmetry tends to require a more complex and
sophisticated understanding of the whole.
A good building reveals things about
itself when viewed from different
distances.
53
Geometric shapes have their own dynamic
qualities that influence our perception and
experience of the built environment.
A square, for example, is inherently static and non-directional. Consequently, a room
with square or cubic proportions can feel restful, although if not carefully designed it
can be dull or empty. A rectangle, since it has two long sides and two shorter sides, is
inherently directional. The longer a rectangular room is, the more it will encourage 54
visual and physical movement parallel to its long axis.
A circle has an infinite number of radii, so it is both omnidirectional and directional: a
circular or cylindrical building addresses all the points it surrounds equally and can
therefore be an effective focal point in the landscape. At the same time, no aspect of a
circular building is inherently front, side or back.
Unwanted traffic flow divides

living area
Good circulation of
main living area
is
protected from
traffic
The best placement of a circulation path
through a small room is usually directly
through, a few inches from one of the walls.
This allows the primary users of the room to be interrupted by passing traffic.
The worst way to circulate through a small room is usually a path that runs
diagonally through it or parallel to its longitudinal axis. Comfortable placement 55
of furniture is difficult to achieve in such circumstances, due to passing
through.
 Thorncrown
ChapelAdditive, symmetrical

Fallingwater Our Lady of the High Place

Additive, Addition of molded shapes/molding; windows
asymmetric subtract or "punch"
 Guggenheim Bilbao
Addition of molded shapes/molding
Most architectural forms can be classified as
additive, subtractive, shape or abstract.
ADDITIVE FORMS appear to have been assembled from individual pieces.

SUBTRACTIVE FORMS appear to have been carved or previously cut from 56

the whole

MOLDED SHAPES appear to have been formed from a plastic material

through directly applied force.

ABSTRACT FORMS are of uncertain origin.

An effective oral presentation of a study project
begins with the general and proceeds to the
specific.

1 State the assigned design problem.

2 Discuss the values, attitude, and approach you brought to the design problem.

3 Describe your design process and the important discoveries and insights you
encountered along the way.
4 General state of the party, or a unifying concept, that emerged from its process.
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illustrate
this with a simple diagram.

5 Submit your drawings (plans, sections, elevations and vignettes) and models,
always describing them in relation to the general layout.

6 Be self-critical, modest and confident.

7 Never start a presentation by saying, "Well, you're going out the front door here"
unless your goal is to put your audience to sleep.
The proportions of a building are an aesthetic
statement of the way it was built.
Traditional architecture (built before the advent of modern construction methods in
the late 1800s) tends to have short structural spans and vertical window proportions.
Modern buildings often have long spans and horizontal window proportions.
The vertical proportions of traditional buildings were due to the length of a stone or
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wooden lintel (the supporting beam over an opening) being limited to what could be
found, fabricated, and lifted into place by hand. The only way to make a large
window when its width is limited is to make it tall.
Contemporary steel and concrete construction methods allow for large structural
spans, so windows in contemporary buildings can be of any proportion. They are
often given horizontal proportions, however, at least in part because this
distinguishes them aesthetically from traditional windows.
 Monadnock Building, Chicago,
1891Burnham and Root, architects
Traditional buildings have thick exterior walls.
Modern buildings have thin walls.
Traditional architecture uses exterior walls to support the weight of the building. Walls
must be thick, as they receive large loads from the floors, ceilings and walls above
them, which are then transferred to the ground. The exterior walls of the twelve-story
Monadnock Building, for example, are seven feet thick at the base.
Most modern buildings employ a framework of steel or concrete columns and beams
to support structural loads and transfer the weight of the building to the ground. The
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exterior walls are attached to and supported by this frame, and therefore serve as a
barrier against weather only. Therefore, the walls can be much thinner than those of
traditional buildings, and - despite appearances - usually do not rest on the ground.
Traditional architecture uses a tripartite format,
or base, middle and top.
The foundation of a traditional building is generally designed to express its
structural support from the upper floors and transfer loads to the ground. A
masonry foundation is typically rusticated - the stones and mortar joints are 60
formed in a way that suggests the foundation is quite heavy and thick. The top
of a traditional building is symbolically a crown or a hat that announces on the
horizon the purpose of the building or the spirit
Farnsworth House, Plano, Illinois,
1951Mies van der Rohe, architect
"Less is more."
“Less is more.”
—LUDWIG MIES VAN DER ROHE

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Vanna Venturi House, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
1962Robert Venturi, architect
"Less is boring."
“Less is a bore.”
—ROBERT VENTURI, LEARNING
FROM LAS VEGAS
When introducing changes at ground level,
avoid the "Dick Van Dyke" step. "
A difference in floor level is rarely enough to create significant differentiation of
space. This is often a personal inconvenience that can lead to lawsuits. Unlike
three steps, that's usually the minimum that feels right.
63

NOTE: Dick Van Dyke is a comedic television actor known for tripping.
If you rotate or skew a floor plan, or a network
of columns, or other aspect of a building, let it
be to signify something.
Placing columns, spaces, walls, or other architectural elements outside of the
geometry because you've seen it done in trendy architecture magazines is a
justification for poor design. If you do, to create a gathering place, direct a 64
circulation path, center an entrance, open a view, acknowledge a monument,
accommodate a street geometry, face the sun, or point the way to Mecca are
better reasons.
Always show structural columns on the floor plans,
even very early in the design process.
Displaying a structural system on the floor plans throughout the design process, even if
it is no more than a few dots or spots, will help you organize the program, we encourage
you to think of its creation as a
actual building, and helps control eventual structural resolution. In fact, an architect who
does not adequately consider the situation may have an undesirable structural system
imposed on the building by a structural engineer.
The placement and spacing of columns are generally regulated for visual unity and
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construction efficiency. Ordinary wood frame buildings typically have a column line or
load-bearing wall every 3 to 4 m, commercial-scale steel or concrete buildings every 8
to 16 m. Structural systems for exhibition halls, stadiums, and other spaces can have
spans of 30 m or more.
 St. Peter's Basilica, Rome, built 1506-1615

Donato Bramante, architect

Columns are more than structural elements, but are
tools for the organization and configuration of
space.
Although their primary purpose is, of course, structural, columns are of great value in
other ways: a row of columns can define spaces on one side as different from those on
the other side; distinguish circulation paths

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of the collection of spaces; they act as an element of "orientation signs" in a building
interior, or serve as a rhythmic element in a building exterior.
Different column shapes have different spatial effects: square columns are directionality
neutral, rectangular columns establish "grain" or directionality, and round columns
contribute to a flowing feeling of the space. Complex column forms were often employed
in traditional masonry architecture to create richly interwoven spaces.
A good graphical presentation is found with the
Test. – 3 meters
The essential elements of drawings that are set for the presentation of a project -
in particular, labels and titles - must be legible from 3 m away.

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Section design !
Good designers work back and forth between plans and sections, allowing each to
inform the other. Poor designers look at floor plans and draw out sections of the
building later as a record of decisions already made in the plan. But sections, you could
say, represent 50 percent of the experience of a building. In fact, some sites (such as
those with steep slopes) and types of construction (those requiring high interior
clearances, careful management of connections between floors, or unusual attention to 68
day-lighting) require sectional design before thinking about plans.
Random hypotheses without foundation
A plan shows the organizational logic of a building, a section embodies the
emotional experience.

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Design in perspective!
Architects are experts at reading and interpreting accurate (plan, section
and elevation) drawings, but even the best cannot understand everything
about a building this way. Accurate sketches of one- and two-point
perspectives, buildings, and building interiors throughout the design
process will allow you to test your expectations of how the building will
look, work, and feel in real-world experience and to visualize
opportunities not apparent in two-dimensional design drawings.

70
 How to draw a one-point perspective of a rectangular
interior space:
1 Draw the back wall of the room in the correct proportion. In the example, the end wall is 8
meters wide by 12 meters high, so its width is one and a half times its height.
2 Lightly draw a horizon line (HL) across the page. HL is the height of your eye above the
ground. If you are 5 feet 6 inches tall, the HL will be about 5 feet (five-eighths of the way)
up the wall.
3 Mark a vanishing point (VP) on the horizon line. The VP represents your location, as the
viewer of the scene, relative to the side walls. Here, the spectator/VP has been set up 3
feet away from the left wall.
4 Lightly draw lines from the VP across the four corners of the back wall, then extend them
more heavily toward the edges of the paper. The heavier parts of these lines represent
the outer limits of space.
5 To include a person of similar height to the viewer, place the center of their head on the
horizon line, then increase or decrease the size of the person for foreground or
background placement.
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Model Design!
Mockups – three-dimensional models, both material and electronic – can
help you understand your project in new ways. The most useful model
for design is the mass building model, a quick material (clay, cardboard,
foam, plastic, sheet metal, found objects, and so on) study through
which one can compare and evaluate the design options being
considered.
Highly detailed finished models are not useful as design tools, since their
purpose is to document design decisions already made rather than to
help evaluate ideas.

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The two most important keys to effective plant
organization are managing solid-void relationships and
circulation resolution.
For conceptual design purposes, consider the basic functions of a building—its bathrooms,
storage rooms, mechanical spaces, elevator shafts, fire escapes, and the like—in solid form.
Central spaces are often grouped or located near each other. The voids are the spaces, the
largest main programs of a building of its lobbies, laboratories, worship spaces, exhibition
galleries, library reading room, assembly halls, gymnasiums, living rooms, offices, industrial
spaces, etc. The solution of a floor plan means
create practical and pleasant relationships between central spaces and main program
spaces. A circulation building, where people walk - must interconnect the program spaces
with stairs and elevator lobbies in a way that is both logically and aesthetically interesting:
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the circulation system has to work efficiently (especially in case of fire) and aesthetically,
offering pleasant surprises, unexpected landscapes, interesting corners, pleasant lighting
variations, and other interesting experiences along the way..
 of air) of air)

Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas,

1972Louis Kahn, architect
Many of the building types mapped out in
architectural design studios, such as museums,
libraries, and assembly buildings, can be
effectively organized by Louis Kahn's notion of
"Served Space" and "Servant Space."
Served/servant spaces are analogous to the primary and secondary program spaces.
Kahn expertly placed the servant spaces in ways that responded to the functional
needs of the building, while quietly lending poetic rhythms to the whole.

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Draw the container box.
Buildings, because they have hard edges and are often rectilinear, lend
themselves to simple line drawings. However, many of the things that
architects draw - cars, furniture, trees, people - are not rectilinear. When
an object seems too complex to draw, first draw the box that contains it
and then draw the object inside that simplified container.

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Overdesign
Early in the design process, make your spaces about 10 percent larger than they need
to be to meet the assigned program. During the design process, additional spatial
requirements will arise - for mechanical rooms, structural columns, storage, circulation
space, wall thicknesses, and a hundred other things not anticipated when the
construction program was created. Overdesign is not designing a building larger than
necessary, but is an instance of designing to the right size. In the unlikely event the
extra space is unnecessary, and you will find it easier to downsize a larger building than
to create more space where none already exists.

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Façade detail, Simmons Hall, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
2002Steven Holl, architect
No design system is or should be perfect.
Designers are often hampered by a well-intentioned but mistaken belief that a good
design solution is perfectly systematic and encompasses all aspects of a design
problem without exception. But non-conforming oddities can be enriching, humanizing
aspects of your project. Indeed, exceptions to the rule are often more interesting than
the rules themselves.

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"Apparently the success of masterpieces
lies not so much in their lack of errors – in
fact, we tolerate the grossest errors in all
of them – but in the powerful
persuasiveness of a mind that completely
dominates its perspective."
—VIRGINIA WOOLF,
“THE DEATH OF THE MOTH”
Always place fire escapes at opposite ends
of the buildings you design, even in the
early stages of the design process.
It's easy to think that a designer has more appealing concerns than fire
escapes and emergency exits, but it has everything to do with the broader
functioning of a building. If you don't ingrain these safety considerations
into your design process, you can expect to defend your selflessness one
day in front of a judge.

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Cool drawing titles for schematic design

Use a light-colored marker with a large chisel tip to form the

architectural lowercase letters and then highlight around the resulting
shapes with a fine black pen.

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Successfully gaining control of the design process
tends to feel like one is losing control of the design
process..
The design process is often structured and methodical, but it is not a mechanical
process. Mechanical processes have determined the results, but the creative process
strives to produce something that has not existed before. Being truly creative means
that you don't know where you're going, even though you're responsible for guiding the
process. This requires something different from conventional, authoritarian control.
Commit to the design process, with patience. Don't imitate popular representations of
the creative process as a function of a singular, hasty burst of inspiration. Don't try to
solve a building complex in one sitting or one week. Accepting uncertainty. Recognize
as normal the feeling of loss that runs through most of the process. Don't try to ease
your anxiety by marrying yourself early to a design solution, divorced design is never
pleasant.

81
True architectural style does not come from a
conscious effort to create a particular look. The
result is oblique, even accidental, produced by a
holistic process.
The builder of an American colonial house in 1740 did not believe, as we often do today,
"I like colonials so much, I think I'll build one." "Rather, houses were built sensitively with
the materials and technology available, and with a sensitive eye to proportion, scale and
harmony. The colonial style had small windows, several panes of glass not because of a
desire to make a colonial-looking window, but because the technology of the time could
produce and transport only small sheets of consistent glass. Shutters were functional,
not decorative, but were closed over the windows when needed to provide shade from
the sun. The colonial architecture that resulted from these uncalculated considerations:
82
early American houses were colonial because the settlers were colonial.
All design efforts express the spirit of the times. the
zeitgeist.
Zeitgeist is a German word that means, more or less, the spirit of an era. The spirit of the age is
the dominant ethos or sensibility of an age, the general mood of its people, the tenor of public
discourse, the flavour of everyday life, the intellectual inclinations and prejudices which underlie
human activity. Because of the trends of the spirit of the times, in parallel (though not identical)
they tend to occur in literature, religion, art, science, architecture, and other creative
enterprises. It is impossible to rigidly define the epochs of human history, however, we can
summarize the primary intellectual trends in the West as follows:
• ANCIENT ERA: a tendency to accept truths based on myth;
• CLASSICAL ERA (GREEK): an assessment of order, rationality and democracy
• MEDIEVAL ERA: a mastery of the truths of organized religion;
• RENAISSANCE: holistic embrace of science and art;
• MODERN ERA: in favor of the truths revealed by the scientific method,
• POSTMODERN (CURRENT) ERA: a tendency to hold that truth is relative or unknowable.

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Two points of view on architecture

ARCHITECTURE IS AN EXERCISE IN TRUTH. A proper building is

responsible to universal knowledge and is totally honest in the expression of
its functions and materials.

ARCHITECTURE IS AN EXERCISE IN NARRATIVE. Architecture is a

vehicle for storytelling, a canvas for reinstalling social myths, a stage for the
theatre of everyday life.

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 Balcony
Antibes, France
Gently suggest material qualities and do not
represent them literally.
Architectural drawings, whether hand-made or computer-generated, will look
cartoonish if you make the bricks "red brick" and the roofs "black asphalt." "Try
using textures, or washed out colors that are more suggestive than literal.
Similarly, don't draw every brick in a brick wall, every tile on a tile roof, or every
tile on a tile floor. Selectively hint at material qualities.

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Manage your ego.
If you want to be recognized for designing a good or even excellent
building, forget about what you want the building to be, but ask: "What
does the building want to be?" "A design problem has to be addressed on
its own terms: the needs of the client, the nature of the site, the reality of
the construction program, and many others. These factors point to an
inherent order that must be recognized before self-expression can enter
the design process.
Strive to accommodate and express universal concerns in your work - the
human search for meaning and purpose, the varied play of light and
shadow on a textured wall, the imbrication of public and private
relationships, the structural and aesthetic opportunities inherent in building
materials - and you will find an interested audience.

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Careful anchor placement can create an active
interior building.
Anchors – poles – are elements of the program that do attract people to them.
Department stores, for example, are located at opposite ends of a shopping
mall because they attract many visitors. People walking between these large
stores become shoppers at the smaller shops in between. In this way, a
seemingly inefficient relationship between anchor stores fosters economic
activity and life on the inner street. Are there opportunities for anchoring (or
polarizing) in your project? Try to locate the entrance and locker rooms of a
gym at opposite ends of a recreation center. Place the registration desk and
elevators in a hotel a little further apart which is more efficient. Locate access
points for a parking garage and office lobby at a greater distance than is
otherwise considered ideal. In the spaces “in between”, create interesting
architectural experiences for your captive user!

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An object, surface, or space will usually feel
more balanced, when its secondary articulation
goes against its primary geometry.
Try scoring a rectangular surface along its short dimension rather than parallel
to its major axis. Divide a long hallway with cross elements. Try to articulate a
radial curved space rather than concentrically. When laying out your floor tiles,
see if orienting their long axis to the short axis of the room feels better.

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Fabric buildings, background buildings, -the most
numerous in a city. The buildings in the
foreground are buildings of great importance.
The buildings of the urban fabric in general are buildings intended for ordinary
residences and commerce. In successful cities, buildings form a physically coherent
textural fabric that is indicative of an underlying social structure. Subject buildings
are churches, mosques, public buildings, prominent residences, civic monuments
and similar structures. They tend to stand slightly or even dramatically apart from
their context.

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Move drawings for transport or storage with the
image side facing out.

This will help it stay flat when you lay it on a table or pin it to a wall for display.

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Generate the street wall.
- continuous facade-

In the design of an urban infill building, place the front on the prevailing street line of the
continuous building unless there is a compelling reason not to do so. Indeed, it may be tempting,
as it was for many modernist architects, to distinguish a new urban area by pulling back from the
street—setting back—but urban life is based on proximity, walkability, and immediacy. Setting
buildings away from the sidewalk makes them less accessible to pedestrians, reduces the
economic viability of first-floor businesses, and weakens the definition of street space.

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"Always design a thing considering it in its
larger context - a chair in a room, a room in
a house, a house in an environment, an
environment in a town plan. " .
—ELIEL SAARINEN

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The primary mechanisms by which the government
regulates building design are laws, ordinances, and
building codes.
Codes generally deal with how a building relates to its surroundings. They generally regulate use
(residential, commercial, industrial, etc.), zoning, height, density, lot size, setbacks, boundaries,
abutments, property lines and parking.
Building codes are concerned with the functioning of a building itself. They regulate features such as
building materials, floor area (largest to smallest for flammable building materials), height (taller for less
flammable materials), energy use, fire protection systems, lighting, natural ventilation, and other
concerns.
Accessibility codes provide for the use of buildings by people with physical disabilities. They regulate
ramps, stairs, handrails, toilets, signage, counter heights and other features. In our country the
GENERAL ORDINANCE OF THE GENERAL LAW OF URBAN PLANNING AND
CONSTRUCTIONS
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Longaberger Basket Building, Newark, Ohio,
1997NBBJ Architects
A duck building is a building that projects its
meaning in a literal way.

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Meaning carried by the sign Meaning conveyed by
the architectural
symbol

Regarding Robert Venturi

A decorated shed is a
conventional building form that
conveys meaning through
architectural ornament (signs).

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People in summer are 55.9 centimeters wide.
People in winter are 61 centimeters wide.

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Limitations foster creativity.
Never regret the limitations of a design problem, a site that is too small, an
inconvenient topography, a space that is too long, an undeveloped taste
for materials on the part of the client, contradictory requests on the part of
the client. . . Within these limitations lies the solution to the problem!
Do you have a steep site where it is difficult to create a conventional
building? Next, celebrate the vertical relationships of spaces with a
fascinating staircase, ramp, or atrium. The face of an old, ugly wall in your
building? Find ways to frame views so that they become interesting and
memorable. Have you been asked to design within a site, building or room
that is narrow and too long? Twist the proportions into an interesting
journey with a big reward at the end.

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The Chinese symbol for crisis is made up of
two characters: one indicating "danger," the
other "opportunity."
A design problem is not a negative thing, it is an opportunity. The best
design solutions don't make a problem go away, but accept the problem as
a state of the art. They are often little more than an eloquent restatement
of the problem.

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Just do something.
When a design problem is so overwhelming as to be almost paralyzing,
don't wait for clarity to arrive before you start drawing. Drawing is not simply
a way to describe a design solution, but is itself a way to learn about the
problem you are trying to solve.

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Give it a name.
When you arrive at a concept, party, or a diffuse idea, give it a name. “Half
donuts,” “eroded cube,” “split dough,” “conflicting L’s” and other nicknames
will help you explain to yourself what you have created. As the design
process evolves and your concepts become stronger, it will allow new
names to grow and old names to become obsolete.

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 Zaha
Hadidb
. 1950
Architects are late bloomers.
Most architects did not reach their professional peak until around age 50!
Perhaps there is no other profession that requires you to integrate a wide range of
knowledge as much as in something so specific and concrete. An architect must
have knowledge of history, art, sociology, physics, psychology, materiality,
symbology, the political process, and countless other fields, and must create a
building that meets regulatory codes, withstands weather, withstands earthquakes,
has elevator and mechanical systems that work, and meets the complex functional
and emotional needs of its users. Learning how to integrate so many concerns into
a cohesive product takes a long time, with a lot of trial and error along the way.
If you're going to be in the field of architecture, be in it for the long haul.
It's worth it.

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Mateo Frederick is an architect and urban designer living in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He has
taught at several universities, including Boston Architectural College and Wentworth Institute of
Technology.