The fundamentals of architecture

202 Pages·2012·28.3 MB·English

by  Lorraine Farrelly

Publisher’s note
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Ethical practice is well known, taught AVA’s Fundamentals titles are designed Praise for the first edition of The oh o n Lorraine Farrelly is an architect and
and discussed in the domains of medicine, to introduce students to the key elements Fundamentals of Architecture re r o Professor of Architecture and Design at
law, science and sociology but was, of visual arts subjects and the ideas that ra F ra th the Portsmouth School of Architecture,
until recently, rarely discussed in terms underpin them. Packed with examples ‘This book is awesome. Wonderfully inu in e UK. She teaches design studio at
of the Applied Visual Arts. Yet design from students and professionals, and fully designed, easy to understand, great en e r undergraduate and postgraduate in
images, great writing. What a wonderful d i
is becoming an increasingly integral part illustrated with clear diagrams and inspiring overview of so many aspects of the Fa F n architecture. In addition, she teaches
of our everyday lives and its influence on imagery, they offer an essential introduction am a t courses in representation and drawing.
design and practice of architecture.’ r r h
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needs integrity; that the ramifications is a practical, accessible introduction to at Augusta, USA ya y V
Representational Techniques (2007) and
of our actions upon others should be the concepts and processes of modern ls A
‘An attractive introduction to the world Construction and Materiality (2008).
for the greatest happiness and benefit architecture. Throughout this book,
of architecture and what is required of o A
of the greatest number. We do not set Lorraine Farrelly unravels the key areas f c
an architect... very good for those at
ourselves out as arbiters of what is of investigation and study associated A a
school considering a career choice in
‘good’ or ‘bad’, but aim to promote with architectural thinking, design and r d
architecture. It is also a good general c e
discussion in an organized fashion for implementation. h
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an individual’s understanding of their i
This revised and updated second edition field of architecture. The graphic design is t i
own ethical inclination. e a
includes detailed case studies and attractive and the images well chosen.’
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By incorporating a ‘working with ethics’ practical projects to help you explore the John Napier RIBA, Senior Lecturer in t
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section and cover stamp on all our process of architecture, and incorporate Architecture, University of Lincoln, UK
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titles, AVA Publishing aims to help a new best practice techniques into your own e ie
generation of students, educators and work. It will also guide you through the rich fh s
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Second edition © AVA Publishing SA 2012
First published in 2007

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, without permission of the copyright
holder.
ISBN 978-2-940411-75-7
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Farrelly, Lorraine.
The Fundamentals of Architecture. / Lorraine Farrelly. p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN: 9782940411757 (pbk. : alk. paper)
eISBN: 9782940447350
1. Architecture. 2. Architecture -- Study and teaching.
3. Architectural design.
NA2500 .F37 2012
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Design by Gavin Ambrose
Cover image: copyright of GuoZhongHua and courtesy of
Shutterstock.com.
Production by AVA Book Production Pte. Ltd., Singapore
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Contents
INTRODUCTION 06
CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3
4
Placing Architecture 10 History and Precedent 32 Construction 62

Site 12 A timeline of architectural Materials 64

Place and space 20 influences 34 Elements 72
City context 22 The ancient world 36 Prefabrication 78
Landscape context 24 The classical world 38 Structure 80
The medieval world 40 Innovation 82
Case study: Redesigning a The Renaissance 42 Innovative materials 84
university campus 26 Baroque 46
Exercise: Site analysis 30 Modernism 50 Case study: Designing a pavilion 86
Exercise: Axonometric drawing 90
Case study: Reconstructing a
museum 56
Exercise: Skylines 60
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CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6
5
Representation 92 Contemporary Ideas 136 Realization 162

CAD drawing 94 Universal ideas and principles 138 Project timeline 164

Sketching 96 Functionalism 142 The project 166
Scale 102 Form-driven architecture 146 Contributors and their roles 168
Orthographic projection 106 Monumentalism 150 The brief 170
Perspective 112 Zeitgeist 152 The concept 172
Three-dimensional images 114 Site analysis 174
Physical modelling 118 Case study: Integrating with an The design process 176
CAD modelling 120 urban landscape 156 Detail development 178
Layout and presentation 122 Exercise: Analytical diagrams 160 The finished building 180
Storyboarding 124
Portfolios 126
Case study: Renovation 130
Exercise: Photomontage 134
CONCLUSION 182 INDEX 190
BIBLIOGRAPHY & WEBOGRAPHY 184 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 192
GLOSSARY 186 WORKING WITH ETHICS 193 s
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PICTURE CREDITS 188 nt
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Introduction
Architecture
1. The art or practice of designing and
constructing buildings.
2. The style in which a building is designed
and constructed.
6
This second edition of The Fundamentals of Architecture This book has been divided into chapters that
introduces architecture to a wide audience. It will summarize various aspects of thinking during the

explore fundamental ideas that architects need process of designing buildings. This process starts with
to consider when designing buildings, places and a concept or idea. This may be stimulated by an aspect
spaces. The intention of this book is to introduce the of the brief – the intended function of the building. It
fundamental principles of architecture. There are may be an aspect of the material or construction of the
many visual references and illustrations that explain building that inspires the concept, or some historical or
the thinking process required to develop an idea and, contemporary precedent or existing building.
eventually, build a building.
Architecture is a complex and compelling subject.
Many architectural ideas are never realized; buildings Buildings surround us and make up our physical
require a vision and ideas can remain conceptual or worlds. Making a building requires many layers of
stay on the drawing board. Architecture is a visual thinking and exploration.
language and architects communicate through drawings,
models and eventually through the spaces and places
we construct.
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1

At its simplest, architecture is about defining the physical 1. SECC Conference Centre, Glasgow, Scotland
space around us, for example, a room and the objects within it. Foster + Partners, 1995–1997
This building has a strong profile on its site along
It can be a house, a skyscraper or a series of buildings, or part
the River Clyde in Glasgow. The centre has a curved
of a master plan of a city. Whatever the scale of the building, aluminium roof, which looks much like the hard shell
it evolves incrementally from concept sketch or drawing to of an armadillo, suggesting a strong, formal metaphor
for the building’s form and shape.
inhabited space or building.
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1
1. The Schröder House, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Gerrit Rietveld, 1924–1925
Artistic movements can also influence architectural form.
The De Stijl (the style) movement in The Netherlands
strongly influenced the development of Gerrit Rietveld’s
architecture, in particular his Schröder House in Utrecht.
2. Sketch of the Schröder House
This student drawing shows a geometric analysis of
the Schröder House. When laid over an elevation drawing
of the building, it shows how each element is
proportionally connected. The red lines show the
incorporation of the ‘golden section’ (see page 123),
which is a geometric proportioning system.
8 CHAPTER BY CHAPTER
This book has been structured and divided into a series
of subjects in order to cover the full design process.

The first chapter, Placing Architecture, refers to the
site the building occupies and how that needs to be
analysed and understood before starting the idea. The
next chapter, History and Precedent, shows that all
architecture is informed by ideas that have preceded
it – this could be a reference to a plan, a use of material
or a structural idea. No architecture is completely new;
it connects to a vast knowledge of historical precedent, 2
whether implicit or explicit, or informed by the recent
and distant past.
The third chapter, Construction, introduces the basic
aspects of building techniques. This chapter includes
aspects of structure and material, and the making and
substance of building.
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3
9

The next chapter, Representation, refers to the communication of ideas, 3. Analysis of the Schröder House
from freehand sketching, to computer drawing and modelling. The fifth This three-dimensional perspective
drawing of the Schröder House suggests
chapter, Contemporary Ideas, explores the many ways in which architecture
how the internal spaces of the building
can be influenced by the prevalent ‘zeitgeist’, or spirit of the age. are defined by intersecting horizontal
and vertical planes. The shadow
projected at the bottom of the
The final chapter explores the realization of a building, from the first stages
drawing directly connects to the
of conceptual thinking, through to the final stages of implementation of a building’s plan.
building on site. This is where all the thinking, the consideration of the site,
precedent, materials and structure come together. Making a successful building
or structure requires the planning of information and organizing teams of
professional people who do the facilitating and building contractors who do
the making. The success of a building can be judged by the response of the
client and how it fulfils its original brief.
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