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Art In Everyday Life Architecture Overview
The drama of a building is played out in solid forms that share our
space. BECAUSE WE ARE LINKED PHYSICALLY TO
BUILDINGS, OUR REACTIONS ARE PARTICIPATORY.
In the course of a single day, we enter and leave many buildings.
How many of us ever stop to look at these buildings — to
examine or study them? We go down familiar streets each day
without noticing the buildings surrounding us. Buildings
deserve careful attention since they are an important part of the world of art.
Or perhaps you do look at the buildings in your life each day. If so, have you ever
looked at a familiar building and decided whether it was a pleasant or
unpleasant sight . . . a truly beautiful creation or nothing short of an eyesore?
Certain buildings seem to possess a power that transcends their form
and materials. The Lincoln Memorial (with its statue of Lincoln) . . .
the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. . . . St. Peter’s Cathedral
in Rome . . . and the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris are more than
just works of art we admire aesthetically: they are shared histories,
themes, and ideas.
Buildings like these act as magnets —serving as gathering places where the history
of a people continues to unfold. People become identified with a place and
symbolize it. GREAT BUILDINGS SHAPE AND ENLARGE HUMAN
EXPERIENCE.
Believe it or not, plain old buildings have that power, too. The
local football or baseball stadium, a favorite hangout, or the
place you call home are also places that shape and enlarge
experience.
As we glimpse the subject of architecture, once again IT IS
IMPORTANT TO LOOK AROUND YOU AND NOTICE
WHAT YOU SEE.
Unfortunately, most of the buildings around you each day are not examples of great
architecture. Regardless, they do illustrate something that architecture is
supposed to do — and that is to make us feel good.
A building can have an INTRINSIC QUALITY that makes it appealing. That quality
has to do with its overall appearance and presence — which is something we
feel or “sense”, as well as take in with our eyes. Buildings have PERSONALITY OR CHARACTER, much as do people. It’s easy to
sense the idea of “character” when we look at an old barn, a Gothic cathedral,
or the White House in Washington, D.C. As you focus on images of these
various buildings, can you feel your emotions shifting a bit?
Less distinctive buildings are more difficult for us to respond to . . . because we may
feel they lack something, that they have no “greatness”. They may be worth
thinking about anyway, particularly because we think so much of what
surrounds us and what we live in seems dull and non-descript. Dull they may
be — but just how “non-descript” common buildings are may depend on how
carefully we look at them.
Buildings are made for people and they can take on “people-like” characteristics.
How so?
Think about an imaginary neighborhood. A “friendly” house
reaches out to you with a porch or path. Continuing down the
street, a house with small windows and a heavy door — set back
from the street — remains aloof. Residential properties can
appear “formal” (especially if they are symmetrical), or suggest
informality and fun (with parts and pieces stuck here and
there). Think of the kind of house in which you live (or would
like to one day own) . . . ITS CHARACTER WILL REFLECT
YOUR CHARACTER.
Buildings inevitably express some IDEA OR CONCEPT. Let’s return to the same
building examples: An old barn is protective, earthy, mothering. A Gothic
cathedral lifts our thoughts. The White House evokes dignity with the tradition
of democracy and the origins of our nation.
Consider the public buildings where you live: libraries, restaurants,
houses of worship, schools, museums, stores, and banks. How
do they show you their purpose — aside from the displayed
signage? What impression do they make on you? What
associations do you make when you look at them?
What is the “feel” of your neighborhood? What does it reflect
about the values of the community? What does it reflect about your values?
Buildings and architectural environments reflect more than technical necessity and
practical considerations. Historically, architectural forms have been rooted in
the human need to belong and feel connected. Societies design and erect structures which end up actually forming
their own communities with their own individual features. What is
the character of the modern city? Cities have always been “arenas
of competing aims” — and present-day metropolitan makes visible
the stresses of social change and conflict. Alienation is reflected in
modern urban environments.
When you take away all the philosophy, quite simply, ARCHITECTURE IS THE
ART OF BUILDING. Keep in mind, though, that we cannot consider all of the
buildings that provide shelter or fulfill other needs as works of art. Architecture
requires more than walls and a roof to be considered a structure having some
sort of lasting beauty. A BUILDING MAY BE CONSIDERED A WORK OF
ART ONLY WHEN IT IS THE PRODUCT OF THE BEST THINKING,
PLANNING, AND CREATIVE POWERS OF ALL WHO CONTRIBUTED TO
ITS CONSTRUCTION.
In addition to excellent design, buildings worthy of being considered architecture
should SHOW THE BEST OF THE MATERIALS OF WHICH THEY ARE
CONSTRUCTED.
Every building should also be planned to harmonize with its
surroundings. The structure should belong to its terrain
— or the ground on which it stands — almost as though it
had grown out of it and had become a permanent part of
the surface of the earth. Too often we see buildings that
stand out like “sore thumbs”, as the expression goes,
because they are not in harmony with the buildings that surround them — or
related in character to the ground on which they rest.
Architecture helps tell the story of any race, its thoughts, and
its ideals. ARCHITECTURE RECORDS THE CULTURE OF
ITS TIME because it is the direct product of man’s way of
thinking. When the finished product stands before the world
— no matter how false, showy, imitative, or shoddy — THE
BUILDING REFLECTS THE CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE
WHO BUILT IT.
If you know something of the life and character of a nation, you will be able to see
the relation between its architecture, and the aims and ideals of its builders.
Men have built — and will continue to build in different ways. Their interests,
their abilities, and their patience varies greatly. In the past, it took generations to complete a cathedral; endless skill and devotion
made every part of the structures a work of art. Today we expect very few of our
buildings to outlive a generation and its needs. This understanding makes way
for progress, but it also produces careless building.
To get an idea how individual buildings “work” on us — affect how we feel — we
need to look at them closely. To do this, we can separate a building into its
essential characteristics or components. Investigating these components is the
best way to strengthen our grasp of what the building is saying to us.
The elements of visual communication, as pertaining to architecture, are as follows:
SITE:
Notice the building’s site — where and how a building is
placed and what’s around it. Does the building blend in
within its surroundings or does it want to stand apart? Is
the building close to the street or set back? Does it have
much space around it? How is the site landscaped? Does
the building seem to integrate with nature or contrast
with it? How important is the site? What does it
contribute to your sense of the structure?
SPACE:
A building is fundamentally a space to be in — so it makes sense to be aware of
those spaces and how they affect us. Space has a “push” and a “pull” to it, more felt
than seen. A large indoor space can make us feel small at first, but when we adjust,
it gives us a sense of grandeur and importance. By contrast, the nooks and crannies
of a house can be just the place to withdraw for a quiet talk, a good
time with a book, or personal reflection.
Space is defined by wall and ceiling. Walls give us the idea of the
massiveness of the building — depending on how thick, solid, and
heavy they feel. When observing a wall, is it smooth, a closed
pane, or is it perforated by windows/arches/other openings? How
much of the wall is open? How much is closed? How does the wall
join the ceiling?
LIGHT:
Almost inseparable from our experience of space in architecture is our
experience of light. Think of the places you know where light promotes certain
feelings. Is that light bright? What goes on at that particular place? How about
soft? Warm? Is the lighting even throughout, or is it varied? DECORATION:
How is a building’s exterior decorated? Is it ornate?
Sparingly decorated? Or is there no ornament at all?
Is the decoration integrated into the design of the
building, or does it seem to be “stuck on”? Does it
make you more aware of the structure of the building,
or does it disguise it? Why was the decoration chosen?
Exterior ornamentation is important because it gives
the building identity and personality.
MATERIALS:
The character of materials — the warmth of wood, the roughness of poured
concrete, the elegance of marble, the earthiness of mud or adobe — also affect
our response when viewing architecture. A good building puts good materials
to work, then lets you feel and enjoy them.
COLOR:
Have you ever changed the color of a room and noticed how different it felt?
Color also affects the “feel” of a place. Think of the houses in your neighborhood. Are they painted alike? Is color used to differentiate between them? Is
color used to make a building stand out or blend in with the surroundings?
What accounts for the popularity of certain colors? What messages can colors
carry?
RHYTHM:
Think about a street in your neighborhood or in the nearest town and see if you
can sense a rhythm to the buildings. A rhythm can be created by the repetition
of windows, driveways, fences, porches or stoops, streetlights, or even garbage
cans. Where the rhythms are monotonous — where all the houses are
basically identical — you may find yourself wishing there was some
variety.
These are some of the usual components of architecture. Along with
them, innumerable distinctive and individual details may also contribute to a building’s character.
BUILDINGS ACT ON US THE FIRST TIME WE EXPERIENCE THEM. As we
move into and through them, they can change us . . . change how we feel . . .
change how we behave. Of course, we affect architecture, as well.
BUILDINGS REFLECT WHO AND WHAT WE ARE. Architecture is an art form
that is necessary to human survival. It is the place where human dreams and
physical realities come to terms.
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