Text Book of ARCH-112 Introduction to Architecture DAE 1st Year Architecture Technology 94 | P a g e A montage image is produced by superimposing a perspective image of a building on to a photographic background. Care is needed to record the position from which the photograph was taken, and to generate the perspective using the same viewpoint. This technique is popular in computer visualization, where the building can be photo realistically rendered, and the final image is intended to be almost indistinguishable from a photograph. 4.1.14 TYPES OF ARCHITECTURAL DRAWING: Architectural drawings are produced for a specific purpose, and can be classified accordingly. Several elements are often included on the same sheet, for example a sheet showing a plan together with the principal façade. A. PRESENTATION DRAWINGS Drawings intended to explain a scheme and to promote its merits. Working drawings may include tones or hatches to emphasize different materials, but they are diagrams, not intended to appear realistic. Basic presentation drawings typically include people, vehicles and trees, taken from a library of such images, and are otherwise very similar in style to working drawings. Rendering is the art of adding surface textures and shadows to show the visual qualities of a building more realistically. An architectural illustrator or graphic designer may be employed to prepare specialist presentation images, usually perspectives or highly finished site plans, floor plans and elevations etc. B. SURVEY DRAWINGS Measured drawings of existing land, structures and buildings. Architects need an accurate set of survey drawings as a basis for their working drawings, to establish exact dimensions for the construction work. Surveys are usually measured and drawn up by specialist land surveyors. C. RECORD DRAWINGS Historically, architects have made record drawings in order to understand and emulate the great architecture known to them. In the Renaissance, architects from all over Europe studied and recorded the remains of the Roman and Greek civilizations, and used these influences to develop the architecture of the period. Records are made both individually, for local
Text Book of ARCH-112 Introduction to Architecture DAE 1st Year Architecture Technology 95 | P a g e purposes, and on a large scale for publication. Historic surveys worth referring to include: Colen Campbell's Vitruvius Brittanicus, illustrations of English buildings by Inigo Jones and Sir Christopher Wren, as well as Campbell himself and other prominent architects of the era. The Survey of London, founded in 1894 by Charles Robert Ashbee and now available through English Heritage. A record of notable streets and individual buildings in the former County of London. Historic American Buildings Survey, records of notable buildings drawn up during the 1930’s Depression, this collection is held by the Library of Congress and is available copyright-free on the internet. Record drawings are also used in construction projects, where "as-built" drawings of the completed building take account of all the variations made during the course of construction. D. WORKING DRAWINGS A comprehensive set of drawings used in a building construction project: these will include not only architect's drawings but structural and services engineer's drawings etc. Working drawings logically subdivide into location, assembly and component drawings. Location drawings, also called general arrangement drawings, include floor plans, sections and elevations: they show where the construction elements are located. Assembly drawings show how the different parts are put together. For example a wall detail will show the layers that make up the construction, how they are fixed to structural elements, how to finish the edges of openings, and how prefabricated components are to be fitted. Component drawings enable self-contained elements e.g. windows and door sets, to be fabricated in a workshop, and delivered to site complete and ready for installation. Larger components may include roof trusses, cladding panels, cupboards and kitchens. Complete
Text Book of ARCH-112 Introduction to Architecture DAE 1st Year Architecture Technology 96 | P a g e rooms, especially hotel bedrooms and bathrooms, may be made as prefabricated pods complete with internal decorations and fittings. 4.1.15 DRAFTING: Until the latter part of the twentieth century, all architectural drawings were manually produced, either by architects or by trained (but less skilled) draftsmen (or drafters), who did not generate the design, although they made many of the important lesser decisions. This system continues with CAD drafting: many design architects have little or no knowledge of CAD software program and rely upon others to take their designs beyond the sketch stage. Draftsmen may specialize in a type of structure, such as residential or commercial, or in a type of construction: timber frame, reinforced concrete, prefabrication etc. The traditional tools of the architect were the drawing board or drafting table, T-square and set squares, protractor, compasses, pencil and drawing pens of different types. Drawings were made on vellum, coated linen, and on tracing paper. Lettering would either be done by hand, mechanically using a stencil, or a combination of the two. Ink lines were drawn with a ruling pen, a relatively sophisticated device similar to a dip-in pen but with adjustable line width, capable of producing a very fine controlled line width. Ink pens had to be dipped into ink frequently. Draftsmen worked standing up, and kept the ink on a separate table to avoid spilling ink on the drawing. Twentieth century developments include the parallel motion drawing board, and more complicated improvements on the basic T-square. The development of reliable technical drawing pens allowed for faster drafting and stenciled lettering. Letterset dry transfer lettering and half-tone sheets were popular from the 1970s until computers made those processes obsolete. 4.1.16 ARCHITECTURAL REPROGRAPHICS: Reprographics or reprography covers a variety of technologies, media, and support services used to make multiple copies of original drawings. Prints of architectural drawings are still sometimes called blueprints, after one of the
Text Book of ARCH-112 Introduction to Architecture DAE 1st Year Architecture Technology 97 | P a g e early processes which produced a white line on blue paper. The process was superseded by the dye-line print system which prints black on white coated paper. The standard modern processes are the ink-jet printer, laser printer and photocopier, of which only the ink-jet is commonly used for large-format printing. Although color printing is now commonplace and inexpensive, architect's drawings still tend to adhere to the black and white / gray scale aesthetic. 4.1.17 COMPUTER-AIDED DESIGN: Computer generated perspective of the Moscow School of Management, by David Adjaye Computer-aided design is the use of computer software to create drawings. Today the vast majority of technical drawings of all kinds are made using CAD. Instead of drawing lines on paper, the computer records similar information electronically. There are many advantages to this system: repetition is reduced because complex elements can be copied, duplicated and stored for re-use. Errors can be deleted, and the speed of drafting allows many permutations to be tried before the design is finalized. On the other hand, CAD drawing encourages a proliferation of detail and increased expectations of accuracy, aspects which reduce the efficiency originally expected from the move to computerization. CAD programs, for example the worldwide market leader AutoCAD, are complex and require both training and experience before the operator becomes fully productive. Consequently skilled CAD operators are often divorced from the design process. There are other more basic programs such as Sketch Up that allow for more intuitive drawing and are intended as a design tool.
Text Book of ARCH-112 Introduction to Architecture DAE 1st Year Architecture Technology 98 | P a g e CAD is used to create all kinds of drawings, from working drawings to photorealistic perspective views. Architectural renderings (also called visualizations) are made by creating a three-dimensional model using CAD. The model can be viewed from any direction to find the most useful viewpoints. Different software (for example Autodesk 3ds Max) is then used to apply colour and texture to surfaces, and to represent shadows and reflections. The result can be accurately combined with photographic elements: people, cars, background landscape. An architectural animation is a short film showing how a proposed building will look: the moving image makes three-dimensional forms much easier to understand. An animation is generated from a series of hundreds or even thousands of still images, each made in the same way as an architectural visualization. A computer-generated building is created using a CAD program, and that is used to create more or less realistic views from a sequence of viewpoints. The simplest animations use a moving viewpoint, while more complex animations can include moving objects: people, vehicles and so on.
Text Book of ARCH-112 Introduction to Architecture DAE 1st Year Architecture Technology 99 | P a g e PART-I Sample Long Questions: 1. Describe different stages of Architectural design process in detail. 2. Explain diffent types of architectural drawings. Sample Short Questions: 1. What is a design process? 2. What is Design Layout? 3. What do you mean by “Project Assessment”? 4. Define Architectural Design? 5. Define Site Plan. 6. Why we prefer local materials for buildings? 7. What is “Computer- Aided Design”? 8. What are the types of Architectural Drawings? 9. What is Building Specifications? 10. What is “Working Drawings”? 11. What is “Flow Diagram” in Design Process? 12. What is ‘Estimation”? 13. Define Drawing Presentation. 14. Define Architectural Perspective. 15. What is Survey Drawing? PART-II Sample MCQ’s: Encircle the correct answers: 1. What is Design Process? a)Graduated sequence of exercises b) Non-sequence of exercises c) Chemical action d) None 2. __________________ plan, design and review the costruction of building. a) Masons b) Contractors c) Builders d) Architects
Text Book of ARCH-112 Introduction to Architecture DAE 1st Year Architecture Technology 100 | P a g e 3. ____________________ is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. a) Plumbing b) Architecture c) Lighting d) None 4. The creation and organization of formal elements in a work of art is termed as__________________. a) Design b) Product c) Machine d) Building 5. An architectural drawing is a ________________ drawing of a building project. a) Financial b) Technical c) Mechanical d) None 6. A ________________ is a rapidly executed freehand drawing. a) Perspective b) Plan c) Sketch d) Top view 7. Architectural drawings are drawn to __________________. a) Scale b) Estimate c) Plan d) Layout 8. A __________________ is the most fundamental architectural diagram. a) Elevation b) Floor plan c) View d) Section 9. A __________________ is a specific type of plan showing the whole context of a building. a) Floor plan b) Roof plan c) Site plan d) None 10. An elevation is a view of a building seen from _____________ . a) Two sides b) Three sides c) Front side d) One side 11. A cross section represents a ____________ cut through the object. a) Vertical plane b) Horizontal plane c) Side plane d) None 12. An ____________________uses a plan grid at 30 degrees from the horizontal in both directions. a) Axonometric b) Isometric c) perspective d) None 13. An axonometric uses a _______________ plan grid from the horizontal in both directions. a) 45 degrees b) 60 degrees c) 90 degrees d) 270 degrees 14. ___________________ drawings show a small part of the construction at a larger scale. a) Layout b) Working c) Detailed d) Presentation 15. Perspective is the view from a particular _________________. a) Angle b) Side c) Floor d) Viewpoint
Text Book of ARCH-112 Introduction to Architecture DAE 1st Year Architecture Technology 101 | P a g e Answer Key: 1) a 2) d 3) b 4) a 5) b 6) c 7) a 8) b 9) c 10) d 11) a 12) b 13) a 14) c 15) d
Text Book of ARCH-112 Introduction to Architecture DAE 1st Year Architecture Technology 102 | P a g e CHAPTER # 05 CONTEXT AND ARCHITECTURE G e n e r a l O b j e c t i v e : Understand Relationship between Architecture and Context S p e c i f i c o b j e c t i v e s : After studying this chapter students should be able to 1. Describe Scope and Components of Built Environment. 2. Explain Architecture as the most significant feature in terms of physical language and culture. 3. Describe a holistic approach to Architecture. 4. Explain the elements of context and how it influence architecture.
Text Book of ARCH-112 Introduction to Architecture DAE 1st Year Architecture Technology 103 | P a g e 5.1 COMPONENTS OF BUILT ENVIRONMENT 5.1.1 ARCHITECTURE AND CONTEXT Architecture is a strong and eloquent visual relationship to the surrounding. Individual building is always seen first as a part of the whole. Creating places and spaces that enrich the lives of the people who use them is the foundation of architects work. Every building can and should engage in a dialog with the history, beliefs and needs of a particular place and time. Identification of place lies as a generative core of architecture. Recognition, memory, choice, sharing with others, the acquisition of significance; all these contribute to the process of architecture. 5.1.2 DEFINITION AND SCOPE OF THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT Built environment refers to the manmade surroundings that provide the setting for human activity and living. It includes all the human-made physical spaces like buildings, furnishings, open and public spaces, roads, utilities and other infrastructure where we live, recreate and work. These are arranged, designed and maintained to fulfill human purpose / needs, wants and values. The built environment can be defined by four interrelated characteristics. First, it is extensive; it is everywhere; it provides the context for all human endeavors. More specifically, it is everything humanly created, modified, or constructed, humanly made, arranged, or maintained. Second, it is the creation of human minds and the result of human purposes; it is intended to serve human needs, wants, and values. Third, much of it is created to help us deal with, and to protect us from, the overall environment, to mediate or change this environment for our comfort and well-being. Last, an obvious but often forgotten characteristic is that every component of the built environment is defined and shaped by context; each and all of the individual elements contribute either positively or negatively to the overall quality of environments both built and natural and to human-environment relationships. These impacts are almost
Text Book of ARCH-112 Introduction to Architecture DAE 1st Year Architecture Technology 104 | P a g e always local, and more and more are experienced at every scale, including global and even planetary. We all build and therefore make important contributions to the built environment. We design and build our lives from one experience to another. Based on those experiences, components of the built environment emerge from human needs, thoughts, and actions. Sometimes the substances of human actions are grand, and we design and plan quality life experiences for ourselves and others. At other times, human actions are shortsighted, creating uncomfortable situations that are less fit for healthy human activities and negatively impact the environments that surround us and with which we are in constant interaction. There are many reasons to design, plan, and build. Each aspect of the built environment is created to fulfill human purpose. Where you are sitting while reading this book, you are surrounded by hundreds of human-created objects, all contributing components of your built environment. The words on this page, this book, your chair and desk, even the walls, floor, and ceiling of the space are humanly made or arranged and therefore part of the built environment. These components are constructed by dozens, hundreds, even thousands of material products and production systems. Look further afield and observe the variety of objects and environments out of the window. Buildings, automobiles, roads, bridges, the landscaped areas, parks, and the surrounding city are also part of a human-made or-arranged built environment. Imagine the range and complexity of environmental components, the magnitude of environments beyond your home: cities, highways, and other transport systems, parcels of agricultural land, even domesticated plants and animals; all are to some degree the products of human artifice and should be included. All people everywhere are surrounded by an abundance of components of the human-created world.
Text Book of ARCH-112 Introduction to Architecture DAE 1st Year Architecture Technology 105 | P a g e 5.1.3 COMPONENTS The variety and scope of the built environment, its diverse content, and its subtle contexts are organized into seven interrelated components: i. Products ii. Interiors iii. Structures iv. Landscapes v. Cities vi. Regions vii. Earth. The sum of the seven defines the scope of the total built environment. i. Products Any manmade objects purpose to serve functions and human needs for living. Factors such as accessibility, comfort, aesthetics, culture and style influenced the varieties of production.
Text Book of ARCH-112 Introduction to Architecture DAE 1st Year Architecture Technology 106 | P a g e ii. Interiors Interior spaces are defined by an arranged grouping of products and generally enclosed within a structure. They are generally created to enhance activities and mediate external factors (living room, workrooms, private rooms, public assembly halls, stadiums, etc.). iii. Structures Structures are planned groupings of spaces defined by and constructed of products; generally, related activities are combined into composite structures (housing, schools, office buildings, churches, factories, highways, tunnels, bridges, dams, etc.). Generally, structures have both an internal space and an external form. iv. Landscapes Landscapes are exterior areas and/or settings for planned groupings of spaces and structures (courtyards, malls, parks; gardens, sites for homes or other structures; farms, countryside, national forests and parks). Landscapes generally combine both natural and built environments. v. Cities Cities are groupings of structures and landscapes of varying sizes and complexities, generally clustered together to define a community for economic, social, cultural, and telecommunication systems. vi. Regions Regions are groupings of cities and landscapes of various sizes and complexities; they are generally defined by common political, social, economic, and/or environmental characteristics (the surrounding region of cities, counties, or multicounty areas, a state or multistate regions, countries, continents).
Text Book of ARCH-112 Introduction to Architecture DAE 1st Year Architecture Technology 107 | P a g e vii. Earth The Earth includes all of the above, the groupings of regions consisting of cities and landscapes, the entire planet, the spectacular, complex, beautiful, still mysterious Earth, which, as human power expands, may be considered the ultimate artifact. These components can be better understood as connected layers or levels of varying scale interwoven together to form the built environment. These seven layers, this nested set of components, provide the organizing categories. The listing and descriptions of the seven components illustrate a significant overall theme: the interrelationships of each component with each of the others. The content of each component consists of a combination of smaller components. In turn, each component is a part of a larger context and contributes to the next larger component. For example, products can be considered the content for interiors and, for those products, interiors are the context. The content-component-context hierarchy is a useful tool for organizing and presenting component parts and the myriad ways seemingly individual elements interrelate to form the whole of the built environment. The layers of the built environment (the integrative or composite symbol design by S. Recken; the linear graphic formats by J. Singleton).
Text Book of ARCH-112 Introduction to Architecture DAE 1st Year Architecture Technology 108 | P a g e The life cycle of the built environment can be assessed taking into account many quantitative and qualitative criteria. Life cycle of the built environment quantitative and qualitative analyses aspects are presented in following figure. 5.1.4 PLACE MAKING: AN INNOVATIVE TOOL OF BUILT ENVIRONMENT Place making is a term used to describe the process by which an area in the public realm is given a unique and attractive character. Place making emerged in the 1960s when commentators, theorists and writers began to call for a greater consideration of the individual’s experience of the built environment. Place making is the task of making an area feel attractive to inhabitants, visitors and the wider public and currently tends to be used to describe a stream of work which runs in parallel with the technical and practical work of designing the built environment. The significance of a place is: ‘The sum of the cultural and natural heritage values of a place, often set out in a statement of significance.’
Text Book of ARCH-112 Introduction to Architecture DAE 1st Year Architecture Technology 109 | P a g e 5.2 ARCHITECTURE AS THE MOST SIGNIFICANT FEATURE 5.2.1 ARCHITECTURE AS A PHYSICAL LANGUAGE Architecture is the physical language of city and community building. The city is a living organism with a unique culture and a past called a “contextual history” and a future in which new buildings act as the threads that weave the cities living traditions into new and whole fabric. If you ever wondered why architecture is important, look up and around. You are likely surrounded by it right now. Architecture’s grasp that is, buildings and the designed environment ends only in extreme conditions (the bottom of the ocean, the atmosphere, and a few dwindling spots on terrestrial earth.)
Text Book of ARCH-112 Introduction to Architecture DAE 1st Year Architecture Technology 110 | P a g e 5.2.2 ARCHITECTURE REFLECTS CULTURE Architecture reflects culture, and it’s less of a profession and more of a worldview, a lens with which to interpret all of your surroundings. Unique among creative and artistic professions, architecture must always reflect the age and cultural context that produced it. Designing and building architecture takes time, money, and collaboration (from financiers, civic officials, builders, architects, and more). It doesn’t happen in a vacuum and can never truly have just one author. Architects work with dozens if not hundreds or thousands to shape their buildings, and along this chain, a deeper and richer set of values are transmitted; ones that define exactly how cultures see themselves and their world, and also how people see and experience each other. As such, it lends itself to so many visually creative mediums that call for the conceptualizing of space graphic design, video production, film, etc. When we learn about ancient cultures, the first thing that point to them is their architecture, because it’s so expressive of whom they were. For example if we consider ancient Egypt, take a look at the pyramids and the Sphinx, we will get a good idea of how they regarded their rulers, their religion, and the qualities of the land that they drew their building materials from. The towering feats of delicate, narrative stone masonry that made up Gothic architecture, emerging in Europe in the middle Ages, was a perfect counterpoint to its age of reverence verging on fear of divinity, during a period of grim instability. The Industrial Revolution, which re-organized the world along rational standards of machine production, inevitably birthed modernism, which used mass-produced steel and glass to replicate this emerging order in cities. All revolutions, especially political ones, turn to architecture immediately to create their most prominent monuments. And this ability of architecture to explain its age happens whether a building is an elaborate showpiece or a banal standby. We continue to look towards the ‘world cities’ and their architecture for good examples, souvenir cities and buildings of royalty and gracious places like urban plazas, squares and arcades, water-fountains, glimpses of history preserved, cafes open to promenades and urban parks, visual surprises and contrived delights.
Text Book of ARCH-112 Introduction to Architecture DAE 1st Year Architecture Technology 111 | P a g e 5.2.3 A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO ARCHITECTURE Beyond merely providing shelter, architecture becomes the stage set and context for our lives. It’s the reason we feel empowered on the roof deck of an 80-story building, connected and thriving in a busy public plaza, and humbled in a soaring cathedral. Architecture connects to economics and the sciences, and the people that practice it can both be detail-oriented technicians, and poets of space and form. Architecture is futurism, and each time it offers a critique that suggests new ways to live, work, or play, it becomes a feat of world-building that makes it hard to distinguish from science fiction. In fact architecture projects should be perceived as part of implementing an urban design project which entails gathering insights into urban fabric and how people use urban spaces. The role of a designer is to work on many scales, thoughtfully designing public places and spaces, to build on the unique local character and the best qualities of the forms inherent in that geographic region. As the complexity of buildings began to increase (in terms of structural systems, services, energy and technologies), architecture started becoming more multi-disciplinary. Architecture today usually requires a team of specialist professionals, with the architect being one of many, although usually the team leader. Architectural design is as important as the engineering aspects of a building. Building engineering involves ensuring that a building is safe and uses quality. With architecture, the design of a building is done with precision and client visions in mind. Architecture makes any construction stand beautiful and never goes out of style for years. Lastly, though some designs may be old, architects can turn them into something new again. They’re inclined to make designs work for their clients. Their visualization techniques are good that they can deliver results that satisfy their clients. This can mean combining technology with old techniques.
Text Book of ARCH-112 Introduction to Architecture DAE 1st Year Architecture Technology 112 | P a g e 5.3 HOW CONTEXT INFLUENCE ARCHITECTURE? 5.3.1 DEFINITION OF CONTEXT In its widest sense, the term 'context' refers to the circumstances or interrelated conditions that are relevant to something that exists or occurs. Context is one of the aspects of design that might be considered when a planning application is made. Planners may reject a planning application if they do not feel a proposed development fits within the local context. In terms of the built environment, 'context' can refer to the conditions which surround a particular site or project, and to which it should relate and connect to in some way. The buildings and structures that make up the built environment do not exist in isolation but are conceived and designed in order to respond, to support and to enhance their surroundings. They are conceived to house, support, and inspire a range of human activities in response to socio
Text Book of ARCH-112 Introduction to Architecture DAE 1st Year Architecture Technology 113 | P a g e cultural, economical, and political needs, and are erected in natural and built environments that constrain as well as offer opportunities for development. Hence context is simply an external element that influences the building and site both. Basically the context determines the architectural style, building material selection and site layout, which is very important in creating an effective design. All these promote continuity between the building and local circumstances. The context of a building or site might include: The topography of the area The site’s history and previous uses Local culture Architectural style Local materials and construction techniques Weather and microclimate Political conditions National and local policy The state of the economy These factors can be analyzed, adapted and adopted to make a proposed development 'fit' into its context. This can give meaning to different aspects of a project through reference to its wider surroundings.
Text Book of ARCH-112 Introduction to Architecture DAE 1st Year Architecture Technology 114 | P a g e 5.3.2 CONTEXTUALISM Contextualism, or contextual architecture, is a principle of design in which a structure is designed in response to its specific urban and natural environment. Rather than being an architectural style, contextualism can be seen as a set of values that incorporate, not only the immediate but the wider context of a building into its design. Urban Design Guidelines for Victoria, published by The State of Victoria Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning in 2017, suggests that urban context refers to: ‘the broader setting of an identified area. The context may include the physical surroundings of topography, movement patterns and infrastructure, built form and uses, the governance structures, and the cultural, social and economic environment. The urban context can include the community vision for the area, and preferred future character, form and function. Similar to a site analysis, context analysis provides a detailed description and examination of aspects of the wider area around a site, to determine how these aspects will effect and contribute to the design of a proposed building development or public space design. An urban context analysis informs the building development or public space design response. Main contextual criteria which influence the design at an early stage: i. Microclimate ii. Topography iii. Natural habitat of a site All above criteria directly or indirectly influence design decisions at a very early stage in the design process. Designer should therefore carefully consider the contextual forces that a site presents in planning, the design and construction of the buildings.
Text Book of ARCH-112 Introduction to Architecture DAE 1st Year Architecture Technology 115 | P a g e In an architectural sense, context gives meaning to parts of a building by reference to its surroundings. The context of a building includes physical/natural factors (for example, the curve of an adjacent river), sociocultural factors (for example, the site’s previous use) and so on. The three distinct aspects of contextualism are: i. Vernacular Architecture Vernacular architecture is characterized by its reliance on needs, construction materials and traditions specific to a particular area. It is a type of architecture which is indigenous to a time and place and is not replicated elsewhere. ii. Regional Architecture Regional architecture developed during the late 1960s, suggesting that architecture should have reference to its physical, cultural and political contexts. It involves integrating traditional, local resources with modern ones. It was inspired by recognition of the importance of restoring harmony between people, artifacts and nature within a modern context. iii. Critical Regionalism Critical regionalism, according to Kenneth Frampton, is a regional architecture approach that seeks universality. It adopts modern architecture critically for its universal, progressive qualities, whilst at the same time considering and valuing responses particular to the context. It seeks to respond to the lack of meaning in modernism by using contextual references to create a sense of place. Critical regionalism differs from regionalism in that the latter tries to achieve a positive communication with vernacular architecture without a conscious involvement with the universe.
Text Book of ARCH-112 Introduction to Architecture DAE 1st Year Architecture Technology 116 | P a g e Context of city color, Venice Italy 5.3.3 THE ELEMENTS OF CONTEXT IN ARCHITECTURE The elements of context are physical and non-physical. Buildings, Roads and land contour are the examples of physical elements while the non-physical elements are local culture, weather condition, as well as political and economical constraints. Therefore, master planning starts with an assessment of the ecology of site and its context; we need to know what is already there before, and need to add anything new. Existing patterns and characteristics of the Facade fabric can provide clues or starting points for approaching site development as well as the building design, influencing its configuration and use of materials, textures and colors. One of the best examples of context with respect to material and patterns is the Pink city in Jaipur, India. Jaipur has been popularized with name pink city because of its color of stone which is used for construction of all structures.
Text Book of ARCH-112 Introduction to Architecture DAE 1st Year Architecture Technology 117 | P a g e Physical Context of Jaipur City- Pink City India The inherently public nature of architecture means that the work architects do is akin to sociology and psychology; setting the stage for social behaviors and interior reactions. Who is encouraged to enter into a space or community, and who is dissuaded? How are people made to feel in given context? Why does a prison feel different from a library? And should it? The shape and function of public space is arrived at by political means, so by extension, architects are de facto politicians. Looking at the built world critically, instead of considering it a set of established and ironclad traditions, reveals that architecture is an entirely synthetic, human creation. It can take nearly any shape we want it to. Patterns we see everywhere (like peaked roof connotations of home, or the majestic columns in an old bank) don’t spring from definitive wisdom about how things should look, although their repetition seems to hint at ultimate consensus. They’re actually the result of idiosyncratic accumulations of cultural values, the materials available, economics, and geographic location and climate. Most all of these factors are mutable, so while architecture evolves slowly compared to other artistic mediums, it still evolves.
Text Book of ARCH-112 Introduction to Architecture DAE 1st Year Architecture Technology 118 | P a g e Buildings also need to be able to age well, to adapt to changing requirements and have flexibility to accommodate various uses. They also should be built sustainable, in both the materials that they use during construction, and the energy resources that they require to function.
Text Book of ARCH-112 Introduction to Architecture DAE 1st Year Architecture Technology 119 | P a g e PART-I Sample Long Questions Q # 1 Write a detailed note on components of the built environment. Q # 2 Explain ‘Architecture as the most significant feature’. Q # 3 How context influence architecture? Explain Sample Short Questions 1. Define built environment. 2. Write the names of components of the built environment. 3. Explain ‘landscapes’ as component of the built environment. 4. What do you know about ‘earth’ as component of the built environment? 5. Make a diagram of life cycle of the built environment. 6. What do you know about place making? 7. How architecture reflects culture? Explain briefly. 8. Define Context. 9. Write the names of the factors affecting the context of a building. 10. Define contextualism. 11. What are the main contextual criteria which influence the design at an early stage? 12. Write the names of the three aspects of contextualism. 13. What do you know about regional architecture? 14. What are the elements of context in architecture? 15. Define vernacular architecture.
Text Book of ARCH-112 Introduction to Architecture DAE 1st Year Architecture Technology 120 | P a g e PART-II Sample MCQ’s 1. Built environment refers to the………… surroundings that provide the setting for human activity and living. a) Natural b) manmade c) both a and b d) none of these 2. How many components of the built environment are? a) 5 b) 6 c) 7 d) none of these 3. The sum of the cultural and natural heritage values of a place, often set out in a statement of? a) Significance b) built environment c) culture d) none of these 4. Context is …………. element that influences the building. a) External b) internal c) both a and b d) none of these 5. Main contextual criteria which influence the design at an early stage are: a) Microclimate b) topography c) natural habitat of a site d) all of these 6. Which tries to achieve a positive communication with vernacular architecture? a) Regional architecture b) critical regionalism c) Islamic architecture d) all of these 7. Roads and land contour are the examples of? a) Physical elements b) non-physical elements c) Between physical and non physical elements d) none of these
Text Book of ARCH-112 Introduction to Architecture DAE 1st Year Architecture Technology 121 | P a g e 8. Local culture, weather condition, as well as political and economical constraints are examples of? a) Physical elements b) non-physical elements c) Between physical and non physical elements d) none of these 9. Jaipur in India is called a) Blue city b) Red city c) Pink city d) Purple city 10. …………… is a principle of design in which a structure is designed in response to its specific urban and natural environment. a) Contextual architecture b) British architecture c) Islamic architecture d) none of these Answer Key: 1. ( b ) 2. ( c ) 3. ( a ) 4. ( a ) 5. ( d ) 6. ( a ) 7. ( a ) 8. ( b ) 9. ( c ) 10. ( a )
Text Book of ARCH-112 Introduction to Architecture DAE 1st Year Architecture Technology 122 | P a g e CHAPTER # 06 ARCHITECTURE AND SOCIETY G e n e r a l O b j e c t i v e : Understand relationship between architecture and society. S p e c i f i c o b j e c t i v e s : After studying this chapter students should be able to 1- Describe relationship between architecture and society. 2- Explain importance of architecture in a society.. 3- Explain architecture as an index of a society..
Text Book of ARCH-112 Introduction to Architecture DAE 1st Year Architecture Technology 123 | P a g e 6.1 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ARCHITECTURE & SOCIETY: Architecture was a profession and a business, with strong economic and commercial factors which could not be ignored. The closest relationship for the architect, and sometimes the only significant one, was with his client. At the same time the architect was also a designer and an artist, strongly influenced by his cultural environment and fully capable of artistic innovation, even audacity. He had the opportunity to contribute something of beauty to the locality he was working in; or he risked subtracting beauty from what was already there. In this context we had some trouble with the concept of iconic buildings, which could, according to the public reaction, be striking symbols of either something good or something bad. Nevertheless, as this conversation developed, we increasingly focused on both the quality and the functionality of buildings in their immediate environment: in other words the place, not just the edifice. What mattered to a community was the nature of a building in its space, within a specific locality, as part of a town or city, within a community territory in which people lived, worked, travelled and expressed their freedom, while also requiring a response to the needs of an increasingly fragile planet. This sense of a building’s responsibility to contribute to the “village green” characteristics of its locality ran as a recurrent theme throughout the conference.
Text Book of ARCH-112 Introduction to Architecture DAE 1st Year Architecture Technology 124 | P a g e A whole range of people get caught up in the response to the built environment: clients, users, and people in the locality, planners, regulators, local politicians, central government, the media, and the public. Against that background, it was not surprising, participants thought, if the architect withdrew behind his immediate responsibility to the client. We noted the distance that often existed between an architect’s office and the people in communities, and between the political realities of society and the exercising of imagination in design. With the increasing use of sophisticated computer techniques, this distance might grow wider as time passed. It was nevertheless a gap that had to be bridged if the architect’s service to the wider community was to deliver full value, as judged by a building’s usability in practice and its contribution to the happiness of the locality. The people in the community concerned might not be able to articulate what made up the spirit of a good building, but their reaction to it showed that it made a difference. Given the complexity of the things that contribute to a successful built environment, we found it hard to allocate professional responsibility for bringing it about. Social engineers, planners and politicians had a larger responsibility for this than the architect himself. Most of an architect’s time was spent doing something else. But it was important to remember that social
Text Book of ARCH-112 Introduction to Architecture DAE 1st Year Architecture Technology 125 | P a g e criteria for the good or bad effect of a building kicked in only after the buildings were finished and in use. The judgment involved in good planning had to come from imagination and experience, with sensible adaptation to changing styles, which some cultures managed better than others. We also touched on the importance of new technologies, but participants did not want to place too great an emphasis on them as the possible solution to the questions of community discussed above. Sometimes low-technology applications could be as successful as high-tech ones. New materials were useful, but concrete – and even mud-brick – remained a staple. The innovation could just as easily come in the use as in the material, as often happened in, for example, India. The architectural profession was now completely computer-literate and architects were able to manage and integrate much larger areas of information than before. Satellite systems for city planning, climate effects, energy and water use, the deployment of the labour force and several other areas were becoming increasingly valuable. But these applications had to respond to an overall framework of participation, consultation and response.
Text Book of ARCH-112 Introduction to Architecture DAE 1st Year Architecture Technology 126 | P a g e The top-down/bottom-up dichotomy was gradually moving to a horizontal networking alternative. And the internet was bringing in the citizen into the equation in new ways, with novel software that could potentially enhance active community participation into the process of design. As for climate change and sustainability, the problems could not be resolved in one profession or in one generation. Affordability would always be a vital ingredient. But architects had to understand the impact their buildings would have, preferably in advance of their clients’ understanding of it. 6.2 IMPORTANCE OF ARCHITECTURE IN SOCIETY: On the threshold of the 21st century (in the 1990s), public organizations of European and other countries focused their attention on the problems, the solution of which could help improve standards of living in the cities and towns. Theoretical propositions about the citizens’ right to protection from aggression, environmental pollution and aggressive urban environment as well as the rights to shelter, health care, cultural life, mobility, democratic control of authorities and participation in the development of democratic principles have been analyzed in the great number of documents from various perspectives.
Text Book of ARCH-112 Introduction to Architecture DAE 1st Year Architecture Technology 127 | P a g e Providing more knowledge about a significant but insufficiently investigated process of community involvement in the development of urban architecture. Factors and circumstances determining the transformation of urban architecture: availability of effective measures of social control in developing urban architecture; increasing pollution of the environment; ideological transformation; transformation of the attitude to man and his place in the world; transformation of the attitude to government, its nature and functions.
Text Book of ARCH-112 Introduction to Architecture DAE 1st Year Architecture Technology 128 | P a g e The problem of the community involvement in developing urban architecture is analyzed, considering Vilnius development over recent 17 years as a case study. Emphasizing the significance of the problem, the author shows that, under the action of political, economic, social and other factors, the relationship between the development of urban architecture and other sciences becomes more evident, making this problem interdisciplinary. 6.3 ARCHITECTURE AS AN INDEX OF A SOCIETY: One of the essential characteristics of modern democracy is human right to disseminate one’s ideas, defend the community’s interests, trying to improve the environment and influence decision-making by the local authorities. In highly developed democracies, such terms describing public participation in urban development as Citizen or Public Participation, Public Involvement, Public Consultation, Public Meetings, etc. have been extensively used.
Text Book of ARCH-112 Introduction to Architecture DAE 1st Year Architecture Technology 129 | P a g e According to scientists forming the attitude of the inhabitants to the development of their native town, the interaction of the dynamical (people, communities) and statically (people production, the results creation) factors is of particular importance because their informal impact helps to reflect visual, emotional or functional meaning of the city form. Moreover, it allows the residents to see the values of the town and appreciate the participation of communities in its architectural development, which can help to transform its image and create individual architectural features characteristic of a particular age. Well thought of participation of citizens in urban development based on democratic principles is the only legal way for them to express their opinion. However, it can be effective only if community takes the responsibility for the consequences of people’s actions.
Text Book of ARCH-112 Introduction to Architecture DAE 1st Year Architecture Technology 130 | P a g e According to D. Held, ‘a community should be guided by a concept of the collectively created common good’. If, according to R. Buivydas (1998), citizens have no opportunities to participate actively and to become aware of their role in the above process, most of them will always remain detached observers of democratic development, unable to participate in collective decision-making or discussion about the ways of creating common wealth. According to the data obtained in the present research, seeking for the creation of common good in architecture depends on urban lifestyle characterized by professional and social stratification, membership of public organizations, territorial isolation and anonymity, as well as by weakening of the traditional neighborly and family ties and impersonal social control.
Text Book of ARCH-112 Introduction to Architecture DAE 1st Year Architecture Technology 131 | P a g e PART-I Sample Long Questions: 1. Describe the relationship between architecture and society. 2. Explain the importance of architecture in society. 3. Write “architecture as an Index of a society” in detail. Sample Short Questions: 1. What is relation between architecture and society? 2. What is sustainability of a building? 3. Define a society. 4. Define Index. 5. Write architecture as an index of a society. 6. Why architecture is important for a society? 7. Write the need of architecture for our environment? PART-II Sample MCQ’s: 1. Architect plays ____________ role in a society. a) Pivot b) important c) necessary d) un-nessary 2. Buildings and their residents have ___________ relationship. a) Strong b) Less c) minor d) none 3. Architect considers _______________ in design. a) Sustainability b) Functionality c) Life d) a & b both 4. If construction is not good, then it will not complete the _____ of the people. a) Aim b) Need c) Comfort d) None 5. _____________ influence the life and efficiency of the people. a) Weather b) Environment c) Air d) Pollution 6. Architect has strong relation with __________________. a) Client b) Life c) Environment d) None 7. ____________________ provide artistic environment to the society. a) Client b) People c) Architect d) None 8. Architecture attach government and public with a _________. a) Rectangle b) Circle c) Triangle d) None
Text Book of ARCH-112 Introduction to Architecture DAE 1st Year Architecture Technology 132 | P a g e 9. Architecture is a beauty which _______________ to all. a) Attract b) Habitat c) inspired d) None 10. ______________ is required to the people. a) Food b) Air c) Good environment d) all 11. Badshahi Masjid, Tomb of Jahangir and Taj Mahal are_______ a) Historical buildings b) Modern buildings c) Residential buildings d) All 12. Architecture is an art without which life is _______________ a) Beautiful b) Simple & dull c) Good d) None Answer Key: 1) a 2) a 3) d 4) b 5) b 6) a 7) c 8) c 9) a 10) d 11) a 12) b
Text Book of ARCH-112 Introduction to Architecture DAE 1st Year Architecture Technology 133 | P a g e REFERENCES: 1: Architecture: Form, Space and Order (4th edition) by Francis D.K. Ching, September 2014, 464 pages ISBN: 978-1-118-74508-3 2: Introduction to Architecture Edited by james C. Synder, Anthony J. Ca tanese Mc Graw Hill Book Company ISBN : 0-07-059547-X 3: Introduction to Architecture Edited by Francis D.K. Ching, James F. Eckler. Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, 07-Dec-2012, 432 pages. ISBN: 1118330331, 9781118330333 4: Understanding Architecture-An Introduction to Architecture and Architectural Theory, 2nd Edition by Hazel Conway, Rowan Roenisch ISBN: 978-0-415-32058-0 5: Architecture and allied design by Antoniades & Anthony – c, 3 rd Edition, URN: 1028184869, MARCXML